Tesco is one of the less likely companies we were expecting to see launch a new Android running tablet, but we were apparently wrong as the supermarket chain has announced a brand new range of budget tablet devices with a host of its own features such as Blinkbox and grocery shopping apps.
The first tablet will be called the Hudl and will be sold for £119, featuring a 7-inch 16:9 high definition 1440 x 900 display with a pixel density of 243 ppi, which for those ppi fans is only just shy of Apple’s 264 ppi on the Apple iPad 4’s Retina display.
The Hudl will come with the latest Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 operating system, quad-core Rokchip 1.5GHz processor and will also have 16GB of internal storage built in, plus a micro SD card slot so you can expand the existing memory with up to 32GB of more storage.
Tesco will launch Hudl in four different colours; black, blue, red and purple and the devices will go on sale in 1,000 of its stores from September 30th. Priced at £119 and offering the very latest version of Android, its main rival is of course the Nexus 7 from Google. The OS on Tesco’s first tablet is very similar in that it is almost pure Android, save for a ‘T’ button on screen which launches you into Tesco’s own apps and services, including Blinkbox for streaming movies and TV shows.
Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke has said that the “Hudl is a colourful, accessible tablet for the whole family to enjoy,”
“The first stage in our tablet offering, it’s convenient, integrated and easy to use with no compromise on spec. Customers are quite rightly very discerning about the technology they buy so we knew we had to be competitive on all fronts.
“Being online is an increasingly essential part of family life and whilst tablets are on the rise, usage is still quite limited. We feel the time is right for Tesco to help widen tablet ownership and bring the fun, convenience and excitement of tablets to even more customers across the UK.
“The digital revolution should be for the many, not for the few.”
So that’s it, Tesco will use the Hudl to push some of its products including 720p HD Blinkbox streaming and online grocery shopping. The chain says it’ll double the value of ClubCard vouchers put towards a Hudl purchase, meaning customers can pick one up for free if they have enough points for a £60 voucher.