Never one to join the bandwagon without fully investigating whether the hype is warranted (at least to me), I was VERY skeptical of the craze surround the LeapPad this Fall.
Sitting at home, late one night, unable to sleep and admittedly a bit obsessed with being certain there HAD to be an alternative to the kid tablets on the market, I stumbled across something called the Nabi Tablet.
There was very little information, no demo videos, no user reviews etc... What there was was a description of this tablet that made my heart skip a beat (could have also been after effects of too much coffee that day).
I ordered 2 that night (mid Nov) and crossed my fingers that my investment would be worthwhile. After some shipping delays and release date being pushed back my Nabi's finally shipped and I received them last week.
I don't know what my kids will feel like opening these on Christmas but I know that when I opened them I was more excited by a "kids" toy (in quotes bc this is a real tablet that any adult will be thrilled with in Mommy mode) than I care to admit!
The Nabi comes with a sturdy red, rubber case that surrounds it and surely will protect it in the event that a little one drops it from a short distance (I don't anticipate this happening but if it does I am grateful for that red bumper!). It has a bright screen, easy to use power and volume buttons and was a snap to set up.
I customized each Nabi for the age group of each of my daughters. For Clara, I set her to ages 3-5 and Gracie for ages 6-8.
Below is a link to the Nabi website that does a far better job than I could in describing and highlighting all the amazing features of this tablet.
My daughters are going to LOVE the free books included by MeeGenuius, the art studio app that is pre-installed, the music that's pre-installed and so much more. One of the apps I find coolest (but I still have a lot of investigating to do) is the create your own book app. Kids can add images they've added to their Nabi either via the built in camera or pictures they've drawn and saved and use these images to add visual detail to story books that they can create. My 6 year old is going to LOVE this feature.
There's a built in camera, a video recorder, a micro SD slot so that there is endless opportunity to access whatever material (music, videos, files) you or your child want without having to fill up the internal memory.
If you have a streaming Netflix account ($7.99 p/month I believe) you will love the pre installed Netflix app that allows your kids to watch movies/shows of their choosing. As a mom who has one daughter enamored with Dora and Caillou and another who has forgotten the days that she too loved those shows and groans when it is her sisters turn to choose what is watched on tv, I think the Netflix account (used sparingly) is a great solution to different interests in one household. Now everyone can be happy during the approved television time at home.
And if the tablet itself weren't reason enough to fall in love, the support from the team at Nabi is nothing short of amazing. There's a facebook page devoted to Nabi where consumers have been posting questions/problems and the team of devoted folks at Nabi have been amazing at rapidly addressing problems and answering people in real time.
It's a rarity in this day and age to be able to connect with a "real person" in customer service without having to go through 1800 numbers, fifteen different prompts and all kinds of headaches. On the facebook Nabi Tablet site (link below) the reps from Nabi have been fast and furious about responding to consumers and they've made an even bigger fan of me.
I intend to tell everyone I know with kids in the age range that Nabi serves, that they've got to get their hands on this tablet.
My daughters have played with a friends iPad and both started a campaign earlier this Fall for Santa to bring them one. My original solution was to look to the LeapPad or InnoTab as an iPad isn't in this teachers budget! Thanks to my determined, bordering on obsessed mission to find an alternative and thanks to Nabi being created for Moms like me with kids like mine, I am ecstatic about putting this gift under the tree for my girls!
As soon as the girls open and start to use their tablets I'll update the blog!
Looking for a Nabi? Toys R Us is selling them in store for $149 right now. If you pre-ordered and paid $199 you can bring your receipt to your local store and get credit for the price difference (so I was told by a national customer service rep at Toys R Us and I was successful in doing this).
Considering the LeapPad is $100 and you have to buy $25 cartridges for it and there's no expandable memory etc... it sure makes a $149 Nabi Tablet with hundreds of dollars of awesome built in games, books, music, apps a sweet deal.
Here's a video I posted to you tube showing the Nabi in action. I didn't have great lighting and never having made a video for you tube before it's not fantastic, but it's something.
Sitting at home, late one night, unable to sleep and admittedly a bit obsessed with being certain there HAD to be an alternative to the kid tablets ... nkidstablet.blogspot.com
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