Tech Table Monday, December 2, 2013
December 2, 2013
Justin: Welcome to MPA’s Tech Table. I’m Justin.
Diana: And I’m Diana.
Justin: And we’re your hosts. We’ll be serving up a heaping spoonful of all things tech.
Diana: We promise it’ll be easy to digest.
Justin: Well, it’s Monday.
Diana: Happy Monday!
Justin: Yes, you know, it’s a nice chilly day but not too bad here.
Diana: Right, it’s Cyber Monday.
Justin: It’s Cyber Monday.
Diana: So, a lot of people might be doing some shopping online today.
Justin: That’s right. Well, every day could be Cyber Monday. You could shop online every day.
Diana: Well, thats true. But they seem to, or at least promote that there are better deals online on Cyber Monday.
Justin: That’s true, after the Thanksgiving weekend. Right. So, we always get questions to the MPA mailbox. What’s that email address, Diana?
Diana: questions@askmpa.com.
Justin: Yeah, and so, we have a question today from Renee. Renee asks, “What is the safest, most durable tablet that I won’t have to be nervous letting my young child play with? And my mom would say one with paper on it.
Diana: Ah. Give them a crayon, right?
Justin: That’s right, exactly. But we know you’re talking about an electronic tablet device. So, you know, when we get a question about what tablets are most appropriate for children, we typically say the Kindle, and that may surprise people.
Diana: Yeah.
Justin: But to be frank with you, I think the iPad is an awfully expensive toy.
Diana: Yeah, I know.
Justin: And things can happen to it, so we bought the Kindle, and like I said, the Kindle is pretty cost-effective versus other Apples, and of course, the Microsoft brands are expensive, too. The Surface, pretty pricey. Additionally, they have many shock-proof and safe cases that are kid-friendly.
Diana: Oh, that’s really important because kids, you never know.
Justin: Right.
Diana: They just drop things on accident or they throw things on purpose.
Justin: Oh, yeah, or they just beat something against a wall, just for fun.
Diana: Oops, let’s see what happens when we put it under the running water, right?
Justin: Right, exactly. So, there are lots of cases. Amazon created the Kindle simply to make your life better and to be able to use their products easier. Actually, Amazon doesn’t really make any money on the Kindle. It is just a platform for them to be able to more easily sell their things and for you to be able to easily access their products, their e-products. So, it’s kind of a cool thing.
Diana: That’s interesting.
Justin: It is, and so really, it’s made for you to be able to use it and abuse it.
Diana: And then, that helps with their pricing because they’re not looking to make money, necessarily, on it. That’s not the goal of the product so they can keep their price lower.
Justin: Yeah, so your basic Kindle Fire, and this is not just the basic e-reader, but the Kindle Fire runs about $200-400, and there are also a lot of more advanced models that have better screens and other features, but also come with a higher cost.
Diana: You know, that’s still a few zeros there.
Justin: Well, it is. I mean, when I was a kid, I remember asking my mom for something that cost $19.95. I mean, this was the 80’s, mind you, but $19.95, and she was like, oh no, that’s too much for anything.
Diana: That’s too much. Times have changed a bit.
Justin: So, yeah, $200 but this does keep their interest. It’s different things happening all the time.
Diana: And you can use it. I mean, the whole family can use it for lots of different things.
Justin: You know, I had Etch-A-Sketch.
Diana: See, that’s the precursor to a tablet.
Justin: It is, but they still make Etch-A-Sketch, and I frankly think that it’s more fun than the tablet, but that’s just me.
Diana: They’re fun. Did you ever see the Magic Copier?
Justin: Yes, I remember the Magic Copier.
Diana: You could draw on it and then print.
Justin: Yeah, so if you don’t want to do the old-fashioned Etch-A-Sketch, then I guess a Kindle would be good for your kids, and that’s the best tablet, that’s what what we’re recommending. So, you can get them, of course, at most online retailers and of course, Amazon.
Diana: And we have them, too, through MPA.
Justin: Yep, we have them as well, at the office. So, until next time.
Diana: Take care.
Justin: Tech Table is brought to you by MPA of Bloomfield, Iowa, and God’s Country Radio. You can visit us online at AskMPA.com.
Diana: If you have questions or comments, please send them to questions@askmpa.com. That’s questions@askmpa.com.
Justin: And thanks for listening.
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