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Kooky QOOQ: Linux-based cook’s tablet hands-on pictures

A lot of PC makers have tried to do ‘kitchen PCs’ but outside the US most kitchens don’t have room for a PC, and most PCs aren’t up to the heat, steam and cooking spatter. The QOOQ (pronounced ‘cook’) is a quirky looking splash-proof 10” tablet designed for the kitchen with four curved feet to lift it clear of anything you spill on the work surface (with non-slip feet to keep it in place) and a handy fold-out stand to put it at a 60-degree angle that’s convenient for reading the screen – like a cookbook.


It’s not just the unusual but practical design that will set the QOOQ aside from the usual proliferation of ARM tablets. It’s made in France, it’s running Linux with the Qt framework and it comes with its own recipes and cooking tutorials from 100 leading French chefs. You’ll get the usual set of apps and features from a tablet, arranged on a fairly well-designed home screen; a Web browser, music and video players, photo tools so you can use it as a digital picture frame, a weather app, apps for YouTube, Facebook and other social networks , an Internet radio player – and a timer that might come in handy in the kitchen. You can play music and view photos from a memory card in the SD slot or a USB stick plugged into the full-size port.


But it’s the cooking content that really stands out. There are 3,500 recipes (and 50 new recipes every month if you pay the subscription) and they’re interactive; you can watch a video of the techniques involved in the recipe, see an interview with the chef explaining the dish or set the number of people you’re cooking for and get adjusted amounts for the ingredients in the recipe. If you’re addicted to Masterchef, the QOOQ could be just the thing to get you piping meringue and whisking up veloutes.

The English version of the QOOQ is due to launch in September for $399, find out more at QOOQ.


 

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