We've seen quite a few kids' tablets recently, and the Meep is yet another vying for your attention. At £130 it's more expensive than a £90 LeapPad 2, but cheaper than the nabi 2 and Kurio 7.
Like the latter two, this is an Android tablet running Ice Cream Sandwich, which is much more evident than usual. However, as you'd expect, it's pretty locked down, so your kids can't muck around with settings that would cause any problems.
Meep tablet: hardware
As we'd expected, the screen is a fairly low-resolution 7in display with 800x480 pixels (the same as the Kurio). This makes text look pretty blocky and jagged (and there's a lot of small text in the pre-loaded apps which is hard to read because of this), but you don't notice this so much in images.
Viewing angles are poor, just like the Kurio, and colours invert if you tilt the Meep too much. In the camera app, the shutter and zoom controls disappear and reappear as you tilt the screen a little. The display is fairly dim, too, so you'll need to set it to maximum brightness.
The screen is recessed by a few millimetres because it uses an optical sensor (the so-called Z-Force technology) rather than a capacitive or resistive touchscreen. It isn't nearly as responsive as a capacitive screen, which even the £99 Arnova ChildPad has, and it's tricky to select things at the edges. It's hard to move the volume slider to maximum or bring up the Android settings panel, for example.
Even relatively gentle finger prods leave a lingering mark for a few seconds, just as when you press on an old laptop's screen. Given the rough treatment tablets get from children, this is quite worrying.
A front-facing 0.3Mp camera takes dismal quality photos and videos, but can be used for video chatting with Skype.
There are no hardware volume buttons which is annoying, and the stiffly sprung power button is hard to use with the rubber bumper in place as, like the screen, it's so recessed. The pair of rear-facing speakers aren't very loud at all, and most kids will struggle to hear them unless in a quiet room.
You can plug in a pair of kids' headphones, such as Griffin's MyPhones and - unusually - plug in a microphone. It's also possible to hook the Meep up to an HD TV via HDMI. There's also a micro SD card slot to add to the 4GB of internal storage.
Meep tablet: software
Setting up the Meep is a bigger hassle than with most tablets. You have to do it via the website and you're forced to register a credit card (and be charged a Euro at the same time) right at the start. You do get 100 coins which can be used to purchase an app, but it's cheeky nonetheless.
The main screen consists of two carousels. On the right-hand side is one that scrolls between Apps, Games, Music, Video, eBooks, Camera, the Meep Store, Settings, Help and a bizarre Safety 'app' which gives kids tips and rules about using the Meep, such as 'Do not bully anyone'.
There are over a dozen games pre-loaded, but the vast majority are free apps which nag you to upgrade to the full or ad-free versions. Angry Birds is the highlight.
Apps consist of just a few relatively unimpressive titles including a the same colouring app trial as found on the Nabi 2, plus a better colouring app (Picsart Kids) and Toon Googles - the US-based cartoon app as found on the Kurio 7.
A few game trailers are provided under videos, and six songs in the music section.
The left-hand carousel lets you see your contacts list where you can send messages to people, including your parent (also known as the Meep Boss or Meepervisor).
The Meep store is split into Apps, Games and E-Books. There are greyed out areas for Video and Music, which are 'Coming soon' according to the label. There are only a few dozen ebooks, none of which we'd heard of - there are no big-name kids titles.
The store includes certain apps which are actually from the Google Play store. Attempting to install one displays a message to this effect and lets the child send a request to the Meep Boss to install it. From the web-based management interface, the request can be seen along with a log of what the child has been doing on the tablet.
Clicking on the More Details link takes you to the app on Google Play where you can install it remotely. Also, clicking on the Account button in the web interface brings up a link to open Google Play on the Meep itself (this is the only way to launch it) so you can search for and install apps locally.
From the website you can buy extra coins and access Parental Settings. These let you set how long the each child (there can be multiple users) can use apps, games, the web browser, video player, music player and more. Oddly, there's no global control, so you can't limit a child's use to, say, two hours per day and let them choose how they use those two hours. It's possible to disable in-app purchases and purchases from the Meep store.
The web browser has a whitelist of 'approved' websites that's managed by the Meep team and you can send suggestions of sites to add. When a child tries to access a blocked site, a message tells them so and suggests they try another site. Google Safe Search is enabled by default, which covers both web searches and image searches. It's by no means perfect, and without trying too hard we were able to view images we wouldn't want kids to see. Attempting to search for any banned word results in a pop-up telling the child they can't use that word in the browser.
The YouTube app works in a similar way - a whitelist of videos approved by the Meep team. There appears to be no way to search for videos either, so you can't find a particular nursery rhyme, for example, or a clip from a certain kids' TV show.
Disappointingly, the browser doesn't support flash, so there's no way to watch catch-up TV shows from the likes of Channel Five's Milkshake or to use flash-based sites such as PeppaPig.com or MrMen.com.
Unlike the nabi 2, there's no way to access the full Ice Cream Sandwich Android interface.
