US hiring on fire in October, jobless rate falls to 5 pct.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. hiring roared back in October after two disappointing months as employers added 271,000 jobs, the most since December. The unemployment rate fell to a fresh seven-year low of 5 percent.
Amazon's latest tablet cuts a few too many corners for the price. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
The Fire HD 10 is Amazon's latest full-sized tablet, but it cuts far too many corners and isn't cheap.
Amazon's Fire tablets have been hit and miss over the past four years. They offer a decent screen, reasonable specifications and tight integration into Amazon's ecosystem of movies, TV shows, music, books and apps at a low cost that undercuts almost everything else. The Fire HD 10 tries to continue that trend.
Utilitarian outside The back of the tablet is a glossy plastic that picks up fingerprints and scratches easily. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the GuardianThe design of the Fire HD 10 is very utilitarian. Covered in a soft, glossy plastic that I managed to mark within seconds of getting it out of the box, it looks cheap.
Amazon made a big deal about the tablet being durable and surviving 200 turns in the company's tumble test compared to the iPad Air 2's 30. I dropped it a few times onto carpet without breaking it, but didn't set out to try and destroy it. It feels well put together, but the body is more flexible than I would have expected.
The buttons and ports all line the top edge, which means either your hand covers the volume buttons and headphones port or power button and microUSB port when held to watch video.
At 7.7mm thick it is surprisingly thin for a low-end tablet. It also has relatively compact bezels around the 10.1in widescreen, which makes it feel narrow but long for a tablet. At 432g it isn't too heavy to hold for a 40 minute TV show, but I found myself searching for somewhere to prop it up when trying to finish a 2.5 hour movie.
The build and body are OK. The screen is the biggest let down of all. It's 10.1in with a 720p resolution and low pixel density of 149 pixels per inch. For comparison most tablets have at least 200ppi. Amazon's previous large Fire HD, the HD 8.9, had a 1080p screen with 254ppi.
The screen is not sharp, which makes text, icons and pictures look less than crisp. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the GuardianIt doesn't matter too much for video, which looks passable, with average colour and good viewing angles, but text, icons, photos and other static things look noticeably pixelated.
It's particularly obvious when you attempt to read a book on it, which looks like something from five years ago. Although Amazon's Bookerly typeface helps – switching to helvetica accentuates the problem – I found it difficult to read for extended periods as the text was just not crisp enough at the small size I would normally read.
The stereo speakers on the side of the tablet were surprisingly good and loud for tablet speakers. Still not good enough to use as a dedicated music player, but fine for watching a video while cooking.
SpecificationsThe Fire HD 10.1 has a quad-core MediaTek processor and 1GB of RAM, which is not up to the task of powering the tablet. Some things ran fine, but actually launching them or switching between different tasks was dogged by a lag long enough to make you wonder whether the tablet had crashed.
When the tablet first starts up it operates fine. Loading the first video from Amazon's Prime Instant Video also works fine. But it's when you start to load the second, or switch to another app that things start to creak.
Video playback could sometimes be smooth, but would often miss frames and judder. Swiping across the homescreen could also lag badly, while installing apps brought the tablet to a crawl.
Graphically intensive games such as Real Racing 3 were virtually unplayable, while even Monument Valley stuttered from time to time.
The battery lasted around seven hours of video playback. The biggest issue for battery life is that the screen does not have an ambient light sensor and does not adjust brightness automatically, which means it's often too bright or too dull.
Charging took forever. It took five hours to fully charge the Fire HD 10. Most tablets charge in two to three hours.
Wi-Fi reception was also poor. In the same places that a Google Nexus 6P or iPad Air 2 would pick up a strong Wi-Fi signal, around 12m from the router, the Fire HD 10 would struggle. Download speeds of apps and video were also very slow. The internet connection to the router was not the limiting factor.
Fire OS 5 Fire OS 5 is a step up over previous Amazon operating systems. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the GuardianThe Fire HD 10 comes with Amazon's latest version of Fire OS 5, which is based on last year's Android 5 Lollipop. A familiar app grid is available on the homescreen, but swiping left and right to sort through categories.
Swiping across to books, for instance, displays your purchased books at the top, recommendations for free books if you have Amazon Prime or Kindle Unlimited and then further recommendations based on your purchase history. The same goes for video, games, apps, music, audiobooks, newsstand and Amazon shopping.
The left-most screen shows recently used or watched items, which is the fastest way of getting back into content.
It works well, and makes the best of a consumption-based tablet. It's the first tablet software I've seen that has gone significantly beyond the standard app grid and is arguably the best thing about the Fire HD 10.
