Apple iPad wi-fi, $549 (16GB)
SPECS ½-inch thin profile, 1.5 pounds, 9.7-inch screen. features A tablet-style computer can’t handle multi-tasking multiple programs, so it will never be your family’s main computer, but it is brilliant for entertainment on the road or for quickly accessing the Internet via Wi-Fi at home. “It’s really just a fun gadget,” says Leticia Barr, a family technology expert and safety advisor and the founder of TechSavvyMama.com. “But if you reserve it for, say, reading, it can take on an educational aspect.” Upgrade to 3G service (from $649, plus monthly plan from $15) for Internet access when Wi-Fi isn’t available. family feedback “This is more fun for our five-year-old than for our toddler but most of all for us. It’s great for road trips, but it needs a toddler setting, because Lucy always accidentally exits the screen. We enjoy it most for looking at photos.”
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