“They” must certainly have a Roku 3 Streaming Media Player. It’s Spot Cool Stuff’s new favorite way to watch streaming videos and on-demand television — and cost-effective too.

It works like this: You connect the little Roku 3 box to the internet, either through an Ethernet cable or wifi. Then you hook the box up to your HD television^† via an HDMI cable. And — voilà — you are ready to watch television (and listen to music and play games . . . more on that in a moment).

Roku claims this tiny magical box will bring you over 750 channels. And that’s true. Though the word “channel” is misleading to those who are thinking of traditional television.

What Roku really means is that Roku 3 Streaming will let you run over 750 apps (many similar to those available on the iPad). Some of those apps are produced by television networks, the SciFi Channel for instance. Others, like Hulu, are aggregators of video content. Still others are audio only, such as Pandora. Also counted among the “channels” are games (Angry Birds being the most popular at writing) and screen savers (we’re partial to the Aquarium). YouTube, oddly, is not among the apps on offer.

[ ALSO ON SCS: A Review of the High-Tech, iPhone-Charging 4Moms Origami Stroller ]

All that content comes to you via a tiny, cool-looking box that offers a bevy of features including:

• A remote control that offers Wii-like motion sensing plus a headphone jack for private listening (a huge plus for when TV noise would otherwise disturb others).

• A much improved user interface. We especially like how you can search for a movie title and the Roku 3 will tell you which channels ofter it and for how much. (See top pic.)

• A free iPhone and Android app that can turn your smartphone into a remote control and virtual keyboard.

So does a Roku 3 let you get rid of your cable TV subscription? That depends how you watch TV.

If you watch mostly movies, certain television shows (especially reruns but also current programming like The Daily Show) then absolutely. If you watch a lot of live programming, especially local news, then probably not. However, even if you fall into the latter category, a Roku 3 would almost certainly let you downgrade your cable subscription to a basic package.

That said, when figuring in the cost-benefit of a Roku 3 you have to factor in the cost of whatever channels/apps you’d like to get too. Some (most, in fact) are free. But not all. The excellent Hulu Plus is around $8/month (though you can try it for free). An Amazon Prime subscription is $79 per year (and comes with the benefit of free 2-day shipping on almost all Amazon-fulfilled orders). Netflix seems constantly change their pricing (so check their site for the latest). Other fee-based channels include Vudu and Major League Baseball.

The good news is that a Roku 3 unit is only $99 with no monthly costs or additional fees. An excellent value.

Compared to the Apple TV, we were surprised to discover that we preferred the identically-priced Roku 3 — it offers more content, has a better user interface and has the cool headphone jack built into the remote.

Apple TV has one major advantage over the Roku 3 — it integrates seamlessly with the Apple iTunes store. If you’ve already purchased a lot of iTunes videos, then an Apple TV device is the easiest way to enjoy it on a larger screen.

With that one exception, a tiny $99 Roku 3 is the best streaming media player on the market today. And it’s a big value — wrapped in a tiny package.

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^†  The Roku 3 will only work with HD televisions but other Roku models can connect to most any set.

Yet the car company kept insisting that we give the Sportage a try (no strings attached). And, around this same time, it happened that we needed a larger vehicle for a family Spring Break trip we had planned to the Catskills region of New York state.

So that’s how it came to be that the editor of this website, his two children — an animal-loving 9-year-old girl and a studiously observant 7-month-old baby boy — together with their beautiful mother, piled into a Kia Sportage for an all-American family road trip.

What the whole group of us soon discovered is that the Kia Sportage is anything but ordinary. It certainly wasn’t low end. But it isn’t quite the perfect family road trip vehicle either. Our week-long test drive review:

2013 Kia Sportage: The Design

The 2013 Kia Sportage, part of the 3rd generation of the model, was fashioned by famed German automobile designer Peter Schreyer (whose previous work includes the original Audi TT).

The exterior look we’d summarize as being less than head-turning but significantly more stylish than the dull form factors that characterize most other compact crossover SUVs. Especially with the alloy wheels of the EX and SX models, the Sportage looks more expensive than its price tag reveals.

