back to article Walmart's $99 crap-let will make people hate Windows 8.1 even more

Walmart, that well-known purveyor of the finest America has to offer, will flog a $99 Windows 8 tablet for this year's Black Friday. Youtube Video As you'd expect at that price, the E Fun Nextbook is an utter dog: it has a 1.8GHz Intel Atom processor with 1GB of RAM – the bare minimum for Windows 8.1 to function. The tablet …

  1. Zog_but_not_the_first
    Facepalm

    Jest throw one in the basket with yer bullets and jerky.

    Where's the Cletus icon?

    1. zen1

      I'd never sully my ammunition with the likes of a pos like this. Every time I think MS has hit rock bottom, some idiot finds a pick ax and keeps on digging.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Imagine the Microsoft stand

      Xbox One tat, with trailer-trash Xbox gamers drooling over a Halo rehash, clueless punters looking at Windows Phone and fire sale Surface tablets, and then this Windows 8.1 entry level crap.

    3. JeffyPoooh
      Pint

      "Walmart....purveyor of the finest ***China*** has to offer..."

      There. I fixed it for you.

    4. JeffyPoooh
      Pint

      HP Stream 7 - $100 Cdn with free Shipping

      I bought an HP Stream 7 Win 8.1 tablet for about $100 Cdn. The audio on the headphone socket was full of buzzing noise, as if somebody made a design error in the audio circuits. After several GB of updates and a few days use, the wifi became unreliable. Sent it back for a refund.

      Tried again. With the 2nd example, the audio on the headphone socket was full of buzzing noise, as if somebody made a design error in the audio circuits. Maybe interference of some sort. Very annoying.

      So we have a tablet that is essentially unusable with headphones.

      Chocolate teapot.

  2. This post has been deleted by its author

  3. Bob Vistakin
    Facepalm

    When crap hardware meets crap software

    You just know Microsoft *has* to be somewhere in the mix.

    1. asdf
      Trollface

      Re: When crap hardware meets crap software

      True 99% of the time but then again you always have systemd.

      1. keithpeter Silver badge
        Windows

        Re: When crap hardware meets crap software

        True 99% of the time but then again you always have systemd.

        @adsf: Debian Sid on Thinkpad X61s with Wayland Gnome. I have you know the hardware is fine.

  4. Cipher
    FAIL

    I wonder...

    ...how many first time tablet users will be put off of anything Microsoft by their experience with this? I can hear it now "I want a real tablet."

    Microsoft does themselves no service assisting in this...

  5. Mark Allen
    WTF?

    Apple Sense

    This is where Apple has one thing right. They *never* let their computer OS run on under powered crud hardware like that.

    It always frustrates me when I see computers sold in high street stores like Walmart or PC World which are just crud. Junk. Put into a box to look like a computer, but sold as such trivial prices it is clearly trash inside. Scrapped to the bone. And, of course, the average home user doesn't know the difference. They listen to the salesman and thinks this cheap pile of junk is what the Microsoft OS is about.

    So - what kind of bundled crudware is on this tablet? Is it like the same cheapo crud computers that come with the same crudware bundle that the top end machines have? So it just kills the poor device before it even boots up.

    I can just see this being sold in PC World along with a copy of Norton...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Apple Sense

      > I can just see this being sold in PC World along with a copy of Norton...

      More likely McAffee ... that's the bloatware now as Norton's been pretty good since they revamped it in 2009 (I used to use AVG till after reading a positive review of Norton's reimplementation in 2009 I tried it and it was so much better)

    2. Alan Denman

      Re: Apple Sense

      You mean money sense.

      It is 1GB of Ram for £619 that bendy sub 6" thingy with Apple. And Safari runs like a like a one winged duck out of water.

      Different tactics, a similar financial result.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Apple Sense

        It is 1GB of Ram for £619 that bendy sub 6" thingy with Apple. And Safari runs like a like a one winged duck out of water.

        WTF? That's running iOS, not Win 8.1. You cannot compare the two at all.

    3. M.Zaccone

      Re: Apple Sense

      @ Mark Allen

      "Apple Sense

      This is where Apple has one thing right. They *never* let their computer OS run on under powered crud hardware like that."

