Microsoft and Makro announced at a press event in Johannesburg on Monday, 10 November 2014, that they have launched new low-cost Windows-powered tablet PCs in South Africa.<\/p>\n
Called Nextbook, these tablet PCs are among the first Windows Reference Design devices available in South Africa, Microsoft said.<\/p>\n
The Nextbook tablets come in two sizes: 8-inch for users who want to read e-books or watch movies while commuting; and 10.1-inch for consumers who need more screen real-estate for squeezing in more columns into their Excel spreadsheets.<\/p>\n
Both tablets feature a USB port, will come with the full Windows 8.1 operating system, and have a one year subscription to Office 365, said Melanie Botha, consumer channels group executive at Microsoft South Africa.<\/p>\n
Botha went on to explain that the Office 365 subscription comes with unlimited OneDrive storage and 60 free Skype World Call minutes per month.<\/p>\n
The 10.1-inch model also comes with its own hard cover keyboard which lets the tablet attach to a notebook-like keyboard and multi-touch trackpad.<\/p>\n
For the moment the Nextbook tablet PCs will only be available from Makro stores in South Africa, with the 8-inch model retailing for R1,499 while the 10.1-inch Nextbook is set to sell for R2,999.<\/p>\n
Asked how much stock they brought into the country to start with, Kevin Maier – merchandise manager for\u00a0Makro South Africa – said they have\u00a04,000 10.1-inch Nextbook units and 2,500 units of the 8-inch model. Both versions went on sale yesterday, 9 November.<\/p>\n
Some of the key specifications of the devices are summarised in the table below.<\/p>\n
| Specifications<\/td>\n | Nextbook 10.1″<\/td>\n | Nextbook 8″<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Operating System<\/td>\n | Windows 8.1<\/td>\n | Windows 8.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Display<\/td>\n | 10.1″ WXGA (1280×800)<\/td>\n | 8″ WXGA (1280×800)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Rear camera<\/td>\n | 2MP<\/td>\n | 2MP<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Front camera<\/td>\n | 0.3MP<\/td>\n | 0.3MP<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Storage, internal<\/td>\n | 16GB<\/td>\n | 16GB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Storage, expandable<\/td>\n | microSD<\/td>\n | microSD<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| RAM<\/td>\n | 1GB<\/td>\n | 1GB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Chipset<\/td>\n | Intel Atom Z3735G<\/td>\n | Intel Atom Z3735G<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Processor<\/td>\n | 1.8GHz Intel Atom quad-core<\/td>\n | 1.8GHz Intel Atom quad-core<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Battery<\/td>\n | 6,000mAh<\/td>\n | 4,000mAh<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\nMore gadget news<\/h3>\nNew Kindle at Incredible Connection for R1,999<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n MTN Steppa Tablet for R999 coming<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n New iPad Air 2 prices for South Africa<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n |