The interior design from the driver’s seat is where the Sportage really shines. The cockpit is beautifully — and functionally — laid out. All the instrumentation is intuitively located and easily visible. We were especially grateful that the climate controls have their own separate and easy-to-use instrument cluster directly under the touchscreen. (In some other vehicles you have to go through a menu series on the touchscreen to make any climate changes.)

That said, we do have two little nitpicks. The first is that the cup holders in a center console are a little small (though there is a slot for a large water bottle in each of the front doors). The second is that there’s no dedicated clock display. The time does usually appear somewhere on the touchscreen, but very small and not in the same place — it’s on the left side of the navigation screen, upper center on the radio control screen, etc.¹

The view from the driver’s seat

The back seat is spacious and well designed too. Our 9-year-old loved the fold down center arm rest with built-in cup holders. We had a infant seat base installed on the driver’s side and even with the front seat moved all the way back there was enough space to comfortably get baby’s car seat in and out.²

The rear cargo space, unfortunately, greatly suffered from the generous legroom the Kia designers gave to the passengers. Granted, our week-long family road trip included a baby who, despite being the smallest in our party, somehow had the most stuff. We were traveling with a large Uppa Vista stroller and full-sized pack and play among other baby accoutrements. Still, packing the back required spending several minutes playing a real-life Tetris game, twisting and turning our luggage pieces until we were able to get everything to fit.

And no wonder. The 2013 Kia Sportage has only 26.1 cubic feet (0.73 cubic m) of storage volume with the rear seats folded up. That compares to 34.1 cubic feet of a Mazda CX-5, for example, or the 34.3 cubic feet of a 2013 Ford Escape, or, better still, the 36.9 cubic feet of storage in the Sportage’s sister vehicle, the Kia Sorento (that also offers a fold-down third row of seats).

A tight squeeze

2013 Kia Sportage: Key Features

If the lack of rear storage disappointed, the numerous features of our well-equipped 2013 Kia Sportage most certainly did not. Some noteworthy among them:

The GPS Navigation. As is the case with most factory-installed navigation systems, the user interface left something to be desired (especially when inputting a destination). But the screen itself was bright and clear. The maps were well designed and easy to read. The system can be voice controlled and is compatible with SiriusXM Traffic. Our 9-year-old loved being able to look at the screen to see the estimated time to our destination (and, as a result, the parents loved not hearing “Are we there yet?” every 30 seconds). Altogether, Kia’s nav system is definitely a step above the average competitor’s offering.

The rear view camera and backup warning system. Both are standard on the EX and SX models. Generally, Spot Cool Stuff doesn’t like when cars beep at us, but the backup warning system in the Sportage was genuinely (if only mildly) helpful when parallel parking. It gives off gentles beep when you are starting to get close to backing into an object behind you, with the beeps getting progressively more frequent, sonar-like, as you keep backing up.

The double panoramic sun roofs. An optional feature on the EX and SX models and definitely worth it. That our 9-year-old raved about it wasn’t a surprise. But the baby seemed smitten too, spending long stretches of our drive staring up out up the back sunroof and smiling.

Double sunroof = glorious

Generous standard features. On the base model — the one that starts at a mere $19,000 — standard features include a Sirius radio, USB and auxiliary jacks, steering wheel, cruise control, Bluetooth wireless with streaming audio and multiple side and front airbags. On the EX model we test drove — it starts at $24,200 — other standard features include front fog lights, roof rails, dual-zone climate controls, a cooling glove box and an auto-folding rear seat.

Optional features. Looking to pimp your ride? Kia offers a surprisingly high-end selection of possibilities. The all-wheel drive version of Sportage EX we tested was priced at $30,000, and for that you get every feature mentioned above plus 18-inch allow wheels, power folding outside mirrors, a push button start with smart key, an auto-dimming rear view mirror with HomeLink, heated front seats and an air-cooled front driver’s seat.

Controls for the air-cooled seat — don’t tell your passengers that only the driver gets it.

