Kurio 7 - Tested and Reviewed

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Kurio's 7 inch family tablet has been out a while now and we've had one in our household since release, but how does it stand up in today's market?

In the Box

So what do you get for your hundred and fifty hard earned pounds? Well there's the 7 inch touch screen tablet with a Cortex A8 1.2GHz chip set, 1Gb ram, 4Gb storage, running Android 4.0.3 (ice cream sandwich), add to that a snazzy silicon bumper to protect the tablet from the inevitable drops, a USB cable for transferring files from a PC and a charger to keep it full of juice.

The Software

On the device itself you get a shed load of apps to keep the kids occupied including Angry Birds, World of Goo and Where's My Water, all fronted by the Kurio software to keep them from changing any settings, opening unsuitable apps, or stumbling upon dodgy websites.

As a parent you get to pretty much lockdown every aspect of the tablet through the use of profiles. These profiles allow you to only make specific apps available to different children (up to 8 profiles are supported), you can also limit the number of sessions a child can use the tablet in a day and limit the amount of time per session. Add to that you can manually allow certain websites through the overzealous safe internet browser.

It'll also play a wide range of video and music files with little problem (grab handbrake for all those kids DVDs, drop me a note if you have problems using it). If you're on Wi-Fi there's also an app (Toon Goggles) that'll let the kids watch various cartoons (I love cartoons but I'd hardly heard of any of those available).

Want to jump out of the Kurio area and just use android as a parent? Easy to do with the password.

Kurio Evolves

Where the Kurio is the real winner is the ongoing updates and support compared to the mainstream tablets. The Kurio World site has handy support links, there's the inbuilt Kurio store on the device that only stocks kid friendly apps, and best of all is Kurio's willingness to embrace the public's needs. There was a time when only the Kurio store was available, great, but this is limited, this was recognised and a workaround was sent to registered users to add the Amazon app store, but it hasn't stopped there. Numerous software updates have gone out to improve the device, and if you know where to look Google Play can be added as another store option.

The Kids Verdict

Over to the proper user for her verdict:

'My favourite games are Fruit Ninja and the colouring games, even my little sister can play and she's not even two. Sometimes I watch cartoons on it and there are maths games too'

9 Roars out of 10

The Parents Verdict

When you get down to the nuts and bolts of it the Kurio is fairly underpowered compared to the more recent offerings on the market, Mums and Dads may be a bit disappointed and underwhelmed by the touted family tablet when they compare it to a Nexus 7 or Kindle HD, which with free apps can provide restricted user profiles, but the kids will love it. It provides them with a cool, educational toy that can withstand a few bumps, while giving them a taste of what technology can provide in the digital age.

Add to that the level of support available though and the shortcomings aren't so important as long as you remember this is essentially for kids, it's not going to beat the Nexus's and iPads out there, but it doesn't need to.

7 Roars out of 10

Has it really been that long...

I can't believe it's been eighteen months since I've put fingers to keyboard on this blog, but all that's about to change!

I don't make New Years resolutions normally, but I'm determined to increase my output on this virtual notepad and share some of my musings, as well as offer my thoughts on anything from techy, geeky gadgets to the latest on offer in print, screen and in your ears.

I've got a few projects and posts lined up including an update on my  aim to get published, the move from HDD to SSD, and my quest to find a set of earphones that block out the crap from other commuters but don't crush my glasses into the side of my head!

Anyway, in my last post all that time ago I was about to become a dad for the second time in my life, well sixth if you count the other half, the cats and the dog...

So without further ado I'd like to introduce Belle Daisy, a girl so headstrong and without fear that you'll ever meet (yes, she's on my side of the bed eating a biscuit, yes there were still crumbs when I went to bed).

One week to go....

In one week I'll be a Dad for the second time...

I've been a bona fide Dad for 4 years and 9 months and here's what I've learned:

1. Routine, Routine, Routine - From the moment you get the newborn home this  is the morst important thing, Whether it's feeding, or the bedtime routine do it the same (as much as is humanly possible) and you'll reap the rewards. Our first was sleeping through the night within 3 months, we've never had any problems getting her to bed (even in strange surroundings) and it means if there are problems that 9 times out of 10 she's ill.

