I originally saw this little 2in1 Windows 8.1 device at Walmart back in April 2015. It was poorly displayed with no power supplied to run the device demo. Yet I couldn't believe it actually said Windows 8.1 and not Windows RT. So a few Google searches later and sure enough the specs said Windows 8.1 and a 1 year free subscription to Microsoft Office (A post for another day).
This baby comes with;
- 2 GB system memory
- 32 GB storage
- microSD slot
- 1 micro USB
- 1 micro HDMI
- 2 Full USB on the keyboard
- Wifi, Bluetooth ...
- Windows 8.1 which automatically upgrades to Windows 10 smoothly and without errors.
Well the 2 GB for Windows 8 gave me pause. After all, how poorly would Windows run on a 2GB machine? An impulse purchase later at $178 and sure enough it works, with caveats. On this type of device the new Windows UI works very well. Suddenly all the hate I had for Windows 8 went away. I would run the little device mostly as a tablet and only used the keyboard to type away long blog posts, write java programs, or emails. In fact I find the keyboard, which is twice as heavy as the tablet, to be somewhat of a hindrance. However the keyboard does work and is more than adequate for typing. It's detachable for when you prefer the tablet experience while reading books or watching Netflix. The tablet attaches to the keyboard physically and is released with a push button. It's relatively stable in this laptop configuration however if you use it on your lap, balancing the device may be a problem. This could lead to connectivity problems with the keyboard disconnecting intermittently while precariously balanced on your lap. As for the 2GB of memory I can run mostly everything (with the exception of 3D games and design applications) as long as I manage my memory. In other words you have to treat it like a tablet or smart phone and watch how many tabs/programs you're currently running. I use a little program called meminfo that warns me when I'm reaching memory use of 90% and automatically defragments the memory. This allows me time to cleanly close extra web browser tabs, unload extensions, or close other programs. The 32GB storage was adequate enough to install office and google chrome but if you want to do more than that then definitely get a large 64GB class 10 micro sd card for additional storage. On my machine I have android and java development environments on the sd card. I have yet to have any issues with the Eclipse IDE, Basic4Android, or compilation of programs stored on the sd card. Another very nice feature of this laptop is that it works flawlessly with Microsoft's Wireless Display Adapter (Miracast). I stay in hotels often and taking this little laptop with a Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter is the perfect solution for viewing your own content off a Hotels restricted or public WiFi. I can stream to the TV without long HDMI cables and control the content displayed from my bed. I've tested this with Microsoft's Display Adapter and Roku's Miracast Beta Channel. Both work well. However since Roku requires connecting to a service and setting up it's WiFi connection I do not take it on the road with me.
Below is a list of programs/actions I normally run with the Nextbook;
- Google Chrome with various extensions enabled. (Depending on the website I can have between 2-5 tabs open at a time.)
- Microsoft Office (Full and web version.)
- OneNote (Perfect for use of a 2in1 in tablet mode )
- Norton
- Google Drive sync
- Google Photos backup
- Google Hangouts
- Microsoft's Mail and Calendar app
- Netflix, Vudu, Hulu, SlingTV, and The CW App both watched on the tablet or cast to wireless display. Binged over 6 hours of movies once with a little charge left over.
- Skype
- Pogoplug backup
- Microsoft Edge Browser (Not as exciting as they make it out to be)
- Internet Explorer.
- Social Apps - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram App, Google Plus Chrome App.
- Ereaders - Overdrive Media (The best), Kindle, Nook, Adobe Reader DC...
- Connected Blu-ray/DVD reader/writer via USB to both read and write to device.
So many positives. Therefore what are the negatives, there must be some right? The cons in my opinion shouldn't really be considered negatives. This machine is sub $200 and it does what it is meant to do. You can't try to run World of Warcraft on this device and then knock off a rating point when it fails to run well. You can play some 3D games like Minecraft but generally speaking you need to stick to 2D games. Overall it's not meant for gaming. Another problem for some is the charger. This does not charge via USB. The device has it's own charger and the only people that make the adapter is Nextbook. so don't lose it. The keyboard connection is a little temperamental so it works best on a flat surface. Trying to use it on your lap could prove difficult. With the keyboard attached you may also end up draining your battery because you're unaware the device is turned on. This has only happened a few times to me but it can happen.
So the final verdict? The device currently is on sale for $160 at Wally World (Walmart). At that price the above negatives don't come into play. However there is one major problem you should be aware off. It only occurs after using the device for a few months and becomes a nagging annoyance. You start to become curious and even long for a more powerful 2in1s. You say to yourself, "if I had 4GB memory and a better display I would do everything on this device".You find yourself reading reviews of Microsoft's Surface line of 2in1s. You look at HP Spectre 12 X2 and others. You say to yourself, "I'll just get rid of my gaming laptop and get one of the new 2in1s with an i7 processor and all the bells and whistles". Yep, the form factor can win you over. It's the gateway drug to 2in1s.
