handheld for 8yr old

[eman]

I want to buy my 8yr old son a DS, PSP or itouch for Christmas. Not sure which system would serve him best.

I like the idea of an i-touch, but my wife is leaning towards the DS. She likes the library of games. Important to both of us is finding educational content and I've heard the DS has some great educational titles for children.

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks,
e

[10spro]

I would go for the itouch. There's an impressive library of educational games already, kids' games, puzzles, etc. A couple of more years and he'll get into music, you can watch a flick too, snap some pics. My kid loves it.

[pk500]

I would go for the itouch. There's an impressive library of educational games already, kids' games, puzzles, etc. A couple of more years and he'll get into music, you can watch a flick too, snap some pics. My kid loves it.

Ditto with movies to keep him entertained on road trips, etc.

My 5-year-old son plays with my 12-year-old daughter's Touch more than our Wii.

[sportdan30]

I also recommend the Ipod Touch. Most games are free or below $5. Also, there are a ton of kids Netflix movies he can stream. And of course he can put a ton of music on there as well. You can ask friends and family to give him 10 or 15 dollar Itunes cards for his birthday or Christmas.

I'd shy away from the Nintendo DS as the new 3D DS is coming out in the first quarter of 2011. I'm sure it'll be a big seller, and you'll probably had wished you had waited.

[Rodster]

My 5-year-old son plays with my 12-year-old daughter's Touch more than our Wii.

Somehow I feel dirty after reading that.

[Naples39]

I've seen an awful lot of kids enjoying their DS's so I would strongly consider that. Maybe look at a basic stable of games available for the DS before deciding??

Also, the 3DS isn't too far away (late winter maybe?), but it will be considerably more expensive than a current DS Lite or XL and will take a while for a broad library of games to be available.

I can't really comment on kids with an iPod touch, other than to say my 4 year old niece could play with my iPad all day. Definitely loves the touchscreen.

[Naples39]

You know the more I think about it, I wonder if there's an age factor with iPod/iPad. I mentioned my 4 year old niece, PK said his 5 year old...I just wonder if little kids love the touchscreen and don't mind simple games, but as kids get older (8, 9, 10) they will want a more in depth experience and can handle "real gaming controls" better.

Just thinking out loud.

[pk500]

I can't really comment on kids with an iPod touch, other than to say my 4 year old niece could play with my iPad all day. Definitely loves the touchscreen.

Agree. There's nothing more intuitive for kids than touching a screen with their finger, especially for kids who don't yet have great dexterity with a stylus or pencil in their hand.

[pk500]

You know the more I think about it, I wonder if there's an age factor with iPod/iPad. I mentioned my 4 year old niece, PK said his 5 year old...I just wonder if little kids love the touchscreen and don't mind simple games, but as kids get older (8, 9, 10) they will want a more in depth experience and can handle "real gaming controls" better.

Just thinking out loud.

My 12-year-old daughter plays games on her Touch quite a bit. She uses it as a gaming device more than a music player!

[RobVarak]

I have 3 kids, 1, 3 and 7. They love my mom's iPad, absolutely because of the touchscreen. That said, the 7 y.o. adores the DS and that is what I'd recommend. The durability alone versus an iTouch makes the difference. My oldest is an unusually responsible kid and very careful, but the vicissitudes of handheld electronics in a house full of kids means that there is a measure of knocking about that it takes. The DS holds up well, it's intuitive and kids that age spend hours on the pictochat alone.

[tjung0831]

My 11 year old is getting the 32mb Touch for Christmas and my 8 year old is getting a PSP Go.

[ScoopBrady]

My 8-year-old daughter commandeers both my DS and my iPhone all of the time. She likes both. I think if you're looking for something strictly for gaming/educational software the DS would probably be the better choice. If you're looking for more entertainment options for your buck, I'd recommend the Touch.

[Badger_Fan]

I think that this sums it up quite well, but I wanted to resurrect this thread to ask a couple of questions. We have two daughters, 5 and 7, and we're thinking about either a DS or Touch for Christmas for them. Some factors:

1. They have an old iPod mini that they share now to listen to music with all the time, but the sharing is contentious. We were planning on getting them each a nano for Christmas (with grandparents getting them a DS), but the new nano is too small and would get lost/broken I fear.

2. I like the versatility of the Touch (movies, music, games for travel) but fear it's breakability. How concerned do I need to be? My girls are pretty good with things, and we would definitely get some sort of a case for it, but still.

3. Game-wise, how does the Touch stack up? I know that they're not going to be as complex as the DS, but what do you think?

That's about it. Any help is very much appreciated.

Mike

[sportdan30]

I am selling 22 DS games (on one memory card) in the For Sale thread.

Let me know if anyone is interested!

[ScoopBrady]

I know it's a little late Badger but to answer your questions:

The touch is pretty well made and with a case I wouldn't think you should worry if they're generally good with their stuff. I'd worry more about the 5-year-old but if she's just playing with it while supervised it shouldn't be an issue.

Gamewise there's plenty of good choices for gamers that age as well as interactive books. Take a glance at the app store and look at everything available for kids. For the price of a DS game you could get several apps/games for them that would cater to the short attention span of children that age.

[Badger_Fan]

Thanks Scoop. We did decide to go with the touch. Now it's just trying to decide if we want to pop for the extra $70 per for the 32gb.

[10spro]

Thanks Scoop. We did decide to go with the touch. Now it's just trying to decide if we want to pop for the extra $70 per for the 32gb.

If you add media to the equation, you would be surprised how fast your GB starts shrinking. Still, your kid will love the itouch.