2013 Kia Sportage: The Ride

Test drive any SUV and you’ll find that it either drives more like a car or more like a truck. The Kia Sportage is definitely in the former category. Relative to its exterior size, the vehicle feels compact and easily maneuverable. The turning radius is outstanding and we had no problem parallel parking, even into spaces that were a bit of a tight squeeze.

Part of what gives the Sportage a car-like ride is the stiff suspension. We could definitely feel the bumps while traversing the rural side roads of the Catskills. To us that’s a plus, though other drivers may prefer feeling like they are driving a couch down the highway a softer ride.

Around town, the Kia Sportage EX has a car-like zip too. The acceleration is strong at lower speeds. The vehicle will shoot you from say, 20 to 40 mph plenty fast. But it feels sluggish accelerating from 40 to 60 mph³; at times our Sportage struggled to maintain its speed while climbing the steeper hills in the Catskills.

As for the all wheel drive, we didn’t have much of a chance to test it out. Our Sportage did feel sure-footed on the well-groomed gravel roads of the Catskills. We could imagine it dealing equally well with snow driving.

The Sportage has two driving modes: eco and normal. In eco mode, you’ll get a few miles a gallon more in exchange for a slight, though noticeable, decrease in performance. We greatly wish there were a button on the gear shift to quickly switch between the modes without taking your eyes off the road. That would let you routinely stay in eco mode, switching out only when you need the extra acceleration. As it is, switching between modes requires leaning forward and using the TRIP and RESET buttons, located to the left tachometer, to navigate through a menu of options.

Kia rates the gas mileage for the all wheel drive version of the Sportage EX at 20 mpg (8.5 km/l) for city driving and 27 mpg (11.5 km/l) highway, though it is unclear whether this is with eco mode turned on or off. If you drive a gentle 65 mph on the interstate in eco mode you could certainly get more than 30 mpg. On our Catskills road trip we drove approximately 60% of the time on interstates, 30% rural roads and 10% in urban areas. For the whole trip we averaged 25.1 mpg with eco mode turned on about half that time.

Our Verdict

The 2013 Kia Sportage is that rare vehicle that can make you feel like you’ve spent a lot on your vehicle without actually doing so. The value of the money is absolutely outstanding! For that reason alone, the Sportage is worth a look when buying your next vehicle, most especially if you are one who likes how smaller cars drive, are nervous about switching to a larger vehicle but are nevertheless in the market for a compact crossover SUV.

We did return from our Catskills road trip with two major quibbles with our 2013 Kia Sportage EX: the sluggish power at highway speeds and the limited rear cargo room. Happily, Kia offers solutions for both:

For a more peppy ride, consider the highest-end SX model of the Sportage. It has a turbo charged engine (as well as leather trim standard) and starts at only $26,900.

For more rear cargo room  — about 40% more  — consider the Kia Sorento.

And for more on our family Catskills road trip, check out these posts on our travel blog:

LEARN MORE AT KIA.COM |

¹  Kia no doubt meant to make up for this by having a “clock” button that makes the time appear in a large font across the screen for a few seconds. But when we’re driving with kid and baby melting down in the back seat we’d prefer to be able to glance down quickly to see how many more minutes of torture we have rather than have to take a hand off the steering wheel and push a button to find out.

²  In many vehicles, if the driver’s height is anything approximating tall he or she has to pull the driver’s seat forward to have enough space to get a baby seat in or out.

³  Kia doesn’t seem to publish official specs for a 0 to 60 mph acceleration or quarter-mile times. The unofficial times we found through an independent online source were 9.2 and 17.1 seconds, respectively, though to us the Sportage felt a little slower than that.

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Since then, there have been many variants of the mouse, with most new iterations better than the last. We’ve written before about the surprisingly well-designed Microsoft Arc Mouse. And we love (and always travel with) an Apple Magic Mouse. But somehow every mouse we’ve used also has something about it that doesn’t feel quite right. We couldn’t figure out what exactly that something was until we tried the Evoluent VerticalMouse 4.

