Our Review of the Dragon Touch Y88X

The Dragon Touch Y88X is a 7″ children’s tablet from Tablet Express, part of a range of budget tablets available from the company. There is also the very similar Dragon Touch Y88X Plus, which is aimed at adults rather than children, as well as the Dragon Touch Y88X Plus Kids, which is a children’s version of that tablet. The tablet has a 7″ touchscreen with a resolution of 1024×600 pixels and comes with a protective silicone case in a variety of different colours – blue, red, green and pink – with strengthened corners intended to reduce the chance of it being broken if it is dropped. The case has various cut-outs in it to allow access to the ports and integral cameras. It is an Android tablet which runs 4.4 KitKat.

The Y88Xt comes with 8 gigabytes (GB) of internal memory and, according to the manufacturers, it is possible to expand the memory with an SD card, up to 32GB in size. There are two cameras, one front and one rear facing. the resolution of these cameras is not known for certain; it isn’t listed in the technical specifications and direct inquires to Tablet Express has resulted in conflicting information. Two stated that the front camera had 0.3 megapixel (MP) resolution and the rear 5.0MP; one stated that both had 2.0MP resolution. 0.3MP is a typical, albeit low, resolution for a front facing camera. 2.0MP is also about standard for a rear facing camera; 5.0MP is far better than any comparable tablet, or even many substantially better ones, and it seems doubtful that it actually has this resolution.

The Dragon Touch tablet comes with WiFi for connecting to the internet, although it lacks Bluetooth. It has a micro USB port, which can be used to connect it to other suitable devices, such as desktop and laptop computers, as well as to charge the tablet. For recharging the battery, it also has a separate AC charging port as well. The tablet has speakers, a headphone jack and a microphone.

The Y88X has a quad core processor, which is becoming more standard in tablets of all types, even those aimed at children, than it was a couple of years ago. The tablet only has 512 megabytes of RAM, which is on the low side, as most tablets have at least 1 GB. The lower RAM has the potential to slow the tablet down a bit, even with a quad core processor.

The tablet comes with a number of pre-installed apps and content and can also access Google Play. This latter means that the Y88X has access to a wide range of content types to install and download, rather than the more limited selection seen in some devices. This content can be educational, entertaining, or both, and is available as free, paid and so-called “freemium” which is free but has in-app purchasing, something that parents will want to keep an eye on.

The screen resolution is on the low end of typical these days, but it is still adequate for most needs. Some tablets have less, some have more, but many are in the same range or resolution. The internal memory is fairly typical for tablets, including adult tablets, although 8GB is getting on the low end of useful these days. The addition of a memory card can increase the amount of content that can be stored on the tablet; something that is increasingly important as tablet cameras became better, and the resulting images and videos take up more memory.

Regarding the cameras, it is difficult to comment properly on their capabilities, as even representatives of Tablet Express, the manufacturers, do not seem to genuinely know what resolution they are. A 2.0MP resolution rear facing camera is typical, and a 0.3MP resolution camera is not uncommon, but the latter is poorer than typical in most newer tablets. The WiFi is both standard and essential. A micro USB port will be seen in the majority of tablets and even those that lack one will have a comparable port. An AC charging port is rather less common, but given this tablet’s battery, it is probably useful. The average battery life, even though this greatly depends on what a tablet is being used for, as some functions drain it much faster than others, is a bit on the low side, and restricts the tablets ability to be used away from any source of power. The protective bumper is available in a decent enough range of colours.

Can the Dragon Touch Y88X be used to Play Games?

Although many tablets for children are often purchased with educational uses in mind, entertainment is often an important secondary use. The Y88X comes with a range of approved content that includes games, but it also has access to Google Play, which means that a much wider range of games can be installed on it, although a parent will need to approve this.

Does the Dragon Touch Y88X have any Parental Controls?

Parents are often rightly concerned about just what content on the internet their children have access to. Therefore, parental controls are often a must when choosing a tablet. The parental controls on the Y88X are provided via the Zoodles app, which provides a collection of approved content for children, and allows a parent to regulate just how much access their child has to the rest of the internet. The tablet can access the internet, but this can only be done with parental approval or outside Kid Mode. Outside of Kid Mode the Y88X will also function like a regular tablet.

Does the Dragon Touch Y88X have any Educational Uses?

Like any tablet, the Y88X can be used for entertainment purposes. However, many parents also have education on their minds when buying a tablet. Some content of this type can naturally be found and either purchased or downloaded for free from Google Play. However, the Zoodles app also provides a range of content approved for educational uses, and parents can also measure their child’s progress in subjects, as well as promote ones they’d like to see more progress in, using the Parental Dashboard inside Zoodles.

Can Streaming Video and Television be Watched on the Dragon Touch Y88X?

Another source of entertainment, apart from games, is television and video that can be streamed over the internet. Whilst parents may rightly not want their child to have full access to everything available, they may wish their child to have access to at least some content. Some is available through the Zoodles app, but parents can also add more if they wish.

Summing Up the Dragon Touch Y88X

One advantage of the tablet is that it’s one of the cheapest around. Although it certainly isn’t one of the best, and does have its drawbacks, at the price it can be purchased for it can be considered to be practically disposable, and it’s far less of a concern if a child manages to break it or lose it than with any tablet that doesn’t have the ‘worry free’ guarantees that Contixo and Amazon state they have. Tablet Express have also brought out a version of the Plus aimed at children, which has pre-installed children’s content and a protective silicone case, but is also more expensive.

Customer support does not appear to be wonderful. In fact, it appears that the company’s representatives do not actually know what the specifications are of their own tablets. Matters are not helped here by the fact that Tablet Express’s site is considered to be a threat by Norton.

The estimated average battery life of the tablet is only three hours. This means that under more intensive usage, it will actually be less than that. Less intensive usage will, of course, extend the battery life. This battery life is generally below average, and will make the tablet less useful when travelling away from power sources.

The Y88X is definitely not one of the better tablets on the market, but it is also definitely one of the cheapest. The price, which helps make it practically disposable, make it a decent choice as a starter tablet for young children at the bottom end of the age range, who are often more likely to break their tablet by accident. The Dragon Touch Y88X should probably be considered to be a disposable first tablet; those with older children or wishing something better would be recommended to spend more money. The Dragon Touch Y88X Plus Kids, which costs slightly more than this model, is a noticeably better tablet with some of the limitations of this one removed.

Find out more about the Dragon Touch Y88X.