Amazon Fire HD 10 or Huawei MediaPad T5

[Stu C]

I'm looking for a new 10 inch tablet for my kids to use... I'm looking for a budget tablet, but not a junk model that I'll regret spending money on.

I've currently shortlisted the Fire HD 10 and Huawei Mediapad T5, but I can't find any direct comparison in reviews.

Many of the hardware specs are comparable, but I'm focused on the processor and memory... it looks like the Fire HD has a faster processor/gfx, but I'm concerned about only having 2GB RAM. The Mediapad has a Kirin 659 processor and 3GB RAM.

Obviously there is the difference of Fire OS vs normal Android, though I understand that it's not so hard to get the Play Store and Nova launcher on the Fire tablet... any one with experience that they can share here?

Fire HD 10 currently £95 and the Mediapad T5 is £140.

Thoughts?

[spacein_vader]

Forget the specs, the OS makes a difference particularly with kids. If they're younger and you're going to put a lot of restrictions on what and when they can use the Fire is much stronger BUT limits you to Amazon's app system. You can easily sideload the play store but the parental controls will only allow access to Amazon store apps on a child login.

Our youngest has a fire 10 and is fine within that walled garden. Our eldest found the choice of apps too restrictive so has the Huawei you mention with a 3rd party parental control installed that's not as restrictive but does allow her to use more creative apps.

Beat bet is to figure out what they want to do (no YouTube on a child account on the fire for example) and then see if the Amazon app store has what you need before deciding.

[circuitmonkey]

I've got the Huawei M3 Lite with a snapdragon 435 and apart from some initial lag when waking up it works well

According to the following comparison the Kirin 659 is faster than the 435 so I'd say performance shouldn't be a concern.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Kirin-....247596.0.html

Combined with the more open OS I'd say go with the Huawei

[Unique]

i don't know about the T5 but i got the 10" fire after having a 7" one and it's pretty good. i have the playstore on it so it's pretty much a standard android tablet to me. i got it as the price was good for size and specs. as a common device it's easy to get cheap covers and accessories. around now is a good time to buy as amazon usually reduce their own devices for black friday. i'd probably wait till next friday for the best price. i had a couple of ipads before it, so a tablet a quarter of the price replaced the ipad. only thing i miss really is no 3g/4g built in like the ipads, but having an SD card slot is a plus

[Stu C]

Forget the specs, the OS makes a difference particularly with kids. If they're younger and you're going to put a lot of restrictions on what and when they can use the Fire is much stronger BUT limits you to Amazon's app system. You can easily sideload the play store but the parental controls will only allow access to Amazon store apps on a child login.

Our youngest has a fire 10 and is fine within that walled garden. Our eldest found the choice of apps too restrictive so has the Huawei you mention with a 3rd party parental control installed that's not as restrictive but does allow her to use more creative apps.

Beat bet is to figure out what they want to do (no YouTube on a child account on the fire for example) and then see if the Amazon app store has what you need before deciding.

Thanks for the input. The new tablet will primarily be for my 7 year old daughter... she currently has a lower spec 8" Android tablet (pure Android OS) that she is very familiar with, and we don't currently use/need restrictions for her because we control how long it is in her hands rather than managing screen time with software, and we don't have issues with content (though we do need restrictions for our 12 year old son!).

If I got the Fire, I would absolutely need to get Google Play on there because I've got so much paid content (apps, games and movies) that it would be a deal breaker to not have access. We also have Amazon Prime, so we are in the Amazon ecosystem, but that can still be loaded onto the Huawei tablet.

[Stu C]

I've got the Huawei M3 Lite with a snapdragon 435 and apart from some initial lag when waking up it works well

According to the following comparison the Kirin 659 is faster than the 435 so I'd say performance shouldn't be a concern.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Kirin-....247596.0.html

Combined with the more open OS I'd say go with the Huawei

Thanks for input... good context regarding performance.

i don't know about the T5 but i got the 10" fire after having a 7" one and it's pretty good. i have the playstore on it so it's pretty much a standard android tablet to me. i got it as the price was good for size and specs. as a common device it's easy to get cheap covers and accessories. around now is a good time to buy as amazon usually reduce their own devices for black friday. i'd probably wait till next friday for the best price. i had a couple of ipads before it, so a tablet a quarter of the price replaced the ipad. only thing i miss really is no 3g/4g built in like the ipads, but having an SD card slot is a plus

The Fire price has dropped today to £95 for the 32GB model, with the T5 price having dropped to £140... if they were the same price I would pick the T5... the T5 is 50% more expensive, but I don't want buyer's regret from saving £45.

[Scryder]

I bought Fire tablets for my kids since the first model came out. That was a brilliant piece of hardware, and was 1080p. Unfortunately, they had one major flaw. The screen was glass, and once it cracked, became totally non-functional. However, the subsequent models were not as good for the same price.

Since my kids (6 and 8 years old) have a habit of dropping the tablets and breaking them in ways I've not anticipated over the years, buying a very expensive tablet (like iPad) for the kids became out of the question. And screen protectors didn't matter in some cases, as the screen broke nevertheless. One got dunked in the bath a month after I bought it! Oh btw, I mostly buy the 7" model, as that's all the kids need for now. Plus relatively cheap and has full functionality that my kids need. The latest model has been alright, and nowadays I make sure I have a few tablets lying around. I mostly tend to buy them when they're on sale at £25 to £35 (although I've had to shell out full price at times as well, lesson learned there!). The ability to buy at this price has been a boon for me. And also the default is now 16GB of storage, which is handy. Also it has an external SD card slot (I've never needed to use it, but it's there).