2. At dinner they eat what you do - Once they start on real food give them what you eat. Once they're able give it to them as finger food and always put food on their plate even if they don't eat it. Children seem to go through stages of liking/disliking food as they mature. Our little girl went through a stage of refusing Brocolli, but we still always served it up, eventually she started eating it again and loves it. Many of our friends simply stopped giving their kids certain foods if they showed a dislike for it, what they have now are children who refuse to try something new and will only eat certain foods (usually little or no vegetables).



3. Get them involved - Whether it's cooking, cleaning , gardening or anything else. Getting our little one involved in the cooking and gardening has helped with point 2 as she's been part of the process. Getting her involved in the household chores means that even when Mum and Dad are doing the housework there's still an element of family time. Through my other half's work (childminder) we've seen this work numerous times with children who may not have these experiences at home, from the excitement of pulling up potatoes to helping chop (with plastic/child friendly knives) mushrooms for their dinner.

There's three of my steps to successful parenting, use them for free...

Growing your own to save the pennies...

I’m trying to win an iPad 2 in the iSave, iWrite, iPad competition from PlayPennies.com!

Money saving, we all do it at some point, whether it’s turning down the heating a bit, walking/cycling as part of the daily commute, or (my personal favourite) shipping the kids off to the grandparents for the weekend to save on the weekly food shop.

I won’t lie to you, I’ve done all of that and more and with the ongoing financial crisis in our house it doesn’t look like we’ll be stopping anytime soon. In order to try and get ourselves a bit of breathing space I’m dreaming up schemes on a daily basis to try and make ends meet. At the moment it’s a combination of eBay selling (not too bad), T-shirt designs (too expensive to setup) and getting a childrens book published (I think I’ve got more chance of a close encounter with Jessica Alba on a desert island, no offence to my other half).

The one thing I have had success with, albeit limited in terms of end product, is growing my own veg. From since I was 4 years old I’ve looked at neighbouring gardens in awe of the variety of veg being grown, from Old Mr Mac’s cabbages to Big Franks home-grown/made pickled onions to the towers of runner beans looming over my Granddads allotment. So after reading up a bit on the net I decided to turn my small suburban garden into Basingstoke’s answer to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's river cottage.

Task one was getting the garden ready. It was a battle of wills to convince my better half that I could make a go of this. She wanted flowers; I wanted the practical and useful greenery that I could use on my Sunday roast. Compromise was eventually arrived at and I installed two raised beds and a few pots and a weekly helping hand from my 4 year old Daughter and a couple of kids my darling minds (day to day this is one of the most satisfying aspects of the whole mini veg farm, the kids get to help with the planting and the harvesting, which in turn encourages them to eat various vegetables as they had a hand in creating them).

Once the garden was cleared of a couple of old conifers (cue lots of swearing, cuts and bruises due to the lack of the proper tools), and the beds were built (less swearing due to buying link-a-bords, but old wooden planks would be as good) I got down to growing. I’m in my second summer growing season now, so take my advice, don’t plant too much, I did and my first crop suffered for it. My first bed (1m by 1m) had cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and red onions in it (and far too many of each), Don’t get me wrong, we had a bit of each in terms of produce (ok, the onions were a complete and utter failure, and I got an extra caterpillar with my broccoli one Sunday dinner), but extra space between plants will get you better results, if you have some small plants over put them in pots or give them to your neighbours to try their hand at growing.

Our second bed contained radish, lettuce and carrots, and this is what really got my daughter and the other kids eating salad, not a lot of kids like the peppery taste of radish but they wouldn’t say no because it was grown by them from seeds. We also grew the following in various pots; sprouts (they grew extremely well and the children liked the tall ‘alien’ stalks); beetroot (again the kids love the striking purple stalks) and an orphaned courgette plant (it’s owner disappeared to Australia for a couple of months, during which we grew the biggest courgette in the world, tasted a bit woody mind).

This year I’ve been much more frugal in my planting, just two varieties of cabbage, radish, lettuce, runner beans (the flowers placate the other half). And I’ve hardly paid for any seeds! Why? Well the beans are a result of last year’s poor attempts, and through various promotions (Homebase, RHS, and the Sun’s potato competition) we’ve managed to get most of what we need to create a garden to rival my Fiancée’s Farmville attempt on Facebook (try saying that after a few ciders).

