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Reviews<br />
£99 inc VAT<br />
TABLET<br />
Kurio Tab 2<br />
Contact<br />
• kurioworld.com/k/uk<br />
Specifications<br />
7in 1024x600 capacitive<br />
touchscreen; Android 5<br />
(Lollipop); 8GB storage;<br />
1.3GHz quad-core<br />
processor Mediatek<br />
MTK8127; 2Mp main<br />
camera; 0.3Mp front<br />
camera (640x480 max<br />
video resolution); 3.5mm<br />
headphone jack; Micro-USB<br />
sync/charge port; microSD<br />
slot (32GB max);<br />
Micro-HDMI output; Wi-Fi<br />
(802.11b/g/n); Bluetooth 4.0;<br />
240x170x60mm; 581g;<br />
1-year warranty<br />
Build:<br />
Features:<br />
Performance:<br />
Value:<br />
Children’s tablets are improving,<br />
with many now being ‘proper’<br />
tablets instead of ‘toys’. They have<br />
proprietary app stores and none of<br />
the apps your kids actually want.<br />
Kurio reckons it has come up with<br />
the best yet in the Tab 2.<br />
We’re always wary of any product<br />
that claims to be the ultimate, but<br />
Kurio goes even further with the<br />
Tab 2, saying it’s also the “safest<br />
tablet for kids”. It’s not perfect, but<br />
it is one of the better options if you<br />
don’t want to hand over your iPad<br />
(or buy your kids their own).<br />
It’s similar in some ways to<br />
LeapFrog’s new Epic tablet, which<br />
we looked at last month, but it runs<br />
a newer version of Android which<br />
you can freely access.<br />
Design<br />
This is a decent-looking 7in<br />
Android tablet, which comes with<br />
a protective rubber bumper that’s<br />
more streamlined than usual. This<br />
covers the corners and should<br />
prevent damage from the inevitable<br />
drops the tablet will endure during<br />
its life. A removable plastic cover<br />
at the back slots into the bumper<br />
in two places to offer two viewing<br />
angles, but it’s hard to attach.<br />
There are front and rear cameras<br />
(0.3- and 2.1Mp respectively),<br />
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a Micro-HDMI<br />
output. There’s also a mono speaker,<br />
headphone jack and a microSD<br />
card slot for adding up to 32GB on<br />
top of the internal 8GB (only 1GB<br />
of usable storage is available out<br />
of the box). The Micro-USB port is<br />
used for charging and synching, and<br />
also supports USB OTG (on-the-go),<br />
so you can access files stored on a<br />
compatible flash drive.<br />
The tablet is well built, but<br />
the screen specs are below<br />
expectations. We’ve long criticised<br />
Children’s tablets for having low<br />
resolutions, but more importantly<br />
poor viewing angles. The Tab 2’s<br />
1024x600 resolution is the same<br />
as that of the new £49 Amazon<br />
Fire, but the fact that Kurio didn’t<br />
opt for an IPS screen means<br />
colours don’t look right unless<br />
you’re looking square-on.<br />
We could also level criticism<br />
at the poor-quality cameras, but<br />
the Amazon Fire shares the same<br />
specs. We’ve yet to see a kids’ tablet<br />
with acceptable video and photo<br />
quality at any price. Opposite are<br />
a couple of photos which show the<br />
poor quality of the rear camera (the<br />
front is even worse).<br />
Performance is mixed. The<br />
quad-core processor is speedy<br />
enough, but sometimes apps take<br />
a long time to load and the screen<br />
isn’t always sensitive to a light<br />
touch and a firmer press is needed<br />
to register a tap.<br />
Software<br />
Software is just as important as<br />
hardware on a kids’ tablet. Kurio’s<br />
system isn’t nearly as slick as<br />
Amazon or LeapFrog’s, with small,<br />
hard-to-read icons and a less-<br />
56 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews February 2016
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