The rest of the software isn't quite as good. Swipe down from the top to see notifications and what looks like a set of quick toggles for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, screen rotation, do not disturb and others. But in fact most are just shortcuts to the settings screens, not toggles, which is disappointing.
One Amazon account has to be registered to the tablet, but multiple user profiles including children's profiles can be setup, which is good for a family tablet.
Fire OS will run many Android apps, but only has access to the Amazon app store. It has a growing selection of apps, including paid-for apps available for free under Amazon's Prime "underground" promotion, but it is not as extensive as Google Play and does not have all the latest apps and games.
CameraThe five-megapixel rear camera and front-facing VGA selfie camera are poor. They capture dim, dull, blurry images lacking in detail.
Price The lockscreen displays adverts unless you pay an extra £10 to remove the 'special offers'. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the GuardianThe 16GB Amazon Fire HD 10 with adverts on the lock screen costs £170 in black or white. The 32GB version costs £200, while removing the adverts costs £10.
Samsung's similar 9.7in Galaxy Tab A costs £179, while the far superior 8in Galaxy Tab S2 costs £240 from Amazon with 32GB of storage. Apple's cheapest iPad costs £219. Tesco's Hudl 2 cost £99, and several of last year's high-end tablets are available for around £200.
VerdictThe Amazon Fire HD 10 is not a good tablet and does not live up to the standard set by its predecessors and Amazon's other hardware.
The new Fire OS 5 has some good ideas and is a step up from the previous versions of the operating system. Amazon die-hards will like the integration of the company's movies, TV, books and other services.
But the 10in screen just isn't of high enough resolution to make the most of Amazon's services, the processor isn't powerful enough to run graphically intensive games and it lags with even simple tasks.
The biggest problem with the Fire HD 10 is that it isn't cheap. If it was £100, most of the shortcomings could be forgiven, but at £170 there are plenty of competing tablets that offer better experiences.
Pros: great Amazon integration, survived a few drops without breaking, microSD card slot
Cons: low resolution screen, slow processor, laggy performance, weak Wi-Fi, not automatic brightness adjustment, poor cameras, very slow charging
Other reviewsBut tablets are history
The PC will make a comeback, but the so-called Tablet revolution is history, according to the Chipmaker who missed out on it.
Kirk Skaugen, GM of Intel's client computing group told the Intel Global Capital Summit that there are more than a billion PCs that are more than three years old and a third of a billion that are over five years old. People are coming back to the PC and refreshing their systems.
It used to be that people upgraded every two years or so, but in the last five years silicon has got so powerful that no one saw the need. The problem is that they still don't and Skaugen hopes that two-in-one detachable-screen systems, will be a major growth driver.
Sales of two-in-one systems are up 150 per cent, he claimed, and are leading to people wanting to refresh their PCs up to 18 months earlier than they would have. Mini computers are another growth market.
Without the growth in two-in-ones, the laptop market in the US would have shown 4 per cent negative growth, Skaugen said. However the new forms created a one per cent growth. He thinks the new hardware that such systems are starting to carry, particularly 3D cameras are going to have people rushing back to laptops.
The big loser in all of this is going to be the tablet market. Intel had got the growth in tablets wrong, he said, and is now revising its forecasts.
"18 months ago many people thought that tablet sales were going to cross over PCs in 2014. Now we're sure they won't ever. Intel has taken a billion units out of our forecasts in the last year," he said.
That is just as well because Intel never made a sustainable dent into the tablet market, but it also fulfilled our predictions that the technology never solved any problems. It was still the same toy that Microsoft had been attempting to sell without success for years and they never had a use.
Review: Beefed up GPU trumps Bay Trail
It's been almost two years since we reviewed our first device based on Intel's Bay Trail Atom System-on-Chop (SoC). Obviously, it's time for a refresh, and it comes in the form of the eagerly anticipated Cherry Trail platform. To be more precise, Atom x5- and x7-series parts, codenamed Cherryview, are the new 14nm chips, while x3 branding is reserved for SoFIA chips.
Cherryview/Cherry Trail products are based on the Airmont microarchitecture, which isn't entirely new. Airmont is a 14nm shrink of Silvermont, which is used in Bay Trail. There is really no need to explain why the move from 22nm to 14nm is important, especially in mobile chips; it enables Intel to reach for higher clocks while maintaining the same TDP/SDP as on slower, previous generation chips.
However, it's important to distinguish between Airmont and Cherry Trail. Although the Airmont CPU is a die-shrink, it is just part of the new SoC package. The other part, which is entirely new, is the GPU.
