Tablet Comparison: Sprout Channel Cubby vs nabi 2S

The Sprout Channel Cubby and the nabi 2S are both Android tablets and they have both been designed to be used by children, so what are the differences between the two? Both tablets have a 7″ touch screen, but the screen resolution of the Cubby is 1024×600 pixels, whilst that of the nabi 2S is higher at 1280×800 pixels. Each comes with a protective silicone bumper, but that of the 2S covers more of the edge of the tablet than that of the Cubby, although the latter’s bumper does protect the most vulnerable areas, the corners. Neither bumper appears to be available in any colour other than the standard; green for the Cubby and red for the 2S.

The internal storage of both tablets is the same at 16 gigabytes (GB), and they both have microSD card slots, allowing the memory to be expanded by using memory cards up to 32GB in size. Each tablet has a quad core processor but the 2S also has a fifth, battery saver core. Both tablets run the Android operating system; the 2S runs 4.2 Jelly Bean out of the box whilst the Cubby runs the more recent 4.4 KitKat.

The Cubby has two cameras, a front facing one and a rear facing one, both with 2.0 megapixel (MP) resolution, whilst the 2S only has a single, front facing camera, although this also has a 2.0 MP resolution. As well as WiFi, each tablet also comes with Bluetooth, something that is quite uncommon in tablets of this type.

The Cubby has a micro USB port as well as an HDMI port, whilst the nabi 2S only comes with a nabi Connector. Although the nabi Connector can do the job of the Cubby’s two ports, it’s a custom port which means it is only suitable for use with nabi’s own wires, whilst those of the Cubby are standard ports that can be used with standard connectors. Each has a 3.5 mm headphone jack, twin speakers and a microphone. Each tablet comes with parental controls built-in, each provided by the company in question. Each can also access the full Android ecosystem, and has Google Play installed, and in both cases access to apps and content can be limited using the parental controls.

In some respects, both tablets are quite similar, whilst in others one tablet may be superior to the other, but neither is superior overall; for example, the better screen resolution and fifth processor of the 2S are offset by only having one front facing camera and the nabi connector. The Sprout Channel Cubby tends to be slightly more expensive than the nabi 2S.