Stephanie Chu Archive

It’s Thanksgiving, and what better time to test the new Kindle Fire on kids? I conveniently have an adorable, super app obsessed 3-year-old nephew, Delon, who loves games on the iPad 2. The latest episode of Ty’s iHelp got me thinking… Ty mentioned that kids just “get” the iPad better. Somehow it’s naturally intuitive for children to know how to get around the UI. So I put the Kindle Fire to a test with an iPad 2 inches away from him. :)

Observations on a toddler’s reaction to the UI
We all know that the Kindle Fire is slightly more involved — there’s no physical “home button” that you can press any time, anywhere. As opposed to one action, you need to take two (swipe up to activate controls, then press the home button). Same goes for the volume control. I taught Delon how to access the home screen and the apps, and he understood right away what steps were involved. The harder part was swiping up and then tapping home. I noticed he expected to tap both times and was not a fan of the two-step app exit.

The other thing I noticed was that Delon understood the bookshelf app interface perfectly. The home screen’s coverflow of recently used apps was more complicated. Since you can only activate an app if it is highlighted in the forefront (i.e. you can’t activate the app if it’s peeking out, yet stuck underneath other icons), he had problems being precise enough with his swiping. Todders won’t be able to use the home screen’s recent apps easily at all due to its sensitivity.

With that said, once we were IN a game, use of the Kindle Fire became a breeze! Let’s take a look at short videos of Delon’s top games (please excuse the gunshots from MW3 in the background):

5 gaming apps for kids

5) Kids Match ‘Em - Free
This is a matching concentration game. There are a ton of these in the Amazon App Store, but by far, this one looked the best. With big buttons and really cute illustrations, this was perfect for a 3 year old toddler and was clearly the winner in time played.

4) Kindle Fire - Whacky Moles - Free
I thought my nephew would love this game, because as a kid, I would go nuts playing the real Whack-a-mole at the arcade in Circus Circus, Reno! Delon accidentally stared the game in advanced mode, which probably led to some frustration. We switched to the easy mode shortly after, and he easily go the concept of how to play, yet still wanted to see what other games existed. On his own, Delon was able to remember how to get to the home screen on the Kindle Fire, even if at first, he did press a non-existent button on the hardware.

3) Angry Birds - Free
Is the Angry Birds experience any different on the Kindle Fire than it is on the iPhone, iPad, Chrome, or elsewhere? This video says no. The game is just as good here as it is on any other platform.

2) Pac-Man - $2.99
When Delon got tired of the above three games, we checked out the app store, and he asked for Pac-Man. $2.99? Meh, not a terribly bad price, but we gave it a try. After 2 minutes, I realized the controls were too sensitive for a toddler, and we gave up. This isn’t to say I didn’t spend an hour playing myself later on. ;)

1) Letter Tracing - $0.99, Letter Writer: Oceans - $0.99 on iPad
Ok, this one is kind of a cheat because the video below is actually of Delon using Letter Writer: Oceans on the iPad 2. At 3 years old, children are getting more comfortable with words and letters, so this tracing app is perfect and fun! Inspired by Angry Birds being excellent on multiple platforms, I hoped to find something similar in the Amazon app store and found Letter Tracing for $0.99. The game looked promising from the screenshots, but reviews later mentioned that the app doesn’t correct the child if their letter strokes are wrong, and doesn’t allow a child to skip letters if they’re trying to spell their name. With that said, here’s Delon using Letter Writer: Oceans

The big question is - can the Kindle Fire be a good tablet option for a kid? Based on tonight’s experience, I’d say yes. Though there’s a smaller app market, a lot of the games are comparable and I still think $199 is a smarter choice if you think your device is in danger of damage or you think you’ll upgrade in a year. I know a lot of you are still going to say that iOS is easier and more powerful than the Fire for kids, and *it is* - but kids are smart and they’ll “get it” in 10 minutes or less.

It’s also worth mentioning that unlike a lot of adults who moan and groan about the superiority of iOS, a kid isn’t going to disregard the Fire just because it doesn’t have an Apple logo on it. It’s equal opportunity for brands in this house! Womp-womp. :) 

Did I miss any other awesome kid-friendly Kindle Fire apps? I’d love more variety for the next time we get together… Christmas is a month away. :)