Kurio has revealed its latest kid-centric tablet with the Kurio Smart. However, it looks like having their own tablet is no longer a free pass for kids to binge watch their favorite cartoons and play Minecraft for days at a time. That's because the Kurio Smart is also being billed as a homework-friendly 2-in-1 thanks to running Windows, coming with a year's personal subscription to Microsoft Office 365, and featuring a detachable keyboard.
Last year we picked the Kurio Tab as one of the best tablets for kids. This was in part because of the parent-pleasing controls and the ability to set limits on what features could be used and when. This sort of control is still possible on the Kurio Smart in the form of Windows Family Safety where grown-ups can set time limits, block certain apps and enable child-friendly internet filtering.
Parents will probably be drawn to the Kurio Smart because it better allows kids to do their homework than other child-focused tablets like the Fire HD (Kids Edition) or Nabi DreamTab HD 8, which are arguably more about watching and playing than productivity. And it could also mean an end to your little-one hogging your laptop and then returning it smeared with chocolate.
The device runs Windows OS (previous Kurio tablets used Android), is loaded with Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Onenote and offers unlimited storage on OneDrive. It also comes with a detachable keyboard, which offers protection for the screen when not in use.
However, it's not all boring homework stuff, the Kurio Smart also features kid-favorite games and apps like Minion Rush and Sonic Dash, with further apps available from the Windows Store. The tablet continues to offer Kurio Motion Technology motion-sensing games which work like the LeapTV or Xbox Kinect to incorporate gamers' movements via a camera. 18 such games are available including Wingsuit, Mountain Bike, and Dance.
In terms of tablet specifications, the Kurio Smart offers a 8.9-inch touchscreen with a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, an Intel Atom Z3735G quad-core processor, 1 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, with the option to double this using a microSD card. As you would expect, there's Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity built-in.
A micro HDMI connection also means the tablet can be easily plugged into an external display, which could be handy for those multiplayer motion games or getting homework done on a bigger screen. There are front and rear cameras with respective 0.3 and 2 megapixel resolutions, and the battery is said to offer up to 5 hours of use.
The Kurio Smart tablet is due to be available this month priced at £180 ($200 in the US). While current units run Windows 8.1, this is upgradeable to Windows 10, and from the end of September all new Kurio Smart tablets will ship with Windows 10.
Product page: Kurio Smart