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The $130 Nextbook 7GP Shows Why the Nook Tablet is Doomed

Nextbook 7GPFor much of 2012 budget Android tablets cost around $100 and offered a moderate quality screen, 1GHz single core CPU,and either 4GB or 8GB of storage (along with a card slot).  That description covers quite a few different models from Polaroid, Emerson, Uniden, and others, some of which were quite good.

I’ve just seen the specs for a budget tablet due out in February, and if they are to be believed you’re going get a lot of bang for your 100 bucks.

The Nextbook 7GP is reportedly going to run Android 4.1 on a dual-core 1.5GHz CPU and have a pair of cameras, 1GB of RAM, g-sensor, 8GB Flash storage, and a card slot. It’s going to ship with Google Play as the content store.

The most important detail for this tablet, after the CPU, is the screen resolution. This is going to be a 7″ tablet with a 1024×600 screen. I don’t know yet about the quality of the screen, but that is the same screen resolution as the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet.

Even assuming that the screen on the Nextbook 7gp isn’t as high of a quality, this still rates as not good for the KF and NT. Those 2 tablets retail for $160, and they are going to get cut off at the knees when this tablet hits the market with a retail of $99. Yes, the list says $130, but I’d bet dollars to donuts that it will sell for $99. E-Fun’s previous tablets have had a similar pricing scheme.

The Kindle Fire is going to be in bit of trouble, but at least that device is an Android tablet which has access to an enormous content store. Barnes & Noble’s enhanced ereader, on the other hand is going to be in dire straights. It’s a locked down device without access to nearly as many apps or other content which the Nextbook Next 7gp will offer.

The Nextbook 7gp (as well as the similar tablets I expect to see coming in the next few months) is going to do to the Nook Tablet what the current $99 budget tablets have done to the Nook Color. That’s not good news for B&N, which tomorrow is expected to announce a poor sales report for this past holiday season.

B&N’s coming year promises to only be as good as the past year, and that wasn’t too great. I’m not sure how many more times B&N can continue to circle the drain, but if something isn’t done soon there won’t be anything left to save.

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Comments


monopole January 2, 2013 um 7:27 pm

Pitting any year old midrange tablet against the present generation of low end tablets isn’t realistic. Most shenzen tablets in that price range easily blow away the Nook Tablet as well, for example the Window (YuanDao) N70 w/ the RK3066. (OTOH the Nook probably trounces those tablets on battery life)

But the Nook Tablet is at the end of life, with the HD and HD+ as more representative. Any year old tech toy is doomed versus the latest product.

Of course both Google and Acer are going to be rolling out $99 tablets at CES as well. So the writing is on the wall for "SUV" tablets.

Of course, the company that is truly doomed by these developments is Apple. The whole Apple strategy is dependent on market dominance and huge margins. Dirt cheap android tablets annihilate both of these conditions. Google, on the other hand, wins every time a new android is activated. Amazon loses exclusivity but makes out on content and apps.

The real winner is the company which can exploit a future in which most people own multiple tablets in a ubiquitous fashion. My money is on Google for that.


Cookie January 2, 2013 um 7:35 pm

I guess no bluetooth and we will see about the battery life.

Nate Hoffelder January 2, 2013 um 7:39 pm

The Nook Tablet doesn’t have Bluetooth – not unless you hack it.

Cookie January 2, 2013 um 7:40 pm

Yeah, Otherwise I probably would have picked one up.


Mike Cane January 2, 2013 um 7:58 pm

>>>and they are going to get cut off at the knees when this tablet hits the market with a retail of $99

Oh please. People have been burned by craptabs and won’t buy unknown brands, despite all the crap out there that’s listed (but probably not actually ever *sold*) online. You can thank Pandigital and Cruz for that — as well as Sylvania and maybe even Coby. And 1024 x 600? That’s soooo 2011.

Nate Hoffelder January 2, 2013 um 8:27 pm

Except the tablets by Southern Telecom (Polaroid, Emerson, Uniden, Slick) have turned out to be pretty decent devices.

The Ogre January 2, 2013 um 9:23 pm

Yeah, but this is by Nextbook. You can expect it to be heavier than the others in its form factor (if it’s under 1lb, I’ll be very surprised), have virtually no viewing angle, such a crappy battery that you will have to keep it plugged in as much as possible (3 hours being very optimistic when you’re not playing a game or video), and a build quality bad enough that you’ll consider yourself lucky for it to be able to sustain a wi-fi connection for a 15 minute YouTube video or to stay connected to your computer long enough to transfer files over…

(basing this on my 1 day experience with a Nextbook Premium 8 – returned it the next day because the wi-fi was intermittent and it kept disconnecting if I tried to copy multiple small files or one large file over from my computer. And my wrists ached from trying to read on it for a half-hour – it weighed in about 600g, almost twice what the Apple Mini does)

Nate Hoffelder January 2, 2013 um 9:28 pm

That’s a harsh but not too inaccurate description of the E-Fun tablets I’ve used.

Mike Cane January 3, 2013 um 9:12 am

That doesn’t matter. YouTube is filled with videos bashing craptabs. People know they can get quality from Apple, Amazon, B&N, and Samsung as well as OS updates (well, OK, eyes Samsung) and support (OK, eyes Samsung again and B&N too). We’ve had two years — maybe more — of craptabs now. Enough of them were sold to suckers to spread the word to stay the hell away from off-brands. Also, these things tend to suffer from Sudden Death Syndrome. I remember Chippy buying what looked like a worthwhile one from China and it just dropped dead one day after only a month! Who the hell will take back a tablet after a month? Probably only Amazon.


Jimmy Suggs January 2, 2013 um 9:32 pm

Yeah right, cuz people who buy tablets for casual use or gifts (which is 99% of people who buy tablets) are gonna flock to purchase a brand they’ve never heard of that’s only available on the internet. If your average tablet shopper even hears about these things (and that’s a big if) I’m not sure they’ll be running to grab one. And even still, they’re not gonna knock B&N off any time soon. As far as the average consumer goes, there are 3 low price tablet companies: Amazon, Google and Barnes and Noble. That’s it and that’s not gonna change anytime soon.

This isn’t the next big thing.

This is just what’s for lunch today.

Nate Hoffelder January 2, 2013 um 9:38 pm

This tablet is probably going to show up in Biglots and other discount stores, and more people will buy them than you might think.

Mike Cane January 3, 2013 um 9:14 am

Yeah, to suckers. The same people who are trapped into getting Payday Loans. Next!

Thomas January 3, 2013 um 7:24 pm

Gee, I must be a sucker, for buying a tablet at Big Lots. It had 80 percent of the performance of tablets costing in the $300 range then, for only $100. I must have really gotten ripped off.

Mike Cane January 3, 2013 um 9:13 am

>>>This isn’t the next big thing.

>>>This is just what’s for lunch today.

LMAO!!!!!1111


Mike Cane January 3, 2013 um 5:53 pm

*cough*
http://liliputing.com/2013/01/coby-introduces-mid7065-150-google-play-certified-tablet.html


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