Cherry Trail utilises the latest Intel GPU available, the Gen8 architecture employed in Broadwell processors. Bay Trail used Ivy Bridge graphics, and it had to make do with just 4 execution units (EUs). Cherry Trail-based Atom x5 and Atom x7 parts pack 12 to 16 EUs respectively. The Atom x7 Z8700 is best known as the SoC behind Microsoft's Surface 3 tablet.
However, today we will be taking a look at Teclast's X98 Pro tablet, based on the Atom x5 Z8500 SoC, which is bound to end up in a lot more devices than the x7. In addition to the x5 Z8500, Intel currently offers the marginally slower Atom x5 Z8300, which we reviewed a month ago. Both chips have the same 1.44GHz base clock, but on Turbo the Z8500 can hit 2.24GHz, while its little brother maxes out at 1.84GHz. They are priced at $25 and $20 respectively, while the x7 Z8700 costs $35. These may not sound like big differences, but in the era of commoditised tablets, a $10-20 difference means a lot from a BoM perspective.
There aren't that many Cherry Trail devices on the market right now. A number have been announced, but few are actually shipping. We managed to get our hands on an inexpensive iPad-esque tablet from Teclast, which features the new platform, and we suspect the rest of the spec will be quite similar on big-brand devices as well.
The Teclast X98 Pro is based on the Atom x5 Z8500, backed by 4GB of DDR3 RAM and 64GB of storage. The tablet ships as a dual-boot system, and it's priced at $230 with free shipping (customs and tax may apply).
Before we get to the benchmarks, let's take a closer look at the device.
Design and Build QualityWith a 4:3 9.7-inch 2048 x 1536 (QXGA) display, it's obvious the Teclast X98 Pro takes its design cues from Apple's iPad. It measures 239 x 169 x 8mm (9.39 x 6.64 x 0.31 inches) and weighs 526 grams, so it's not as slim and sleek as the iPad, but it's not chubby, either.
The chassis is aluminium, although the finish does not match Apple's in terms of quality. The back is broken up by a piece of plastic trim, which houses antennas and the 5-megapixel camera.
The buttons aren't aluminium either, they are plastic, and they could have been a bit better.
While the metal finish may not be as good as on iPads, it's still not bad. It feels quite good and our biggest complaints have nothing to do with the finish or build, but rather with the branding and regulatory stuff at the back. There's just too much text back there, and it doesn't look good.
As far as aesthetics go, there is really not a lot we can say. For better or for worse, this is an iPad clone, which may be a good thing among some consumers, and a bad thing among others. This is entirely subjective, although we feel the iPad clone look is played out and using a somewhat different design to differentiate the design from the competition would probably help Teclast in some markets.
It is also important to note that Teclast does not state what sort of glass is used on the screen. It's obviously not Gorilla Glass, as this would be a good selling point and the company probably wouldn't forget to mention it. The screen is not laminated, either, and there appears to be no oleophobic coating on the glass. This is more or less the norm when it comes to budget tablets, so we won't hold it against this particular device. On the upside, Teclast uses an IGZO panel from LG, so display quality is very good.
Micro USB, 3.5mm audio and micro HDMI ports are located at the bottom.
The exposed microSD slot and microphone are on the left.
No ports on buttons on the right, but at least you can check out the viewing angles.
Teclast X98 Pro Specs and PerformanceNow we get to the meaty part: Intel Cherry Trail performance. Before we proceed to our benchmark scores, let's list the full Teclast X98 Pro spec:
A couple of things stand out in this list. There's no mobile data, although we suspect it will be integrated in future models. While you get a cutting-edge SoC package, you don't get the latest eMMC 5.0 storage. All this is understandable on a budget device and it's no big deal. Our biggest problem is the lack of an ambient light sensor, which would help extend battery life and improve user experience by dimming the screen automatically. Budget or not, a tablet needs this cheap and useful sensor.
Despite these foibles, all the building blocks of a high-performance Wintel tablet are here, so let's see what Cherry Trail can do.
Since Airmont is a die-shrink of Silvermont, there are no spectacular improvements in CPU performance. Slightly higher clocks help in CPU-bound benchmarks, but don't expect any miracles, especially not in sustained performance, when both parts start throttling.
The addition of 4GB of RAM will make a bigger difference in everyday tasks than a somewhat higher CPU clock. With more RAM, there's less digging though storage that has to be done, which is always good. However, even though Telcast uses eMMC 4.51 storage in the X98 Pro, our tests indicate the transfers speeds are not bad at all. In fact, looking at external reviews of the Surface 3, we can conclude that Teclast is roughly on a par with Microsoft's tablet, which is good news considering the huge price gap between these two devices.
