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Review: ClickN Kids Tablet Would be an Okay Tablet If Not for the Adverts

There’s an  clickn kids tablet 1ongoing debate over just how much protecting  kids need these days. Not everyone agrees on the degree needed, but parents want to more carefully control what their child does with gadgets might want to consider the ClickN Kids tablet.

This is a fairly basic Android tablet that offers a full Android experience (including Google Play) as well as a more locked down and protected mode for kids. The kid’s mode restricts users to only accessing chosen apps, and they cannot alter any settings or exit the kid’s mode without a password.

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The ClickN Kids tablet is my first experience with the locked down type of experience of  a kid’s tablet, and since I am not a parent I might not catch all of the details that a parent might want to know. But after having read the 2 other reviews for this tablet (both written by parents) I have concluded that my perspective will add useful details that were missed.

Other Reviews

 Hardware

image005[1]At first glance the ClickN Kids tablet is a run of the mill Android tablet with a shiny black front and a shiny black rear. There are 2 speakers on the back, and the single camera is centered above the screen.

The ports, card slot, and buttons are all on the bottom edge. There are no volume buttons, but there are buttons for power and home. Its one most visible feature is the rubber edge protector, which is available in a variety of colors and can be removed.  This tablet is equipped with a 7″ LCD screen with a resolution of 480 x 800.

It runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, which is supported by a Mali-400 graphics chip. It has 1GB of RAM, 5.1GB of storage, a microSD card slot and a 2MP camera. In general the hardware is okay, but I have noticed a few quirks that might be present issues. The first is that this tablet doesn’t use a standard microUSB power supply; instead it is one of the rare exceptions that use a custom power supply. Finding a replacement could be an issue.

clickn kids tablet 2

Also, the USB port on the ClickN Kids tablet is the less common microUSB, not the standard miniUSB; again, finding a replacement cable could be an issue. And then there are the power and home buttons. I found myself frequently frustrated with these buttons; it’s difficult to tell them apart so I kept pressing the home button when I was trying to turn the tablet on and off.

It’s not impossible that a child might press the wrong button and then think the tablet is broken or the battery is dead, which at the very could be annoying (not to mention boring if the kid has no other activity to them busy). This is a concern, I think.

Screen

The screen resolution might be low but the general quality of the screen is better than most of what I’ve seen in this price range. This tablet has a wide viewing angle where the color quality is good enough that you can catch nearly all of the details in a movie. With luck (and a fair amount of cooperation) it should be possible for 2 kids to share this one tablet while watching a movie. You might want to spring for a double set of headphones, though.

Battery Life

I have been using this tablet for just over a week and I have developed a serious concern about the battery life. This tablet tends to run down after only a couple days on standby. That is not a sign of a good quality battery or hardware.. I would estimate that the actual run time is under the 5 hours of battery life that the manufacturer claims.

Camera

It’s not very good, but then again most tablets in this price range have marginal cameras at best. According to metadata on the test photos I took, the camera resolution is 1200 x 1600, or 2MP. But based on the visual appearance of the images I would rate the resolution as being a lot lower – VGA.

Audio & Video

It’s a little surprising how good tablets have gotten in the past few years. The ClickN Kids tablet was more than capable of reading the mp4 file I loaded, even though the resolution was 1080p. It couldn’t display the video at full resolution, of course, but it did show the video at full screen. The audio quality was adequate, considering the price of this tablet, but it was still less than clear in a few places.

Performance

I played a number of games on this tablet, browsed the web, and ran a benchmark test (15172, Antutu). This is a pretty zippy tablet. It is as fast as any dual-core tablet in its price range, and it in fact got a benchmark test result nearly as good as the Hisense Sero 7 Pro, a quad-core tablet that sells for $129.

Based on a side by side comparison of the Sero 7 Pro and the ClickN Kids tablet, I would say that the only way to tell the difference is that the Sero 7 Pro is built with higher quality components.

Apps & Kids Place

Screenshot ClickN Kids Tablet 1The ClickNKids tablet is a full Android tablet with Google Play, and that means you can download any app, ebook, or media purchased there. It ships with quite a few games, some of which are good and many of which are infected with adverts. While this tablet is pitched as a kid’s tablet, that is not quite true.

It does use Kids Place for parental controls, yes, which is accessible from the big blue button on the home screen. You can easily avoid kids being able to access the internet, download apps, and make purchases, and you can keep the tablet locked into the kid’s mode by securing it with a 4 digit PIN.

