Kurio Tab Advance is a premium tablet using an Android OS platform (6.0 Marshmallow) for children. This 7 inch HD screen tablet is fully surrounded with an anti-shock bumper. It also has blue light protection (software to help protect the users eyes), 16 GB of memory, new weekly educational app content delivery, pre-loaded with 40 apps, games & ebooks (including Motion Gaming), front & back camera and video recorder. It has a micro SD card slot giving users the option to add up to 32 GB of memory.
In the box, it also comes with a micro USB cable with power adaptor and instructions. For the first initial use, they recommend a 3 hour charge. So if you are buying one for Christmas or birthday present, you might want to charge it first before wrapping it up!
During initial set up, you will need to key in your Wi-Fi passcode and also sign into your Google Play account. It took me around 30 minutes to set it up with all the updates. If you are worried that this tablet is going to be associated with your Google account, you need not worry as you are able to disable the account for the child profile. There are all the other Google apps including Gmail, YouTube, Maps and Photos, the latter of which is authorised by default in each kid’s profile. It is good that Kurio uses Google profiles rather than its own system so it is easy to switch between profiles and manage content. It also means that as the child grows up they can also use more appropriate apps. I also love that there are a lot of pre-loaded games and free trial vouchers to upgrade to the Premium service with this tablet.
The table allows you to be able to set up to eight profiles and each profile offers fully separate files, apps, web filtering, downloads, parental controls and more! I have just set up one profile for Ms C as this is going to be for her use only. It’s simple to set up the parental app like adjusting the time controls by using the touchscreen to configure hours of use per day, play time range and session duration. You are also able to turn on/off the blue light protection. I understand the idea behind this, but I do find this protection makes the screen slightly too orangey. Ms C finds it quite acceptable though.
Kurio reassures parents that their advanced filtering system allows children to access thousands of websites safely, by blocking websites that may contain inappropriate content, categories and updates 18+ billion webpages daily!
For the Child’s menu, they get the option to change their avatar (20 to choose or use your own photo), 13 themes, wallpaper, password and adjust the blue light filter. Ms C was thrilled to find a My Little Pony theme on it! She’s a massive fan and it’s one of her favourite shows so she’s really happy. I do like the layout of the menu itself. The categories are clear and well laid out.
This tablet comes with front and rear cameras (0.3 MP and 2 MP respectively). Selfies are nothing to shout about because of the low resolution front camera. Nevertheless children won’t care about the picture quality. My daughter keeps taking random photos and videos without noticing if they are blurred or not. For the rear camera, you can set the photo quality to 1 M or 2 M and videos can be SD 480p, HD 720p or HD 1080p.
There is also Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a mono speaker, headphone jack and a microSD card slot. The micro USB port is used for charging and synchronising, and also supports USB OTG (on-the-go) so you can access files stored on a compatible flash drive.
The screen specs is 1024 x 600 resolution which is acceptable and it is sensitive to touch. General navigation is quite quick and responsive and apps load swiftly. When you install an app from Google Play, you are asked to assign it to a category so that it appears in the right place in the child interface and also because of the time limit system.
Overall I love that this is not just a tablet for children, in fact, this tablet will grow with them. You can make adjustment as they grows. Also children will get weekly new updates to help develop their knowledge in STEM. They make a great Christmas gift or birthday present. It is available to buy from a number of retailers including Amazon, Smyth’s Toys and Argos. For more information, please visit: http://kurioworld.com/uk/products/kurio-tab-advance/
Here are the links from Amazon:
Do check out my reviews on Kurio Watch 2.0 and Kurio Snap.
Disclosure: We received the sample for the purposes of writing this review, however all thoughts and opinions remain our own. Contains Amazon affiliate links.