So, if the CPU isn't much faster, what exactly makes Cherry Trail so different? Well, Intel used the die area and thermal envelopes made possible by the 14nm node to integrate a vastly more powerful GPU in the new SoC. GPU performance is the key difference between Bay Trail and Cherry Trail.
Our benchmarks indicate the difference is truly staggering: We are looking at a twofold to threefold boost in most tests and real-life applications. For example, we tried WoT Blitz on a Bay Trail tablet and the review sample, demonstrating a huge performance gap between the two platforms. On the Bay Trail device, we usually got 23-28 FPS on Low detail settings, while the Cherry Trail-based Teclast had no trouble delivering 45-55FPS on High detail settings, with loads of additional eye candy features enabled. This is obviously a good score, considering the 2048x1536 resolution and the fact that WoT Blitz is a very demanding title.
This is great news for Intel and end-consumers. Bay Trail was a good performer, and when it launched, the four Ivy Bridge EUs could keep up with most GPUs used in high-end ARM processors at the time, such as Qualcomm's Adreno 320. However, that was almost two years ago, and by today's standards Bay Trail's GPU is mid-range at best (at this point we are just being kind here). Cherry Trail's Gen8 GPU, with three times as many EUs and a newer architecture, is a different beast. Basic Windows benchmarks indicate that the new GPU is a good performer that should stand the test of time better than Bay Trail's GPU. In Android, the sample performed much better.
So far so good, but once you get deeper into it, things turn for the worse. Throttling was our biggest problem with this test unit, especially in GPU-bound tests. Although the 14nm node allowed Intel to stick more transistors into this tiny SoC package and beef up the GPU, it did not do wonders in the thermal department. Sure, you can expect a lot more from 14nm processors, but the idea behind Cherry Trail wasn't to simply make it more efficient than its 22nm predecessor; it's supposed to be a better performer as well, especially in the GPU department.
This is the Windows 3Dmark score, and it's not very impressive. However, we had more luck in Android, with a score of 24606 (Unlimited).
This means the new SoC has the exact same scenario design power (SDP) as comparable Bay Trail SKUs, albeit with a slight clock bump. On full blast, the added 8 EUs can generate quite a bit of heat, and we suspect Cherry Trail can heat up faster than Bay Trail in GPU-bound applications and benchmarks. The GPU was the bottleneck on Bay Trail parts, but on Cherry Trail it is not, so it can heat up in no time.
In CPU stress tests, the core temperature hits 85°C before the SoC starts throttling and cutting the CPU clock from 2.24GHz to 1.4GHz. This can take a few minutes and it's nothing unusual on mobile parts. They are not designed for sustained performance and high Turbo clocks are only supposed to speed up application launches and other demanding tasks. Most of the time, the system doesn't have to go into Turbo territory, because most people simply don't use tablets for demanding productivity applications and games.
In Aida and Sandra, the new Cherry Trail SoC performs well.
However, when we tried pushing the GPU to its limits using FurMark, things escalated much quicker. It was not a matter of minutes, as throttling started becoming apparent less than a minute into the test. The temperature went up in no time, and the clocks went down accordingly. This, of course, happens on Bay Trail and other mobile SoCs as well, but it's a bitter pill to swallow, considering the threefold increase in EU count and the use of a new manufacturing node. It's easy to argue that Cherry Trail will still outperform Bay Trail when it throttles its GPU, because it will, even at lower clocks, but that's beside the point.
Once again, we should note that we are dealing with a pre-production hardware sample from a small, budget brand. It's possible that Teclast cut some corners to ship these units as soon as possible, which would explain these issues to some extent. However, the company has been churning out Bay Trail tablets in the exact same chassis for a while, and we suspect it simply kept using the exact same cooling layout. It's obviously not good enough, and while it could handle Bay Trail and its much smaller GPU, it simply fails to dissipate the heat generated by Cherry Trail's 12 EUs. We suspect a lot of fine tuning in Windows needed, as the tablet did not exhibit nearly as many GPU performance issues in Android.
In Antutu, it outpaced Bay Trail devices by about 50%, and it beat the Moorefield processor in the Asus Zenfone 2 by about 10%
In Geekbench 3, we got an average multi-core test, but the single-core results were quite good.
Ironically, while throttling is a problem for Teclast, it gives us chip geeks a chance to compare two generations of processors in the exact same chassis, with the same cooling, which is not something we get a chance to do often. It illustrates that Cherry Trail, despite its advanced 14nm node, may require better cooling than Bay Trail, to compensate for the added GPU muscle.
On the other hand, FurMark is a tad too much for a mobile device. If you use this tablet as any other tablet, for browsing and content consumption, you shouldn't experience a lot of problems. However, if you want to run demanding games, you will encounter a lot of throttling.
