Kano PC is a laptop designed for kids with an 11.6-inch touchscreen display, a Celeron N4000 dual-core Gemini Lake processor coupled with 4GB RAM, and 64GB eMMC flash, and running Windows 10.
Nothing really special here, except for the price. Kano PC would normally sell for $299.99, but BestBuy offers it for just $99.99, which makes it an incredible deal, at least if you are based in the US, or you purchase through a forwarder.
Let’s see what you could get for just under $100 with Kano PC specifications:
- SoC – Intel Celeron N4000 dual-core Gemini Lake processor @ 1.10 GHz with Intel UHD graphics; 6W TDP
- System Memory – 4GB DDR3L RAM
- Storage – 64GB eMMC flash, MicroSD slot
- Display – 11.6″ touchscreen display with 1366 x 768 resolution
- Audio – 3.5mm headphone jack, 3.5mm speaker level jack, 1x microphone
- Video – 1x HDMI port
- Connectivity – Dual-band Wi-Fi 4 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0
- USB – 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB Type-C port
- Keyboard and touchpad
- LEDs – 1x power on (red), 1x barrel connector (red), 1x battery connected – USB C (red), 2x USB ports ON LED (green), 1x Headphone ON LED (blue), 1x HDMI – (yellow), 1x micro SD (green), 1x speaker ON LED (blue), 1x microphone (blue)
- Battery – Li-ion battery good for at least 10 hours
- Power Supply – Charging via USB-C power supply
- Dimensions & Weight – N/A
The first time we wrote about it in July 2020, it was sold as an easy-to-assemble 2-in-1 laptop kit for kids with a power bank, a speaker, an acrylic back cover, etc… as you can see from the photo above. The laptop runs Windows 10 Home/S preloaded with Kano Software Studio with 100+ coding projects, Paint 3D, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Office, Skype, Spotify, and Netflix.
If you’ve missed the BestBuy offer, Microsoft is selling it for $179.99 which is still not too bad, but closer to the price you’d find for a similar laptop on Aliexpress. The model on Microsoft is “Kano PC Pro” with Windows 10 Pro. I’m not quite sure why it’s discounted that much, as it was only launched last year, and reviews on BestBuy are quite positive, except for the bit where people thought they’d get a Windows 10 Home laptop, and it only comes with Windows 10 S by default. It’s not really a big issue since Windows 10 S can be switched to Windows 10 Home:
To increase security and performance, Windows 10 in S mode runs only apps from the Microsoft Store. If you want to install an app that isn’t available in the Microsoft Store, you’ll need to permanently switch out of S mode. There’s no charge to switch out of S mode, but you won’t be able to turn it back on. If you’re blocked from switching and your device belongs to an organization, check with your administrator. Your organization can choose to keep all devices in S mode.
- On your PC running Windows 10 in S mode, open Settings > Update & Security > Activation.
- Find the Switch to Windows 10 Home or Switch to Windows 10 Pro section, then select the Go to the Store link.
Note: Don’t select the link under Upgrade your edition of Windows. That’s a different process that will keep you in S mode.
- On the page that appears in the Microsoft Store (Switch out of S mode or a similar page), select the Get button. After you confirm this action, you’ll be able to install apps from outside the Microsoft Store.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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