Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We were front-line adopters of the original XO laptop computers, which my children did enjoy using for awhile but got less use out of than I would have liked due to the fact that those laptops ran more slowly, "did less" (ie, had fewer interesting programs to run), and had far less versatility than the other computers in the household. In short, while they were fantastic devices compared to having no computer at all, they were frustrating to use for kids accustomed to 'regular' computers. That design weakness does not appear to be a problem with the new tablets: this is a fully functional tablet, capable of doing anything you'd ordinarily do with a tablet computer, at a very reasonable price. Parental access to full Android mode is quite simple, and though we had a bit of a learning curve, my 10 year old was downloading apps from Google Play, learning to access the internet, and in general making full use of the machine's internet-related capabilities as well as the plentiful built-in apps within a matter of 15-20 minutes. As far as versatility goes, I can definitely see this device being used by the entire family. It'll be handy for the adults to access email, Facebook, and so forth while visiting relatives. It could also serve as a source for the younger kids to watch Netflix videos on demand -- that is, when they aren't playing the many, many, many apps available to them, which they certainly seem to prefer so far to passive viewing, as I had hoped they would. The 15 month old is too young to get anything out of it yet, but I expect that by the time he's 2 even he will be able to manage play with some of the simpler apps, with adult assistance of course. I expect that even my 15 year old will make use of the device on occasion; though most of the preloaded apps are of course aimed at younger children, she's interested in the artistic options in particular, and of course will also be able to make use of downloadable apps through Google Play as well. I'm also pleased by how much there is to do on the tablet even when we're out of wifi range -- for instance, in the car. (I haven't purchased the available car charger, and in fact probably won't need to since it charges via USB and our main family vehicle has a USB charging port, but I was pleased to notice that there is one available -- clearly they've realized that long car trips will be one very excellent use for the device.) All in all, a great family device, though I'd particularly recommend it for families with children from 3-12 or so. (Update: I was wrong about the 15 month old being too young to get anything out of it yet. He saw his older sister playing a music app which plays different notes as they are touched, and you could practically see him thinking to himself, 'I can do that!' He immediately snuggled up with us and started trying to play it. We gave him a turn, and sure enough, he understood perfectly how to make it work and had tremendous fun using it. There are a few other apps he'll likely enjoy as well, though again, he's considerably younger than the device's target age.) My 4 year old was completely enchanted by the first app she tried, a coloring program, and for the first 24 hours was uninterested in trying anything except using the touch screen 'paint' selector to color a myriad of cartoon drawings of princesses and save them 'to send to grandma.' I'm hoping to interest her in exploring more of the device's capabilities soon, but for now, it's primarily worth noting that even though we're primarily a keyboard-and-mouse using family and she had no significant previous exposure to touch screen devices, it took her next to no time to learn to access what she wanted to do and play with it thoroughly easily, including swiping the color choices strip to reveal more fine gradations in color, turning the music for the program on and off, zooming in and out, and saving or deleting her work as desired. (I haven't yet found a way to send the finished pictures to grandma, but I expect it's probably possible.) (Update: the second day she was indeed ready to start trying out other apps, and we quickly found numerous ones that interested her. Despite her young age she was quickly able to figure out how to do a great many things, and with adult and older-sib assistance was readily able to learn to do even more.) Positive details worth mentioning to augment those in the product description info: 1. The device packaging recommends charging it fully overnight before first use, but any parent with a house full of kids who have been watching for the UPS truck for 2 days knows how eager they are likely to be to try it out right away. Fortunately it turned out to arrive 99% charged, so we simply plugged it in and worked with it plugged in for the first evening. 2. For the 4 year old, ease of access is clearly more important than security from her siblings using her profile. I was pleased by how easy it was to set her up with no password required for logging into her profile, while her older siblings could choose their own passwords so that she can't access theirs. 3. The charger is more versatile than the XO laptop charger. It consists of a wall plug plus a USB cord, so that the device can be plugged into either a regular computer or an electrical outlet for charging. 4. The tablet is smart enough to turn itself off -- and log the user out -- after a relatively brief time of inactivity. This will surely preserve the battery charge, as well as help protect the older siblings from having their 4 year old sister playing in what they were doing when they set the device down. 5. The range of educational applications appears to be excellent, and their division into basic, medium, and advanced levels for each category will make it easy for the kids to select something appropriate for their own levels. The 10 year old was extremely excited to find a Discovery News app, for instance. In addition to the 160+ preloaded apps (a huge selection which is, again, easily further augmented by downloading outside apps), the device also has 100 books in Spanish and 100 books in English preloaded, many of which my 10 year old instantly took an interest in reading. The cons I've noted so far are relatively minor: 1. It would be extremely nice if the box included a full user's manual instead of just a quick start guide. The quick start guide does include several pages of information, but I quickly wanted more as I got into the nuts and bolts of setup, and it was frustrating to be able to find only a note saying to look for the full user's manual online, without even a URL provided. In fact, I have yet to locate that user's manual, though I'm sure it must be available somewhere -- you'd think such a basic thing would be easy to find, but apparently not. If you're ordering the device and want to read the quick-start information in advance, however, it's conveniently available at the xo tablet website under the 'support' section. Amazon won't let me post the link, but it's readily findable with your favorite search engine. 