      I think you are conveniently forgetting the original iPad. Mine is fine if you only want to use iPlayer or Spotify. Completely useless these days for web browsing.

    4. CmdrX3

      Re: Apple Sense

      No, but they are quite happy to force crud IOS updates on hardware that can't handle them very well, but I guess that's just planned obsolescence

    5. Al Black

      Re: Apple Sense

      Apparently it comes with Office 365, so the software is fine, it is just that the hardware is insufficient to run it properly. Not Microsoft's fault, although maybe they should refuse to install their OS unless there's 4 GB RAM installed.

  6. Vector

    They're not alone

    There are a slew of 7 and 8 inch Win Tabs coming with exactly the same specs (and about the same price). HP and Toshiba, off the top of my head, have similar offerings.

    The hidden gotcha in this new generation is the memory bus of the processor which is only 32 bit and has a paltry 5.3 GB/s throughput (compare to 25.6 GB/s on an Intel Core processor). I looked at several of these recently and opted instead for a last generation tablet just to get a better memory bus. Still crap, but it gets the basics done 'til I can replace my dead laptop.

    1. keithpeter Silver badge
      Windows

      Re: They're not alone

      @Vector

      Still crap, but it gets the basics done 'til I can replace my dead laptop.

      Refurbished thinkpad of ebay. Core Duo less than 100 notes runs any Linux and a reasonable stab at Windows 7 (perhaps just over the ton for more RAM in that case).

    2. Not That Andrew

      Re: They're not alone

      So is Win8.1 replacing Android on all those crappy underpowered tablets you see around (and in my case inevitably have to tell a relative, "no I can't "fix it", it's a piece of crap, stop buying them!") because Microsoft are so desperate to shift units it's cheaper to pay for Windows than pay the Microsoft tax on Android (I think this was originally a question).

  7. Christian Berger

    Hmm, it's small

    If they didn't include a huge bezel around the display, this device could actually have lots of use when you install Linux. I mean it's easily powerful enough to ssh into your server and the resolution is not bad. 16 gigabytes is plenty of space for an operating system.

    The more pressing question is, if it is crap hardware. This usually cannot be judged by the specifications noted there. The quality of the hardware mostly depends on build quality. How well is it designed. How well can it take some beating. The question is, is it made to last.

    If the build quality is decent and you install something more sane than Windows 8.1, it might be a rather decent small laptop, much more usable than any Android or iOS device, but also much more portable than a normal size 13" laptop.

    1. asdf

      Re: Hmm, it's small

      Yep something like slitaz would fly even on this underpowered dog but for how long is the question. I was not impressed with the build quality on most netbooks forget this thing.

    2. John Tserkezis

      Re: Hmm, it's small

      "How well can it take some beating. The question is, is it made to last.'

      It's $99 at the retail level. You guess how hardy it is.

      1. Christian Berger

        Re: Hmm, it's small

        "It's $99 at the retail level. You guess how hardy it is."

        Hmm, plastic and good design are rather cheap. That's why we do have 2000 Euro laptops which break apart if you look at them, and laptops like the Elitegroup G320 (or something) which, though extremely cheap for that time, could take some serious beating.

        Quality is no longer correlated to price.

        1. Al Black

          Re: Hmm, it's small

          Price is correlated to marketing, and has nothing to do with quality. Otherwise Samsung phones would cost more than IPhones.

      2. Vic

        Re: Hmm, it's small

        It's $99 at the retail level. You guess how hardy it is

        I bought a £43[1] Android tablet a couple of months ago. It's surprisingly good...

        I bought it purely to trial SkyDemon - it works just fine.

        Vic.

        [1] Yes, including delivery

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Hmm, it's small

          I picked up a HiSense 7" tablet for $79 here that's the 2012 Nexus 7 with uHDMI, uSDHC, and a barely tolerable rear camera. I'd also add that it tolerates drops a whole lot better. I would recommend it which is fairly amazing.

    3. zen1

      @ Christian Re: Hmm, it's small

      "The quality of the hardware mostly depends on build quality."

