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Johannesburg - Software giant Microsoft has teamed up with South African retailer Makro to roll-out low-cost tablets dubbed the ‘Nextbook’ range.
According to officials from Microsoft, the devices, which sport the full Windows 8.1 operating system, are available for sale at all Makro stores in South Africa from today.
The Nextbook range come in two screen sizes: 8” and 10.1”. The latter device also comes with an attachable keyboard that allows users to have a notebook-like experience.
Costs for the Nextbook range from R1 499 for the 8" version to R2 999 for the 10.1" sized device.
But the devices don’t have SIM card slots, meaning users have to have access to Wi-Fi networks if they want to access the internet.
“As we’d promised we’d bring affordable devices to the market, it’s here today,” Melanie Botha, Consumer Channels Group Executive at Microsoft South Africa, told journalists on Monday.
Makro’s merchandise manager for South Africa, Kevin Maier, told journalists that the retailer has thus far stocked 4 000 units of 10.1” version and 2 500 units on the 8” gadget.
"As Makro our focused target audience has always been, from a consumer perspective, from LSMs (living standard measurements) 5-10 and of course a large focus around commercial business users as well,” Maier told Fin24 on the sidelines of the Nextbook launch in Johannesburg.
"Being in the business of selling tablets at the moment we have a good idea of what the market comprises," Maier told Fin24.
More photos of Microsoft's #nextbook pic.twitter.com/zJ2u8tFk2N
— Gareth van Zyl (@GarethvanZyl) November 10, 2014
‘Need for Wi-Fi education’
Maier further told Fin24 that leaving out a SIM card slot on tablet devices helps to lower the costs of these gadgets.
He claimed that awareness levels of non-SIM card smart devices in SA is low.
"What we've done a really bad job of as South African retail and I think the media itself is we haven't educated the consumer on the power of Wi-Fi devices if paired or associated with a smartphone or in Wi-Fi free zones,” Maier told Fin24.
