Toys “R” Us announced this weekend that it will begin selling its own branded tablet for kids. The 7-inch Tabeo tablet will cost $150, and goes on sale on October 1. Pre-orders for the device are available through ToysRUs.com now.
The Tabeo will run on a stripped-down version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and come pre-loaded with 50 apps, including games, books, and educational apps. Other Tabeo technical specs include a 1.0 GHz processor (of unknown make), HDMI output, 4GB of internal storage, a front-facing camera, and Wi-Fi connectivity. The devices also comes with a “drop-safe” cover to keep it protected from children’s inevitable disregard for fragility.
While Toys “R” Us says that the Tabeo will give its young users the “full Internet experience” (including Flash support!), the Tabeo will be limited to Toys “R” Us’s Tabeo Store, which the company says currently has around 7,000 apps. Parental controls will also come pre-loaded to keep that “full Internet experience” kid-friendly.
The Tabeo is far from the only tablet available from Toys “R” Us. Other child-centric options include the LexiBook Junior Tablet, MEEP! Kids Tablet, and the Kurio Kids Tablet. Toys “R” Us also sells more grown-up devices, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1), and the Kindle Fire.
So, why is Toys “R” Us getting into the tablet game? According to the Wall Street Journal, it’s because the toy seller is struggling to make ends meet. As with other big box retailers, Toys “R” Us has seen a drop in in-store sales over the past year, due in part to its inability to compete with online retailers who offer lowers prices. Unlike general electronics retailers, like Best Buy and Radio Shack, Toys “R” Us continues to benefit from the fact that its customers (parents) still like to buy its products in person.
The Tabeo 7 Inch Kids Tablet demo is awesome convinced me to buy this item, so I went online and preoredered back in September. Received it about 3 days ago. My granddaughter was able to play with it for about 20 minutes before it crashed. This tablet is a memory hog…Very disappointed. Contacted company directly and advised of the issues I was having with this tablet and was advised they are aware of it and there is no fix. HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED!!! I was so excited for my granddaughter now she has to wait until I am able to purchase her a tablet from a reliable maker.
If item was pre-ordered online thru toyrus, it must be returned via mail…cannot bring back to a store unless you want store credit. return via mail, will take a good 3 to 4 weeks before money is credited back to your account (per representive). I WOULD NOT RECOMMENT THIS PRODUCT!!
Yeah, I definitely don’t see this doing so well. Maybe Im wrong here and their Toys R Us market will take off, but I doubt it…
I had a very disappointing experience yesterday in Toys R Us Hato Rey Puerto Rico I recently purchased a 7 inch Tabeo Tablet for my daughter during the month of December. The thing is the equipment turned out to be defective tablet wont turn, the screen didn’t work. So I went yesterday to the Toys R US Where I bought it the one in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, to have it exchanged by another tablet or for a refund. And not only did I wait sooo long in line I was attended by this obnoxious assistant manager , whom which after looking @ the tablet just simply told me she couldn’t accept the tablet because the manufacturing company wouldn’t accept it. I told her the Tablet had arrived like this yet she didn’t do much or anything to help out in this situation. All I can say is that Toys R US.. should emphasize more on customer service which is very low quality, they don’t seem to hire a lot of employees although the stores are very big. Sometimes you have to walk around for a while through out the whole store in order to receive some assistance by a employee. As far as this situation I feel totally robbed/Scammed for my money. Employees are supposed to assist customers diligently and efficiently on any situation. But I just sensed they don’t really care even though my daughter was next to me while I was trying to exchange the item ( Which obviously made her very sad, she wouldn’t stop crying on the way back home.) I simply don’t understand why wouldn’t Toys R US exchange my item or give me a full refund it seems there always some sort of controversy or excuse to their own benefit when it comes to exchanges or refunds. Other stores like Game Stop, Electronics Boutique, Wal-Mart, Amazon won’t give those obstacles when it comes to exchanging a item which they also sell a whole lot CHEAPER. Iam beyond indignated because the store manager totally wiped her butt with my receipt ( The purchase had been made less than a month ago) And even though she did admit the Tablets were in fact coming with defects she declined to offer any assistance or a exchange, refund, store credit whatsoever. Usually I never really buy often in Toys R Us… because there isn’t located where I live & because I don’t find the prices of the items cheap or affordable.. compared to Wal-Mart or K-mart or Game Stop , AMAZON . But this incident totally made it for Iam never BUYING ANYTHING ON TOYS R US … EVER AGAIN.. and will give NEGATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS to relatives and Close ones based on my Personal EXPERIENCE. I WILL NEVER BUY HERE EVER AGAIN. EVER AGAIN, EVER AGAIN. THEIR RETURN POLICE IS A VERY FICTIONAL POLICY.
Poor toys r us
Why?