      Walmart is hardly the pinnacle of craftsmanship nor quality,,, well... anything.... About all I see this good for is either an expensive clock that can be duct taped to the wall or a lower-mid range digital picture frame, that might be able to shuffle 3 or 4 pictures, before getting bogged down.

  8. Eddy Ito
    Meh

    Walmart's new slogan should be, 'everything you don't want, cheap!'

    1. LaeMing
      Unhappy

      In my experience that is already the slogan of every retailer in the whole world.

  9. stu 4

    eh???

    i hate windows - but wtf… it's 60 quid.

    for 60 quid, you get a tablet with an HD screen 16gb of storage and a free 16gb sdcard.

    wtf is your problem ?

    If you have more than 60 quid, get something else. If you don't - then surely this is a great 'hudl equivalent' for the great unwashed of the USA.

    I really don't get the attitude ??

    we don't all earn 100k a year. Walmart knows it's market.

    1. Robert E A Harvey

      Re: eh???

      Yes, but it's half the price of a hudl and less than a quarter as good. I just came through Munich Airport where they were remaindering wifi galaxy tab 3s for. €99

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Holmes

      Re: eh???

      Yeah, I got a Toshiba Win8 tablet as a no-charge replacement from BestBuy when I turned in my borked Kindle a few weeks back. It's just got 1 GB ram and the Atom processor, but works real nice. Not slow at all, unless I try to open too much stuff at once. But when you consider most iOS and Android tablets don't really multi-process at all, it's a pretty sweet little deal probably for $99. I've been using it quite a bit.

    3. Not That Andrew

      Re: eh???

      It's just one of those crappy bargain basement Android tablets with Windows slapped on it. It really won't be any good to man or beast.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Holmes

        Re: eh???

        Well, this Toshiba one is good, even with the 1GB ram and the Atom processor. "Encore 2" it's called. I'm running MS Office, Libre Office, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Chrome, MS Note, all kinds of video and audio programs - no problem at all. Haven't tried any games or video editing, but I'm not much of a gamer or movie maker, One thing I'm surprised to find is that it has GPS. It's certainly a lot more useful than my old Kindle or my wife's iPad. At least it has real programs and a desktop. Doesn't seem any slower than an iPad or Kindle for anything I've tried - really it's about as fast as my laptop when it comes to opening programs and web pages and so forth.

      2. P. Lee

        Re: eh???

        I think the point has been missed. MS' problem is that it has lost mind-share in terms of being the only option. They are buying the bottom of the market so that "windows is everywhere." It doesn't really matter that its rubbish, they just need a presence and to be seen to there. Even if no-one buys that particular tablet, being seen in the shops has value for MS. I'd be surprised if there weren't "co-marketing funds" in play.

        Its a bit like people who start out buying a cheap old ford car and as they get older and richer they move up the range. They are unlikely to switch to another brand.

        1. crowley

          Missing the point

          Yes, having a Windows presence.

          But I think more significantly making their cloud offering more widely present; Win8 as loss leader dumb client into the MS fog - performance with regard to other apps is barely relevant as long as media, the browser and Office365 work peachy.

    4. Bernardo Sviso

      Re: eh???

      If you can replace the Win 8 OS with something more suited for the specs, sure, you're right.

      But unfortunately, that's a pretty big 'if'. The odds are that Microsoft will insist that the hardware with the "free" Windows is locked down like TiVo ended up -- no unauthorized (un-signed) OS allowed.

    5. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

      Re: eh???

      for 60 quid, you get a tablet with an HD screen 16gb of storage and a free 16gb sdcard.

      wtf is your problem ?

      Better cheap tablets are available for the same or less?

      Someone above mentioned the Hisense Sero 7. You can get those for $40-$100 from Amazon, depending on who's selling what at the moment, and whether you'll take a used one. They have 4GB or 8GB RAM, and are otherwise better-spec'd than this crapfest.

      Yes, the alternatives are generally Android rather than Windows. Many apparently see that as a plus. (It'd be my preference, if I were interested in tablets. And not having Office is a bonus in my book.)

