Pipo X8 Mini (tablet/PC hybrid) now on pre-sale for $108

The Pipo X8 is a rather interesting (for the lack of a more descriptive word) device. It is not a phone, not a tablet, not a phablet (phone/tablet hybrid)… but a combination of a tablet and a mini PC.

We’ve talked about it before, and even back then we were as surprised as you are now. It turns out that fitting a screen is cheaper than obtaining a legit Windows 8.1 licence and hence the weird combination.

Inside, it is powered by an Intel Z3736F processor along with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of ROM. It has the usual radio goodies in the form of WiFi and Bluetooth. In addition to being a Windows PC, the Pipo X8 Mini can also boot Android 4.4 KitKat.

Pipo X8 showcased, a mini PC with a built in touchscreen display. Why? Because they can!

Windows powered mini PCs are quite the in thing right now, and OEMs are making sure they exercise all of their creativity just to ensure they don’t miss out on the next big idea.

The Pipo X8 seems like another one of these design exercises. Unlike any other Windows mini PC on the market, the X8 comes with an actual display on-board which also acts as a touchscreen. Basically, it is up to you to call it either a sort-of-portable but tethered desktop (notice I’m not using the word ‘tablet’ here — there’s no batteries in the X8) or a mini PC that needs a larger display and other components to be fully usable.

If this does take off, it’ll most certainly be so because of the ‘unique’ touchscreen display which is a 7-inch panel with a 1024 x 600 pixel display. Apart from that, the Pipo X8 is pretty much your run-of-the-mill mini PC; there’ll either be an Intel Atom Z3735F or an Atom Z3736F Bay Trail powering the system, along with 2GB of RAM, and 32/64GB of on-board storage apart from 4x USB ports, microSD slot, WiFi and Bluetooth.

Pipo X7s mini PC does dual boot (Android+Win8.1) for $130

We’ve seen quite a few Windows 8.1 mini PCs come up in the last 3-4 months, but almost each one of them have been riddled with licensing issues.