€99.99
Tablets for children are becoming an increasingly common sight as companies try to tap into a growing market for junior electronics. From the Nabi 2 to RTÉ's Junior Pad, the choice for parents is growing. The Medion Junior Tab, Aldi's latest addition to its electronics line-up, is hoping to tap into that market with a brief appearance in stores next week.
Made by Medion, the seven-inch Android tablet is the same line as Aldi’s budget tablet earlier this year. There has been an effort made to ensure that the tablet isn’t quite as budget as its price suggests, with an aluminium plate at the back as a nod to a more premium tablet. Living up to its child-friendly image, it also comes with a silicon bumper to protect it from accidental drops, in blue, green and pink. Under the hood, the Jellybean tablet has a 1.6Ghz quad core processor and 8GB of storage, which can be expanded through the use of a microSD card. It comes with all the usual capabilities including wifi and Bluetooth.
The good
The tablet’s main selling point is its price. At €100, it is far cheaper than many of the other tablets on the market and the design, teamed with the bumper case, means that you feel it might just stand up to a bit of rough handling by younger children.
Coming a close second is the interface itself, which allows parents to lock down the installation of apps as well as set limits on the amount of time a child spends browsing online, for example, and limits the sites they can access. It is all controlled by a parental PIN and you can be reasonably confident handing the tablet over to even the most tech-savvy juvenile user that it will remain that way. You can also set restrictions on what time of day the device can be used at. Setting up the interface is easy, with a step-by-step tutorial that will guide you through it. It is easy to follow – if a bit oddly phrased at times – and gives you an idea of what you can do with it. There are a number of child friendly apps already installed, too, from games to a “kid safe” browser, so the tablet can be ready to go in minutes.
As far as tablets go, the Medion Junior Tab performs reasonably well, as long as you don’t push it too hard. The 1.6GHz processor can only take so much before it starts to stutter a bit, and there was a bit of a lag when a number of applications were open at the same time.
The bad
With budget tablets, there are bound to be a few hiccups. Usually, the cost savings can be seen in the screen and the power. While the Junior Tab’s screen is responsive, you can certainly see the gap in quality between it and other similarly sized but higher priced devices. Text is easily read, although the smaller it goes, the less sharp it is. The viewing angle on the screen isn’t the best either. Tilt it and you’ll notice the images become a bit muddy. However, it’s not something that the average child will be too concerned with.
The same can’t be said for its stamina. The battery is one area that could be improved. Our tests showed it lasted just under four hours, which tallies with the official specs. It seems pretty poor, though, and means you’ll need to stay close to a power source. This is likely to be another “blink-and-you’ll-miss it” deal too, although you can be sure that another budget-friendly tablet will make its way into stores before long.
The rest
The Junior Tab uses Micro USB to charge and connect to PCs, but has very little else in the way of connections. On the top of the device, you’ll find the Micro SD card slot, a headphone jack and the previously mentioned micro USB connection, along with a built in mic and the rear facing camera. This tablet can, in a way, grow with your child. Underneath the Junior Tab interface is a regular Android tablet, so when your child outgrows the need for full parental lock-down on the device, you can simply disable the Junior Tab mode and it becomes a normal Android tablet.
The verdict
For its price, the Medion Junior Tab is worth considering. It is portable and sturdy, although its tech spec could ultimately limit its appeal to older users. ***
