Australian Dollars
Pebble Gear Disney Tablet review: Finally a kids tablet that ticks all the right boxes
Pebble Gear has launched its new Disney themed range of tablets in Australia, alongside the Big W Toy Mania sale.
The tablet aims to keep the little ones entertained for hours while offering peace of mind for parents and guardians with robust content restrictions and controls.
I’ve taken the tablet for a test drive and here’s what I found.
How do I get it and what will it cost?
The Pebble Gear Disney themed tablets are available now from Big W for $159 during the Toy Mania sale. After the sale, they will retail for $189.
There are three Disney themes; Cars, Toy Story and Frozen.
You can also get screen protectors and carry bags for the tablet, and these are discounted by 20 per cent during the Big W Toy Mania sale.
Who is it good for?
While it’s quite common that Apple’s iPads are the ‘go to’ option for most kids, they are also an expensive option and also have additional cost involved when downloading games, in-app purchases on most kids games and adverts that might not be suitable for children.
This is where the Pebble Gear tablet excels. There are currently over 500 apps available to download that are kid-friendly with no in-app purchases and no advertisements. Unlike the iPad version of games, they also require no Wi-Fi connectivity to play.
There are lots of popular Disney games available for download through ‘GameStore Junior’ and other popular games such as Pac-Man Rally, Cut The Rope, and one of my personal faves - Granny Apple.
The sheer number of included apps is impressive and will provide plenty of entertainment time for the kids. You can also set screen time limits using the parental controls - which are much more straightforward than other children-orientated tablets like the LeapFrog LeapPad (also more cost-effective).
There are also a lot of educational games and e-books available as well.
But it’s worth noting that access to all the apps is only free for the first 12 months. After this, you’ll need to pay a subscription to continue to play them. While there is currently no information on the Australian pricing, a 12 month subscription in Europe costs €39,99 (around $60 AU).
Design
The Pebble Gear comes with a protective case around the 7-inch tablet - which is a nice inclusion (when usually these are an additional cost). I had the Toy Story themed tablet and the bright yellow case was a hit with the kids.
You can also purchase a themed screen protector and carry bag which will help ‘child-proof’ the tablet that little bit extra.
The power button and volume rocker are tucked away on the side of the device, and are very easy for little fingers to access, and operate. There is also a headphone jack so that you can use wired headphones.
The screen is very bright and responsive to touch, and there were no issues with playing the games - and it was more sensitive to touch than the LeapPad which tends to have latency issues, which can be frustrating for the little ones who are quite impatient.
It’s also very lightweight, which helps with holding the tablet for a long time.
The day-to-day
I’ve used the parental controls to set up different screen and playtimes during the week versus the weekend, and it was very simple to do this on the initial first load of the tablet.
With the two hours of play on the weekend, my little one was able to get two full days of battery from the tablet.
Standout feature
The Pebble Gear tablets feature no advertisements or in-app purchases to protect against unwanted content and charges. Games can also be played without Wi-Fi access.
What’s to like?
- Great, bright screen
- Over 500 apps included
- No ads, in-app purchases
- Robust parental controls
- Included tablet case
- Excellent battery life
What’s not to like?
- Free app store access for only 12 months
What we think
This is the best safe and controlled environment for kids that I have come across. The Pebble Gear Disney themed tablet is a fantastic option if you’re in the market for a tablet for kids. For the price and the amount of content you can access, it ticks all the right boxes.
It has a two-year warranty, fantastic screen and battery life and feels well-built. There’s also the included case and additional accessories that you can purchase to keep the tablet protected.
While access to the included apps is only free for 12 months, you’d be paying well above that when looking at other options such as iPad and LeapPad - not to mention in-app purchases and display advertisements within apps on iPad versions of games.
Laser (Australian distributor of Pebble Gear) provided this publisher with a loan device for testing purposes. This did not affect our views on the device, and our review remains independent of the manufacturer.