Next6 Tablet Giveaway

August 18, 2011

Tenille

With the amount of traveling I’ve been doing lately, it became very clear that hauling my laptop around with me wasn’t the smartest idea. First, it’s big and cumbersome. I took it with me in June when I went to the Ford conference in Dearborn and at that time was presented with the dilemma of packing it in my checked luggage or hauling it in my bag as a carry on. I checked it and crossed my fingers it would be in one piece when I arrived (it was.) The problem, then, was that I had to keep my laptop in my room and couldn’t update Facebook or Twitter on my phone because of my (stupid) cell phone plan (no thanks to you SaskTel!) I needed something that had wireless capabilities but was larger than my iPod Touch, something I could type on, view web pages in a decent size, and even share photos of my kids on my travels. Given the opportunity to review the Next6 Tablet, I was eager to see if this would fit the bill.

After charging the Next6 Tablet before its first use, as suggested, the first thing I noted about it was it’s size. About the same as a novel, with a 7″ color screen, the Next6 slips easily into my purse or diaper bag. I also appreciated that it came with a case standard – no need to buy additional accessories right away. WIFI Internet access makes it easy to check email, surf the web and tweet anywhere WIFI is available (especially useful for the amount of time I spend in airports!) The Next6 utilizes a touch screen, which I didn’t find overly sensitive when web-surfing at all, though it’s a little touchy when typing.

You can customize the home screen with a favorite image (the one above is of baby Everleigh at 3 weeks old!) and also have your weather available every time you turn on the device. One critic on the topic of turning on the device – in the holder above you’ll notice that 3 of the corners are leather, one an elastic piece. The on/off button, when in the case like this, is at the bottom right hand corner and really hard to get to without pulling it out of the holder. I am assuming that’s why the one corner is elastic, it’s easy to access the on/off button from that corner but then it doesn’t open like a book and feels awkward to me.

Taking pictures with you on the Next6 is easy – just slip in your SD card and all your photos are there to display. I have not yet figured out if there’s a way to actually save them right onto the device but for now, I just keep an SD card on there with my favorite photos and add to them every so often to update. I do love viewing photos on the device – they’re crystal clear and the 7″ color screen makes them easy to show off. The kids love using the touch screen to slide through all the photos (side note, this is a fantastic way to keep kids occupied in the car, doctor’s waiting rooms, restaurants, etc.)

Android Apps are new to me, and at first I didn’t know where to find them on the Next6. It’s not called the “Android App” store or anything like that, making it easy to find, it’s actually a shortcut on the second screen called SlideME. Had I not went through and checked each icon, I wouldn’t have discovered the purpose of this one. I found a few basic apps for things I use on my other devices, but haven’t tried a fraction of everything available (which is nicely organized by category).

I used the device to send a few emails and this is the one feature on the Next6 Tablet that frustrated me immensely. The Next6 does not automatically fix errors as you type like some of my other devices do. Unless, of course, you happen to type and when typing. It will happily fix this and change it to Android for you.

Every. Single. Time.

I realize this is marketing (?) on the part of the Android but it’s annoying and really not necessary. So, if future versions are looking for areas to improve, I’d love to see a better spell-check on the Next6 so that I could touch-type quickly without worrying about making so many errors, and let’s definitely get rid of the and/Android issue.

All the features of the Nextbook Next6 Tablet can be found on the website!

As a whole, if you are looking for a wireless tablet but don’t want to spend a mortgage payment on one, consider checking out the Next6 Tablet. It’s currently available for $279.99 at these retailers in the US and just recently became available here in Canada at Walmart for $199.97!

1 of my readers is going to a Nextbook Next6 Android Tablet! To enter, just leave me a comment here telling me why you would love to win!

For additional entries:
~ Follow me (join this site with Google Friend Connect)
~ Subscribe via email or Reader
~ Grab my button
~ Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link
~ Follow @FeistyFrugal on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway (RT 1x per day) Win a Nextbook Next6 Touch Screen Android Tablet!!! http://bit.ly/nOKcmd @FeistyFrugal – Canada/US – Ends Sept 18th
~ Like Feisty Frugal and Fabulous on Facebook (please leave your first name and last initial so I can find you as a fan)
~ NEW: Leave me a comment on the McDonald’s All Access Moms trip sharing your thoughts, then comment here letting me know you did.

This giveaway will end on September 18th at 9PM CT . Giveaway is open to Canadian and US addresses.