Nabi 2 tablet

[stephenst4470]

Any interest in this tablet on here? I really haven't seen a lot of forum discussion on it. I picked one up for my 10 year old Friday and seems like the devs would be playing with it. It actually has the same specs as the Nexus 7 except it has a micro SD slot and has a mini HDMI port. The screen resolution is a little less than the Nexus 7 (1024*600).and there is no gps. It has a 1.3 ghz tegra 3 though. The annoying thing is no Google apps. I managed to get the Google Services Framework loaded and some Google apps (Youtube, maps, Google+, Google voice) working but not the Play store yet. I managed to sideload Dead Trigger from my Prime it and it plays pretty much as smoothly as my Prime. The Amazon App Store works fine but it is really annoying not having the Play store, it would be nice to get it working. Side loading has worked fine with everything so far though, i just have to buy it on my Prime and then move it to the Nabi, which so far works ok.

 

[sheureka]

I think I'm getting one for my granddaughter for her 6th birthday next month. Any other caveats?

 

[mikedt]

I see this off-brand Chinese Froyo 2.2 non-Google device is the same price as the Nexus 7. It's a no contest in my book, get the Nexus. At $199 the Nabi 2 is way overpriced for what you're actually getting. Just about all tablets, even the cheap Chinese ones, are coming with ICS 4.0 now.

 

[davescott]

Yes mikedt is correct about it being the same price as a Nexus 7. But the Nabi 2 does have ICS 4.0.4 and a nice selection of kid friendly apps. When in kid mode, they can go on the web to just certain sites. You can switch to parent mode, and can use like a regular tablet. After doing some research and reading reviews, it looked like the Nabi 2 was much better than the $150 kid-tablets out there, and worth the extra $50. I'm pretty sure it's not waterproof, but it can take getting bounced around a bit.
The main drawbacks that I see, so far is there is only 1 camera (front facing) and no Google Play store. But I feel safe that I can hand it to my 8-year old and let her go to town without worrying where she might land... and she loves it. She even likes doing the educational apps. I learned how to sideload Temple Run onto it. Maybe I'll try more later.

 

[davescott]

You can download the Amazon App store straight from Amazon's website when in Parent Mode.

 

[davescott]

On Nabi's website, they cite some differences of opinion with Google in what should be available on a store for a kid-tablet, so that's why GooglePlay isn't available. I don't know. I guess there are drawbacks and advantages to each approach.

 

[mikedt]

On Nabi's website, they cite some differences of opinion with Google in what should be available on a store for a kid-tablet, so that's why GooglePlay isn't available. I don't know. I guess there are drawbacks and advantages to each approach.

Having read more about the Nabi, I get the impression that it's a rather schizophrenic device. It's got a "Nabi" mode for the kids, that's locked into the Nabi walled-garden. And a "Mom & Pop" mode, where it's basically a Googleless ICS 4.0 tablet, that uses the Amazon app store. Nabi doesn't have any say what's on Google Play, maybe that's where the difference of opinion lies.

 

[upd103]

I'm thinking about picking up two of these for my girls for Christmas this year. I was wondering if it was possible to put Skype on these tablets while still in the "kid" mode. I completely understand the limits of the Google play store and no rear camera, but I work in Afghanistan, and I thought it would be cool for the girls to have an educational based tablet just for them that they can still call me on when they want to see me.

I'm not looking for a ton of Google Play games and such. They have a Nintendo DS for that. I do like having their chores on the tablet and the idea of Treasure Box for rewards etc.

Thanks,
David

 

[mikedt]

Don't think you can do that. Have regular Android apps in Nabi mode. I get the impression that it's safe walled-garden Nabi stuff only

 

[upd103]

OK. Thanks.

 

[Mr. Orange 645]

I just bought the Nabi last night for $129 on a black Friday deal great little tablet. Already have it roped and have Google Play Store installed. And from the the Mommy Mode you CAN choose what apps show up on the kid mode, including Skype. Just FYI.

 

[z0mb13m4n]

Where did you find instructions for rooting the Nabi 2? I also got it on the Black Friday deal for my daughter and would like to get it all setup for her before Xmas so as soon as she opens it, its ready to go.

 

[beaner217]

Does anyone know if you can install Nabi mode alongside ICS 4.0 on any other tablets??

 

[chilton]

I bought a nabi 2 for my 4 year old, and she loves it. I have set up google voice search for her, however she can't yet read, so it really doesn't help her get the answers she is looking for. Anyone know of a way to turn on/download voice search with the knowledge graph for a vocal response?

 

[samizdat]

Don't think you can do that. Have regular Android apps in Nabi mode. I get the impression that it's safe walled-garden Nabi stuff only

This isn't true at all. You can use any android apps in Nabi mode. Nabi mode isn't anything special, think of it as a user profile that's only for the kids. In mommy/daddy mode you can download apps and choose which ones appear in the kid/nabi mode. You can use Skype or anything else. Hell I could put a porn app on there if I wanted.


I just bought mine for my 4 year olds birthday and she loves it. Honestly I spent all last night playing with it myself. It's pretty much the exact same as a Nexus 7 (I don't even notice the resolution difference), and it's great because I torrented the entire Disney movie collection, so I can just put it on a 64GB SD card and she can watch any Disney movie she wants on demand. Or even better, with the mini HDMI port I can connect it to a TV and she can watch it on the big screen.


The only thing that is "walled off" is that you can't delete some of the pre-installed apps without rooting it, but that's not a big deal for me. It's really durable and honestly I'd rather had my kid playing with a $200 tablet that's just for them than with my $500 ipad or something. I would highly recommend this tablet for anyone looking to get a kid-specific tablet.



Also, for those who are redditors, be sure to check out the nabi2 subreddit.

 

[samizdat]

I just bought the Nabi last night for $129 on a black Friday deal great little tablet. Already have it roped and have Google Play Store installed. And from the the Mommy Mode you CAN choose what apps show up on the kid mode, including Skype. Just FYI.

How did you manage to get the google framework/Google Play store on there if I might ask? I googled it but a lot of people seem to have not figured it out yet. Do you have links to a resource by any chance?

 

[jasonzech]

How did you manage to get the google framework/Google Play store on there if I might ask? I googled it but a lot of people seem to have not figured it out yet. Do you have links to a resource by any chance?

I'd like to know that too

 

[Mr. Orange 645]

How did you manage to get the google framework/Google Play store on there if I might ask? I googled it but a lot of people seem to have not figured it out yet. Do you have links to a resource by any chance?

I'd like to know that too

Sorry, I obviously haven't visited this thread in a long time. I no longer have any links to the resources I used. I believed if you look on XDA forums, a member has a toolkit to root and install the google play services.

 

[crack1152]

How did you manage to get the google framework/Google Play store on there if I might ask? I googled it but a lot of people seem to have not figured it out yet. Do you have links to a resource by any chance?

There a ota update for play store go in settings/ about tablet/ go to system update