And with us only just being in May we’ve already had a load of radishes, some lettuce, and the gorgeous weather means it probably won’t be long before we get some tomatoes and strawberries. The potatoes are shooting up, the cabbage look strong and the only pests I’m having to deal with are my pesky cats, at this rate I’m going to have to issue ASBO’s to the blighters the number of times they’ve broken through the netting on one particular bed (I wonder if I could hook up an Ipad to flash up an image of a large dog to growl at them each time they attempt it?)

Project: Get Published.

Not written for a while (well not here anyway). With the new baby on the way the whole 'I Must provide more for my family' instinct has kicked in (much to the annoyance of the other half who insists I must decorate the house/get clothes for the impending arrival).

The latest project is writing a childrens book, will it take off? Who knows. But I think I'm offering something fresh for the picture book market.


First revisions are pretty much done and been looked at by the family with positive results. A couple of tweaks and I'll send it to Agents/Publishers...

Grrrr... Doctors Receptionists

I'm sure there are some very good ones out there, but the receptionists at our doctors forgot to 'write down' our midwife appointment for yesterday! Luckily they were able to fit us in today. I'm guessing the receptionist that took the appointment in the first place has biro all over her monitor...

Car Seat Review - Maxi-Cosi Tobi

The Maxi-Cosi Tobi is a Group 1 car seat for children weighing 9-18kg and has won numerous awards over the past few years, but how easy is it to use in reality?

We've now had our Tobi for about 3 years and in my opinion is one of the best seats out there in comparison to the others we own (we have a few due to my partner being a childminder).

Design


The Tobi is a well designed and, according to my daughter, comfortable seat (she always gets in this first even though she now has a Group 2 seat). It is available in a number of different colour schemes to suit your child and/or car, and Maxi-Cosi regularly release new colour schemes.

The car seat cover is machine washable, but it will take you a couple of goes to master the knack of removing/ replacing after washing, once mastered though it can be done within a few seconds (and believe me if you're little one is anything like ours you'll be washing it regularly). The seat is well padded throughout, with extra protection at the sides and around the head to minimise injury in the event of an impact.

Getting your child in and out couldn't be easier. The straps are 'spring-loaded' so are open ready when the child gets in, and open easily when they are released, and once in the harness can be easily tightened with one hand by pulling the appropriate strap, and an indicator to ensure the child is secure. Several adjustments can also be made to the headrest and tilt of the seat so that the child is comfortable on long journeys.


Securing The Seat

As with all car seats you'll need to check with the manufacturer that it will fit your particular model of car (see here for Maxi-Cosi). The Tobi has an innovative systems using a typical three-point belt, with an easy to use guide system, as well as a tension leaver to make sure the seat is as secure as possible.

Overall

We still rate this as one of the best seats we've ever owned and will be using at soon as the new arrival is here and big enough. It's a solid seat and 'feels' safe when in the car and makes me wish we'd carried on with Maxi-Cosi for our Group 2 choice, I really can't recommend this enough. If you need a Group 1 car seat you can't go far wrong with this.

Book Review - Dawn of the Demontide by William Hussey

The honour of being my first review goes to William Hussey's 'Dawn of the Demontide' from the Witchfinder series.

The story follows a teenager as he struggles to cope with the changes and challenges life throws at him, both as a regular youngster and as someone with a mysterious and secretive birthright. Without giving too much away there are murders, witches, magic, demons, kidnaps, with a bit of fringe science thrown in for good measure.

Hussey's writing style provides an enjoyable and easy narrative, providing enough reveals along the way to keep you hooked throughout. The style, although very much his own, reminded me of a toned down Brian Lumley (remember this is aimed at Young Adults) which is no bad thing at all. The characters are well developed and interesting, with many having moments of light/darkness showing that there are always grey areas in the human soul, and there are enough twists to surprise even the most seasoned reader.

Overall this is one of the most enjoyable reads I've had for some time (my reading is mainly done on the daily commute, and this tore my attention away from playing my PSP and surfing the net), and comes highly recommended.

4.5/5 Stars

For more information on William Hussey and the Witchfinder series please see http://www.witchfinderbooks.co.uk/

DBN