The other thing I like based on years of using the Fire, is that the interface does not change that much. And when they do, the software updates pretty much the same on the newer and older models of the tablets. So my kids don't need to learn how to use a new android tablet every time!

If you do buy it, don't get the kids version, as I understand it's locked to the kids profile which is very restrictive. My kids hate that, especially the boy. So we just let them use the main profile. And it's also expensive for no reason IMO! BUT do make sure you go into parental controls and set restrictions. Also go to privacy and turn off all the tracking crap.

Also you can side-load google play store pretty easily on it, if you wanted to do that. I haven't as I don't really need it, but there are a lot of guides on youtube and the internet if that's your thing (last time I checked). The other day I did side-load and install a vpn APK on one of the 6 tablets we have lying around... so it's still possible to install non-Amazon store stuff!

Additionally me and the Mrs use these tablets as well. Me for when I want something playing on the background while in bed... it's good enough for me too. Also sometimes, it's handy to browse the store and track my orders. If on another company's model, this will need to be done on the browser.

Having said that I DON'T trust or need Alexa.... don't care for it and hate the fact that you can't uninstall is an annoyance... however my workaround is to create a folder for Amazon's bloatware... so they all go in there...never to be seen again. And I've also gone to the setting to disable a lot of the tracking crap.

[spacein_vader]

If you do buy it, don't get the kids version, as I understand it's locked to the kids profile which is very restrictive. My kids hate that, especially the boy. So we just let them use the main profile. And it's also expensive for no reason IMO! BUT do make sure you go into parental controls and set restrictions.

The kids version is not locked to the kids profiles it just has that profile activated by default. You can turn it off in the settings menu. Also, the kids edition is more expensive for 3 reasons:

1. It comes with a years sub to the kids shows/apps that are part of Prime. This may or may not be of use to you.

2. It comes with a chunky foam case which protects it from a lot of impact damage. Might have saved you from some of the cracked screens you mentioned.

3. It comes with a 2 year replacement guarantee for a replacement if it breaks, no matter how it was broken. Dropped by kids, covered in paint, dropped in the bath, they'll replace it for free regardless.

Seems like the kids edition might actually have saved you some money.

[Scryder]

The kids version is not locked to the kids profiles it just has that profile activated by default. You can turn it off in the settings menu. Also, the kids edition is more expensive for 3 reasons:

1. It comes with a years sub to the kids shows/apps that are part of Prime. This may or may not be of use to you.

2. It comes with a chunky foam case which protects it from a lot of impact damage. Might have saved you from some of the cracked screens you mentioned.

3. It comes with a 2 year replacement guarantee for a replacement if it breaks, no matter how it was broken. Dropped by kids, covered in paint, dropped in the bath, they'll replace it for free regardless.

Seems like the kids edition might actually have saved you some money.

OK, cool. Last time I checked it was locked... but that was years ago when they first released it. So fine.

1. I know... but I'm alright without it.... although I have Prime.

2. Na mate, as I said, I've bought the case (on it's own), and had screen protectors installed. But with the screen protector, if you drop it say on a sharp object like side of a radiator, it'll still crack. Lost two like this. And that won't save the drowned tablet, as I don't think the kids edition is waterproof?

3. I know. But for the same price I can buy 4 of the normal ones. Also, this might have changed as well, but the kids version when I first looked (when they came out), had inferior processor and RAM and specs in general. Again this might have changed by now... but not checked.

Unfortunately, I've weighed the option and getting the standard is cheaper for me. My 8 year old, is Autistic, and does not talk or comprehend words. So if I do get the kids edition and it breaks, will have to wait a day or two to get it replaced... my son won't understand that and will be very upset. There have been days when the internet goes out for a few hours, he does not understand why and gets upset (I pay Virgin a premium for a reliable service, but have had it happen a few times over the years). This is the main reason I'm on my 20th Fire tablet, and have 5 or 6 lying around. As for him, as soon as the battery runs out he'll want to keep watching what he was watching. In the past when none of the Kindle Fires had no battery, he'd throw a tantrum and throws the tablet when the battery runs out. Sometimes at my wife's face! So now that he knows there's always another tablet for him, he's stopped throwing the tablet.... most days (but it happened again yesterday)!

Anyways, this is the reason why I love that that I can get the 7" tablets at this price.


EDIT: So I've just had a look at the Kids Edition... they do look nice. A lot better than initial release. Might get one in the next sale. Thanks for the heads up @spacein_vader

[bowepa]

Huawei media pad m5 lite is much better than amazon's tablet. Have them both and huawei is a beast comparing to fire HD.

[Froger007]

The Huawei MediaPad T5 will give you more app options if you want to spend the time setting it up. You can basically get everything on normal android tablets that you have on the Amazon Fire HD. That said, the Amazon Fire HD is on special now so if reading and some basic apps/games is your main focus then this might be an option as well.

[treacle1]

Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e this can be found on offer for less than £250 from time to time