The nabi Elev-8 and the Sprout Channel Cubby are both tablets designed for children, so what are the difference between the two? The Elev-8 is an 8″ tablet whilst the Cubby is a more common 7″ in size. The resolution of the nabi tablet’s touchscreen is 1280×800 pixels compared to the 1024×600 pixel resolution of the Cubby. Each also comes with a protective bumper with strengthened corners intended to reduce the chances of damage if the tablet is dropped; that of the nabi only comes in red whilst the Cubby’s only comes in green.
Both tablets run on Android with the Cubby running 4.4 KitKat out of the box and the Elev-8 the newer 5.1 Lollipop. The nabi tablet also comes with nabi’s Blue Morpho OS overlay, an addition to the Android operating system with a host of child-friendly changes. Each tablet can also access Google Play.
The Cubby comes with a high 16 gigabytes (GB) of internal memory whilst the nabi comes with 32 GB, twice as much. Each also has a memory card slot which will take microSD cards up to 32 GB in size.
Both tablets have speakers, a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a microphone. Both have front facing and rear facing cameras; both cameras on the Cubby are 2.0 megapixel (MP) in resolution, as is the front facing camera on the nabi. The Elev-8’s rear facing camera, however, has 5.0 MP resolution.
Each tablet comes with WiFi and Bluetooth but the nabi tablet also has Near Field Communication. The Cubby has a micro USB port and an HDMI port; the nabi has the custom nabi Connector instead. The Cubby has a quad core processor whilst that of the Elev-8 is an octo core. Battery life for both tablets is generally above average. Both tablets come with parental controls provided by the companies in question.
The technical specifications of the Elev-8 are substantially better than those of the Cubby. It has superior screen resolution, superior camera resolution, a better processor and far more internal memory. On the down side it is larger – which may or may not be a problem – and uses a custom cable, which can create problems if the existing cable breaks, as it means a regular micro USB capable – which are often possessed anyway from other devices – cannot be substituted. It also tends to be more expensive. One reported problem with the Cubby is poor customer service. Of the two, the nabi Elev-8 is probably the superior tablet, but its superiority that needs paying for.