Tech Alert No. 1379

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Twenty months is a long time in the world of technology – especially when it comes to Tablets.

Back in February 2014, I spent a King’s Ransom on the (then) all-singing-all-dancing Asus Transformer – a sort of Tablet/Laptop hybrid running on Android. Fast forward to now and this shiny bit of tech is being donated to Oliver (our nephew) in pursuit of his techy-development – and as a surprise extra Christmas pressy! Yo Ho Ho!

Out with the old…

So, why get rid of such a good bit of tech? Well, when I bought it, it was (almost) the perfect travelling companion  – excluding Ann – but it didn’t handle blogs very well in terms of suitable apps, and from a business perspective, being Android, it didn’t import Office files with enough accuracy – especially the complex ones that I was creating. However, at the time, it was a good compromise given that full-blown Windows on a Tablet, just didn’t exist.

Well it does now! Quite by chance, I was looking through the latest CPC catalogue last week (not known for their tech, more for their electrical accessories) and spotted a Tablet, with a 10.1 inch screen, Windows 8.1, 64 bit, pre-installed, PLUS a year’s subscription to Office 365 – all for less than £200. OK, I didn’t recognise the brand name – Linx – but from the research I’d carried out, they got pretty good write-ups. In these days of Apple and Samsung dominating the market, it’s good to find some smaller operations that can produce such a high-end piece of kit.

..and in with the new

It was an unbelievable price given the spec – and a bargain much too good to pass by. The only downside was that sometimes I really like using a keyboard, as I find that typing for long periods on a screen can get pretty uncomfortable.

Another coincidence then, as I was scouring Amazon for the last few Christmas bits and pieces, and came across a separate keyboard made by the same company, especially for this Tablet, that automagically attaches itself – more-or-less transforming it into a laptop (and making it look and feel a lot like my original Asus Transformer!).

Detachable Keyboard

So, any downsides? Well, the front and rear camera by today’s standards are pretty low-end – 2 megapixels. There’s not much on-board storage (but this can be boosted by plugging in a separate microSD card). The mains charger looks very frail, and will need packing very carefully and kept out of drafts!

All-in-all, I’d say, this is the closest you’ll get to the office-in-your-pocket for less than £200! A great find!!!