NextBook has released a new 8″ Android 4.0 tablet called the Premium8se. The “se” stands for “Special Edition”. What makes it special, apparently, is the Android 4.0 operating system since all the other non-special NextBooks run Android 2.3 and older.
Aside from coming with the latest version of Android, the Premium8se has a front-facing camera, microphone, speaker, Wi-Fi, 4GB of memory, a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor, 512MB of RAM, and microSD card slot.
Unfortunately it does not come with support for the Google Play Store for Android apps. It comes with the GetJar Appstore instead. That’s not very special.
The NextBook Premium8se has an 8″ screen, a size that I’m surprised isn’t more widely used. It is a capacitive multitouch (5 point) TFT screen with a resolution of 800 x 600.
The US-version of the NextBook Premium8 comes with the Barnes and Noble Nook app on-board for ebooks and periodicals. The Canadian version comes with the Kobo eBook store pre-installed.
Right now HSN has the exclusive first rights to sell the new NextBook Premium8. The MSRP is $249. HSN is selling it for $229. That seems high given the fact it has a single-core processor, but then again there aren’t many Android 4.0 tablets out yet.
The early reviews at HSN aren’t looking very good so far. 2.5 stars with 66 reviews. There are a lot of complaints about apps not working, especially Netflix. There’s no reason it shouldn’t work considering it works on older NextBooks; sounds like a firmware update may be in order. There are also complaints about poor battery life.
But it sounds like the main problem is the HSN sales people are over-selling the features, trying to make it sound better than the iPad for the price. That’s a stretch. At $229 it’s not even a better deal than the Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet, both of which have dual-core processors and higher quality screens.
I’ve reviewed a couple of NextBook tablets in the past, the Next3 and Next6, and they were nice budget tablets with good designs. I expect to get the NextBook Premium8se in soon to give it a through review too. Subscribe to keep updated.
>>>8″ screen … with a resolution of 800 x 600.
Why even bother?
Yeah I like the size but wish the resolution was more like 1200 x 900 at least.
800×600 screen is bad enough on an 8″ screen. But the fact that it’s a TFT display rather than IPS, much less AMOLED, pretty much makes this tablet one to avoid.
I wouldn’t say all that. HSN had it as the Today Special for $199 a couple weeks ago and I picked one up to compare to my Next3. I woudln’t want to watch HD movies on it, but for reading, surfing the web and ebook reading, it’s just fine. And it’s much more responsive than the Next3. For people starting out in tablet market it’s a good choice.
Very disappointed in the Nextbook premium8se. When you try to play games it says you have to install adobe air but it is not compatible with that produce pre the 24/7 service. It is not worth the money. It is not simple to operate.
I would not recommend it. HSN I think over sold the simplicity of the produce.
Are you sure? I’ve never had to install Adobe Air for anything on any of the tablets I’ve ever owned. Have you tried side loading it from an app store?
http://www.1mobile.com/adobe-air-89308.html
Reading the reviews at HSN, the vast majority of people complaining simply have no clue on how to use or setup the device. For one, you can use appstores other than the included one.
I would advise any new Nextbook owner to read the following posts.
http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/2010/12/24/how-to-install-apps-on-android-ereaders-and-tablets/
http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/2012/02/08/7-alternative-appstores-for-your-android-tablet-or-ereader/
This is for the older Nextbook but some of it is still relevant:
http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/2011/03/25/20-tips-and-tricks-for-nextbook-next-3-android-ereader/
I like it. Simple for us 50+ people.
I LIKE IT! And so does mom.
I love my NextBook Premier 8! I wish they had it in purple when I got it! But I got black instead of white for my only choice to select from. Still learning….but very happy! 🙂
I have purchased the new Nextbook premium8se and I cannot play Netflix. This is my first tablet. Is there a firmware update available so I can play Netflix?
It’s not a bad tablet. Netflix was an issue that’s been recently fixed with a firmware update.
The screen is a decent size.
The screen really should have been better.
The resolution is pretty low, but it’s still usable.
There’s multiple App markets out there and I’ve not had any issues installing the app’s I want.
It’s running Android Ice Cream Sandwich pretty well so far.
I’ve had very little problems.
If you’re familiar with how Android works and know that it’s not an IPAD, it’s really not too bad a tablet at under $200.00
Could it be better, absolutely.
A far as HSN’s customer reviews, I typically ignore them. There’s too many people there that don’t have a clue, how technologically deficit they are.
I bought the tablet and with the Netflix update, it’s been worth the money. I’m satisfied with it so far.
Thanks
I have been reading these reviews on my 8se and while I agree with some of it, I think this is a great little tablet. I have been away from home the last 7 weeks and have been using my son’s phone for a signal and its been great. The games are great, I can get on my social networks, and I love that it has a direct email notification. Sure, it isn’t a $500 tablet so I don’t expect it to have all those bells and whistles. This is actually my 3rd Nextbook because they kept upping the Android os. Oh, I am 6 years young and have no trouble setting these tablets up, you just have to follow the instructions:-)
it sucks!!! it just sucks!!!
its slow as hell, it freezes up a lot, apps crash a lot, and the apps ALL suck!!!!
watch your language!!!!!!!!
Mine too. Truly a piece of crap-froze twice while I tried to write this comment. Will never purchase another one of these. Miss my nexus 7 too bad I dropped it.
Nextbook 8 premium is a $79 tablet at BigLots
I love mine, its simple opperate. No problems with the battery or anything like that. Its a great value for $80!!! I would buy another one 🙂
All sorts of issues sucks fully describes my experience
How to unroot this device.
It’s a piece of junk. I bought one from HSN and almost all the apps and settings don’t work. It crashes all the time and I can’t even use the internet half the time.Not worth $5. No more HSN products for me!
I want to buy one but don’t know if its worth buying. Which is the latest nextbook?
I have no idea what the latest Nextbook is; it seems like they come out with a new model every couple of months. You can try checking on the Nextbook website, but I’ve found that it’s not always very up-to-date in the past.
The battery life on my tablet is horrible. I have to charge for approx. 5 hrs. and get only 1-1/2 hrs. of play time. Another problem is that I’m unable to close any app that I open. I just have to go back to home and ask for another app. Maybe I’m doing something wrong. The craziest thing is the front camera view. Why would I want to take pictures of only myself and you can’t even focus cause it has no lens. Why can’t it take normal pictures like other tablets?
Too me this tablet sucks but I wish I never purchased it from HSN. They are on my not to shop there now. I think they basically sell Nexbooks.
Where can we buy a survivor otter
For the tablet 8′ ?
How to connect this nextbook to internet even I dont have WiFi. …pls give me response soon. Tnx
WiFi is the only way to connect most tablets to the internet; very few have Ethernet ports. With some phones you can tether to the internet, basically making it a WiFi hotspot.
Just got a nextbook 8 for christmas this year, and a pixel was out and the screen was starting to go out in other places as well. Green fuzz around the outside edges of it when you first start it up. Took the dang thing back to get a different one. Brought home the brand new one and it wouldn’t start, then after I waited for an hour with it on the charger, still nothing. The next day it finally decided to turn on but the screen was riddled with lines through it. Screen resolution is very average for an android tablet. Keyboard is heavy, power usage kinda sucks, and now I’m taking the second one back to get my money.