Storage performance was adequate for this type of device, but by no means impressive.
The Teclast X98 features a very good 2048x1536 IGZO panel from LG, which translates into about 264ppi on 9.7 inches. It's an IPS panel and viewing angles are good. We have no complaints about the brightness, either.
However, things could have been better. We can understand the lack of oleophobic coating and hardened glass in this price range, as well as the fact that the digitizer is not laminated, but the failure to include an ambient light sensor is a problem. It would have helped improve battery life and user experience. It's not a huge deal if you use your tablet solely in your living room, but if you want to take it outside, or like to read in your bed, you'll have to adjust the brightness manually.
On the audio front, the tablet has a weak speaker, which is disappointing given the good spec and snappy GPU that make gaming enjoyable. We've heard louder and clearer speakers on $100 phones. The microphone is average, but you can use a 3.5mm headset for the occasional Skype call, should you need it. Output via the 3.5mm port is loud and clear. The puny integrated speaker is definitely the weakest link here.
We don't bother doing extensive imaging tests in tablet reviews because most people don't use tablets to take a lot of photos. Still, the rear 5-megapixel camera based on an OmniVision sensor is actually quite good. It's better than comparable units used on cheap tablets. The front-facing shooter is a 2-megapixel affair and it gets the job done. It's good enough for video calls, but it's not spectacular by any stretch of the imagination.
OS, UI and Everyday UseWe already pointed out that we received a pre-production sample with Windows 10 and Android 5.1.
In addition to being our first Cherry Trail tablet, this is also the first tablet we had a chance to test with Windows 10 out-of-the-box. We won't spend too much time on Redmond's new OS, but we will note that the user experience is somewhat better than on Windows 8.1 tablets. Quite a few issues have been addressed and Windows 10 appears to handle 2048x1536 displays much better than its predecessors. There is still room for improvement, and if you need to run legacy Windows applications on a small, high-res display, you will run into a few problems.
Performance is not an issue, unless you want to run benchmarks of Windows games. The user interface is smooth as silk in both operating systems, and there's really not much to complain about. Windows 10 does take up quite a bit of room, so we ended up with about 29GB of free storage. The Android partition is 20GB in total, and the amount of available space depends on what you do with the preinstalled apps. That's not bad, and you can add more storage using the microSD slot (which can handle fast UHS cards, too). The eMMC drive is relatively fast, and thanks to the 4GB of RAM, the X98 Pro is a good multitasker. The micro HDMI port at the bottom is a welcome addition as well.
In most respects, you simply forget this is a cheap tablet, because it punches above its weight in most everyday usage scenarios.
Switching between Windows and Android isn't as straightforward as on some dual-boot devices we had a chance to test, and the boot menu is ugly. This doesn't have an impact of performance, but it just goes to show that the device needs a bit more polish. We also don't like the stock Teclast launcher, or the fact that it's not easily replaceable.
While we did list a few glaring issues, such as the lack of an ambient light sensor and aggressive throttling in Windows, in everyday use the tablet performed quite well. Sure, these annoyances are hard to overlook, but at least you get good everyday performance. Throttling in Windows is a problem only if you run a lot of GPU-bound applications or benchmarks, but it doesn't affect user experience while browsing or using basic productivity applications. Performance is better in Android, because there's not nearly as much throttling to deal with. The launcher is smooth, but we just don't like the layout, or the dozen or so bloatware apps (luckily almost all can be uninstalled in seconds).
Battery life should not be an issue, provided you don't push it too hard. The 8000mAh battery is sufficient for about 5-6 hours of content consumption in Android (browsing, occasional video), but it really depends on the brightness, which isn't controlled automatically. We expected more.
Although we are dealing with a new 14nm processor, don't get too carried away – the display needs a lot of juice. Also, the powerful processor can consume just as much power under load as Bay Trail (although it will deliver superior performance). Here's the problem: Cherry Trail can deliver superior sustained GPU performance due to its superior manufacturing process and additional EUs, but this means that under load it can consume more power than Bay Trail, because the latter would be forced to throttle sooner.
ConclusionIntel's new Atom x5 Z8500 SoC is a winner on paper, but in real life we were let down by Windows throttling issues on our review sample. We could have received a lemon lacking thermal paste, or it could be a problem with device driver optimisation. We suspect driver issues in Windows, but nonetheless we feel we didn't get a chance to experience the x5 Z8500 in its full glory. That said, we did manage to get some great benchmark results with a cold device in Windows, along with good sustained performance figures in Android, which were enough to show off the chip's potential, and we can conclude that the Atom x5 Z8500 is an excellent chip.
