E FUN has just released a brand new Android tablet as part of its Nextbook Ares range, called the Nextbook Ares 8. The tablet comes in an 8-inch form factor and has an asking price of just $78 at Walmart. The tablet is said to be available at over 3,700 Walmart stores across the nation and is being offered for sale in three different colors – black, blue and red. The tablet comes pre-loaded with a number of apps which includes Barnes and Noble’s ‘NOOK for Android’ app and the ‘VUDU Movies and TV’ app, which promises to offer a subscription-free video streaming service.
Coming to the hardware specifications of the device, the Nextbook Ares 8 comes with an 8-inch 1280 x 800 IPS LCD display, and is powered by the Intel Atom Z3735G SoC, which comes with a quad-core CPU. The device also has 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. As for sensors, the tablet sports a 3-axis G-Sensor and GPS, while the battery on the device is rated at 4,000 mAh. As for connectivity options, the Nextbook Ares 8 is Wi-Fi only and doesn’t support mobile data. It also comes with support for Bluetooth 4.0, carries a micro HDMI port and runs Android Lollipop out the box. The tablet comes with two cameras, and while the one on the back comes with a 2 megapixel sensor, the one on the front is a 0.3 megapixel shooter.
While the specifications above make it amply clear that this device isn’t exactly about raw performance, E FUN isn’t worried about that though. The company concentrates on bringing out affordable devices which can initiate people into segments of the consumer electronics sector which they would otherwise have given a pass, either because of pricing or complexity or both. The company already has a 2-in-1 tablet called the Ares 11, which doubles up as a netbook and is priced below $200. The current device meanwhile, provided the implementation is good enough, seems a decent proposition for first-time tablet PC users who’d like to try out an inexpensive device on a trial basis. It is also useful for light users, whose daily usage is restricted to some light browsing, social networking and e-mails.