But I would also point out that the Kids Place app used on this tablet can be downloaded from Google Play. You should be able to turn any Android tablet into an equally functional kid’s tablet simply by installing that app. I could be wrong, but if I were a parent I would at least try to convert an existing tablet before buying a new one. You can see all of the apps available on this tablet in the screenshots below:

Looney Tunes Phonics App

The ClickNKids tablet also ships with a literay app. This is outside my experience, so here is how Tech Age Kids described it:

The app is a comprehensive phonics program which teaches kids their letter sounds, tricky words, spelling and lots more. Kids are rewarded with Looney Tunes video content. It seems that 5 year olds will do quite a lot to see a funny clip of Sylvester and Tweety Pie!

This is a very comprehensive phonics course with many hours of material. It shouldn’t be confused with simple apps that just teach a small aspect of phonics.

Looney Tunes Phones is aimed at children in PreK-3 and is very comprehensive. It would cost $29.95 for a year’s subscription or $49.95 for a lifetime subscription so this is a significant value add if your child is at the right educational stage to use it.

You’ll get the best value if your child is just starting to read but there are 100 lessons and there was plenty for my 5 year old who is already reading fairly well.

Verdict

When it comes to the basic hardware this is a decent tablet with specs and performance that are better than what you would expect in a sub-$100 tablet. Performance and general responsiveness were good, and so was the construction quality. But I was disappointed in the battery life; I was unable to use the tablet for more than a few hours over a couple days without having to recharge the tablet.

Also, the 7 inch screen has a resolution of only 800 x 480; many tablets in this price range have a screen resolution of 1024 x 600 or higher. And I am concerned about the power supply and USB ports; they use less common plugs and this could be a problem if the power supply or USB cable are lost.

And I was also put off by the advertisements that came bundled into a number of games. The adverts included nag screens asking me to post reviews as well as pitching other apps. And yes, the adverts showed up on the kid’s walled garden.

And finally, I’m not sure what makes this a kid’s tablet other than the walled garden app and the phonics app. Since you can get the former in Google Play, you need to ask whether you need the latter. If you don’t need the phonics app I would suggest trying to add a kid’s mode to a tablet you already own. That could prove cheaper than buying a whole new tablet.

Where to get it

  • Walmart

Specs

  • 7″ (800 x 480) Screen
  • 1.5GHz dual-core CPU
  • Mali-400 MP GPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
  • 2MP webcam
  • 8GB Flash storage (5.1GB accessible)
  • microSD card slot
  • 2 rear speakers
  • microphone

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Comments


Denise November 24, 2013 um 6:13 pm

I often read that tablets like these run out of battery life after an hour or two that’s why if I ever wanted to buy one I’ll choose Ipad for durability and Samsung for good apps.


David Haywood Young November 24, 2013 um 7:33 pm

Just wondering–have you looked at "Kids Free Time," available on the Kindle Fire? It’s a great little walled garden app. Not that I particularly wanted to censor my daughter’s internet access other than ruling out purchases, but we got the Kindle for her last Christmas when she was three and the interface was very easy for her to figure out.

'Course I’m not sure that matters much anymore–she got tired of the videos available and we had to make Netflix available from within the app. So…anyway, I really like KFT as a way to make a starter tablet for the little ones.

I think it requires an Amazon Prime subscription, or it’s cheaper with one, or something. Been a while since I looked at that.

-D

Nate Hoffelder November 24, 2013 um 7:41 pm

I’m not really that familiar with it, no. I need to look.

TBH I never planned to review kid’s tablets for their own sake. This one just happened to come up in a search and since the specs didn’t look to bad I ordered it on impulse.


Kacee December 7, 2013 um 3:43 pm

By far the most helpful review!! Thank you.


DJuana Kraft June 16, 2014 um 3:12 pm

best review I’ve seen thank you… yes I must agree the charging issue is going to be an issue it has already been an issue and I haven’t even had my past 60 days. but as a parent is great because I can truly monitor what the child is playing what he’s not playing and keep him out of certain areas which makes life so much easier great for that. I would definitely make this purchase again and in the future will be making this purchase also. thanks for allowing me to share


Vanessa June 16, 2014 um 5:40 pm

I agree on the part where finding a replacement for the power supply would be an issue. I hadn’t had any other problems with it. I did notice the annoying fact that you do get confused with the home and the power buttons though. My son has one of these and he lost his charger and I can not find where to purchase it. Walmart says they don’t carry it. Does anyone know where I may be able to find a replacement charger for this tablet. I would really appreciate it..Thanks.

