The Nextbook Ares 11 tablet is too cheap to be sweet
Tablets
This eleven inch tablet runs a mostly pure version of Android Lollipop 5.0, comes with a dockable keyboard and costs less than $200.00.
Is it too good to be true?
I'm Xiomara Blanco Christina taking a first look at the Nextbook Ares 11.
As a standalone tablet, it's kinda weird.
I like the comfortable feel of the smooth matte texture on the back, but that's about it.
It's big, bulky and awkward to hold.
Aesthetically, it's homely and looks very outdated.
However, dock into the keyboard, and it becomes less awkward to use.
When attached, it slightly elevates the keyboard for a more ergonomic typing angle.
The blue plastic surrounding the keys adds a touch of color, and it lights up to illuminate them in dark environment.
Unfortunately, the keyboard has its design downsides too.
It feels frail and cheap.
And the tablet tends to take a long time responding to the top row of keys.
The underdog feature of this tablet is the screen.
With a 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, don't expect to be blown away.
But HD content still looks sharp and crisp.
Interacting with the screen is a different story.
Touch screen accuracy isn't consistent.
And gestures were commonly unrecognized.
Inside, it houses a 1.8 gigahertz quad core Intel Adam processor, one gigabyte of ram, and 64 gigabytes of internal storage that's expandable another 64 gigabytes via micro-USB cord.
Due to its barebones specs, its performance is slow and the tablet easily becomes overwhelmed when trying to multitask.
Switching from app to app, launching games and loading videos all takes five to seven seconds at least.
Apps open in the background also cause it to severely lag.
The front and rear cameras are both to 2 megapixels,and they have a low-res charm to their washed-out colors and fuzzy focus, but otherwise, they're pretty good at adjusting exposure in bright environments.
I don't like calling tablets cheap, but this Nextbook is definitely cheap, in price, performance, and build quality.
It's found exclusively at Walmart for $197 and, though there's no other tablet hybrid deal like it right now,
[MUSIC]
I suggest taking a look at inexpensive Chromebooks if the included keyboard is a deal breaker.
For full details, make sure to check out my full review.
I'm Zemar Blanca for CNet and this has been a first look at the Nextbook Aras 11.
