Toys R Us Launches Its Own Tablet

Retailer Toys R Us has become the latest to take a crack at the low-end tablet market, with a specific eye on children and their safety-conscious parents.

The tabeo device will be available directly from Toys R Us stores in the US from 21 October, for $149.99. It has a 7″ display, and runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). 

The tabeo also allows for multiple user accounts and has parental controls with customisable levels of internet access to limit what children are able to access. It also has a colourful protective bumper to shield it from sticky hands. It comes with 50 free pre-installed apps aimed at a younger audience, including Angry Birds. The tabeos app store will be curated by an in-house team and it has more than 7,000 free apps and thousands of paid-for ones.

But neither the content available or the UI have strayed too far from others on the market.

As Amazons Kindle Fire has already demonstrated, it is likely that Toys R Us will have to make money from sale of music, movies and games in order for the tablet to be profitable. It is not yet clear whether Toys R Us will marry up its mobile and physical stores to offer something unique.

Aiming content solely at children could also see limited success, as the Kindle Fire also supports parental controls and multiple user accounts – and is only $10 more. Apples iPad is already well-established with mums and dads, and is starting to make its way into some classrooms.

 

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