The Linx 10 has so far been a great little tablet with surprisingly good performance for such a cheap device. Windows 8.1 runs extremely smoothly and boot time is on par with my MacBook Air.
The biggest drawback to the device is the limited internal memory. 32 GB sounds decent enough when buying the device especially when it took me two years to fill up that amount of space on my old iPhone 5 however with Windows 8.1, it is a different story. First of all, there is a recovery partition taking up a fair amount, leaving you with around 24 GB, then Windows itself takes up another large chunk, eventually leaving you with little over 16 GB! I have therefore increased the storage with a 64 GB Micro SD card which works very nicely.
However this comes to the next issue with Windows 8.1. While most 'desktop-based' applications are quite happy to install to the SD card. Modern UI apps must be installed to the main drive and the included Office package has to be too.
This is where I came slightly unstuck with the Linx when I tried to follow some instructions on the internet on how to migrate all the Modern UI app data to the SD card using a registry modification, only afterwards finding out that the procedure only works in Windows 8 and not Windows 8.1! It caused quite a bit of hassle with the Modern UI apps failing to work. So my advice, don't try to move the modern UI apps to an SD card!!
To save as much space on the internal memory as possible, I have migrated all my personal documents, photos and such like to the SD card and installing as many applications as possible to it as well.
The only other issue I've had with the Linx is with the HDMI output. I have a Asus 23 inch HD Monitor with HDMI port but it doesn't seem to get on very well with the Linx. Sometimes the Linx recognises the monitor and all works ok, however on other occasions, it isn't recognised at all. It is more likely to work when there is no USB devices plugged in to the Linx either.
Despite the problems with the Asus monitor, the Linx works very well with our Samsung and LG HDTVs, both are recognised immediately and work nicely as a dual screen setup.
The only thing I can think of that causes the Linx and Asus not to get on, is that there isn't enough power going through the HDMI cable for the monitor to recognise the Linx and make a connection.
Other than these couple of issues, I am really enjoying the Linx tablet. The screen, despite to slightly lower resolution of 1280x800 is very responsive and displays a good picture. Sound is fairly decent too. The cameras are also ok. The front one is good for Skype for example but the back one does seem a bit pointless. Battery life lasts about 5 or so hours on average use.
The keyboard case works quite well. The keyboard itself is quite nice to use and the trackpad works ok, plus when closed, it does offer the screen some decent protection. However as an overall case, it is lacking a bit so it would be beneficial to have another case on hand when taking the Linx out and about.
Finally a quick mention about Windows. Windows 8 had never appealed to me before hand and it was a big reason I fully migrated to Mac in 2013, however having used Windows 8.1 on the Linx and now also on my MacBook Air as a secondary OS, it has really grown on me. If you have a decent trackpad, mouse or touch screen you should have no problems with Windows 8 at all. The biggest problems of Windows 8 is probably caused by using it on a cheap laptop with no touchscreen and a bit of a tacky trackpad. The Start screen which initially totally unimpressed me, is actually quite intuitive with the large live titles displaying useful information all the time. Modern UI apps are great with the touch screen and even work well with a mouse. And, I thought I'd never say this but, Internet Explorer for the Modern UI is a great little browser and works really nicely with the touch screen. I still prefer Chrome on the normal desktop though!!
Hope I've been as informative as possible with my Linx update. If you haven't already seen it, be sure to checkout my unboxing of the Linx on my YouTube channel:
And finally, thank you for all the great comments on my videos throughout 2014 and let me say a big welcome to all my new subscribers too. At the time of writing, the channel has 95 subscribers, something I wasn't sure I'd ever get so thanks all for tuning in to all my videos and all the best for 2015!
See you all soon for my next video.