Nate Hoffelder June 16, 2014 um 5:44 pm

Radio Shack has a one sized fits most system which will probably work for you. You’ll need to bring the tablet in to the store and find a tip which fits, and then buy a charger and tip separately.

Vanessa June 16, 2014 um 6:24 pm

Thanks for your help, i will try that


Thomas July 22, 2014 um 11:28 pm

Any ideas on how to remove the pre-installed apps? I put in a 32 gb SD card, but the preinstalled Walmart and other apps are takin up valuable space on the 1 gb internal card.

Nate Hoffelder July 22, 2014 um 11:41 pm

My first suggestion would be to perform a factory reset, but that might also wipe the content you want to keep.

You could go into the settings menu and delete the apps one at a time, but I would try an app like Clean Master (you can find it in Google Play). This app will help you mass-delete unwanted apps. I’ve used it once and it helped free up space.

But if you run this app, be very careful. It can also delete core Android OS components, which would seriously screw up your tablet.

Nate Hoffelder July 22, 2014 um 11:46 pm

One other suggestion:

I don’t have the ClickN tablet so I don’t know if this is possible, but you might want to go into the settings menu and see if you can move apps to the SD card. This could free up space.


Lorna Inge September 1, 2014 um 1:40 pm

I have a disabled vet who after a stroke developed aphasia and can no longer speak. He’s not computer literate and I’ve been looking at kids tablets to teach him to communicate via email. Would this work for him?

Nate Hoffelder September 2, 2014 um 4:35 pm

I don’t know, sorry.


Thomas Mitchell September 2, 2014 um 5:44 pm

Yes, this would probably work for him. But the primary benefits of a "kids" tablet is disabling features. I would recommend going with a more normal tablet – email will be just as accessible.

Nate Hoffelder September 2, 2014 um 11:50 pm

Thank you.


joan kendall September 15, 2014 um 12:41 pm

I have this tablet for my grandson and he messed up the screen. Is there any way to replace the screen?


Kamran October 2, 2014 um 3:49 am

Censor/screen of my kids clicknkid tablet 7" got broken. I were able to find the censor of so many tablet but not a single one who can be fitted into this tablet.
Any idea what can i do?

Nate Hoffelder October 2, 2014 um 6:57 am

The repair costs are higher than the replacement costs.

It’s cheaper to buy a new tablet than to get the screen fixed.


danielle November 10, 2014 um 10:54 am

Terrible customer service, tablet broke a month after I bought it. And they make things diffucult for you to send back and just difficult to work with


Wendy November 10, 2014 um 6:08 pm

I am looking at buying 3 of these ClickN Tablets for each of my kids. Would anyone buy 3 or their kids. I like everything just want to know about how it ill hold up. Kids ages are 7,5 and 2. Help

Nate Hoffelder November 10, 2014 um 7:06 pm

Two year old? probably not. but it should survive the older two.

jclark December 20, 2014 um 9:48 pm

Can you download the net flix app on this and watch movies?

Nate Hoffelder December 21, 2014 um 1:59 pm

You should be able to install it, but I can’t say for sure that you’ll be able to use it. There are mixed reports that say the Netflix app doesn’t run on all Android devices.

Drew November 10, 2014 um 7:19 pm

I have two. One For My 4 Year Old and One For My 3 Year old. They were ages 2 and 3 when purchased for Xmas almost one year ago. Holding up well to drops and spills etc. You will. Eed a micro SD card for memory but those are cheap to buy on Amazon etc.

Nate Hoffelder November 10, 2014 um 7:41 pm

Now that is a sturdy tablet.

amber November 16, 2014 um 2:12 pm

No!! I bought one for all three of my kids for Christmas last year two of them won’t connect to internet at all I tried everything when you contact the warehouse they make it impossible to do anything we haven’t even had them a full year and we are already buying new ones they are a waste of money

jes March 25, 2015 um 9:47 am

I agree they make it impossible my daughters broke after 2 months and all I ve gotten is a machine and a run around everyone points you somewhere else.IF you can even get anyone.Any advice ?


katie November 28, 2014 um 10:54 am

The charger for this broke and it is VERY difficult to find a replacement. I went to Radio Shack with tablet in hand, but they told me they didn’t have anything with the right charge, or volts. My son hasn’t been able to play it for several months and he only got it last Christmas! Any suggestions would be greatly aprreciated.
Happy Holidays

Nate Hoffelder November 28, 2014 um 2:23 pm

Can you post a photo of the charger’s plug? What’s the voltage?

