Top 5 reasons cheap windows tablets are worth buying (and using)
19Hey guys, it's Thommo again, and this is Thommos tech.
About 12 months ago I was tempted to purchase a cheap windows 8 tablet. The only reason I purchased one was due to the ridiculously low cost and 12 month free subscription to office 365. It only cost me 60 pounds which is about 80 dollars to my American pals.
The unit I purchased was the linx 7, a 7 inch quad core tablet with an Intel atom processor.
I used the tablet for about 2 days before switching back to my beloved android tablet.
Since then, with the offer of a free upgrade to Windows 10, I've started using the tablet again, and today I'm going to run through 5 reasons these cheap windows tablets are well worth buying.
First up at number 5, if your cheap windows tablet has windows 8 or 8.1 get yourself on the Microsoft website and download your completely free upgrade to Windows 10. Windows 8 was awful, Windows 8.1 was almost as awful. Windows 10 is slowly getting there with each new update delivering some great improvements for performance and productivity. These cheap windows 10 tablets run a lot more quickly with Windows 10 than they did with 8 or 8.1. The November 2015 update has made my linx 7 tablet much quicker and responsive.
In at 4, use the tablet as a gaming device. Some of the games in the app store are pretty good. I like to plug an xbox 360 controller into my tablet and have a few laps on asphalt. You can even get some ridiculously cheap retro USB gamepads on ebay, and emulate your old 8 and 16 bit classics on the tablet. This USB replica super Nintendo controller only cost me £2 on ebay, or about $3. I'll post some links to some of these controllers and emulators in the description below.
Number 3. Use your cheap windows tablet as a media hub or media pc. Connect external storage to the USB port, or stream from your existing network. The Netflix app is pretty good for Windows, and don't forget, you have a full desktop browser built in, so you have full access to all sorts of online streaming goodies. Windows 8 or 10 could really do with a decent YouTube app, but you can still access it via the website. Connect your tablet to a TV via hdmi, and you can even get a portable blu ray drive to play your blu rays. Don't be put off by the single USB port, as you can always attach a powered USB hub to give you more connectivity options. There's tons of free software out there to get you up and running, I personally can't fault XBMC for all my media management and consumption needs.
Second place. Why not stream games from another pc over your WiFi network. Plug your tablet into a TV and install the steam client, and you've essentially got the equivalent of a PlayStation TV for your gaming pc. You can also use the tablet to stream xbox one games from another room. You need a pretty capable router to get the best results, but Internet service providers tend to offer a decent router these days. Some of the games in the windows store are actually pretty good, and will run on your tablet straight out of the box. Plug in a decent gamepad and you can have hours of gaming fun on your windows tablet.
And finally, numero uno. Use your cheap windows tablet as a full windows desktop pc. This can be achieved by pairing a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard to the tablet, and connecting it up to a monitor via the micro hdmi port. If you don't have a monitor with hdmi input, you can always pick up a hdmi to vga converter for a couple of dollars, pounds or euros on eBay or amazon. I'll put some links in the description below. You can also utilise the USB otg port and plug in your many USB peripherals and storage. These tablets are extremely low power consumption, so they're ideal for basic office tasks instead of using your power hungry 800watt gaming rig to update your cv.
So, that's it, they may not be up to much on face value, but these units are pretty good when you task them with something a little bit different.
Feel free to fire your questions at me below.
Until next time, thanks for watching Thommos tech.
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Links to products:
Replica snes USB gamepad: http://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?isRefine=true&_pgn=1&_nkw=Snes+gamepad&_sop=15&LH_BIN=1&loadLocalAspects=true
Micro hdmi to vga adaptor: http://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=Micro+hdmi+to+vga&isNewKw=1&mfs=GOCLK&acimp=0&_trksid=p2053742.m2428.l1313.TR12.TRC2.Xmicro+hdmi+to+vga&sqp=micro+hdmi+to+vga
Emulators: http://www.emuparadise.mobi/Emulators.php