Amazon Fire Tablet = Garbage

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Just thought I'd vent here. . . Got my boys an Amazon Fire tablet each last Christmas. Ok so they were only £50 each, but you'd expect some level of build quality, surely? I had to take one of them back just weeks into its life as it would simply refuse to charge. I even tried other micro USB chargers that were spare around the house, but 'computer says no'. I am guessing that the charger jack connector on the tablet itself is extremely weak and susceptible to the tiniest bend, wire pull, etc. Told the kids right from the start not to pull on the charger wire and to try not to use it whilst its charging. It was looked after, kept in case, not dropped, etc, yet still it fails within weeks of purchase.

Argos replaced with no questions asked, but they take ages to set up each time you unpack a new one. You keep thinking you're almost ready to use it and then it seems to crash and go right back to the very start of the installation process again. I've had to take another two back, both at only a couple of months old. My other son's also went recently with the same fault and will be taken back this week. To add insult to injury I notice I've been charged £7.99 from my bank for 'Amazon Digital Services", something I haven't signed up for and my son says he has not clicked on. At setup I clearly stated that nothing costing money could be bought without my permission anyway, so I've no idea what these charges are for and will be asking them to explain and refund the charges shortly.

Has anyone else had similarly crap experiences with said piece of junk? All I wanted was a relatively cheap tablet for the kids to play games on, as I refuse to pay iPad level prices for children's use. Those of you whose kids have tablets, what do you have and have you found them to be reliable? Don't mind paying around £100 if its gonna last a couple of years and not break every other month. Thanks!
 
My girls also have kindle fires, but the kids edition. It's the same as a regular kindle fire 7, but comes with a subscription to amazons kids services (games , videos, books which have all been vetted as suitable) and 2 year replacement if broken no questions asked policy. You can tell they are cheap tablets and not a patch on an iPad, but I do feel they were worth the low price as they have proven reliable (had them almost for 2 years) so far. My girls are really happy with them.
 
The boy gets my old iPads. Never had an issue with the ones I've had. It's set up on a family account, if he tries to download or buy anything then I have to authorise it.
 
No problems with my youngest's Fire Tablet and she's had it for two years now. It's just in an ordinary case and has survived a quite a bit of abuse. Quality bit of kit for the price and Amazon's service is usually above and beyond. No problems with the set up or extra charges either, £7.99 sounds like a Prime monthly fee.
 
I get first pick from the old company ipads, the problem is that once Apple drops support for older models its all down hill apps wise, as you can't get updates for the most useful apps like Netflix and Google.
Saying that these devices are on a different league from a hardware point, a bit like an old Lexus, expensive to buy new but last forever.
Swambo is on of these used Air 3 models and is very happy with it.

My daughter has a 2013 Google Nexus 7 that proves to be fairly reliable and long lasting, the advantages here that like Apple you can get restricted profile out of the box. Three years ago it lost the ability to charge from the USB port, luckily it does come with a wireless charger.
That's the only problem said device have although the battery doesn't last more than 5 hours.

As for new Android tablets I have a Huawei Media pad 8" tablet which I run now for a couple of years without any issues.
You can still pick these new for £99 in Curry's.

Had a Lenovo 10" from Argos which was full of issues during the warranty period, dead battery and dead sound chip.
Fixed under warranty but developed another issue with the mic one month after the warranty ended.

I would go for a new Huawei, very well made devices.
 
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Funnily enough, discovered this thread the day we started reading reviews on tablets for a 10-year-old.

I struggle with Amazon tablets as they often contain adds and just seem to be setup for making more money. Argos have on offer an Alba 10" tablet down to £69. Seem to have good reviews from parents who buy them for their kids! Think I'll go for one of those.
 
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