When going tablet shopping for kids, it’s tough to toe the line between too restrictive (i.e. endless complaining post-unwrapping) and too much freedom (i.e. I think you can imagine). The Tabeo e2, stocked at Toys’R’Us, looks like the perfect compromise this year – a quality tablet running on Android that comes with a host of parental controls that leave you in charge of what your kids can and can’t do.
The Tabeo e2 runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean on a 1.0 GHz dual-core processor and a quad-core GPU, so your kids’ quality gaming needs will be well satisfied. The 1024 x 768 resolution 8” display also helps with that. There’s 8 GB of internal storage, as well as a MicroSD card slot, good for another 64 GB. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity are also a go. The e2 has a 2 MP rear-facing camera, a 0.3 MP front-facing camera, and a battery life of about five hours. As far as specs go, that’s all in line with a respectable budget tablet for grown-ups, so it’s certainly not skimping on hardware.
That brings us to software, which is where you’ll find the parental controls. Making this tablet kid-safe is done in three ways. First, there’s the Tabeo App Store, instead of Google Play, which is curated to only contain kid-friendly apps. 30 apps will be pre-loaded onto the device, as well. Second, parents can restrict usage time, either for the tablet itself or for specific apps. Parents can either mark off certain times of the day when kids can’t use the tablet, or set overall time limits per day. Finally, parents can set their own restrictions, blocking certain apps or tweaking the web browser’s filter settings.
The Tabeo e2 is selling now from Toys’R’Us for $150, and also comes with a hard protective case.
