iPad Mini v Samsung Galaxy Tab 7"

If going Android I'd also recommend the new Nexus 7. Screen is spectacular, battery life good, form factor is excellent, and it comes with stock Android rather than whatever it is that Samsung does to Android. It's also one of the more powerful tablets in terms of processing power in the 7" range. The sound is very good for a tablet as well. Review http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/07/the-2013-nexus-7-review-meet-the-new-standard-for-android-tablets/.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/08/nexus-7-receives-bug-fix-update-should-solve-multitouch-and-gps-issues/ coming for the Nexus 7 which should address those having issues.

I have a Galaxy Tab 2 and think that it is a great tablet. I would not want a tab without a micro SD slot, which is why I didn't get a Nexus. The iPad is extremely overpriced. There is a software update out for Android 4.1, which allows it to work with 64 GB cards.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad go for $269 via Apple. This product will see a refresh in a few months, so prices will drop even further.

The Galaxy Tab is a budget line of tablets from Samsung-- they also have the more powerful Galaxy Note line, so it's not as future-proof. It's good for games and videos, and will be for a long time to come-- I'd wager that the mean lifespan of the tablet is shorter than the length of time it'll take for it to become obsolete. The android apps market spans a variety of OS versions because app-makers are aware that not everyone has the latest OS, and most users won't upgrade the OS on their devices. The tab has 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich/ICS) which, being post-Honeycomb, is more tablet-friendly than previous OS versions. I bought, last month, a new Note tablet which came with 4.1, and the bleeding edge is at 4.3 right now. These are mostly incremental improvements which won't affect app compatibility. My Note needed a firmware update out of the box, so there is some hope for upgrade, but how far, I can't say. Tab does have a micro-SD slot, up to 32GB. SD cards come with a class rating, 1-10. Higher is faster, so get a class 10 if you can. (I also recommend a case, a screen protector, and maybe some spare styluses. Because they're kids, and because they're human.) iTunes absolutely won't work with Android, period. Locked AAC music purchased in the iTunes store will not play on the Android with default apps-- there may be some app out there that allows playback, but I've never looked for one. You'll have to convert to MP3 to commute music to the Tab. Instead, you use the https://play.google.com/store, accessed from either the Tab itself or any web browser on any computer-- your Tab will be linked to a google account (which doesn't have to be gmail-- and be sure to choose wisely which one you associate with the Tab-- maybe it should have its own instead of yours), and you just use that account to log into the play store. Once there, you can buy movies/music(all mp3 format)/books/apps, and they will be automatically sent to your Tablet as soon as a connection is available (e.g. your home wifi), no wired connection required. Take a look around the Play store (no login required to browse, but you probably already have a google login) and see for yourself what games/apps it has. Free pretty much always means ad-based. http://www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk/tutorials/how-to-disable-in-app-purchases-on-android/ before handing it to your kids. Video chat with Tango or Hangouts should work fine.

Oh yeah, Galaxy Tab 2 vs 3: 3 has Android OS 4.1 Jelly Bean, 20% more clock-ticks on the processor, that's about it. I'd pay the difference for $30, but it's not critical for games and videos. Check the OS requirements of any apps you know you'll want to run.

In general I find Apple products are more restrictive, have less features and cost more than Android/Windows products. I mean, the iPad Mini doesn't even have a mini SD card slot... really? I bought a tablet to watch stuff at the gym and without an SD card slot, it'd be worthless. I like to download stuff on my computer and this move it over to the tablet. However, you already have Apple devices and may want to carry over all your purchases to these devices. If you have a lot, you might want to stay with Apple. Or, I'd recommend ditching the iPhones anyway for the Samsung Galaxy S, and then you could get a Galaxy Tab and have all the devices work together.

Depending on how much stuff you have purchased in itunes, I would probably stick with the ipad. But if you're considering switching to an android one, I really like the Nexus 7 so maybe have a look at that.

Consider the new Nexus 7 16gb ($229) instead of the Galaxy Tab. It's gotten stellar reviews, and has a much higher res screen than the iPad mini. I use my new one for reading, gaming, and work daily. Alternatively, you can also look into last year's Nexus 7, which goes between $130-160 these days, and you can find on clearance at most big box electronics/office stores. Also a very nice device. The other major advantage of the Nexus 7s is that they will always receive upgrades from Google to the latest Android version with minimal wait.