kids android

[der.hans]

Am 04. Jan, 2013 schwätzte Joseph Sinclair so:

moin moin,

> I'll address your requirements in a list:
> 1) Multiple Accounts
>  Any Android 4.2 or later has this already

OK. I thought it hit mainline Android, but I wasn't certain.

> 2) Parental Controls
>  a) Limit apps
>    Android and Google Play Store, just don't setup the kid account with any cards, and use gift cards to fund the few apps you want him to have

In my case, he should have no ability to buy anything. He also doesn't
need any Internet access unless there's parental participation. I could
see allowing some Internet stuff, e.g. videos from a limited selection.
Mostly his Internet use has been from adѕ in games :(. Don't need those
for him either.

I did find a couple of parental apps that look promising.

Currently testing Kids Place. It explains why it needs the permissions it
requests. I don't like the licensing, but I can deal with it for now.

Most of the parental control apps were mostly interested in spying on the
kids. Totally not what I need. I mostly just need to limit him to certain
apps and would like to be able to add time limits. Kids Place has both of
those features.

Would still like a FLOSS licensed program.

Hmm, he needs to buy the apps for his account? If you buy an app for a
device is it limited to use by the account that bought it? If I want
multiple accounts on a device to use something, I have to install it once
for each account?

>    Add a PIN on the "Wallet" usage and don't tell him the PIN
>  b) time limits
>    This, currently, requires a third-party app.
>  c) time limit per app
>    Same as (2)(b)

I think Kids Place doesn't have time limit per app, so I just left some of
the games and video players out.

> 3) No Online account
>  You're out of luck here with Android; Android generally requires a google account to buy apps, and for a bunch of other features.  It's *possible* to use without an account, but not terribly useful.

Well, no online account required for the parental controls. I don't need
nor want a big brother app. I certainly don't want some other company
gathering lots of data.

I want Internet access from the adult account :). Heck, you know I want
root on the box and I want to be able to ssh in!!! ;-)

> 4) Not fail if several days without internet
>  If it's turned off, it won't care.  If it's turned on, just disable background sync and sync manually once in a while, Android will be fine in that mode.  You can disable background sync on the "kid" account but leave it enabled on the "adult" account if you like (but then you should connect it to WiFi every couple days, just to limit the 10-minute-lockup-to-sync issue).

Yeah, one of the reasons I don't like cloud, especially in a dry, clear
sky environment like we have in much of rural Arizona :).

> 5) bumpers for safety and resilience
>  Either built in, or you can add a high-strength case option to any Android tablet; such as a Nexus 10 or Nexus 7.  The advantage of adding a case is that you can choose a Nexus device for better value and *much* earlier upgrades.

I was leaning towards a Nexus 7 for me anyway, maybe I'll start there and
see if I can get it setup like I want.

> 6) gorilla glass (or similar)
>  Many tablets have this, or something similar.  The current Nexus tablets have hardened glass fronts.

Ah, cool.

> 7) Android (recent preferred)
>  Not Amazon (forked 2.x).  Otherwise most decent tablets meet this requirement.

Yeah, wasn't considering that anyway.

> Based on the above I'd actually get a Nexus 7 or Nexus 10 (depending on which size you want, and how much you're willing to spend).
> I'd add a high quality bumper case (these are just examples from a quick search) like this: http://compare.ebay.com/like/170942210851?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar or this: http://compare.ebay.com/like/400370705719?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

Oi, $50.00 for the case and only the 32GB Nexus 7 available means double
the price of the kids Android devices. Yup, his personal tablet can wait
for some prices to drop :).

> I'd also add a film-type screen protector overlay, just to have a little scratch protection on the screen in case the little guy decides that the sound of keys clattering on glass might be funny.

Good idea. I do that for all our phones, but have only gotten a film on
half the tablets. I should make that SOP for a few more years :).

> With those, I'd then enable "my" account, and have my apps, settings, etc...
> I'd also enable the "Kid" account, with far fewer apps, a restricted Google account, $5 Google Play gift card for apps (mostly used on the few purchased apps), Lookout for Android, and a good Parental Controls app (with a separate and very hard password).

Hadn't heard of lookout. Interesting, I'll consider it. As to the hard
password, that's not yet necessary :).

> That's it; meets nearly all of your requirements (except the made-here, which I suspect is nearly impossible at this point, and no-account-needed, as described in item (3) ), and it's a nice tablet at a good price point.

I didn't say made here, I said not direct import from overseas. I know most
of the hardware will unfortunately be made elsewhere. I want a US company
to go to should there be a problem.

> I hope that helps.

It was quite helpful!

ciao,

der.hans

>
> On 01/03/2013 11:03 PM, der.hans wrote:
>> moin moin,
>>
>> trying to get an Android tablet for my son. I would like something
>> purchased here rather than as a direct import from whereever.
>>
>> I want multiple accounts and parental controls. The main reason for the
>> controls at this point is to limit which apps he can get to and put time
>> limits on the use of his account. I'd also like to have time limits per
>> app, but that's a wishlist item.
>>
>> I definitely want parental controls that do not require an online account.
>> I want as little 3rd party tracking of him and his tablet as possible. I
>> also want something that's not going to bork up because it goes many days
>> without an internet connection.
>>
>> If it weren't for me wanting to use it I'd just go without wifi and want
>> a USB connection for package updates :).
>>
>> I found a bunch at toysrus that look OK, but the one I got immediately
>> wants me to create an account for parental controls :(. It looks like they
>> might all require that :(.
>>
>> http://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=10869454
>>
>> Has anyone found a parental controls app that doesn't require online
>> tracking? Preferably it would be FLOSS licensed.
>>
>> In the end I really just need a tablet with bumpers, multiple accounts and
>> parental controls. I would like gorilla glass as well, but will do my best
>> to just keep him from trying to put anything through the screen :).
>>
>> I also want something with a recent version of android and would prefer
>> something that's probably going to have updated versions.
>>
>> I'll probably go with Cyanogenmod, Plasma or Ubuntu for my next tablet,
>> but for the child device I'd prefer something with a support chain. I also
>> want to be able to use the Google market to get adult apps like my speed
>> reader and German news site apps.
>>
>> I keep watching for the ZaTab to be available again :).
>>
>> http://zareason.com/shop/zatab.html
>>
>> ciao,
>>
>> der.hans
>
>

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