Ok techies, I need your help.

My nephew is turning six in a week and I still haven't gotten his gift for his birthday. I'm trying to decide between an HP touchpad or a Kindle fire. Since I don't own either, I'm not sure what would be the better choice..or if there's a better option. I'm trying to get him off the TV and start learning more. I feel that something like this where he can play educational games is a better alternative. I'm trying to stay under $400 after buying the device, case, accessories, etc. Any opinions?

Kindle Fire would be better than the HP Touchpad.

Id pay more and get ipad2
Or wait for ipad3 and get him that

be careful with the kindle fire not much safety for kids, although I heard there trying to add that in. Plus the touchpad has a waterproof case no?

*edit* forget the waterproof deal that was another tablet I saw

ipad 2 with some preloaded learning games + a bhw profile

Six years old?

What 6 year old kid needs a $400 electronic device? Get him a junior telescope or something he can play outside.

GoldenGlovez said:

Six years old?

What 6 year old kid needs a $400 electronic device? Get him a junior telescope or something he can play outside.

Click to expand...

I would get him $400 worth of kites.

Get him a hooker to teach him science...

Only kidding. Get him something that he can play outside with.

Get them Lego - something tactile that they can physically play with. Kids learn through playing, not by letting other devices do the playing for them. Life is all about trial and error, and stuff like Lego and Mechano is perfect for a 6 year old boy IMO.

micro niche site with scrapebox license

I agree with the others on the iPad 2. Since the iPad 3 is coming soon, you should be able to get a good discount on it.

If not, look into a PS Vita or a 3DS. Kids seem to love those.

GoldenGlovez said:

Six years old?

What 6 year old kid needs a $400 electronic device? Get him a junior telescope or something he can play outside.

Click to expand...

He's already got a lot of outside toys and stuff. I'd like to get him his first computer. I don't think it's that bad of an idea to be able to load games and educational stuff on it.

I'm not seeing iPads under $400 though, so I might just go the touchpad route. Amazon has them for >$300 right now.

you should get him the hp touchpad and load cyanogenmod on it...then load it up with books of something useful. Then you can add games to for him to unwind..just make sure he dont just skip over the books

I don't know the profile of your nephew, but it seems that a pad is easy breakable.


A real computer maybe would be more suitable, i'm sure you can find one for $400.

That said, when i make gift to mine, i always make 2 gifts, 1 fun that his parent wouldn't get him and 1 educational according to his interest.

To give you ideas, last time i offered a soccer cage, and a chemical rock synthetiser as he likes mineral.

I would vote for the touchpad, provided you find someone who can install android (cyanogenmod) on it for you.

Otherwise the kindle.

The touchpad offers a bigger screen and (if set up with android) more general versatility. The kindles modified amazon-android is more restrictive.

Somehow it seems unclear, if the touchpad actually uses gorilla-glass (or something comparable) for its panel or not. That could be a big argument for the kindle, considering the age of the user. I can hardly imagine a setting where the device is more likely to be dropped, stepped on,...

I guess I dont need to list all the things you can not do with an ipad, as compared to normal hardware, because you did not have it on your list to begin with.

abysse said:

I don't know the profile of your nephew, but it seems that a pad is easy breakable.


A real computer maybe would be more suitable, i'm sure you can find one for $400.

That said, when i make gift to mine, i always make 2 gifts, 1 fun that his parent wouldn't get him and 1 educational according to his interest.

To give you ideas, last time i offered a soccer cage, and a chemical rock synthetiser as he likes mineral.

Click to expand...

I guess I could do all the downloading before I give it to him. I've already discussed this with my sister (his mom). They don't have internet, so she preferred something portable so she could download at Starbucks, etc. I just know he's always talking about the computer lab at his school and he's always excited to go back, so I thought this would be a good decision. I'm gonna go the touchpad route with that waterproof jacket that was recommended early. I don't have much time to contemplate on this, I need to get something on order.

Thanks all for your input.

GoldenGlovez said:

Six years old? What 6 year old kid needs a $400 electronic device? Get him a junior telescope or something he can play outside.

Click to expand...

Not everyone lives in an area where it's really safe to play outdoors, or where using a telescope wouldn't get your ass kicked. Sometimes keeping your child in, and giving them the opportunity to educate themselves is the best thing for their future. A telescope gets boring for an average child after the first few days. A kindle/tablet computer pretty much never gets boring, because you can constantly get new content. If the child has trouble reading or spelling, a computer is one of the best ways to practice.

Buying young children something expensive also helps to teach them responsibility. They learn to baby it, and take the utmost care of it, and if they damage or lose it, they will not have it replaced so easily, so it will teach them a hard lesson. A touchpad/kindle is also something that their parents are more likely to use with them, for reading stories or doing research into topics they enjoy, encouraging family time. Between work and cleaning, most parents aren't into going out and looking through a telescope with their kid that much.

I see nothing wrong with a family member treating their loved ones to something expensive, as long as they are doing it with the right intentions in mind, and educating the child along the way.