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Original poster

Tablet, yoto or toniebox?

38 replies

anon2423 · 04/04/2023 16:42

Looking to get my little girl a system for audiobooks and I'm just not sure how best to do it? Looking for something that will grow with her (from about 18 months) and would last. I like the idea of audiobook files for a tablet so that they can go on various devices and we have less of a risk of losing them. However, the huge draw of the yoto and tonie box are that they're screen free (and sometimes it feels like I'm fighting a losing battle against screens!!) I know she might struggle to work anything herself yet (and we can help her until she's ready!) I just want something she'll enjoy that will last!!

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Minesril · 05/04/2023 07:42

My 3 year old loves his tonie. It is a little disconcerting hearing Professor Umbridge reading the Gruffalo (which is mean of me but she played that character so well...).

I don't know anything about the Yoto. Does it let you record yourself reading stories like the tonie?

My 8 year old has an alexa for music. The power of telling the kitchen alexa to turn down the music in the child's room is immense and will, I expect, be very useful when he's a teenager.

MuffinToSeeHere · 05/04/2023 08:12

I don't know anything about the Yoto. Does it let you record yourself reading stories like the tonie?

Yes you can upload both your own recordings such as yourself or others reading stories l, singing songs, telling jokes etc as well as adding downloaded content such as audio stories, songs and podcasts. Similarly to a Tonie which I believe you need a creative Tonie to do so on a yoto you use a make your own card which can be overwritten as many times as you like. You can also separate into tracks in a make your own card so you can have multiple things on the same card.

Rainallnight · 05/04/2023 08:15

We didn’t get on with the Yoto and got a Kids’ Alexa. It’s great. It’s set up so they can’t access inappropriate content (I’ve tested it when the kids aren’t around by saying stuff like ‘Alexa, what’s sex?’ And it always tells me to ask a grown up!)

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Whinge · 05/04/2023 08:19

I don't know anything about the Yoto. Does it let you record yourself reading stories like the tonie?

Yes there are make your own cards (MYO) that can be used to hold stories, music, messages, pretty much anything at all.

You can buy a single card for £2.99 a pack of 5 for £12.99, or a pack of 10 for £19.99. Each card holds up to an hour of content. Where as creative Tonies start at £11.99 each, although they do have a slightly longer run time of 90 minutes.

*Prices from Yoto and Tonie sites, i'm sure you can find them cheaper, but I thought the original sites were a fairer comparison.

Whinge · 05/04/2023 08:25

Ah actually having checked again my previous post was wrong. The hour limit on Yoto cards is for each track. Here's the information from the Yoto site.

  • 100 tracks per card
  • 100MB / 60 minutes maximum file size of any single track
  • 500MB / 5 hours maximum total file size of the audio content for any one card
Finchgold · 05/04/2023 08:46

Audible and a speaker works well here.

Crumbcatcher · 05/04/2023 08:47

I'm feeling rather old fashioned now as my DC have cd players!

toastofthetown · 05/04/2023 08:54

You can buy a single card for £2.99 a pack of 5 for £12.99, or a pack of 10 for £19.99. Each card holds up to an hour of content.

For the Make Your Own cards, each track is limited to an hour, but you can have up to a hundred tracks per card. People have put each Harry Potter book on one card.

Whinge · 05/04/2023 09:15

@toastofthetown, yes I realised I had it wrong, and the 60 minutes was the track time not the total card time, and corrected that in the next post. 😄

It's impressive the Yoto cards have the ability to hold so much content, especially for their price.

dancingmice · 05/04/2023 09:41

Yoto Mini - great to take on holiday/car etc as well as in their bedrooms

Dinosauratemydaffodils · 05/04/2023 09:46

My 2 have yoto minis (8 & 4), used every night and they love them. Made a real difference to dc2's sleep/bedtime in particular.
Dc1 also has access to my audible account on his tablet but apart from Harry Potter seems to prefer the yoto.

Tarantallegra · 05/04/2023 10:23

Crumbcatcher · 05/04/2023 08:47

I'm feeling rather old fashioned now as my DC have cd players!

Nothing wrong with that at all! The most appealing thing about these for me is having something physical to put in the device. I was considering getting a tape player even for my dc but I never kept my old audiobooks on tape and they haven't made them for... a while. I can't see my almost 2 year old managing not to scratch CDs for a long time.

This thread has completely sold me on the yoto though so I think that's Christmas sorted! The subscription model looks great too.

MuffinToSeeHere · 05/04/2023 16:32

I was considering getting a tape player even for my dc but I never kept my old audiobooks on tape and they haven't made them for... a while. I can't see my almost 2 year old managing not to scratch CDs for a long time.

I had similar thoughts about how durable CDs and tapes would be around a small child not to mention how tricky it would be to get relevant stuff and how easy to use they would be for a child who gets frustrated very quickly if he cannot get something to work.

The yoto is definitely a much more logical choice. It's so simple and intuitive and even without make your own cards the content is constantly being updated.

When you decide to get one definitely post on here I'm sure plenty of people will happily share their discount friends referral codes.

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