Smart devices that aren't phones or tablets

[Cyientist]

Looking for some gift ideas for my kids and was wondering if there were any options that would be the equivalent of a Sony Walkman from the 90s. I'm thinking of something that has wifi that could connect to something like Spotify and other podcast services. Not interested in an MP3 player.

Both our kids like listening to a podcast to go to bed and it'd be nice to not have to run them off of our phones. I also wouldn't mind the risk of them starting to discover some of their own musical taste.

Any suggestions?

 

[nrg4isu]

Looking for some gift ideas for my kids and was wondering if there were any options that would be the equivalent of a Sony Walkman from the 90s. I'm thinking of something that has wifi that could connect to something like Spotify and other podcast services. Not interested in an MP3 player.

Both our kids like listening to a podcast to go to bed and it'd be nice to not have to run them off of our phones. I also wouldn't mind the risk of them starting to discover some of their own musical taste.

Any suggestions?

The 2 things that come to mind are

1) an Alexa Echo or Google Home device
Or
2) a wifi and Bluetooth capable smart watch (apple / Samsung / etc)

Mostly depends on if you want it stationary or mobile.

If it's in the budget earbuds to go with.

 

[alarson]

Something like this?

Amazon product

 

[2speedy1]

Looking for some gift ideas for my kids and was wondering if there were any options that would be the equivalent of a Sony Walkman from the 90s. I'm thinking of something that has wifi that could connect to something like Spotify and other podcast services. Not interested in an MP3 player.

Both our kids like listening to a podcast to go to bed and it'd be nice to not have to run them off of our phones. I also wouldn't mind the risk of them starting to discover some of their own musical taste.

Any suggestions?

If its something that is for their room and used going to bed etc.

Amazon Echo spot is a good option. Has a clock etc that sets automatically, no camera to worry about. But works with alexa and amazon. My daughter has a Echo dot and likes to play simple games like I spy, etc and ask it trivia type questions, as well as listening to music.

Amazon product

 

[wxman1]

We have Google minis in our kids rooms for this purpose

 

[Cyientist]

Dumb question, how hard is it to set up a separate profile so it’s not running off my Amazon or google with these products?

 

[MeowingCows]

These seem pretty popular with kids right now, but probably doesn't quite meet the criteria you're looking for (on top of being very, very expensive for what it is): https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/p...O-YOEc5z0Vct6hVX-YbjVF2j-EAsMtiSaILnktu_iHBh_

But, if your kids like Nintendo stuff, have a Switch, etc., they might like it.

 

[Clonehomer]

We have a Google Nest for each of our kids to use as an alarm clock and speaker in their rooms. Works well for us.

https://store.google.com/product/nest_hub_2nd_gen?hl=en-US

Other options is to get an unlocked phone and just not setup cellular service. Would act just like an iPod.

 

[Clonehomer]

Dumb question, how hard is it to set up a separate profile so it’s not running off my Amazon or google with these products?

Easy. Create kids accounts under your parent accounts. As they get older, they can then get more control over them to eventually be on their own.

They can then have their own calendars, email addresses, YTTV accounts (if you use that), and parental controls if they have their own phones or tablets. We have a google account for each person in our family and one for the entire family. Each individual calendar is then shared with the family account and that’s what we look at on our phones to see an easy color coded display of everyone’s activities. For YTTV, each kid has their own custom channel lineup.