Budget tablet maker E Fun is becoming a budget laptop maker in 2016. The company recently introduced a new line of 2-in-1 Windows tablets as well as a set of Windows notebooks with 11.6 inch and 14 inch displays, and E Fun is showing off some of each at CES in Las Vegas this week.
While the Nextbook tablets I’ve tested seem to have decent displays, reasonably responsive processors, and attractive price tags, they also have an Achilles heel: the keyboards. The smaller the tablet, the tinier the individual keys and touchpad, making it tough to actually get any work done.
The larger tablets come with keyboards that may be good enough for basic use… and it’s hard to complain about the price. The Nextbook Flexx 11A with an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 2GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, a detachable keyboard, and an Atom x5-Z8300 processor sells for $250.
But the product I was most impressed with was the Nextbook 11.6 inch convertible notebook. It’s a solid-feeling notebook with a decent keyboard, a sturdy metal case, nad a 360 degree hinge that allows you to fold the screen back and hold the notebook like a tablet.
I couldn’t actually test the performance of the convertible in any way, because the demo unit E Fun showed me wouldn’t turn on. But in terms of design, it’s the nicest Nextbook product I’ve seen to date.
The Nextbook 11.6 features an Atom x5-Z8300 processor, a 1366 x 768 pixel IPS display, 2GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports, a micro HDMI port and a $270 price tag.
E Fun will also offer a 14 inch notebook with similar specs, but without the convertible tablet functionality and with just 32GB of storage. That version is expected to sell for $200.