CyprusLiving

...that will work in Cyprus and enable music and music vids? Amazon Fire? iPads a bit too pricey for this requirement. Good or bad personal experiences?

After our experience of moving from android phones to windows phones (also our friends did the same), I would suggest going for a windows operated tablet. We opted for Nokia Lumia phone models 520s and 630.

Very easy to use, especially if already familiar with using a pc - even my hubby is now using his for internet browsing, music, apps etc than he ever did with his previous Samsung.

Lloyd good morning, oddly tried to buy from Amazon a Kindle Fire tablet for our Grandson, all sold out they said, new stocks expected after Christmas, off to SOS to see what Brian has..

I bought my son a Nexus 7 a couple of years ago, to replace an iPAD1, he plays games, uses skype, watches films. I`d be happy to replace it with a like for like in future, ultimately Lloyd, devices don't need a lot of computing resources to achieve those tasks, so you can expect satisfaction with entry level models. Then you, or the parents, just have to decide on what is an expectable level/method of usage, although that is outside of this thread context

I *think* that Windows tablets (Surface?) are even more expensive than iProducts

Stephanis have Windows operated tablets 8.1 and 10.1 screen size respectively at €129 (16Gb) and €199 (32Gb) advertised just now... up to €299 will give you a good system.

Thank you one and all. Will research this over the weekend. However, having given up Windows 8 years ago in favour of the Mac OS I have no desire ever to return. But I'll certainly check everything out. Thanks again.

I bought a Tesco HUDL 2 for 99 GBP. Quad core processor. Full Android system unlike Kindle with a few Tesco bits added. Great tablet for the money with good performance and graphics. Also bought an OTG cable (on the go) which will allow me to use a USB Memory Stick with it which is very useful (downloaded films etc from the PC). Unfortunately not enough power to run an external hard drive.
Extremely pleased with this tablet.Had a Kindle Fire once but the Android system was too cut down for what I wanted to do e.g. add a VPN.

Depends how young the kids are and what you want to spend,,,,,
Plenty of Android based tablets of various screen sizes from 30 quid on EBay which come with the basics like camera, wifi, etc run you tube , music and allow added memory via SD card so you can download various apps games movies . I have bought several for younger members of family anf friends the last few years as a starter tablet before they upgrade to a more expensive make......

Thanks again guys. Enough info to go on now

Update. I was very reluctant to go for ultra-cheap tablets, as on checking, there were significant drawbacks to each, which is why they're cheap and don't command a better price. My wife directed me towards the Amazon Fire tablet, but after reading the 1* reviews (always read those to find out what disgruntled users think) I was really put off. See: http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B00Y3TM6CO/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_one?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addOneStar&showViewpoints=0

In the end we decided to bite the bullet and buy better quality branded tablets. We went for the Samsung Galaxy 4. Bought in Public for quite a bit cheaper than we could buy from any Amazon re-seller. One seller even wanted £65 just to deliver one unit to Cyprus, so that wasn't going to happen!! The sales guy who assisted us in Public was superb in terms of product knowledge and general helpfulness/friendliness. It was a good buying experience...and we are satisfied that we have ended up with a quality product which has excellent Amazon reviews.

Lloyd may I ask what age the children are that you were buying the tablet for?
How much are the Samsung Galaxy 4's in Public and are they 7" or 10"?

Hi Dexter. 7.5 and 5.5 years. They're both very adept with their parents iPads, but are now developing an interest in music and music videos. Went for the 7". The main difference between the Galaxy 4 and Galaxy 3 is that the 4 has a much better screen and two cameras as opposed to one, not that the latter was a consideration.

The shelf price of the 4 in Public was €159 and the web price €155. But the assistant went through the motions of buying it on the internet for us, to get the price down to €155...but then got managerial appoval for €150 if we bought their 4 year insurance @ €29. Normally I would never ever buy store insurance...and indeed never have. But given we were buying these items for kids - with consequent risk of screens cracking - so we were impressed that should this happen in the first year of insurance, you get a brand new device. For the remaining 3 years the device is repaired promptly by Public, rather than being sent away to Samsung for assessment and repair.

We never wanted, or intended, to spend this much; but the Amazon reviews of much cheaper products really put me off. For example, if you buy the Amazon Fire, you have to pay a further £10 after purchase to rid the device of annying adverts. You also have to have an Amazon account - and a credt card - linked to each device!! Far too risky an enterprise to contemplate with children involved, howver sensible they may be.