gigaset

An affordable family tablet is something of a holy grail among my friends – it’s tricky finding something that offers enough functionality to keep everyone in the house happy, AND which won’t break the bank (or break your heart if the kids drop it on a hard surface).

This week, we’ve been trying out the new Gigaset QV830 – a budget Android tablet that costs just £99. I know, right? A full multimedia tablet for less than £100! How good can it actually be? Well, the good news is it’s really rather good.

Overall, I felt that for such a small price, the QV830 packs a punch, and it’s definitely a credible alternative to those “kids’ tablets” that (in my experience) rely on bespoke apps that can’t be moved between devices, and which children inevitably grow out of within a year or so. Far better to buy something like the Gigaset, and take the time to set up good, robust parental controls.

So what does the Gigaset QV830 offer?

We thought the 8-inch HD screen was great for watching movies, and the audio is pretty loud. For us that’s a bonus because Flea likes to use her tablet in the back of the car and sometimes we get into a heated debate about me not wanting to turn the music down so she can watch a movie using headphones (I usually lose this debate).

There’s a fairly small 8GB memory but it’s expandable with a Micro-SD card, which makes the Gigaset a lot more flexible than some tablets I could mention.

Out of the box, there’s WiFi and Bluetooth support, and the Gigaset comes with Chrome pre-installed, so it was only a matter of minutes before Flea was online, and connected to the Google Play Store and the Android App Store, where she could access all the movies, games and apps we’ve previously purchased (I use parental controls and filters to ensure Flea can’t buy anything on my credit card, and if she’s using a voucher, she can only download age-appropriate content).

In terms of apps, Flea was able to add all her regular apps, including Skype – the Gigaset has a microphone so she could make video calls, and play some app where you talk to a dog and it talks back to you. If you’re nine years old, this is about as good as humour gets. Hilarious.

We found the tablet could manage around 6-7 hours between charges when watching YouTube, playing games and streaming movies. There’s a standard micro-USB charging connector so we were able to plug in and charge the device on the go fairly easily.

If you want to know where the compromise is, then my guess is that it’s the camera – at £99, there’s a limit to what a company can stuff into a tablet, and the 1.2MB camera on the Gigaset is not really suitable for any kind of photography beyond the hundred or so selfies that Flea and her cousin seem to swap on a daily basis. But Flea certainly didn’t have any complaints.

Don’t take our word for it, though – Gigaset have also given us a tablet to give away to one lucky Who’s the Mummy? reader in time for Christmas. To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is follow me on Twitter (@swhittle) and RT the Tweet below! Full terms and conditions apply.

 


How to Enter

Terms: UK entrants aged 18 and over only. One entry per person. One winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries using random.org and will receive one Gigaset QV830 tablet, as shown above.  You must follow @swhittle on Twitter and RT the giveaway Tweet to enter. Giveaway not associated with Twitter. No cash alternative. The promoter’s decision is final. Giveaway closes 5pm GMT on 12/12/2014. Winner will be contacted by Twitter DM, details will be added to this page within 7 days of the closing date. 

 

UPDATE: Congratulations to @jennakatekelly who won this giveaway.