Fuhu nabi Jr. 5" Capacitive Touch Android Tablet for Kids

I bought this for my two-and-a-half year old son. At first he didn't really like it, he was easily frustrated with some of the games that came pre-loaded on it. However, I sat down with him the next day, and encouraged him to keep playing, keep solving puzzles, counting, learning his alphabets, etc.. and within the day, he was hooked. Now he loves his Nabi Jr. and I love that I can have my iPad back. His favorite games are "Beck and Bo", which I downloaded free from amazon app store, and "ABC Puzzles HD" which I only paid $1.99 for (also off the amazon app store).

PROS:

-It's rechargeable, so you're not running through batteries like crazy.

-You don't have to buy cartridges to use it like you have to do with the innotab and leap pad.

-It already comes loaded with age appropriate games/puzzles. My son loves most of them (especially the puzzles).

-Comes in handy when my kid starts getting cranky on shopping trips and having a meal at a restaurant.

-Able to connect to wifi.

-Has a Mommy/Daddy mode that's password protected (you can also access a web browser and e-mail from this mode).

-You can have different user profiles on it, so when my youngest son gets older they could technically share a nabi, but I'll probably just get him a new one since the price is so competitive, $99 is not bad at all.

-Able to download Amazon App Store. If apps are not free, they're only about $.99 $3.99. Still better than $19 cartridge for a leap pad.

-Compatible with Netflix (however, I did have to go into my Netflix settings to configure the video quality. This way, my child's TV shows and movies run smoothe on his Nabi Jr. Not really a big deal, he doesn't have complaints, and rarely watches Netflix on it anyways).

-Has a rotating camera that takes pictures as well as videos. (Just FYI: There are two plastic films over the camera which you need to take off so pictures don't look so blurred).

-Has nice grippy bumpers that work! (He's dropped it on the pavement by accident getting out of the car, thrown it purposely [though I haven't let him do that again] when he got frustrated the first time, and it survived without a a scratch).

CONS:

-While it's rechargeable, the battery life doesn't very long. Maybe 4-5 hours of non stop playing and unfortunatley it takes just as long (if not longer) to recharge it back to full power.

-After a week our nabi jr. stopped charging. I contacted Nabi through Facebook, and we figured out that it was the wall adapter/charger that stopped working. I was then told that the company couldn't send me a replacement charger because they haven't officially released the nabi jr. yet. They encouraged me to return the whole thing back to Walmart (where I bought it) or wait until it is officially released, and then fill out the necessary paperwork to get a new one. Fortunately, I had an extra wall adapter from my HTC cell phone which solved this problem for me. I read a review by another parent complaining about the same problem, and it only validated my hesitation in going with that route. Why would I return the entire tablet (which already has a good amount of new apps downloaded on it) with the broken charger just so I can get a new charger that's only going to break in another week or so anyways? Fix this Nabi.

-It comes with a fake stylus. Lol this is just so silly to me, really Nabi? You couldn't just incude it? Oh but wait, not only do you not include it, it's not even available for sale yet! In fact, most of the accessories for nabi jr. have not gone on sale yet. I wanted to buy a screen protector, no such luck. However, I did keep on screen you're supposed to peal off on. I just snipped off the little tab in which you're supposed pull it off with, and smoothed out the little air bubble. Worked out well for me, I didn't have to spend extra money, and it was already perfectly placed on while in factory).

-Nabi accessories are on the expensive side.

-The Wings Challenges app does not work yet. It says, "Coming Soon". Nabi says its supposed work on the next update, but I have no idea when that's supposed to be. It's May 2, 2013 today, and Nabi has not even given an expected date.

-The Chores List is a great idea, but you have to buy Nabi coins to award your child for completed tasks. I guess it then goes towards apps he wants? Haven't quite figured that out yet because Nabi Jr. doesn't come with an instruction booklet or a "get to know your Nabi" type pamphlet.

-Oh and it has false advertisement. On the website it says something along the lines of learn ABC's with Dora the Explorer, put on a hat parade with Kai-lan, and count with Bubble Guppies. Yeah okay, where? Nickelodeon apps are few and far between.

-Lastly, I have an issue with the free apps which have ads. Unfortunatley if your kid taps on the ad, it'll bypass Mommy/Daddy mode where they are now able to buy/download/install this new app they just tapped on. Does that make sense? This is a chink in Nabi's parental controls. I've tried talking to them about it, to see if there was a solution, but they just gave me a bunch of runaround answers, and refused to admit that this was a loophole for game developers.

Despite all the cons, my kid loves his nabi, and I've learned to keep the wifi off so he doesn't accidentally start charging things to my debit card. I'm actually very impressed with how helpful it's been as a learning tool. I watch him play on it and I can see the gears in his brain working lol. Nabi also made 5 apps free for download to help with autistic children. I think this is wonderful. It may be a marketing tool, but I still think its great they've picked a route that's mutually beneficial.

I bought two for my 3 yr old and 5 year old. It has loads of apps for learning. Amazon has pleanty more games for free! I have control over the downloads and I was able to save SpongeBob and Mario Bros videos from Youtube. I use it when the kids are asleep. My older kids play with it more than with their own ipods. It is well built and I haven't had an issue so far. I only wished it had a manual rather than going on line. I love the look, it is kid friendly but also attractive to adults. For $99 it is worth it!!

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I purchase this tablet for my baby girl 3 weeks later the charger broke contacted this company and was told that there was not chargers avalible...I can not find one to fit anywhere! Please Naby people make it right like you claim in the website and produce some chargers.

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This is the quote from Nabi support on a getting a replacement charger cable: "currently, we haven't finalized our nabi Jr. charger replacement yet. We'd love to get you a replacement charger but in the meantime, we ask that you wait for a bit."

This is absolutely amateurish and unacceptable to not have replacement parts for a kids product. Especially when they use proprietary cables that can't be bought anywhere else.

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Just like the other customer, we have not been able to use our Nabi Jr for the past few weeks because of a broken charger. This is not a single incident. If you google "Nabi replacement charger", the first link will direct you to a web site for a Nabi 2 charger replacement web site. Since it is a widespread problem, they are replacing the charger for free. Not for the Nabi Jr! I searched Walmart, Target, and various online stores including Amazon.com and Best Buy (where I got our Nabi Jr), no one has it except Nabi store as I was told. I am willing to pay for it if I can find it on the Nabi store! No, not available either. What kind of "accessory monopoly policy" is that? They blame the problem on the manufacturer but what about quality control from Nabi?

I emailed Nabi customer service 3 times (no phone number), each time they responded with an automatic email response stating that they have extremely high email volume and referred me to "top 10 questions" in Q&A. Buyer be aware, just hope that you get to use yours more than a few weeks.