Review of the Kurio Smart tablet / laptop

The Kurio Smart is a two-in-one tablet with detachable keyboard. It’s being targeted at the children’s market. The marketing catch phrase being used to promote the device states it is for “homework to play.” Does it live up to this claim and would it be a good Christmas gift?

First of all, let’s be realistic about what you are buying. It has a hard, durable plastic case, 8.9in screen, 1Gb of Ram and 32GB of storage. It is a perfectly good, solid machine but it isn’t powerful enough to control the International Space Station.

My eldest daughter got along okay with it. She preferred to remove the keyboard and use it as a tablet. The Kurio Smart claims to be preloaded with a range of games. This is true and Helen played a few, but be advised the pre-loaded games are mostly bloatware. You’ll want to swiftly download your own, especially if you want your offspring to play anything educational.

In terms of using the pre-loaded Microsoft Office apps, this wasn’t of huge interest to Helen, who is six. I think this machine would be great for children who are slightly older and who need to use a computer for their school work. Helen isn’t quite at the stage but for kids of nine, ten or teenagers, the Kurio Smart could be a very good option.

Needless to say, I gave it a go to get the adult’s opinion. I had never used a two-in-one before. I loved the detachable keyboard. I would use this over and over again if I were out and about and had to write articles for my blog or fulfilling other basic admin tasks.

It’s the perfect size to fit in a manbag or handbag. It would be ideal to use on the go in a café or on public transport and I fully see myself doing this in the future.

It has a two-way camera. It takes pictures of a reasonable quality, but they resolution is a little grainy. Likewise, the speakers are a little tinny. The audio is fine for watching episodes of Peppa Pig, but possibly not for listening to Rachmanimoff. Battery life is okay, but not spectacular. It does need regular charging and I would have hoped for something that lasted for a bit longer.

The Kurio Smart comes pre-installed with Windows 8.1. Needless to say, as soon as I switched on the machine, it upgraded to Windows 10. Keep this in mind! If you buy one for a child, they’ll need to wait 30 minutes or so until the machine is useable.

In conclusion, I really liked the Kurio Smart. There’s no point pretending this is a high-end machine with masses of memory and Band & Oulfsen speakers. It isn’t; it’s a solid performer that’s been put together for the children’s market. It’s probably best for children slightly older than mine, but for those aged nine years or older, I can see it being a great choice. It’s also great for us adults who need to perform basic tasks while on the go. In answer to the question I set at the beginning of this review, I’m sure it would be well received as a gift on Christmas day.

The Kurio Smart is available from ebuyer.com. Presently avaiable at £195, you can buy it now for £160.

Disclosure: I was provided with a Kurio Smart for review purposes by ebuyer.com. Thoughst and opinions entirely my own.