Turns out, the problem with most every computer mouse and trackpad is that it forces your hand into a palm-down position. It is more natural to be palm-sideways.

It may seem like an insignificant difference (and it would be if you were only using a computer mouse for a few minutes a day) but that twisting leads to strain and stress in your wrist and forearm.

The VerticalMouse solves this problem by working with your hand’s natural posture. Imagine the position your hand and arm is in when you initially grab a glass that’s on on the table in front of you. That’s similar to your positioning when using a VerticalMouse 4.

You won’t notice the benefit of it at first. In fact, the VerticalMouse is initially a bit slow and frustrating to use. Give it a few days, though, and you’ll not only be pointing-and-clicking at the same speeds you were with your old mouse, you’ll be noticeably more comfortable while doing so.

In addition to the real, and potentially dramatic, ergonomic benefits, we love the programmable buttons^† of the VerticalMouse 4. There are six buttons in total: two thumb-operated, three finger-operated and a pushable scroll wheel.

Another cool feature is the ability to use one of those buttons to change the pointer’s tracking speed on the fly; small LED lights on the side of the mouse indicate your current speed setting.

What’s the downside? The VerticalMouse 4 is a bit bulky for travel. Also the VerticalMouse comes two hand sizes (“small” and “regular”) in both right- and left-handed design — and that could make sharing a single VerticalMouse between two people problematic.

At $89 for a USB-wired version — or $110 for Bluetooth wireless — a Evoluent VerticalMouse 4 is also on the expensive side. If you are totally pain-free using your current mouse, that investment isn’t necessary. But if your hand, wrist or arm aches (even a little) after prolonged computer use, it is amazing the difference a VerticalMouse can make.

^†  The VerticalMouse is plug and play, but to program the buttons on a PC you’ll have to download some free software. On a Mac, there’s a driver that installs in System Preferences.

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Happily, the humble stroller now is starting to become a little less humble. (And just in time for Spot Cool Stuff’s first baby, too!) A handful of new stroller start-ups are recognizing that today’s mobile and tech-savvy parents want those qualities reflected in their strollers.

We’ll be publishing a post later on new stroller concept designs, some of which might make it into development and some not. For the moment, though, we are focusing on high-tech strollers currently on the market. Spot Cool Stuff’s top choice among those: the 4moms Origami.

7 Cool Features of the 4moms Origami Stroller

It’s self-folding

The vast majority of strollers are somewhere between difficult and unpleasant to open and close. Even a smartly designed stroller that folds easily (like the low-tech but excellent UPPAbaby Vista) requires two hands. The Origami is the world’s first power-folding stroller. Push a button and it folds down (or up) on it’s own; it’s easy to fold down the Origami even while holding a baby. The folding process takes about three or four seconds. Safety sensors in the stroller prevent it from closing with a child (or even large stuffed animal) inside.

USB charging outlet

An optional, detachable cord provides a USB outlet for charging an iPod, smartphone, tablet, camera or other portable device.

The stroller lights

Daytime running lights help increase the stroller’s visibility. At night, pathway lights automatically illuminate to guide the way. (See the photo, above.)

The LCD screen

So far as Spot Cool Stuff can determine, the 4moms Origami is the only stroller that comes with a built-in LCD display. The backlit screen shows data from the stroller’s thermometer, speedometer, trip and lifetime odometers; it also displays the battery level and, as if it weren’t obvious, the screen will tell you if there’s a baby in the stroller. What baby’s cries means are still up to you to figure out—perhaps the next version of the Origami will have translation capability.

The self-charging battery

All those electronics—the power-folding mechanism, the lights, the LCD screen—could run the risk of creating an extra headache for parents, if it weren’t for our favorite feature of the 4moms Origami: the self-charging battery. As you walk, the rear wheels generate electricity that charges the battery! The stroller can be folded down manually and charged via a wall outlet. But under normal use, you’ll never need to do either. About 15 minutes of regular walking charges the battery enough to power one fold/unfold cycle.