    6. danbi

      Re: eh???

      You spent 60 quid. Ok, it's yours to do whatever you wish.

      But you also contributed to the growing pile of electronic waste on Earth.

      I believe this all will be sorted when you also need to pay reasonable amount to dispose of this junk properly. Then, people will stop the "but it's only 60 quid junk".

      Better spend that 60 quid on food, as your body will properly process that into non-polluting waste :)

  10. Alan Denman

    It is the Intel/Microsoft netbook 'give then crap' scam all over again

    Yes, crap enough to appeal but without no future whatsoever.

    1GB became obsolete on Windows mid 2000s but thinking positive, at least they are not charging £619 for a 5.5" quick to obsolescence version.

    1. zen1

      Re: It is the Intel/Microsoft netbook 'give then crap' scam all over again

      I was just thinking about the XP laptop massacre, back when Walmart sold a bunch of way under powered laptops (crap cpu and maybe 512 Mb RAM) and there were lawsuits all over the place. Yeah, the people got their product cheap, and they should have got what they payed for, but the plaintiff's had a very sympathetic jury... You'd figure that Walmart would have learned.

  11. itzman

    stick linux on it, and use it to read books

    Its cheaper than an e-reader

    1. adam 40

      stick linux on it, and use it to watch porn

      It is colour, after all....

    2. Goobertee

      Re: stick linux on it, and use it to read books

      >>stick linux on it, and use it to read books

      At least it's WalMart, which has a pretty good return policy. There have been instances recently where a warranty was voided because the purchaser installed Linux.

      1. Roadcrew
        Devil

        Re: stick linux on it, and use it to read books

        >>There have been instances recently where a warranty was voided because the purchaser installed Linux.

        Then *removing* Linux before returning it is probably a smart idea.

        Stuffing anything onto the media that resembles the original Win thing would probably help....

        But if in doubt, saying something along the lines of " Musta gotta virus then, innit?"

        ...should hopefully cover most warranty avoidance issues.

        Even better, "It stopped working!"

    3. Michael Habel

      Re: stick linux on it, and use it to ....

      Run Android!

      And the rest of the above... Just outta interest has anyone ever gotten XBMC/Kodi to work on the Surface yet?

  12. tempemeaty

    Welcome to Walmart =D

    Third world hardware for a third world nation.

    I wonder if it's build quality is to shitty to bother loading Linux for use as a e-reader. It would suck to bother doing that with it and have it die in a few months of use. That thing could be just a huge waist of time and money.

    1. Tom Samplonius

      Re: Welcome to Walmart =D

      "Third world hardware for a third world nation."

      Which of the 27 nations that Walmart operates are in the third world?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Welcome to Walmart =D

        Er, their home one for starters. (the USofA)

        Buy a bottle of JD in one state and carry it unopened in the back of your car into another and you could be charged with a Felony (Interstate Liquor Transportation).

        Where even 60yr olds get carded when trying to buy beers(and get refused because you don't have a local driving license)

        etc

        etc

        etc

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Welcome to Walmart =D

          I know it's pointless trying to explain this to you, but you don't appear to know what third world means.

          First World = The US, Western Europe and its allies

          Second World = The Communist block

          Third World = Everyone else

          Yes, the last term has come to be used to describe developing nations, but that doesn't make it correct.

          Most laws in the US are a result of internal corruption (aka "lobbying"), not its geopolitical stance.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Welcome to Walmart =D

            I'm definitely unconvinced that the USA still qualifies as 1st world.

            Given that many 3rd world countries now have much better health care and 'social security' benefits, more stable economies etc...

            1. JJMacey

              Re: Welcome to Walmart =D

              It has all been down hill, over here, for decades.

          2. jonathanb Silver badge

            Re: Welcome to Walmart =D

            The third world included Greece when the term was first used. Things have improved in Greece since then, so it is no longer considered a third world country. It is also possible that other countries could be demoted to the third division.

          3. JeffyPoooh
            Pint

            Re: Welcome to Walmart =D

            "Third World" obsolete term.

            Ref Hans Rosling, Gap Minder, available on TED.

