E-Fun announced the sixth, highest-end member of its Nextbook family of Android tablets. Running Android 2.3 on a Rockchips RK2918 Cortex-A8 processor, the $300 Nextbook Premium 8 offers an eight-inch, 800 x 480 capacitive display, 4GB of internal storage, a microSD slot, Wi-Fi, and a front-facing camera, and a Kobo eBook Store app, says the company.

After scanning the modest specs of the $300 Nextbook Premium 8, we're already starting to feel bad for having suggested that the similarly eight-inch, $229 Pandigital SuperNova could use a price cut. The Nextbook Premium 8 offers roughly the same feature set for $71 more. That may be about $100 too much in the age of the $200 Amazon Kindle Fire, which is already said to be on a feverish pre-sale pace prior to its Nov. 15 launch date.

Nextbook Premium 8

The Nextbook Premium 8 is said to be the most powerful of six shipping Android-based NextBook tablets, –including the 8.4-inch 600MHz, ARM9-based Next3 model that shipped last December for a sale price of $230 and is now officially sold at $250. NextBook models start with the seven-inch, $150 Next 2, and include the seven-inch Next5 ($200), Next6 ($220), and Premium 7 ($250) tablets.

Like the Premium 7, the Premium 8 moves up to a 1GHz Cortex-A8 processor, in this case a Rockchip RK2918, which also appeared in the Archos 7c Home Tablet. The processor enables the tablet to support up to 1080p HD video playback, according to E-Fun.

Premium 8 web browsing

Like the Premium 7, the Premium 8 also advances to a capacitive multitouch screen, but the tablet world is advancing even faster these days. The 800 x 480 resolution is lower than the Pandigital SuperNova's 800 x 600 resolution, not to mention the seven-inch Kindle Fire's 1024 x 600-pixel IPS (in-plane switching display) screen, or the Toshiba Thrive 7"'s 1280 x 800 display.

The Nextbook Premium 8 ships with 512MBof DDR3 RAM and 4GB internal flash, while a 16GB-ready microSD slot offers expansion possibilities, according to E-Fun. A two-megapixel front-facing camera is offered, as well as 802/11b/g/n, a mini-USB 2.0 port, and a four-way G-sensor, says the company. Built-in speakers and a 3.5mm audio port are also said to be available.

The Premium 8 measures 7.48 x 5.12 x 0.46 inches (190 x 130 x 11.7mm) and weighs 13.65 ounces (387.1 grams), says E-Fun. The battery is said to last between four hours (video, web browsing) and six hours (music playback).

Android 2.3 and Flash 10.1 is offered, as well as the SlideME application manager rather than Android market, says E-Fun. There's also a Kobo eBook Store App, with 25 pre-installed Kobo ebook titles, plus OfficeSuite Viewer and the Astro File Manager.

The Nextbook Premium 8 may well offer hidden delights in its hardware and software, but based on specs alone, its $300 price won't stand for long. A much more powerful and highly featured 1.5GHz HTC Flyer has recently dropped to $300, and the Lenovo IdeaPad A1, which like the Flyer offers a seven-inch, 1024 x 600 display, dual cameras, GPS, and Bluetooth, is now available for just $200.

With the right discounts, however, the Premium 8 may well end up as an affordable last-minute stocking stuffer for the holidays.

Availability

The Nextbook Premium 8 tablet computer has an MSRP of $300 and is available at online retailers beginning October 7, says E-Fun. More information may be found at the Nextbook Premium 8 web page.

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