Color kits

The Origami ships in one of six colors: black, silver, pink, blue, green and red. If you later decide you want a different color (maybe because you are using the Origami with a different child) you can simply buy a new color kit without purchasing an entirely new stroller. The color insert is machine washable—not unusual for a stroller but not a given either.

Smart design

Even if it weren’t for any of the above, the Origami would still be a exceptionally well-built, smartly designed stroller. Among the features we like: the four (!) cup holders, the ample (and removable) storage (especially with the handlebar bag accessory), the “no kick” walking zone and the four-wheel suspension. We give huge kudos also to the one-push foot brake, which solidly holds the stroller in place.

The 4moms Origami Stroller & Buying Advice

To Spot Cool Stuff’s thinking, there are two main downsides to the 4moms Origami stroller:

• There’s no rumble seat, which would allow you to use the stroller with two babies at once. To be fair, only a few strollers have a rumble set option; the UPPAbaby Vista is one of them.

• 4moms only makes a car seat adapter for the Graco SnugRide series. Though Graco makes excellent car seats, we’re slightly partial to the Chicco KeyFit.

The other major downside, of course, is all this stroller coolness doesn’t come cheap. The discount price for a silver-colored Origami stroller on Amazon.com is currently US$849 (with other colors costing around $20~40 more). That’s a lot when you consider that a basic (if flimsy and non-techified) toddler stroller can be found for under $100. But the Origami’s price tag is in line with other high-end strollers, some of which don’t even allow for car seat adapters or can’t adapt to both toddlers and newborns. Plus, despite its extra electronics, the Origami also weighs around what similar strollers do:

Add that all up and we unreservedly recommend the 4moms Origami stroller, enough to give it our rarely awarded Spot Cool Stuff Most Excellent designation.

The Origami, it should be noted, is not the only excellent stroller on the market and you may prefer another option in its price category. If you have a toddler, place a paramount importance on weight and want a stroller with a dash of high-tech to it, consider getting a BloomBaby Zen—it features a solar-powered lighting system. For stroller purists, the Vista is a superb value for a high-end stroller and UPPABaby provides excellent customer support.

Both of those strollers as as well built as the Origami. But they certainly aren’t better built. And no other stroller on the market today is as high tech as the Origami. No other stroller offers smartphone charging and a self-powered battery. And no other stroller offers the Origami’s one button power folding, which we find extremely cool. Your baby will probably think so too.

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^† You can separately purchase the Bloom Zen Yoga Newborn Nest (how many new age words can they fit into one product name?) for an extra $250 that converts the Zen stroller for infant use.

Related posts:
The Best Websites for Finding Baby Names
The Best New Toys for 2012
Cool Family Travel Ideas (Adults Will Love Too)

The marketing of clothes washers and driers? Not so much. The average advertizement still consists of a supermodel masquerading as a housewife who becomes unrealistically upset at the ketchup stain on her blouse — and then unrealistically happy after her washer supposedly removed it.

Leave it to GE, an innovator in home appliance technology, to be an innovator on the marketing front too. For their new High Efficiency Top Load Washer and Dryer, the company launched the cool new campaign: Stunning Feats of Laundry.

The series of videos features various unlikely characters engaged in various unlikely — and supremely messy and stain-producing — feats.

For example, here’s the video of the “80s tennis pro on a mechanical bull” character attempting the “eating a meatball hoagie” feat:

Here’s a jockey on a trampoline with a Mexican wrestler attempting to make a wheat grass smoothie:

And then there’s the grandma in a wind storm having a nacho fiesta:

The cool thing is that there’s some interactivity to the videos. Want to see the grandma in the wind storm making a banana split? Or the 80s tennis pro on a mechanical bull frosting a birthday cake? Create your own combination by clicking CHOOSE YOUR OWN STUNNING FEAT OF LAUNDRY on any of the videos above.

Features of GE’s HE Top Load Washer & Dryer

Of course, clever marketing is one thing. Having a quality product that can back up marketing claims is another. And from what we’ve seen, GE’s new top load washer and dryer are each packed with cool features.

