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Next’s £180 tablet PC has received a mild-mannered drubbing at the hands of the BBC. If you were contemplating picking up the device together with your next pair of heavy-gauge corduroy slacks, the video below may make you think twice.
The Android-based tablet sounds good in theory, sporting a 10-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi connectivity, two USB ports and an SD card slot. But it seems from the video that the undergarment purveyor’s tablet is, well, pants.
In the video, BBC tech reporter Rory Cellan-Jones veers from mild curiosity to palpable frustration, stabbing repeatedly at the “dreadfully poor” touchscreen interface in a failed bid to access the device’s settings. He also brands it “the least responsive piece of kit I have ever seen”.
In the article that accompanies the video, Cellan-Jones also bemoans the device’s slow start-up time, poor battery life and the fact that other journalists laughed at him for using it. In short, it’s no iPad killer.
Cellan-Jones suggests the tablet could dent Android’s reputation as a tablet OS. While it certainly highlights the benefit of Apple’s approach of strictly controlling hardware and software together, we doubt many people who use the Next tablet will blame Google over the clothing retailer.
Head over to the BBC’s website to read the full indictment, and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
