Tablet Comparison: nabi Jr. vs nabi DreamTab

The nabi Jr. and the nabi DreamTab are both children’s tablets from the same manufacturer, so what are the differences between them? The first is the size; the Jr. is a smaller than average 5″ whilst the DreamTab is a larger than average 10″. This also has an effect on the screen resolution; the Jr.’s resolution is 800×400 pixels compared to the DreamTab’s 1920×1200 pixels. Each tablet has a protective silicone bumper in nabi’s signature red that is intended to reduce the chance of damage if the tablet is dropped.

Both tablets are powered by Android with both the Jr. and the DreamTab running 4.4 KitKat out of the box. The tablets also come with nabi’s Blue Morpho OS overlay, a customisation of the Android OS with a host of child-friendly and parent-approved tweaks.

The Jr. has 8 gigabytes (GB) of internal memory whilst the DreamTab has double that with 16 GB. Both tablets also have a memory card slot that will take memory cards up to 32 GB in size. The tablets also come with WiFi, Bluetooth and the, exceedingly rare in children’s tablets outside of nabi, Near Field Communication. They also have a custom nabi Port, rather than a more standard micro USB port, which can be used for charging, connecting to other devices and as an HDMI port.

The Jr. has a single, swivel mounted camera, with a 2.0 megapixel (MP) resolution that can be rotated to point towards the front of the tablet and the rear. The DreamTab comes with two cameras, front and rear facing, with a 2.0 MP front-facing camera and a 5.0 MP rear-facing camera. Each tablet has stereo speakers, an integral mic and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Both tablets come with nabi’s own parental controls. The parental controls integrate the time controls, which allow a parent to see what their child is spending their time on as well as to restrict the time spent on apps, app groups and the tablet as a whole. They also have the Wings Learning System, which is the educational content. Parents can reward children with nabi Coins, a digital currency that the parent buys, for fulfilling educational goals and completing chores. These Coins can be used to purchase content from nabi’s curated app store.

The DreamTab also comes with the Dream Pen, a digital stylus that can be used for drawing on the tablet and is intended for use with the Dream Pro Studio suite.

The tablets do have some similarities, given they are made by the same company. These primarily relate to the software, rather than the hardware. The nabi Jr. is intended for young children and the greater size of the DreamTab may make it more difficult for small hands to hold. The DreamTab has greater screen resolution, but larger tablets do need greater resolution. The cameras, internal memory and RAM are all greater on the DreamTab as well. The nabi Jr. is a starter tablet that will become obsolete more quickly, but is designed for young children, whilst the DreamTab is a more powerful tablet better suited to older children.