Sunday, July 1, 2012

Easy Share Digital Cameras for Tweens




If you have a tween that is interested in taking photos, you may want to think about something more refined than a cell phone.  After all, cell phone shots are fun but they lack much definition and clarity.  However, it's important to realize that your choice of camera for a tween can become expensive, unnecessarily so.  It's important to set goals and evaluate your budget before you buy an expensive tween camera.  There are different levels of cost and quality, and I don't always find that an interest justifies a huge expenditure.

My tween daughter, for example, wanted a digital camera last Christmas.  She can be very artistic but flighty.  I stayed in the $50 range and actually found a nice camera that suited her and didn't break the bank.  She used it quite a bit at first, and still uses it a little bit.  She's not passionate about taking pictures, and I can see that it wouldn't have been a good idea to spend a lot.  If she becomes more interested, she will demonstrate it by using her existing camera.  When I see a passion for the photography interest, then I would consider a more costly device.

Likewise, you may be dealing with a flighty tween or with a tween that tends to be committed to interests.  Selecting a good digital camera in the $50-100 range is reasonable, depending on your budget, and can serve the needs of a more passionate tween.  Much under the $50 mark is debatable, you may find quality and you may find junk.  I really like Kodak Easy Share cameras as they are easy to work with and operate.  My older daughter has also found Nikon CoolPix to be a good camera.

Google Tablet vs Kindle Fire for a Tween

The news about Google's Nexus Tablet to be priced in a competitive range with Kindle Fire provides parents with a lot of interesting considerations as far as which tablet for a tween.  Deciding on the best tween tablet, after all, is not a sweeping decision by a blogger.  Rather, it's a decision making process for parents based on goals and budget.  My relatives just purchased a Kindle Fire for my 94 yo grandmother, and she gets the biggest kick out of Angry Birds.  The device is fun and intuitive for those not so tech savvy.  For tweens, more apt to understand their way around touchscreen toys and gadget gifts, the devices are much simpler to learn and use.

Kindle Fire for a Tween has a lot of advantages in that Amazon developed the content platforms well in advance of releasing their tablet.  It's given parents an inexpensive alternative to the iPad for tweens and kids because there is so much content.  Further, a lot of the content is free to Prime subscribers.  Your tween can read, watch and play without having to spend a bundle.  Google's tablet may be good, but until the release, the consumer won't really know much.  Content isn't completely non-existent, but there isn't a lot of free content, and if there's any, the store doesn't make it very easy to track down.  Familiarity makes Kindle Fire easy to imagine using at varied ages, and there are lots of hands on users' reviews that testify to its ease of use.  It's not exactly like an iPad, but if your tween needs an affordable alternative, Kindle captures the attention.  The Google Nexus Tablet will have to prove itself.