Windows 8 Samsung developer tablets turn up on eBay

Windows 8 tablets have appeared on eBay less than a week after they were handed out free to developers at the Microsoft Build developer conference in Anaheim, California.

Microsoft doled out over 5,000 Samsung-made Windows 8 tablets to encourage developers to build apps for the forthcoming touch-based platform.

However, it appears that a handful of developers have spotted an opportunity to make a profit by putting the devices up for sale.

Four tablets have attracted bids so far, ranging from $405 to $2,740. Some have a starting price of $2,000, and a seller known as gvider has slapped a hefty $3,500 'Buy Now' price on his tablet.

"Just back from Microsoft Build 2011 in Anaheim and I'm not sure Windows 8 is up my development alley anytime soon. Long story short, my Samsung Developer Tablet is up for sale," gvider said in the description.

"Now, the word 'tablet' is misleading here, since this device packs enough firepower to run VS2011 (pre-installed) and a bunch of other applications simultaneously. It probably rivals and beats your existing laptop, with a 2nd gen i5, 4GB DDR3, and a 64GB SSD."

The tablets up for sale also ship with a USB, HDMI and Ethernet dock, Bluetooth keyboard and a touch pen.

V3 tested the Windows 8 Samsung tablet at Build and was impressed with the high-end specifications, such as the 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 1,366x768 11.6in display and 4GB RAM.

However, battery life could be a problem for the Intel-based machine, especially when compared to more efficient chipsets based on Qualcomm Snapdragon and Nvidia Tegra 2 chips.

A prototype iPhone 4 appeared on eBay in July, but Apple acted swiftly to get it taken down. It remains to be seen whether Microsoft takes action to prevent developers doing the same with the Samsung developer tablets.