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.
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