        2. phil dude
          FAIL

          Re: Welcome to Walmart =D

          Open carry laws are sort of obvious - TN makes it an offence if there are <2 occupants. You wouldn't want to spill your drink...?

          Number of times I have been carded this year == 0.

          Tip the bar staff...

          P.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Welcome to Walmart =D

        "Which of the 27 nations that Walmart operates are in the third world?"

        The ones with the most 'creationists', obviously!

  13. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
    Paris Hilton

    E̶ ̶F̶u̶n̶ Fun Eee

    Is there a Walmart babe?

    1. Mark 85
      Coat

      Re: E̶ ̶F̶u̶n̶ Fun Eee

      There is but you'd want eye bleach if you saw her.... or maybe it's a him?

      1. Swarthy
        Devil

        Re: E̶ ̶F̶u̶n̶ Fun Eee

        www.PeopleofWalmart.com

  14. Henry Wertz 1 Gold badge

    Hmm....

    Sounds like utter crap for Windows. I ran a 1.6ghz Atom (probably older Atom model, it was a Mini 9) with 1GB and it ran Ubuntu well enough. Just. Tempting for $99, particularly knowing that Microsoft is getting $0 out of it.

    1. DNTP

      Re: Hmm....

      Conspiracy Theory Time: It's a plot to get people hooked into Office 365 subscriptions.

      1. David Neil

        Re: Hmm....

        O365 subscriptions now come with what MS are terming "unlimited" cloud, not even 1Tb as the ad says.

        Essentially you're getting the kit for free.

        1. danbi

          Re: Hmm....

          I will be interested to see how one can upload 1TB to the cloud from a tablet.

          In that sense, it's unlimited, yes.

  15. Boris the Cockroach Silver badge
    Windows

    hmmmm

    What does m$ charge for a copy of windows 8.1?

    and if they giving it away , that a case of anti-competitive behaviour

    1 beer in and it takes ages to spell those big worms ....

    1. Tromos

      Re: hmmmm

      If giving it away is anti-competitive behaviour, Linux is in deep doodoo.

  16. Henry Wertz 1 Gold badge

    Hmm....

    Sounds like utter crap for Windows. I ran a 1.6ghz Atom (I assume an older Atom model, it was a Dell Mini 9) with 1GB and it ran Ubuntu well enough. Just. Tempting for $99, particularly knowing that Microsoft is getting $0 out of it.

  17. Shadow Systems

    Would it make a good ChromeBook?

    Nuke&Pave it, reimage it with ChromeOS, and turn it into an inexpensive ChromeBook.

    It's got an SD card slot for local storage, WiFi for communication, and a decent enough screen for that purpose, which leaves battery life as the last stumbling block.

    If it would make a good ChromeBook, then I'd buy them in bulk, Nuke&Pave them, and donate them to a local school for use with the kids, or the library for their patrons, or the Senior Home for the old folks to have a "computer" (for various definitions of "Computer") upon which to surf, email, and read books.

    1. fredesmite

      Re: Would it make a good ChromeBook?

      Knowing MS -- they would butcher the HW so it won't load C-OS

  18. Chas
    FAIL

    You'd have more entertainment value if...

    ...you took the cash, set fire to it and used the smouldering embers to light your farts.

    =:~)

    1. Mark 85

      Re: You'd have more entertainment value if...

      It could be useful. I'm thinking a very large coaster for my coffee cup and morning donut.

      1. Mark 85

        Re: You'd have more entertainment value if...

        Chas,

        I think we've been downvoted by some Microsofties...Or maybe Wal-Mart-ers? I hope that they are paid shills and not True Believers.

  19. Efros

    This is an identical specced tablet from Kingsing, selling for a tad over $110, it has been getting favourable reviews. Looking at the video it looks to cope pretty well with what was done with it.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3BMy2DrLEY#t=34

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Seeding the market, that is all

    If the experience is truly awful - if it takes more than 2 seconds to wake up; if it is hopeless at web surfing, if you can't watch TV on it -- then this fscked them royally. But if they get those three things right -- and for this market, they may not need much else-- it will turn out to be a very smart move.

