Argos has released a Windows 8.1 tablet costing less than £100, the Bush MyTablet 8. As you would expect, the tablet has the most rudimentary of specs, but the bundled extras alone make this something of a bargain.
The MyTablet 8 has an 8in IPS display, with a resolution of 1,280 x 800. That's powered by a quad-core 1.8GHz Intel Atom (Bay Trail) processor, but only 1GB of RAM, which is the bare minimum requirement for a Windows 8.1 system. There's 32GB of internal storage, but you're only likely to have around half of that to fill with apps, once the OS and various bundled gubbins are taken into account, although it does offer expansion via a microSDHC slot.
Although it's running the full x86 version of Windows 8.1, not Windows RT, there's not much prospect of turning this into anything bar a pick-up-and-play tablet. There's only one USB 3 port and a Micro USB port for charging, although it does have Bluetooth 4 for connecting wireless peripherals. There's a HDMI output, although a device of this spec will struggle to power an external display. Battery life is pegged at only six hours, which is fairly woeful compared to other compact tablets running Android and iOS, but about par for the course for a Windows device.
The biggest stumbling block for the MyTablet 8 will be finding stuff to do with it. There's now a reasonable selection of apps in the Windows 8 Store but nothing like the riches of the Android or iOS stores. The Guardian's Jack Schofield reports the tablet handled Windows Store apps "smoothly". Desktop apps can be installed, but most will be unusable on a device with such a small screen.
That includes Microsoft Office, which is still to receive a touch-friendly makeover from Microsoft. Nevertheless, the tablet includes a year's subscription to Office 365 Personal, which allows you to install the apps on one other PC in addition to the tablet, and is worth £60 in its own right. That also includes 1TB of OneDrive storage and 60 minutes a month of Skype calls. For those looking to buy/renew an Office subscription, the tablet could be considered a £40 add on.
The Bush MyTablet 8 is on sale now for £99 at Argos. Incredibly, the company's also trying to sell customers two years' worth of breakdown cover for an extra £50 - or half the price of the tablet again - which possibly ranks as the worst tech deal of 2014.