Bright kid-friendly casing, dedicated apps, decent screen, good build quality
Slowish processor, not cheap
Tablets specifically aimed at kids tend to be underpowered, under-resourced and under-specced clunkers that bear little resemblance to the repositories of tech wizardry aimed at grownups.
But as most parents already know, the little ones can be just as discerning in their choice of plaything. So Samsung has produced a new version of its Tab 3, complete with a new interface, built-in kid-friendly games and apps plus a choice of colourful covers.
Design and Android
Despite its brightly coloured livery, this is essentially the same device known as the Tab 3. It has the same internals, but comes with a rubbery case surround to protect it from low-level drops as well as an additional case which includes a carry handle that converts into a stand and a large, not very precise stylus on a string. It's a genuinely useful accessory.
You can set it to show a standard Android screen or the specially created Kids Mode, with a range of brightly coloured cards that make it easy for little fingers to find their way around. There's plenty of room for apps, videos and music too, with 8GB of memory on board plus the option to add another 32GB via a microSD card.
Features and processor
There are built-in parental controls making it easy to regulate web and Google Play access and you can set time limits for use of the device too, though there's no way to distinguish between playing and educational use for instance.
The 7-inch screen offers a so-so resolution of 1,024x600 pixels.
Not quite HD, but it still looks bright and vibrant with the kiddie apps, even if it doesn't quite do the HD biz with movies. There are two cameras on board too -- a 3 megapixel one on the back and a 1.3 megapixel version on the front, both of which can be used with the kids' apps.
The dual-core 1.2GHz processor is backed by a full 1GB Ram and it does a pretty good job of keeping most of the kids apps running at optimum speed, though it struggles a little with more advanced games. Our AnTuTu benchmark score came in pretty high for a dual-core device too -- 1,638, which puts it in the same range as the Archos 80 Titanium for example.
As a reviewer for Wired.co.uk, I regularly have tablets and phones around the house, and my six-year-old son occasionally helps me with "hands-on testing". But he's never shown a keener interest in any device more than the Tab 3 Kids, which not only gives him access to a huge range of games, but with its bright colours and dedicated interface is probably the first that he's felt that he's "owned" (sorry Samsung).
Conclusion
As kids' tablets go it's on the pricey side, but then it's much more capable and satisfying than most. With a half-decent camera, and software that gives a youngster the feeling that he or she owns it.
If you really need to use it yourself occasionally, you can switch to normal mode to web surf or check your emails but it's definitely too expensive, especially since you can pick up a standard Tab 3 for around £120.
CPU: Dual-core 1.2GHz
Operating system: Android Jelly Bean 4.1
Memory: 8GB
Display: 7 inch TFT (1024x600 pixels)
Camera: 3 megapixel; 1.3 megapixel wide-angle front-facing camera
Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
Ports: MicroUSB, 3.5mm headphone jack
Video playback: MP4, DivX/XviD, WMV, H.264, H.263
Audio playback: MP3, WAV, eAAC+, AC3, Ogg, WAV, FLAC
Radio: No
Battery: 4000mAh
Size: 188x111x10mm
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