    Say what you like about Walmart, they know how to pile high and sell cheap. So someone at MS clearly realized that if they could get walmart to sell a bazillion of these units, that would seed the market with a ton of Win8.1 users. "Look!", they say to Gartner, "Windows 8.1 shipped 95 million units!" - Gartner generally lacking the sophistication to tell whether it's Win8.1 on a laptop used as the primary device, Win8.1 on a departure board in an airport, on Win8.1 on a cheap tablet in Arkansas that's only ever used for watching TV. Based on those numbers, this could be a smart move by MS.

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I have the Asus T100 - bear minimum for 8.1 IMHO

    It runs Windows 8.1 pretty nicely. Intel did a decent enough job with Bay Trail. That said, I'm not sure I'd want to be running Windows 8.1 on anything less than a Bay Trail. I'm guessing the subject of this article is running on the Celeron Intel are currently peddling?

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Trollface

    Does it blend??

  23. Number6

    Apart from the fact that I'd have to go into Walmart (not done that since I arrived in the US last year), it would almost be tempting to see if it will run Linux. One of those with a bit of plastic welded to the back and a couple of cheap speakers might make a nice Squeezeplayer platform, a bit like the O2 Joggler (which I still have and use).

    1. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

      Not sure why you got down-voted. I guess suggesting it may have some utility isn't negative enough.

      At £60 I'd be more than tempted, whether it can be down-graded to a speedier Windows version or booted to some other OS. My Asus EEE PC running XP was also under-powered but works well enough for what I ask of it. Likewise my O2 Jogglers.

      Most of the £60 tablets I have seen offer pretty poor performance. It was this not being able to master HD DVDs in real time and otehr nonsense which sunk NetBooks.

  24. Mikel

    Make mine with Linux

    Am not sure what possessed Intel to make a 64 bit CPU that only supports 1 GB of RAM in 2014 but whatever. A Linux tablet for $100 with these specs would not be too bad.

    I would still feel bad about swelling the Windows sales figures. But at least Microsoft isn't getting any unearned profit

    Thing is, we put 2013 Nexus 7s under the tree for the whole family last year. Dealing with these crappy screens might consign even a Linux tablet like this to the hobby projects bench now. Robotics applications might be interesting, or balloons. Multipoint cameras and the like. It's Raspberry Pi for folks who prefer a more complete kit.

  25. 404

    For $100...

    ...buy a refurbished 16GB Fire HD from Amazon-> Root, Load CyanogenMod's Android 4.4.4 ROM, Google services package, and have a much more capable tablet. Have 4 of them around the house, kids love them (have a family clan in Clash of Clans lol). Probably find them cheaper on Craigslist.

    Just saying.

  26. Conundrum1885

    Re. CPU

    I believe its a dual core Atom (or hyperthreaded) so the main annoyance is the lack of memory.

    Now one product that would sell well would be a hybrid Flash/RAM micro/SD card, that had say 4GB of DDR3/1333 and a controller on it as well as the 64GB Flash intended for just this sort of application.

    Preloaded with Chrome or Android, even an old clunker would then be useful again.

    One up for recycling as old netbooks wouldn't then need to be trashed.

    1. Efros

      Re: Re. CPU

      The memory limitation is one imposed by the Bay Trail Atom

      http://ark.intel.com/products/80275/Intel-Atom-Processor-Z3735G-2M-Cache-up-to-1_83-GHz

  27. David Roberts
    WTF?

    Hang on a minute?

    So we have Intel based hardware which ships with a fully functional multi-tasking operating system which in turn can be replaced by other fully functional multi-tasking operating systems. All for under $100.

    ARM and Google should be crapping themselves big time.

    Instead all I am seeing here (apart from the occasional rational post which seems to be mainly ignored) is loads of W8.1 hate mail from people who haven't even seen the product.

    At sub-£100 I would be seriously tempted.

    1. danbi

      Re: Hang on a minute?

      Why would having "Intel" and "Microsoft" labels be anything positive?

      So, you would buy any piece of crap for under £100? Why? There are certainly better uses for money.

