OK. From what I could find, as far as reviews go, on the Internet, about this unit, the little available was basically worthless for making any kind of informative opinion as to whether this item would be a good buy.
So, after researching what I could of the various Android OS Internet Tablets out there (most with terrible reviews of hardware issues), and considering the purchase price, I decided to bite the bullet and purchase the Coby unit. I was at first leary of buying something of this nature which is made by Coby, a manufacturer of basically cheap, low end electronics.
I purchased this unit (K-Mart, $149.95(save $30) in 12/12/10 - 12/19/10 AD - I also bought an additional year replacement contract for under $18 - a good idea on new electronics!), and immediately plugged it in to charge the battery (it notified of full charge after 1-1/2 hours). I decided to play with the unit a little, since I could not resist. I will say, I was impressed with the quality of the unit, it seems very sturdy and well built. It powered up fine and I found it very easy to navigate thru the functions (both on screen and the case side buttons). Of course, I recommend that you visit coby.com and download the manual in PDF format (as I did several days ago).
Now, as far as the touch screen, it functions excellent in my opinion. None of the quirks other mention about this unit or other units being sold. And forget about HAVING to use yor fingernail or the stylus to select or scroll. It works great with my finger tip, better than even the stylus. I admit, the finger swipe method to scroll thru lists or menus takes a bit of practice, but that may be only me, because I have never used a touch screen device of this type before. Oh, and the actual look of the screen (800x480 TFT), very nice. Again, better than expected. Enough about that. It just works.
Setting up a wireless connection was simple and effortless (using my own home wireless connection). Surfing the Internet was easy too, once you get used to seeing "mobile device formatted" versions of web pages. All my favorite web pages loaded quickly (I mean fast) and problem free. (For those interested, even Facebook loads and works fine - I tried it). The Ap for Youtube works great as well. Youtube videos load as fast as my desktop PC and of all the 10 or more that I tried, they played without any delay, chopping or buffering. Way better than I expected.
Using the Email AP, I very quickly set up a POP3 account and sent and received messages effortlessly (all verified).
File transfers to and from my PC went smooth, using the included USB cable (to the Coby's internal 4GB memory - I have yet to buy a mini SD expansion card).
The included Ebook reader works perfectly too.
And, the built in accelerometer works nice. The screen will automatically change from portait and landscape mode, with only perhaps a 1 second delay. (The screen self-rotates 360 degrees - upside down, etc).
The only thing I can mention, which was not expected, is that when you go to the Apps Library onine for additional Aps, many are listed, and listed as free too. But when you choose them (all that I tried) and download them, the start up screen for the Ap gives mention that you can purchase it or continue with 15 day free trial. To me, that is called "limited shareware", not a Free Ap! Perhaps some are indeed free, but I did not bother to search thru the hundreds and hundreds offered, and there is no advance way to know if they ARE indeed free. I am not really an AP person, so none of that really matters to me. The unit does, as it is, what I expected and bought it for, and it does it well.
*One note. If you purchase one of these, there is a firmware update on Coby's site, with a Youtube instruction video as well. You WILL need a mini SD card (8Gb or less in size) to install the update file onto first, as the update takes place in the Coby unit itself (from the memory card). (I have not yet done this, but will next week). After this update, the site states that the unit will show even better performance.
Battery life is stated to be 7 hours (we will see), with it's rechargeable 3200 mAh battery (a larger capacity than most other brand tablets).
That is my experience with this unit. I purchased it for the small, light form factor (no more clunky laptop), the wireless Internet, Email function, Reader and MP3 player, things I use often on the move (outside on lunch break at work, in bed at night or anywhere in the house or workplace, etc), but hate being tied to a power cord or a heavy laptop. So far, it has shown to serve this purpose with flying colors. (Some people have cellphones to do these tasks, but I hate cellphones and believe they are the leading cause of added stupidity in this country).
Included is a vice semi-hard protective case, wall charger, ear buds, USB Host cable (for thumb drives, mouse, etc) and a USB transfer cable to connect to a PC or laptop.
I realize I have not covered everything pertaining to this unit, but I wanted to post a good and a truly honest review for prospective buyers. I hope it will be of help to someone.
I love it and look forward to being productive with it. Merry Christmas to me! Coby Kyros MID7015 7-Inch Android Internet Touchscreen Tablet - Black - Tablet - Kyros - Coby - Android'
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