This particular Atom SKU supports up to 8GB of RAM, dual-channel memory, and boasts a powerful GPU with 12 EUs, yet it's relatively inexpensive. We've already seen slower Cherry Trail parts in $100 devices and that's what really matters – these chips are coming to commoditised Android and Windows tablets and mini PCs, yet they offer performance on a par with some high-end devices launched in the last year or so. The GPU performance boost is impressive and makes Intel's platform a lot more attractive for Android gaming, not to mention cheap media boxes.
Bottom line: Intel has a winner on its hands, an inexpensive 14nm chip that will end up in tens of millions of commoditised Windows and Android devices, bringing excellent performance to the masses. Not everyone can afford a high-end tablet or PC, but Cherry Trail chips like the x5 Z8500 will allow cash strapped geeks around the world to enjoy a lot of performance on cheap devices, running the two most prolific operating systems on the planet.
As for the Teclast X98 Pro, we experienced a fair amount of throttling and felt the rest of the device couldn't keep up with the processor. Hopefully this is just a kink, since we're dealing with a pre-production sample.
Teclast X98 Pro Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
There's no question that Android tablets have gained increased popularity over the past few years. Initially targeted at adults, if you have kids, then these tablets most likely see just as much – if not more – use from your kids as well. The problem with Android tablets in general has been managing the content that your kids have access to, and while changes to Android have allowed for multiple account logins, it is still lacking in parental controls. A number of manufacturers have released dumbed down tablets for kids, but full Android tablets for kids are few and far between. After launching the Kurio Xtreme last year, Kurio has introduced its second iteration of their Android tablet built especially for kids ages 3 and up – the Kurio Xtreme 2.
The Kurio Xtreme 2 is designed for kids with a modern design, protective bumper, shatterproof screen protector, and built in kickstand. It also comes preloaded with over 60 apps including 18 Kurio Motion body-movement controlled games, but more notably allows access to all the apps available on the Google Play Store. The biggest feature this tablet offers is "best-in-class" Parental Controls which allow you to create up to 8 unique child profiles and set time controls, manage apps, and determine web access with the Kurio Genius Internet filtering system.
Let's dive in and see if this kid tough Android tablet lives up to a parent's expectations in our Kurio Xtreme 2 review.
SpecificationsThe Kurio Xtreme 2 features the following specifications:
The Kurio Xtreme 2 comes with:
The Kurio Xtreme 2 definitely doesn't look like a kids tablet at a glance. When held in landscape orientation, the headphone jack, microUSB, and micro HDMI ports are on the left, the volume and power buttons are on the top, and the microSD slot is on the bottom. The back facing camera is located on the plastic back, and the integrated stand is clipped into the back with a thumb slot for easy removal for use. The single mono speaker on the device is also located on the back beside the camera.
The protective bumper (available in pink or blue) slides over the left and right sides. To install it just place it over one side and stretch it over the opposite end. It fits quite snug, which is nice, and adds a nice hand grip for smaller hands. There are cutouts for the front facing camera, the back camera, speaker, and ports. When flipped over, there is also a slot with two tabs marked A and B on the bumper. This is where you place the integrated stand if you want to set the tablet up somewhere to use, and is useful for the Kurio Motion games.
One issue you might encounter with the bumper, and the design in general, is when held in the left hand, there is a tendency to cover the speaker with your finger which can lead to muffled sound.
DisplayFor a 7″ kids tablet, the display definitely isn't going to wow you, especially with its 1024×600 pixel display. When viewed at that "perfect viewing angle," items on the screen are easy to see and the colours are pretty decent. Once you angle it slightly though, the screen does become difficult to see. When used by a single child this shouldn't be an issue, but when you have two kids trying to share and watch the other play, it does become a bit of an issue. It's in no way a deal breaker considering the price of the tablet, but I'd be willing to pay an extra $20 or $30 for a slightly better screen on the device.
Software/EcosystemAs mentioned in the specifications, the Xtreme 2 comes with Android 5 Lollipop and over 60 apps pre-installed. Even so, there is still just under 5GB of space available to install other apps or games, and the pre-installed apps can also be uninstalled for added space, with the exception of the default Google Apps.