Some highlights of the GE High Efficiency Top Load Washer:

• Steam Assist creates a vortex of steam to loosen caked on dirt before the normal wash process begins — no other washer manufacturer has it.

• While the washer’s standard mode will easily deal with most laundry, you can choose special settings that will optimally deal with four types of especially difficult-to-deal-with stains: tomato, oil, dirt and grass.

• Our favorite: built-in detergent and fabric softener reservoirs. Every time you do a load, the right amount will automatically dispense from the reservoirs. This not only saves time but money too — most people use far more detergent per load than they need to.

Some highlights of the GE High Efficiency Top Load Dryer:

• Steam options can rejuvenate an old piece of clothing, take the wrinkles out of a new one and remove the odor from a load that you accidentally left in the washer overnight^†

• Huge load capacity allows for the drying of large, bulky items.

• SensorDry technology continually monitors moisture to help prevent clothing wear and tear.

The Stunning Feats of Laundry videos might be about having a good laugh. But the technology in the GE appliances they promote — that’s serious business.

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This post is sponsored by GE

Elsewhere on Spot Cool Stuff:

The Modular Refrigerator
The World’s Best Electric Kettle
Cool Clothes for Travel

Elsewhere on the web:

^†  Spot Cool Stuff once left a load of clothes in the washer before going on a long trip. Ten weeks later we returned to a very unpleasant surprise.

The later drawback is what drew our attention to the Epson Expression Premium XP-800 multi-function printer. At 15.4 by 13.3 by 7.5 inches (390 x 340 x 190mm for those metrically-inclined), we wouldn’t exactly call this printer compact. But it is less space hogging than it’s competitors. And it looks pretty cool too.

So how does the XP-800 compare in terms of quality? Spot Cool Stuff take a look:

Epson Premium XP-800 Scanning and Faxing

As a scanner and copier, the Epson Expression Premium XP-800 offers 9600 x 9600 dpi interpolated resolution. That’s impressive! What’s even better, it can simultaneously scan and copy both sides of a paper at once. The speed doesn’t compare to a copy machine — around 10 pages per minute, depending on what you are copying — but that’s standard for an all-in-one. Our only complaint: There’s no backlight for scanning slides and film negatives.

As a fax machine, the XP-800 does everything you need. The touchscreen user interface is intuitive. You can store up to 60 speed dial numbers and the buffer keeps up 180 pages in memory.

Epson Premium XP-800: Printing

If the Epson Expression Premium XP-800 can be considered a success at scanning and faxing, its capability as a printer is more a mixed bag.

On the positive side, the XP-800 can print on two page sides at once. It can print documents sent via ethernet or over wifi. But what we love is that the printer supports Google Cloud Print, Epson Connect and Apple AirPrint. That means you can print from virtually any internet-connected device, from an iPhone to an Android tablet to a computer on the other side of the world.

(The Epson Connect functionality is especially cool. In essence, your XP-800 will come with its own private email address. Simply email a document and it will print.)

The XP-800 is also relatively speedy. It can print as many as 12 pages per minute — fast enough for most household and home business tasks. And it can print on optical media.

The main downside is the slightly suboptimal print quality. We’d say the XP-800′s color print quality is standard for an inkjet. The black and white is a little below that of a standard inkjet. Neither is going to wow anyone.

The XP-800 is also a bit of an ink guzzler. The cost of the ink for printing a typical page comes out to around 4.5 cents for black and white and 13.5 cents for color. That’s not outrageous but not cheap either.

Finally, the paper tray is on the small side. According to Epson it holds 100 sheets of paper though we found fitting that many in was a tight squeeze.

Epson Premium XP-800: Our Verdict

If you are looking for an all-in-one printer with the highest possible print quality for the lowest possible price, the XP-800 is probably not your choice. (We’d suggest looking at the Brother Printer MFCJ825DW instead.) However, if you’re in the market for an all-in-one printer that doesn’t take up much desk space and/or makes for an excellent scanner, the Epson Expression Premium XP-800‘s small package fits the bill perfectly.

