The Pipo Work W4 could redefine the bargain-basement tablet, with the Windows 8.1 slate on the way for a staggeringly cheap ?49. It's no Lumia 2520, but at that price it could be hard to beat!

With Microsoft offering Windows 8.1 to manufacturers for free, Windows has the potential to be the OS of choice when it comes to super-cheap tablets. There's no license fee to pay, so the overall cost of tablets should be cheaper, and the result can clearly be seen in the new Pipo Work W4.

The Windows 8.1 tablet is set to hit the shops in China costing just $81 (?49), yet it'll still boast a reasonable spec for the money. The 8-inch screen is an IPS panel, and sports a 1280x800 resolution, and the quad-core Bay Trail Atom processor should be more than up to the task of running Windows at a reasonable pace.

1GB of RAM isn't the most generous, but then again it's difficult to ask for more at this price, and the 16GB of internal storage is also reasonable considering. Throw in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a large 4500mAh battery, and we're pretty impressed with what's on offer for the money.

The Work W4 isn't the fist bargain-basement Windows tablet we've seen, with the KingSing coming in at just $99 (?58), but it does mark an even cheaper entry to tablet ownership.

There's currently no word on a UK release for the Pipo Work S4, with the tablet initially going on sale in China according to tech blogger Mike Cane, but fingers crossed it'll either make it over here eventually, or open the floodgates for a host of other equally cheap tablets.