Pre-installed AppsAside from the default Google Apps, the other preinstalled apps are grouped into categories and include games, education, media, ebooks, and other. The majority of the games and apps are relatively unknown ones (to me), but are kid friendly, and you'll even find a few popular ones like Subway Surfers and Fruit Ninja installed. Education based apps include jigsaw puzzles, a dictionary, colouring apps, math apps, and even an app to help learn Chinese. In addition to YouTube Kids, a couple of KIDOZ apps, Oznoz Video, and Magicflix are installed for media consumption, as well as 6 eBooks. In the "other" category, apps like the web browser, which defaults to the KidRex Kid Safe Search engine website, the calculator, sound recorder, and even a kids email app. Check out the gallery below for the full set of apps that come pre-installed.
While the KidRex Kid Safe Search engine returns a number of results, many are further blocked by the Kurio Genius system. Sites can be added and removed from an allowed website list as well for further control.
Some of the cooler pre-installed apps come from Kurio's Motion app series, and include Motion Dance, Motion Extreme, Motion Kidz, Motion Playground, Motion Racer, and Motion Sport – each with multiple games for a total of 18. The Motion apps work by setting the tablet up using the integrated stand on a table or counter, and then it uses motion tracking, much like the Xbox Kinect sensor, to allow the child to control the game. The few we tested out worked quite well and there was no lag between motion and response on the tablet. The only minor issue is that the tablet had to be set 1.5m away which can make it a bit hard to see in some cases considering it's only a 7″ screen. The Motion games definitely add something different to tablet gaming.
Parental ControlsThe Parental Controls on the Kurio Xtreme 2 tablet build on Android's multiple account system and are set up through the Kurio Genius control app. This is where the tablet really shines. Kurio Genius is split into four sections – App Management, Time Control, Web Access, and Profile Settings. Once you add or edit a child account, you can set what apps they are allowed to access, the time of day they are allowed to play, how long they can play each day, how long they can play per session, how long they must wait for the next session, if they have web access or not, and even if they have USB or Google Play Store access. The big thing here is that the child account isn't a Google Account, so you don't have to worry about the need for attaching an email address to your child.
When you install an app, you are asked to either put it in a category or block it from child use. Settings, and other system functions can be accessed from either the parent account or by entering the parental password from a child account.
Ease of UseThe tablet is super easy to use from a child's perspective when logged in to their child account. Everything is nicely laid out in a bookshelf format with nice large buttons to access the various types of apps (games, education, media, ebooks, or other).
From a parent standpoint, when you are logged in under a parent account the tablet is like any other standard Android tablet. When a child's time is running out, they get a red bar warning across the top. Once they run out, their activity stops and the screen is replaced with a message indicating they are out of time. If they choose, they can take it to a parent to get more time added.
The Kurio Xtreme 2 also comes with a Support app which can be used to access a Wi-Fi setup walkthrough, apps to test performance, an SOS mode which uses Log Me In for remote assistance, and even live chat and email access.
PerformanceGiven the price point, you can't expect a high performance tablet and while there was a slight lag between launching an app and it actually starting to launch, or switching to a different app from the open apps view, it wasn't anything super critical and something my kids never complained about while playing it. Navigation between home and app screens, as well as scrolling through content was pretty snappy as well.
SpeakersThe Kurio Xtreme 2 only comes with a single, 1W mono speaker. It's also placed on the back and as mentioned before, it's easy to cover it with a finger when being held or when the tablet is set flat on a table or lap which will muffle the sound. When not covered though, the speaker sounds decent enough – after all this is a kids tablet so you're not going to get premium sound by any stretch of the imagination. The kids were able to use the tablet at a reasonable sound level without having to turn it up all the way.
Camera(s)Unfortunately the camera in this kids tablet falls quite short. With only a 2.1MP back and 0.3MP front camera, the picture quality is going to be quite poor. There's also no flash on the back camera, so trying to take indoor photos in a poorly lit room isn't going to give great results. While some may say it's "good enough" for kids, I think there is definite room for improvement here for those kids that love the idea of being able to take pictures with their tablets. The front camera does work well for the motion games though, as mentioned previously we had no issues on the ones we tested out.
Battery LifeThe 2820mAh battery in the tablet gives roughly 5 hours of screen time. The Kurio Xtreme 2 does have outstanding standby battery life with very little drain when it's left on but not being used. It may not be the greatest battery life when in use, but given the goal of the tablet is to limit your child's use of it, the battery life was more than suitable in this device.
ProtectionThe included bumper and screen protector add great protection to the device. As mentioned before, the bumper is very tight fitting and is a nice thick rubbery material. When installed, it lifts the screen a fair distance from the surface it's laid on when face down, and the look and feel of the bumper make me confident that it should survive most falls intact.
Price/ValueFor $129.99USD, you can't go wrong with the Kurio Xtreme 2. It's definitely kid safe and kid tough, and offers great value with not only the 60 pre-installed apps and games but also by being able to be used as a full Android tablet with access to the Google Play Store and its full selection of games and apps.
