I think it's a pretty nice RPi starter kit. Speaker, wifi, keyboard, great! I just don't like the bullshit marketing they've put on it. The kids will probably enjoy snapping together the parts, but then you're done. Now it's a sealed-up Minecraft box.
A bigger focus on, say, a suite of kid-oriented programming tools would have been better.
You're right - putting more emphasis on tools beyond Scratch and Codeacademy would be cool. And regarding the marketing I personally appreciate it. It's clearly prepared for nonhackerish people and does the job well - creates the feeling of accessibility and encouragement. That's something the tech world lacks generally (and often is proud of). Kano reminds me somehow what Apple did with iphone - bringing simple, easy solution that ordinary people love. And they were also criticized by pundits at the beginning.
A bigger focus on, say, a suite of kid-oriented programming tools would have been better.