Coby Kyros provides more bang for the buck

MANILA, Philippines – With the rapid growth of technology comes the rise of smaller and sleeker gadgets.  In this age when CPUs and laptops look like Godzillas that are more apt in the modern-day Jurassic Park – the corporate world – where survival of the fittest is the name of the game, the smaller tablets are fast becoming the vogue among the younger crowd.

These handy gadgets, however, don’t come with a cheap tag price, especially in a third world country like the Philippines. With only a handful who can afford the more luxurious tablets in the market, Coby, the New York-based consumer electronics company, has introduced more affordable internet tablets that provide all the basics plus more.

For one week, I tried on one of Coby’s Kyros MID9042.  With a nine-inch LCD widescreen capacitive multi-touchscreen and the 4.0 Android operative system known as the Ice Cream sandwich, this sleek tablet provides more bang for the buck with its relatively cheap tag price (P 7,495).

Here are the 12 things you can get out of this Coby tablet:

1. High-speed 1 GHz processor
2. 1GB of RAM for seamless multi-tasking
3. Browse the web, watch Youtube®videos, check e-mail, and much more with AndroidTM 4.0
4. Connect to the Internet wirelessly with high-speed networking support (Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n)
5. Plays popular video, music, and photo formats
6. Application marketplace to download and enjoy popular games and apps
7. HDMI - to connect and enjoy 1080p HD videos on your HDTV (Cable not Included)
8. E-book reader - download and read thousands of books (ePub standard)
9. Built-in front-facing camera and microphone
10. Expandable memory to 32GB with optional microSDHC card
11. View pages in portrait or landscape with automatic orientation sensor
12. Rechargeable lithium-polymer battery that can last up to 25 hours of music, 4.5 hours video, 4 hours web browsing

Movie & Web Browser Experience

The one I tested for a week has only 4GB of internal memory though Coby is also offering the 8GB in the market.  But that was not a problem for me since this tablet has a USB 2.0 hi-speed port unlike the other tablets in the market.  I easily plugged in my 500GB external hard drive where my files and movies are stored.

I watched a movie for a couple of times on the bus on my way to the province and back to Manila during the holidays and I was satisfied with the viewing experience with its 1280 x 800 display resolution. My only beef was that it can only hold up to 4.5 hours. I wished the batteries can last a little longer but with its price tag, I don’t have business to ask for the moon. It is best recommended to use headphones when watching for greater audio experience.

Aside from the movies, I’ve finished the Plants vs Zombies adventure during the holidays and there was no difference at all playing on this one than in the much pricier iPad.

Swiping through its widescreen has been hassle-free. The tablet responded quickly and naturally to my touch. With the high speed 1 GHz processor, web browsing was fast though this will depend largely on the data speed of your internet service provider.  Facebook photos and Twitpics were downloaded fast when I browsed the net.

It also features an orientation sensor where it will switch automatically to landscape or portrait as you rotate the tablet. You can also easily switch this off in the settings.

The only thing lacking in this gadget is the back camera. It has only the front 0.3MP camera where the back camera is optional based on the product info sheet that came with it.

I tried the front camera for video calling via Skype with our relatives in the US during the holidays and it worked perfectly fine.

GetJar App Market

This tablet, however, does not come with the popular Android App Market but instead the lesser known GetJar. Considered as the top two alternatives alongside Amazon App Market, GetJar’s advantage on the former is that it gives away paid apps for free. And here’s the thing:  those giveaway paid apps don’t expire.  As the saying goes, the best things in life are free.

So you can still enjoy a wide array of free applications. GetJar adds new paid apps to its free “Gold Apps” section every week.

Verdict

Though I haven’t tried to sync this tablet onto an HDTV, I think this feature is just a bonus with all the other more important features this 9-inch tablet already possesses. 

At 16 ounces, this handy gadget is light and will fit the hands of an average netizen perfectly.  But you will need a hard case for this tablet since its back is made of plastic material unlike the more expensive ones in the market.

 This gadget may not be as handsome as the more expensive tablets in the market, but is a blue collar worker who will give you big bang for the buck.