Wrap UpIf you've been looking to get your toddler or child an Android tablet and don't want to be worrying about how long they spend using it or what apps or websites they are accessing, you'll definitely want to consider the Kurio Xtreme 2. The included protective bumper and screen protector removes an extra level of stress against accidental drops that are bound to happen with tablet use by kids.
Kurio Xtreme 2 Kids Tablet Bottom LineIf you've been looking to get your toddler or child an Android tablet and don't want to be worrying about how long they spend using it or what apps or websites they are accessing, you'll definitely want to consider the Kurio Xtreme 2. The included protective bumper and screen protector removes an extra level of stress against accidental drops that are bound to happen with tablet use by kids.
*We were sent a demo unit of the Kurio Xtreme 2 for the purposes of this review.7
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Computer tablets, toys and women's clothing may seem like the perfect Christmas presents.
But these products trigger more complaints than any other from seasonal shoppers unhappy with their purchase, analysis has revealed.
Citizens Advice found that they were among the top five most complained about goods in January this year, along with televisions and jewellery.
Toys were among the products which trigger the most complaints from Christmas shoppers unhappy with their purchase. (File picture of children playing with toys)
The number of calls to its consumer service helpline about problems with toys was more than double the average across the rest of the year – while issues with video games and games consoles rose by two thirds.
Complaints were most likely to be about faulty goods, though one in seven related to misleading claims.
The charity is 'urging people to do their homework' before Christmas shopping and know their rights – for example, faulty goods can be returned for a full refund within 30 days.
Citizens Advice said the top five most complained about personal goods in January 2015 were tablets, notebooks and laptops, women's clothing, televisions, toys and jewellery.
Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: 'Citizens Advice urges people to do their homework before they hit the shops this Christmas and make sure they know their rights if they have problems with their purchases.'
Consumer minister Nick Boles said UK consumers spend £90 billion a month.
He said: 'Whether downloading music or buying a fridge freezer, the new Consumer Rights Act makes it easier for shoppers to understand their rights and simplifies the law for businesses.'
Citizens Advice said the top five most complained about personal goods in January 2015 were tablets, notebooks and laptops. (File picture of a woman on a laptop)
Oct 31, 2015: When the Space Age began, there was no such thing as a "graphical user interface." Astronauts interacted with their electronics using only knobs and toggle switches. It was a different time.
Fast forward to 2015.
The knobs and switches of the 1950s have been replaced by a glass cockpit, where the majority of commanding is done through software controls. Old-fashioned twisting and flipping may soon be replaced by a complex combination of taps, swipes, and finger-tip swirls.
"Many tasks performed inside a modern spacecraft will involve fine motor skills such as typing or interacting with a computer touchscreen," says Kritina Holden, Principal Investigator for the Fine Motor Skills experiment now underway on the International Space Station. "In the future, astronauts will use portable computers for many tasks, including maintenance, training, medical treatment, science, time lining, and scheduling."
It is well known that microgravity can have a detrimental effect on the human body—muscles atrophy, bones weaken, and the immune system doesn't function properly. Are fine motor skills affected as well?
The Fine Motor Skills experiment aims to find out.
"We really haven't seen problems, but this type of performance hasn't really been measured systematically in space," says Holden, who works for Lockheed Martin in Houston, Texas. "Some experiments have shown that tasks take longer in microgravity than on the ground, but no study has yet looked at the types of tests that are included in this investigation."
The Fine Motor Skills experiment studies the effects of long-duration microgravity on the type of fine motor task performance required to interact with computer-based devices such as tablet computers with touchscreens. Crewmembers will complete four types of tasks on an iPad: pointing, dragging, shape tracing, and pinch-rotate.
"Our real concern is making sure that future crewmembers can use their computer-based devices with accuracy onboard and on a planetary surface after a long voyage, for example to Mars."
Imagine what might happen if faulty finger work prevented an astronaut from accurately checking the life-support system on a future spacecraft?
"If we find performance deficits in this long-duration study, we may need to develop some exercises or practice tasks to keep fine motor accuracy high," explains Holden.
This experiment could also benefit people on Earth. Holden believes that if the Fine Motor Skills test battery works well for measuring astronaut performance in space, it might also be a great tool for measuring performance back home. For example, it could be used to see how much fine motor performance a Parkinson's or brain injury patient has lost compared to a healthy person.
"It may also be that one or more of these tasks, if performed frequently, could serve as a fine motor rehabilitation tool. The team was recently contacted by a university occupational therapy department interested in working together to develop some of these ideas."
Credits:
Author: Ferris Molina | Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips
