My family owns two smartphoness and one tablet device. So when the opportunity came up to review the Meep! by Oregon Scientific, I jumped on it. My kids are almost seven and three. Since they see their dad and I on our devices, it is understandable that they want a device they can play on too. After seeing kids' tablet reviews by other GeekMom writers, I also wanted to see how this product measures up. The Meep! is a tablet device made for kids six to ten. The selling points are diverse parental controls for the parents, and pre-loaded goodies for the kids.

Good:

• Keyboard Responsiveness: I can type quickly on the keypad and it correctly reads which letter I am touching.
• Battery Life: the Meep! came with a 37% charge. I ran it from 2:00 and it turned itself off at 5:30 with constant usage. The unit charged in under two hours.
• Google Play: I like being able to put apps from Google Play onto the Meep!
• Bright Screen: even the lowest brightness is really bright (compared to a Kindle Fire)
• Skype: I was able to start a Skype account for my daughter via computer and then install it on the Meep! for talking to her relatives in California.
• Parental Controls: the parental controls are through the Meep! website. Set-up of a login is required. After an account is created, the parent can grant permissions for what websites, apps, books, music, etc. the child is allowed access to.
• • Home: Allows you to see when and what has been accessed on your childs Meep!
  • Account: Allows you to see the hierarchy of users.
  • Coins: Lets you buy coins and allocate them to your child.
  • Suggestions: Is an area where you can add suitable YouTube and websites for your child. If they aren’t on these lists, they can’t access them.
  • Parental Settings: Allows you to set individual time limits for each of the areas on the Meep! . For instance, if you only want your child to play games and apps for 15 minutes each, but read for an unlimited amount of time, you can set each limit individually.

Bad:

• Slow to load applications: Most games and books take a measurable amount of time to load, some apps to the point that a message appears saying they failed to load right before they actually load.
• No Flash compatibility: for running popular kids homework sites like IXL and Raz-kids. This is a fairly standard issue with many tablets, but considering it is a kids tablet, one would think more websites would be usable (PBS Kids and others that use Flash).
• Internal components are cheaply put together: the tab connected to the “motherboard” that tells the Meep! that it has been turned on snapped on the third use. When my husband took it apart to see if it would just be a simple fix like a spring, he showed me. Plus, if the battery stops working, there is no way to change the battery - it’s soldered into the device.
• Freezes: When a message comes up, touching the “x” or the “ok” repeatedly ends in freezing the device. When children who tested the device impatiently tapped the “x” and the “ok” to get message boxes to close, and resulted in further impatience when the device would need to be restarted.
• Google Play Search: If you want to search for an application in Google Play, it won’t actually complete the search function.
• Instruction Fail: GeekMom Patricia pointed out when her nephew received a Meep! for Christmas that the website has a typo in it. The actual Meep! address included shows "https://portal.meetablet.com" instead of "meeptablet".
• Chat program: My daughter really enjoys the chat program and sending me instant messages. The only problem is that I can’t find a way for anyone else to chat with her.
• Camera: as you can see by some of the images below, the camera images aren't great. I have a fairly well lit house. Images that were well lit overexposed; images that were underlit looked under lit. The other issue is that it only has a front-facing camera. So, if you want to take a picture of yourself or something behind you, great. Otherwise, you are guessing at what is in the frame while you take a picture.

Other information:
On a non-holiday, it took me thirty minutes to set up an account and set the device up. I think this is a reasonable time because of the amount of freedom and detail you as a parent have setting up the level of security your child needs. There were problems on Christmas Day when several parents I know of spent the entire day and then some attempting to set up the device for their children.

The Meep! store is filled with handpicked apps and games from the Google Play store. Some apps are cheaper if you just go straight to Google Play, others are cheaper through the Meep! Store. It’s a pain to take the time to compare prices, but worth saving two or three dollars per app.

Pre-loaded on the Meep! : The games are ok. The music, videos, and suggested websites are intended for an age range that is too young to use the device or the bottom end of the Meep! age range.

The Verdict: I had access to a room of third graders, and a smattering of first, fourth, and fifth graders. The kids who had never used a tablet before enjoyed the time on the tablet. Kids who have access to a parent’s tablet were easily frustrated by the lack of responsiveness in transitioning between applications.

This device tries to live up to the big-name tablets, but like its intended audience, it has some growing up to do. If your child has never been exposed to tablet technology, and you are looking for a tablet to give your child that you don’t need to use yourself, the Meep! is a valid choice at $150. If your child has been exposed to other tablets, they might find the Meep! slow and too constricting. As a parent, I would not purchase a replacement Meep! unless the internal components are updated. Since a Kindle Fire is only $9 more, and a free app like Kids Place - Parental Control is available, it is probably your better bet.

**I received an initial Meep! for review. It broke. A second unit was overnighted to me for review purposes. Thank you to the two dozen students who tested the Meep! and shared their thoughts with me.**