Supermarket giant Tesco is to target families in the run up to Christmas with a newly launched tablet called Hudl. The new Android device will be competitively priced and Tesco Clubcard holders could be able to buy one for less than £100 worth of Clubcard vouchers.
Described by Tesco as “the smart new addition to your family”, the seven-inch Hudl tablet will cost around £119 as the supermarket aims to capture market share from the likes of Apple and Samsung.
Tablet sales have grown rapidly and are set to outstrip sales of traditional computers in the next year so it’s obvious why the company has decided to enter the market now.
Speaking at the launch of the tablet, Tesco Chief Executive Philip Clarke said: “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.”
Tesco has been keen to point out that the new tablet is very easy to use, even for those unused to smartphone and tablet technology. The ports, including a memory card slot and an HDMI port that allows the device to be hooked up to a television, are all clearly labelled to make set-up and installation straightforward.
The tablet, which was designed by Tesco itself, will also ask a number of questions when switched on for the first time regarding whether children will have access to the device and allow parents to easily set controls and security measures to ensure children cannot access inappropriate content.
In terms of its technical specification, the tablet features dual band WiFi, 16GB of memory (expandable to 48GB), a Quad-core 1.5GHz processor and Tesco boasts that it will have a battery life of nine hours, even when used for demanding tasks such as watching HD movies.
The Hudl will run the Android Jelly Bean operating system and will come pre-installed with Google apps such as YouTube, Chrome and Google Maps.There will also be various Tesco services installed as standard, including its television and film on-demand service Blinkbox, which also offers books.
Users will be able to download further apps from the more than one million that are available for Android devices through the online Google Play store.
The tablet comes in four colours, red, purple, blue and black, and will have soft touch, smooth edges in a further nod to the family market that Tesco is clearly keen to attract.
The Hudl has initially been made available in around 1,000 Tesco stores.
Image courtesy Tesco
