Nextbook 8" Win 8.1 tablet


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Let me start of by saying, I am not against Windows tablets or phones and this is not a rant. :)

 

My Mom bought a Nextbook 8" tablet yesterday with Win 8.1 regular edition preinstalled on it. As she has low eye sight, we adjusted the font size to well...250%.  Seeing as this is an 8" tablet, this made things very hard to use when on the desktop.

 

Her main goal for the tablet was to do Facebook and her Email.  With the occasional grocery list to put on there when she is out shopping. 

 

The Metro interface was not able to be enlarged by any way that we could see in the settings. And searching online did not help because it was pointing to tweaking things like tile size but not the actual font size.

 

When I tried to set up her email, the Mail app helpfully asked if we wanted to add an account and I cancelled out of it after I learned she did not remember her email password.  As I hit the cancel, she remembered it.  AHA!  Well..no...not exactly - I could not for the life of me figure out how to add an additional account after Mail had set itself up with her Live account. 

 

She decided to return the tablet today, and I did the dutiful job of resetting the tablet to reinstall the OS and wipe everything in the process so the next owner who picks it up (Let's face it, stores recycle stuff like this - I'm looking at you Wal-Mart!).  During the reinstall process, I got a nice BSOD.   I rebooted, and it let me choose the same option to wipe the device.  This time, it failed so I figured heck with it and tried to boot back into Windows so I could remove her Facebook app and wipe data off of her device manually.  No such luck, it is now stuck in an endless Automated repair/fail loop.

 

I know the brand is not the greatest and aside from the factory wipe thing, is there something that I might have missed in getting her accessbility settings up to par?  Seeing that she already had a Win 8.1 home laptop, I figured it would be a natural transition.

 

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Just to let you know.... if I need to purchase a tablet for someone that need bigger fonts.... I rather purchase an iPad. They are designed for people with some kind of visual disabilities. But I myself purchased a HP signature edition Windows 8.1. Not the best tablet but don't need something expensive for something I will use when I am at home. Microsoft need to fix the modern GUI, so people that have some kind visual disabilities can adjust the font size easily.

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Settings > PC and devices > Display > More Options

 

There you can make the Modern UI larger.

 

You could add a new account in the mail app under Settings > Account.

 

Come on, did you actualy spend any time on it?

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Settings > PC and devices > Display > More Options

 

There you can make the Modern UI larger.

We know this settings already and the font does not increase considerably. Only a little bit... that's it.

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She decided to return the tablet today, and I did the dutiful job of resetting the tablet to reinstall the OS and wipe everything in the process so the next owner who picks it up (Let's face it, stores recycle stuff like this - I'm looking at you Wal-Mart!).

This is actually wrong. Once a computer/tablet/phone/anything with user-accessible media is returned to Walmart with the seals broken, it CANNOT be sold again.
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Settings > PC and devices > Display > More Options

 

There you can make the Modern UI larger.

 

You could add a new account in the mail app under Settings > Account.

 

Come on, did you actualy spend any time on it?

I spent some considerable time on it trying to make it easier for her to use.  While we did find a suitable font size for her, the rest of the GUI did not make sense at all when it came to the dialog boxes you would run into on the desktop, it made it virtually unusable.   Adding an additional account as far as I'm concerned would only make it so I could log in like an Administration account to manage it.  Why would I want to do that when she is the owner?  

 

I personally did not mind the initial font size or anything else on the tablet.  I did enjoy the Metro interface as it was meant to be.  As I use a Win 8.1 pro laptop as my daily driver without a touch screen, it was a true joy to see just what Microsoft meant with the swipes and gestures.  In fact, if I had the extra $$$ to buy a good model, I probably would (with a larger screen, 8" is too small to have a desktop) buy a Windows tablet to have as an extra tool for working on the road. 

 

Again, I am not against Windows tablets, iPads, or Android Tablets,each have their own merit, I just felt like I might have misunderstood it a bit on that particular device.  :)

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I've actually had this tablet for a week now. Despite it's really low-end specs, it's enjoyable to use Windows 8 in Metro mode, but once you get to the desktop, it's pure agony. I have the font scaling at 150%, but some targets are near impossible to touch at that scaling. It only has 1 GB RAM, and some apps are slow to start up, but others run surprisingly well. I actually have Photoshop CS3 on the tablet, and it runs well.

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  • 2 months later...

Yes, I have a Nextbook Windows 8.1 and I need help.  I first lost my internet connection on there and then I restarted it and that was a mistake.  Now it is stuck as I open it up on preparing automatic repair and then says diagnosing your pc.  It repeats that over and over and over til it freezes then shuts it self off.  Even now, when I turn it on, it will keep going like that when charging or it shuts off after I get it on.  What should I do?

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This is actually wrong. Once a computer/tablet/phone/anything with user-accessible media is returned to Walmart with the seals broken, it CANNOT be sold again.

 

I tell people when they buy a router from walmart, to make sure it still has the plastic wrap on it. Went there one time and counted 7 routers for sale that didn't have the plastic wrap still on them. I think people return them to walmart  and walmart puts them back on the shelf.

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I tell people when they buy a router from walmart, to make sure it still has the plastic wrap on it. Went there one time and counted 7 routers for sale that didn't have the plastic wrap still on them. I think people return them to walmart  and walmart puts them back on the shelf.

At my store, we make sure that any router that has been returned and has been opened doesn't make it back out to the shelves.

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I'm just wondering why you would get a 8 inch tablet for someone with bad eyesight in the first place... it severely limits how big you can make stuff and still have a usable GUI. 


Yes, I have a Nextbook Windows 8.1 and I need help.  I first lost my internet connection on there and then I restarted it and that was a mistake.  Now it is stuck as I open it up on preparing automatic repair and then says diagnosing your pc.  It repeats that over and over and over til it freezes then shuts it self off.  Even now, when I turn it on, it will keep going like that when charging or it shuts off after I get it on.  What should I do?

 

Hold volume down(or up) when starting up. 

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