      Think about the environment -- you will be buying the next piece of electronic junk and encouraging those idiots to produce more!

  28. Chris Evans

    "videoconference like it's 1999 all over again."

    The 2nd generation iPad launched in 2011 with 0.3MP & 720P cameras. So this tablets 0.3Mp camera on the front and a 2Mp cam on the back are pretty up to date. Sloppy reporting.

    But Windows 8 in 1GB arghhhhhh!

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What would that be

    Win 8 CE (Crippled Edition) :-)

    AC, because Micro$oft would hunt me down and put Thiobacillus auric oxidans in my frapucinno for that last comment.

  30. another_vulture

    cheap UI for any project

    The problem with most embedded controllers (e.g., Rasberry PI, beaglebone ...) is finding a good inexpensive user interface device. A good solution is to run a web server on your embedded system and use a web browser running on a device with a touch screen. Buy this device and run Win*.1 or the OS of your choice and use it to run the browser or a custom UI app, and the problem is solved. For example, use multiple of these to replace the expensive UIs in a home automation system. The device is not itself a good embedded controller because it does not have the right physical interfaces.

    This approach is also good because you can allow control from any smart phone or computer in your house: the $99 computers are then mounted in fixed locations on the wall just so you don't have to fumble around with your phone to turn on the lights or whatever.

    1. danbi

      Re: cheap UI for any project

      Great idea... but (there is always but, with junk :)

      You can't expect this thing to survive even half the lifetime of a decent home automation UI.

      These things would run for far more time on batteries than this one. You will need to wire it to mains power and who knows if it's charging system is designed or even safe to run unattended all the time.

      But, for prototyping it would be ok. Just like any of your existing hand held devices...

      So about the only reason you would buy this is if it's your first handheld device, or.. you hate environment.

  31. foxyshadis

    Still better than things like Iconia One

    For a supposedly intelligent audience, reg commenters don't seem to remember that people were still glad to get 1GB of memory only a few short years ago, and tablets made do perfectly well with 512MB. It's no speed demon, but it's obviously not meant to be a desktop publishing platform; it'll play simple games designed for it, write documents, and do other tablet-y things. Stick to Metro browsers and apps and memory pressure won't be a problem, only desktop apps will seriously suffer from paging. Sorry it enrages you guys that something like this exists and caters to people who want to stretch their budget.

    And given that it's expandable and they give you another 16GB card free, this is really a 32GB tablet. 16GB would be a joke indeed (but at least not a $700 joke, like the lowest-end iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2).

  32. M.Zaccone

    death knell for the iPod touch?

    So at 99 bucks it is half the price of an iPod touch? And as it is standard windows 8.1, I am going to assume it will run itunes. Please correct me if I am wrong. So, what next for apple's entry level iOS device? What if the next step is a 5" windows 8.1 tablet?

    Tim Cook may yet rue the day he dropped the iPod classic. That was a nice fat line of revenue with a USP that no one was likely to assail.

    1. danbi

      Re: death knell for the iPod touch?

      Let's do a little experiment:

      Go buy yourself one of these. Load iTunes on it and test to see how many hours of music you could play. Or video.

      Come back to report. The iPod's capabilities are well known and understood.

      Oh, and if you can make this thing run iOS apps, that would put the last nail to Apple's coffin. ;-)

  33. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'd like to congratulate Walmart's buyers...

    > The tablet has a 0.3Mp camera on the front

    I'd like to congratulate Walmart's buyers as it must have taken one hell of an effort to find someone still manufacturing 0.3Mp camera modules. Perhaps they can source some old 512KB SD cards for me as I need a couple for old kit that baulks at anything much larger?

  34. Zangetsu

    a low cost entry level device for a hundred bucks and you people are complaining ?

    this is not a bad deal at all.

    i am not fan of everything microsoft but there is no reason to bash this device.

  35. Yorkshen

    Great !

    It is the way actually. I strongly believe that Microsoft will regain it's rule over the PC world with it's highly integration with Intel, Adobe and Autodesk.

    The tablets will soon became Microsoft/Adobe dominated. I strongly believe in this !

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