I’m surprised that RS couldn’t find a replacement; they have a universal kit which should have worked for you.

mike April 28, 2015 um 9:54 pm

I bought one n ebay. 5.84 its underclickkids tablet plus isee it 38.00 I aid 49.99 oh well


williams January 14, 2015 um 10:59 am

I would like to know if anyone has a problem with the app store were it comes up as connection area please try again I try n try n it don’t work please help me out


Cheryl April 16, 2015 um 7:48 pm

I bought this tablet for my son at Christmas and I wouldn’t recommended not even to my enemies , at first the charger lasted for an hour after 4 months he couldn’t play it if it’s not attached to the charger. We take it of the charger at it only last 5 mins . It’s not expensive but it’s the worse piece of technology I ever bought . I would go with apple and never buy this brand again


Shelly May 23, 2015 um 2:26 pm

DO NOT BUY THIS TABLET!!!

We’ve owned 3 of these. The first one was stepped on and was cracked so we replaced it because that was on us. The replacement tablet constantly shut down on my child while playing it. Not much help from customer service was given and we just learned how to deal with the frustrations of it – and rarely play with it.

The second one started having problems charging shortly after we had it a year. The plug would just not make a solid contact when plugged in to keep the power running to the tablet. So we would plug it in and the red light would go on like it was charging and then it would go off. We’d touch the cord and it would go back on then go off. So frustrating so my child just quite playing it because it wouldn’t charge up enough to really enjoy it. We put the tablet away in a box on a table out of the sun in an air conditioned home and today we looked in the box and the thing had EXPLODED! The battery had exploded inside causing the tablet to open up and the screen to crack! If that would’ve happened in my child’s hand it could’ve seriously harmed them!!!

I’m not expecting much help from customer service for this issue. But for safety sake please do not buy this product for your child!!!


jes May 23, 2015 um 9:06 pm

A month and a half.thats how long my daughters lasted.she didnt drop it or spill anything.it just quit working.customer service was a joke.i left seven voice mails with no responce.then i tried email over a dozen with no solution. Thank goodness i buy insurance.other wise i would still be trying to get a replacement.never in my life have i met a worse customer service.i cant tell you how many times i cried from frustration.i even sent the original receipt and was told not enough information. How can that be.i dont expect them to be in business long the way they treat consumers.


Nyomee June 5, 2015 um 6:16 pm

How do you transfers apps on to the SD card?

Nate Hoffelder June 5, 2015 um 6:43 pm

You can transfer the apps from the app submenu in the settings menu. It has to be done one app at a time.


mellie November 29, 2015 um 12:23 pm

This tablet sucks. If you see one, burn it. horrible battery life. I could leave it on the charger overnight and it still wouldnt be fully charged the next morning. battery drains like crazy even if youre just using one app. touch screen is slow to respond. Bloated with pre-installed apps. Waiting for the day my son breaks it so that I have an excuse to get the galaxy tab. Just get a samsung, ipad, or kindle.


bea henry December 5, 2015 um 4:26 pm

absolutely no..do not buy this product..I bought 2 for my handicapped daughter and she picked it up right away..one charging and one playing as they don’t hold a charge very long for us…plus now they won’t charge at all…and I had to buy a replacement cord off eBay that works since one of the original ones never worked..and now neither tablet works..I am ordering a battery replacement off eBay for 8.00 and going to see how that works out since I can’t afford new one for her…so no, no , no…and almost non-existent help available.


Tamie Crompton February 24, 2016 um 10:46 pm

When no wifi is available, will this tablet work to play games that dont require wifi? If so, how? I get a "sorry no wifi," and cant get out of that screen to play games.
Thanks!

Nate Hoffelder February 24, 2016 um 11:03 pm

Are you stuck in the registration screens?

I don’t think you can get out of that without registering, and that requires Wifi.


Marta June 1, 2016 um 2:02 pm

I bought this tablet for my daughter and blocked with a pin not remember, someone could help me?


Beth June 27, 2016 um 1:39 pm

Can anybody tell me how to do a hard reset on this tablet. I don’t know the pin number for it and would like to just wipe it and start new

Nate Hoffelder June 27, 2016 um 2:56 pm

Can you look at the images in this manual and tell me if it’s your tablet?

It says there is a reset hole next to the power button. Does your tablet have that hole?


Lisio January 15, 2017 um 8:06 am

My son’s tab7 gives an error "OS has stopped" I can’t do anything to sort it out as can’t even gives option to reset the tab.

Please advice how should I get this tab working.

Thanks
Lisio

Nate Hoffelder January 15, 2017 um 8:40 am

What I would do in this situation is press and hold the power button. This makes the tablet shut down so you can restart it.

I do not have a long term solution, however.


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