2. The green rubber loop on the top left of the protective case looks like it's intended to carry the device and is in fact described as a "carrying hook" by many sources where I read about the device prior to purchase, and I'd venture that almost any child (or adult, for that matter) would naturally assume that's why it's there. (Update: in fact, one of the promotional pictures now released shows a boy carrying the device by the loop.) We were very disappointed, therefore, when less than 4 hours after opening the device, my 10 year old was carrying it by the loop across the kitchen and the loop snapped open. He wasn't being rough with it; I was right there, and he was doing nothing more than carrying it by the loop while walking at a normal rate of speed to bring it to me to show me something. I plan to call customer support today and see about getting a replacement bumper case, but it seems to me that something designed for kids 4+ needs to be quite a bit stronger, or else eliminate the loop on the grounds that it's too easily interpreted as a carrying method but cannot actually support the (relatively minimal, fwiw) weight of the device. I will update on my experiences with customer support after the call and (I hope) replacement. Update after calling: I spent a very long time on hold and the support representatives spoke heavily accented English and seemed to have some difficulty understanding me, but they were very friendly and helpful and immediately offered to send a replacement case. I was told it will be here within 20 days, which is a bit long but acceptable. I specifically asked whether the loop is intended as a carrying hook, wanting to determine whether it is in fact intended to be strong enough for that purpose, but the response was somewhat baffling, perhaps because of the language barrier: the rep told me that "the loop is not intended specifically as a carrying hook, but it can be used to carry the tablet." My interpretation of that is that the loop was not solely designed to be a carrying loop but that they fully expected that it would be used for that function. I will update again once I receive the replacement case, to let you know a) how long the case takes to get here and b) whether it appears to be any stronger than the original case. 3. I was surprised that the math apps included with the device do not seem to include what I would have considered to be a very basic function -- a straightforward math game in which kids practice multiplication tables by a specific digit: for instance, 'tonight you need to practice your sevens.' There is an app called 'Math Workout' which will drill kids on a mixture of multiplication and division, and another one, 'Einstein Math Academy,' which I actually expect will get much less use: it provides a 6 by 5 grid of single digits, multiplication and division signs, and the associated answers, and kids earn points by selecting tiles that produce true math facts: choosing 6, then x, then 2, then 12, for instance. At this point in my older child's math learning, however, we really need to drill on specific digits one at a time. I expect there's probably a downloadable app I can locate to fill this gap, but I was surprised that one wasn't included among the extremely numerous preloaded selections. (Update: I found several options with no difficulty. I particularly recommend Multiplication Genius for kids still working on initially mastering their times tables, and Multiplication Tutor for those slightly more advanced. Both apps are available for free through Google Play.) 4. Nowhere in the instructions does the device explain how to switch from one user profile to another. We figured it out through trial and error, but to save someone else time, here's what we learned: turning the device off briefly (even for a second) and back on will take you back out to the select-a-profile screen. 2 week update, 8-21-2013: I'm finding that the wifi seems pretty decent. We've had no problem using apps from anywhere within the house, though I do find it worth the hassle to walk into the central part of the house (ie, nearer the router) when downloading new apps, since patience is not one of my 4 year old's most notable strengths. We've had no trouble using it in heavily daylighted indoor rooms, poorly lit areas (on the school bus, on the sofa at dusk, etc), or anywhere else except in bright direct sunlight. We've used it *extensively* in the car during trips, and I've found that to be a fantastic use for it. I'm particularly delighted by how well my son is learning his multiplication tables (finally!) with the help of the math apps we downloaded for him. Where pestering, internet games, rote recitation, etc. all seemed to fall short, 'something to do while stuck in the car for 4 hours' seems to be succeeding. He's also using it daily on the bus to and from school. It is, in fact, difficult for me to get a chance to use the tablet, because he has it with him during the school day and then all 4 kids enjoy taking turns with it in the afternoons/evenings. The baby's favorite apps continue to be the music ones, but he also likes drawing. The 4 year old *adores* the mouse puzzle-solving games found under the 'Programming' dream heading, and she's also been doing Fruit Sudoku. I'm amazed by how quickly she's mastered the concept of Sudoku and how much she enjoys puzzle-solving in general; this is a strength we never knew she had until we handed her the tablet. The 10 year old does a lot of math practice (they're reviewing multiplication tables right now, to refresh students' memories at the beginning of the school year) and also likes playing Angry Birds. My 15 year old likes the art apps best so far but I can also see her using the very excellent 'translation' app as an aid in learning Spanish. I haven't tried the tablet in any