If you’re a large retailer whose inventory includes electricals, the latest fad is making your own brand of Android tablet. Amazon did it with the Kindle Fire range, book store Barnes & Noble also launched some impressive tablets and most recently, Tesco launched the Nexus 7-bothering 7-inch Hudl tablet.
Today Argos has launched a Hudl rival; a sub-£100 Android tablet dubbed the Argos MyTablet. The catalogue already sells iPads, Galaxy Tabs and many other tablets but has decided to have a go at selling one of its own, with a little help from Bush, who manufactures the device.
At £19 cheaper than Tesco’s offering, the MyTablet rocks the same 7-inch screen size but with a lower resolution of 1,024 x 600 pixels (the Hudl’s resolution is 1,440 x 900). From what we’ve heard the display won’t be anything astounding and certainly isn’t an IPS panel or HD quality; Argos simply describes it as a 7-inch LCD display with glass protection.
Inside the MyTablet is a 1.6GHz dual-core processor of unknown origin, 8GB of internal storage with a micro SD card slot for expansion and a battery which Argos reckons will see you around 5 hours of use from a single charge. There’s a 2 megapixel camera on the back and a VGA camera up front so you can video call, though quality won’t be groundbreaking. Argos has also kindly stuck a HDMI port in the mix, so you’ll be able to connect the MyTablet up to a HD TV or monitor and output movies and such to a bigger screen.
Android 4.2.2 is the operating system of choice for Argos’ first tablet, and from what we’ve seen so far there’s very little in the way of customisation. There will of course be the Argos catalogue pre-loaded in app form, though the company doesn’t benefit from owning a content streaming service as Tesco does with Blinkbox, so you’ll need to hit up the Play Store to fill the tablet with apps yourself.
With that said, Argos does give MyTablet buyers a nice selection of apps from the world of Android to get them started. The likes of BBC iPlayer, Angry Birds, Facebook and Adobe Flash Player will be loaded up and ready to go, though with only 8GB of internal memory we’re a little concerned just how much free space a new owner will have to use – a micro SD card is probably a must-buy in conjunction with the MyTablet.
Available in silver or pink, Argos will be stocking the MyTablet from October 16th in stores and online, priced at £99.99.
