You need a wifi connection in order to buy/download content over the Fire. The Apple article raising fears about a child potentially downloading inappropriate movies during a car trip seems near impossible (does Apple really need to resort to such fear mongering?). Whether I decided to give a child a Fire, an Ipad, or any other tablet...I would not have a credit card on file for them to automatically buy and download content. The Apple article mentions that the only native blocker on the ipad is to disable Safari or other browsers. That means you either have to supervise the child while surfing the net...or find a 3rd party app for blocking innapropriate content.
No more dangerous then having your iTunes account on an ipad: my friend's 2 year old would just as easily buy an app through Amazon 1-click as she would a stored iTunes account (that requires just a couple more confirm buttons). If this was a tablet that I was buying for a child, I would never leave any account on it with a stored credit card. I would only transfer files that I've bought through my own account on my own computer.
You say it like it can't happen on any tablet. It can! Even the great iPad to which I love, it can happen. The stuff is out there. The tablet has a browser.
On the iPad, at least you can turn on restrictions for stuff likes iTunes, installing apps, deleting apps, and require password for purchases (choices are immediately and 15 minutes).
It's obvious you know nothing about the iPad. If you are looking at pictures in an app called Flickr, use the search word princess or queen. Not going to be good results. When you are in Google, same thing can happen. It is just as easy to get to porn by accident on an iPad as any other tablet. The solution? Parental supervision! There are tons of EXPLICIT labeled podcasts and songs in the iTunes directories. We have the iPad, HP Touchpad and Nook Color (w/Android), all three of them can surf on purpose or accidentally to porn. You can block purchases on the HP Touchpad or Androids. Just remove your credit card information from the Google Checkout. Very simple.
I have an iPad. My wife has an iPad2. We also have a preschooler learning to read and write. Obviously you don't understand what I'm saying.
I don't use (nor have) the Flickr app but iOS does apparently allow for parental control ratings on apps. I've seen some apps apps when I download or update them on the device cause iOS to put up a warnings saying that there could be explicit/age restricted content... If the Flickr app isn't rated properly, then it's Yahoo's fault (owner of Flickr).
It's not just Flickr/yahoo...so many apps on iTunes are from small 3rd party developers. I highly doubt all of them are trying to rate their apps. But the main problem I would think with content is the internet. It's very easy to see some odd porn sites listed when googling a given banal or science term.
At a party last weekend I met some incredible parents who gave their kids iPads without any (or very little) restrictions. It's truly scary to watch those kids play with their new iBabysitter. One 3rd grader proudly told us that she found her mom's Apple password and has been using it to purchase apps on iTunes. Another 4th grader was playing an M-rated violent game bought for him by his dad, who was showing off some porn videos to the men huddled around his Galaxy S2. No amount of app rating can help parents like those. What they need instead is someone to whack them on the head with a big 2x4!
Why Android tablets failed: A postmortem | TechRepublic Are Android tablets that cost more than $199 doomed? | ZDNet
Some lucky Canadians have received the latest trial version of the iPad While it still lacks camera and phone, they seem to have gotten rid of the terrible DRM: News Story
Heh. The local dealer was offering a "free" iPad 2 when we bought our Prius v last month. When I asked for their bottom line price (which turned out not to be their bottom line price, surprise surprise) I was offered "x" dollars, or, if I didn't want the "free" iPad, "x - $500" dollars. The "free iPad was only going to cost me $1 over retail. What a deal!
iPads Are Outselling Desktop PCs, And Are Now Equal To 17% Of The PC Market - Business Insider If those cited IDC figures are right, that's crazy!