Next page: performance and accessories
Comments
Jmccarter168 said: Do you work for them Its crap and if you have one that works you must be the only person in the world Sorry but I have had2 replacements since buying the first Now getting my money back
Kekjones86 said: I purchased for Christmas and I hate this thing Warning dont ever buy it I thought I was doing my kids a favor by buying this but it is such a wastless hassle Nothing never works and took literally a month to connect to wifi It is so slow with everything you do Its horrible I hate QVC for even putting this on there show now it makes me rethink the items I purchase from them
Jeff said: This product sucks Dont buy it You will spend hours with tech support registering and getting this tool to work properly when something that is supposed to be a kids toy should work easily and simply right out of the box We will definitely be returning this piece of crap And oh BTW when the tablet did work for a few minutes the volume was lousy and the touch screen sucks toocant figure out if you should press lightly or push your finger right through this thingdoesnt seem to matter If this product had a price based on its quality they would have to pay people to take it home If you receive this item as a gift make sure you get a gift receipt so you can return it You dont want to waste you time or any money on this tablet
Traveljill73 said: Its not that Meep doesnt want to have Flash its that Adobe stopped supporting Flash for Android last fall in favor of HTML which many websites have yet to adopt You can easily install Flash on your Meep if you like You also only need to pay the 1 verification fee for Communicator so if you dont intend to use that function theres no need to provide a credit card to register The server issue has long since been fixed and the newest firmware version 20 has made Meep operations much smoother
Tiller83 said: MEEP I hate this thing my daughter is thrilled to have it but it continues to mess up Only a few months old and almost every time she uses it shes crying that something stopped working the web site is retarded and just as difficult to use as the device the communicator uses email but acts like a voice phone conversation I still dont think the mandatory automatic upgrade has happened just recently all the apps and games disappeared this company and its product is shit wish I had seen this site before buying this nightmare PIA POS
Faith Capitini said: Meep is garbage thank God for best buysgot my money back and bought an Innotab2S for 9999 plus 2games and I still have 10bux store credit
Rachelmitchell9 said: Can u tell me if they gave u a refund as everything is happening these stupid things thanks
Rachelmitchell9 said: I have the same problem on and off button broke try bring it back to the shop as they only came out near Christmas and see what they say
Rachelmitchell9 said: Bought a meep pad for my son for Christmas sorry I did having trouble with it every time cant put ur own games on it thats stupid cant go on a normal Internet and cant delete photos of the stupid thing and then the on and off button broke and after that the meep pad wont stay on it comes on and knocks off 5 mins later even if the bar is full and the only way to get it to knock back on is it stick the charger back in it so I am bringing it back to get my money back and buy something that works I
Lisaisle said: my little boy got his meep at christmas and its shit the power button has broke its so slow the touch screen is crap an doesnt respond well or responds to well i have just moved home and have managed to lose the reciept so what do i do it doesnt work and im down over 100 pounds
Jmcnab11 said: do not buy this i bought this on 14th nov for sons xmas and after 30days would not switch on after being charged then it would switch on def fault so took back to smyths who couldnt refund as turned on in store but i stated sometimes it turns on sometimes it doesnt they advised i could pick another tablet but i didnt want another one i wanted money back paid 130 for lot of crap i then asked if i could change for bike they said no i had to email meep and get 6 digit code then come back up with code for refund but surprise meep still havent responded to my email so i feel presured into getting another tablet which i dont want to
Dimples_fl said: I taught it was just me i had a very hard time getting it set up and when i finally got it set up I still cant access the meep store
Mrs D said: This is the worst I cant register I have tried calling customer service and have been in hold for almost an hour several timesnot worth the moneydisappointed
Bluefyre04 said: Horrible product Do not waste your time This is a rip off tablet They do not answer phones and their product sucks You need a Phd and a Masters to try and get this dreadful contraption to work and then it still refuses to work according to the manual I returned mine after 4 days of being totally frustrated and bought a NABI2
Einherjar said: i will write this in caps so as to make myself transparently clear DO NOT BUY THIS HUNK OF CRAP it doesnt save settings they dont give you your coins for in tablet purchases they dont answer their phones they dont dont respond to emails AND GUESS WHAT THE PHONE ON THE SITE FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE DOESNT EVEN GO TO THE COMPANY yup we all go ripped off
Mls_43420 said: We also purchased this for Christmas for our grandson Could not register it the screen is not very sensitive and it did not hold a charge needless to say this will be returned this week Very disappointed in this product
Littleluckycharm said: I agree This is the worst tablet for kids I am so frustrated Its complicated to set up or use My soon has had no gun with this at all and when I try to change settings so he can at least access something fun it takes hours for the meep to recognize the changes A kindle fire has the same control settings but you lose the camera portion At this point it is worth it because he is still using my laptop for his kid games because this tablet is so impossible Not to mention you can only contact customer service Mon-Fri So very frustrated
Lenett05 said: Do not buy the meep it is a piece of junk Sent mine back to groupon Customer service number is disconnected and spent 3 days to many trying to get it to work
renae said: TAKING 3 TABLETS AND EACH HAVE ALL ASSESSORIES BACK IN AM THIS IS CRAZYI GOT MY SON AND 2 NEPHEWS THESE AND THE ASSCESSORIES THEY ARE HORRIBLE
Hnoe said: The Meep Kids tablet is the biggest piece of junk I do notrecommend buying it I have fought with it for days and spent more than twohours on hold for customer service never getting to speak to anyone It wont downloadthe upgrades it is very slow and I have yet been able to download an app NowI am on my way to the store to return it please do not waste your time or moneyon the Meep Tablet