LEARN MORE & BUY |

Related posts on Spot Cool Stuff:

3D Print Your Kid’s Artwork
Tablet Computers for Students
Cool Websites for Printing Creative Business Cards

Elsewhere on the web:

The number of unusual, creatively-designed campers currently on the market is truly amazing. Clearly neither the upward trend in road traffic or fuel prices are deterring some people from taking a mini-home with them on an adventure. Here’s our rundown of five especially cool caravan camping trailers:

Read the rest on our travel gear blog

Into that nexus of computer and cooking enters the QOOQ. It’s the first tablet computer designed specifically for kitchen use. Being food-centric, the QOOQ is also the first (and, so far, only) tablet computer designed and made in France. (Indeed, it comes in a French-language version as well as English.)

So should this dual-core processor, 8 gigabytes tablet computer become your next kitchen gadget? Our look at the QOOQ’s main pros and cons:

QOOQ Cooking Tablet Pros

• Access thousands of interactive recipes (many not found elsewhere) from more than 100 high-end European chefs. Recipes will adjust the amount of ingredients needed based on the number of guests you are cooking for — a very cool feature! That said, there are many more quality recipes out there than what’s available on the QOOQ.
• Water-resistant exterior lets you operate this tablet with wet hands and use it around the sometimes-messy chaos of cooking.
• The instructional videos are genuinely helpful, especially for mid-level cooks looking to up their game.
• Attractive design with a built-in stand and slip-resistant rubber-tipped feet that lift the QOOQ above wet counter tops.

QOOQ Cooking Tablet Cons

• A proprietary Linux operating system greatly limits the usefulness of the QOOQ to what it can do out-of-the-box — and no more. Unlike iOS and Android tablets, there are no apps you can download. You can use the QOOQ for basic emailing and web browsing, but using this tablet for either is a decidedly sub-par experience.
• Expensive for what is really a unnecessary luxury product — US$400 or €355 in France (and elsewhere in Europe). “Premium access” to the expanded recipe and video library costs extra.
• Sub-optimal build quality. The QOOQ’s price tag says it’s expensive. The flimsy construction and plastic-y feel says otherwise.
• The screen is occasionally unresponsive, which can be incredibly frustrating, especially when rushing between consulting the QOOQ and managing a busy stove top.
• Merely adequate display quality. The 10.1-inch capacitive TFT LCD is good enough, but the 1,024 x 600 resolution pales in comparison virtually every other compatibly-priced tablet.
• There’s no camera for, say, sharing photos of your kitchen creations.
• There’s limited internal storage — only about 1.5 GB worth — which goes quickly if you download a lot of videos. Fortunately, there is a slot for SD memory cards.
• It’s heavy, weighing in at 857g (1.89 lbs). Though being designed for use in the kitchen, the QOOQ is a tablet you likely won’t be carrying around too much.

Our Verdict

• 
  The QOOQ Cooking Tablet


• Rating: 1.5
• Languages available: English, French
• Price: US$400 / €340
• Reviewed by: Spot Cool Tech Stuff
• On January 23, 2013
• Last modified:February 20, 2013

LEARN MORE & BUY

We really wanted to love the QOOQ cooking tablet. But the manufacturer’s decision to go with a Linux OS instead of developing an Android-based tablet strikes us as, well, “qooq-y.” Add to that the expensive price tag and underwhelming display and it’s impossible for us to recommend the QOOQ to anyone but a serious cook who doesn’t want a tablet for any other reason other than use in the kitchen. For everyone else, we suggest buying a good tablet (like an iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab), pairing it with a quality waterproof case (we’re partial to those from Lifeproof) and then download with some good cooking apps.

LEARN MORE & BUY IN FRANCE / ELSEWHERE |

Related posts on Spot Cool Stuff:

Colorful Joseph Joseph Kitchenware
Four Food Items That Look Delicious & Taste Creepy
Tablet Computers for Students
The iPad Mini Versus the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD and Nook HD
Match.com vs eHarmony

Elsewhere on the web: