To
B1, or not to B1.
Budget
tablets... should you even bother? That is a question you may have
asked yourself when shopping around for a new slate – should you
save up the pennies and buy an expensive model from one of the
leading tech firms, or take your chances with something cheaper? One
tablet that may help you to zero in on a decision is the Bush Eluma
B1 Windows Tablet.
The
Bush Eluma B1 Windows Tablet features pretty respectable stats: the
screen is 1200 x 800, the device itself is just 9mm thick, and there
are 2 GB of RAM working away inside there. Furthermore it has a
1.8GHz Intel quad-core processor and 32 GB of internal storage,
expandable to 64 GB thanks to the Micro SD card port. So far, so good
– especially considering this all costs less than £80.
We've
mentioned before that we believe eight inch tablets are the best size
for a slate; small enough to actually use comfortably, while
possessing a big enough screen to make watching films and TV worth
it. The Bush Eluma B1 Windows Tablet is no exception, and in the
general day to day use of emailing, browsing the net, checking
Twitter, and watching YouTube, it performed very well. The screen
resolution is perfect for a device of this size, while the both the
weight and general dimensions made it easy to use 'in hand'.
Having
2 GB of RAM installed certainly helped with that, and although we
were surprised to get that amount in a tablet at this price, it could
still have performance limits pushed. Run several apps at once and
quickly flip between different web pages and you will notice some
lag, but nothing to ruin your day and certainly not enough to cause a
crash. After heavily testing this thing for about a week now, we've
been unable to force it to completely sputter and die – something
we, unfortunately, have come to associate with Windows Mobile
devices.
So
if you're intending to get this and use it to tweet pictures of your
dinner, have arguments with strangers on Facebook, and watch YouTube
links to funny cat videos your auntie has forwarded on to you (you
know, normal internet stuff), you'll be fine – and you'll enjoy the
ride as well. Sure, there aren't as many apps available in the
Windows Store as you'll find on other devices (what the hell happened
to Netflix?), but Windows 10 actually makes up for much of that by
making the web page viewing experience quite pleasurable. And, of
course, as this is Windows, you'll have access to Microsoft's Office
packages such as Word. Couple this baby to a Bluetooth keyboard and
you have yourself a very capable and reliable laptop-alternative.
So
a solid bit of engineering at a very respectable price... just a
shame that Bush have buddied up to Microsoft for it.
£79.99