public wifi locations, since we've only visited relatives so far, but we had no problem connecting to wifi there and I doubt there'd be any more difficulty in a public hotspot. We still haven't received the replacement case but hope it'll be here soon. We still haven't acquired the fabled user's manual, either, and according to customer service, it's not actually available yet but will be sent via email when it is. This is a major error in planning, in my opinion. It surely wouldn't have taken much advance planning to have the user manual ready before the device was released. We're using the tablet fine without the manual, but I'd still really like to get my hands on one, both for reference purposes and to review in case the tablet has features I haven't yet discovered or learned to use. All in all, I'm extremely satisfied with this purchase. My kids are definitely getting my money's worth out of it, and I expect they'll continue to use it heavily indefinitely. One month update, 9-6-13: The replacement protective case arrived yesterday. It took longer than I had hoped, but the new case does appear to be significantly 'tougher' than the original. It's more rigid and seems much sturdier, though it's identical in appearance. I think this one will hold up much better, and the loop does seem strong enough to use as a carrying loop. The teenager rarely uses the tablet -- she finds a laptop computer more useful for her purposes -- but the younger 3 kids are still using the tablet daily. I've installed another great educational app for my 10 year old, this time for states and capitals, and as with the multiplication, I noticed a tremendous improvement in his skills using the tablet to practice versus practicing solely verbally before. He's taking the tablet to school daily so that he can use it on the bus there and back, and his teachers have said that they're impressed by the multiplication and state and capital apps. The 4 year old has continued to love the puzzle games and wants to play the mouse mazes under the 'programming' dream nearly daily. The baby's favorites continue to be music, but he likes drawing and coloring apps now as well. We still often have to set a timer for the kids to take turns, it's such a favorite. Overall, though I would change a few things (get around to publishing that user's guide, for instance, please!), I continue to feel like this tablet has been worth every penny, and I highly recommend it for families with kids from ages 2-12. Update 6 months after purchase, 3-2-2014: The tablet continues to be a huge favorite item for the toddler, now 5-year-old, and now 11-year-old. After several months of usage, we started having trouble getting the tablet to charge well, unfortunately. It seemed to be a problem with the charger sitting firmly in the charger port, and Google revealed many other early adopters had had similar issues. I was extremely impressed with the XO Customer Service, however. Shortly after I contacted them, they sent me a free UPS return label, and *in less than a week* after they received our defective tablet, we had a brand-new one in hand. The kids were absolutely thrilled to have had it gone such a short time, and the new tablet appeared to even have some improvements over the one we had had previously: specifically, the carrying loop now has what seems to be metal reinforcement in it and is probably nigh-indestructible, and my son insists the screen is brighter and easier to read than on our previous unit. Unfortunately, less than a week later, the product met its demise: my son dropped it onto a wooden floor from a height of approximately 8 feet, and the screen shattered. When he turned it on the display was broken as well, and then it could not be turned off (or back on, after the power turned off automatically) after that. Since the tablet is, as previously mentioned, such a huge favorite, I immediately started looking to see what it'd cost to replace. I was surprised and delighted to find that it's now possible to buy warranty policies on the tablet which will cover it for anywhere from a year to 2 years against all perils -- including being dropped from the 2nd floor of a playhouse -- for $20 or less. (The best such policy appears to be from Toys R Us, at the time of this review -- they also have the best current price on the tablet, which quite oddly isn't available new on Amazon Prime right now.) Given that the tablet is for the use of children 2, 5, and 11, this seems like a no-brainer, and we'll definitely be buying a warranty with the replacement tablet. Update 1 year after purchase, 9-16-2014: I'm downgrading my review from 4 stars to 3 due to durability concerns. Last month we had to have the tablet replaced a second time under warranty, this time because the touchscreen spontaneously became unresponsive. (A quick summary, since this review has gotten pretty long: original tablet purchased 8-2013; replaced under warranty 7 months later 3-2014 for charging issues; new tablet purchased 4-2014; this one lasted 5 months before needing warranty replacement for unresponsive touchscreen 9-2014.) While I appreciate Sakar's willingness to replace the tablet as necessary within the first year after purchase, it'd certainly be easier if it just held up better in the first place. Also, though they sent me a free UPS return label the first time I had to have the tablet replaced under warranty, the second time I had to return it at my own expense; that's a minor issue but I do feel that when the customer is already having the nuisance of replacing the device and reinstalling apps, it's a gesture of goodwill on the manufacturer's part to pay return shipping for the defective unit. Further durability update: the replacement sent 9-2014 started having trouble charging in early 2015 (same issues we had had with the previous tablet in 3-2014) and by June 2015 was completely unable to be charged. This time we were 2 months out of warranty period from the original purchase. Overall, I found it a disappointing experience. There was so much potential for this machine -- it had great aspirations, and some pretty good thought went into design -- and the kids really, really enjoyed it while it worked, and they were extremely disappointed to lose it. Unfortunately, 'while it worked' a crucial qualifier, because durability was nowhere near adequate, and I can't justify buying yet another replacement when there are so much more durable tablets on the market.