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Last year saw the UK retail giant, Tesco, launch its first own-brand Android tablet called the Hudl which was generally well received, gaining praise for decent hardware and its budget friendly price of £119. Today we learn that Tesco are expanding their range of electronic devices. Whilst chatting with BBC 5 Live’s Wake Up To Money radio show, Tesco’s Chief Executive, Philip Clarke stated that the retailer would launch its follow-up, the Hudl 2, in September this year. Last years model arrived in time to take full advantage of the Christmas shopping season, racking up over 500,000 sales so far. Tesco will be expecting an even better return this time round.
More surprisingly, the Chief Executive also revealed that Tesco are planning on launching an own-brand smart phone before the end of the year. The smart phone will offer specifications in-line with Samsung’s Galaxy S5, run on the Android operating system and be sold with Tesco’s services pre-installed. The Tesco smart phone will also be priced aggressively, which is never a bad thing as far as the consumer is concerned. Currently there are no details regarding the smart phone’s specifications, and it’s also unknown which company will manufacture the device on Tesco’s behalf.
It’s not exactly surprising that Tesco have plans to launch a follow-up to the Hudl tablet, but releasing an own-brand smart phone? That’s an interesting move into an increasingly congested market. Despite the Tesco smart phone apparently offering specifications comparable to the Galaxy S5, by the end of the year that level of hardware will be second best to the inevitable next round of flagship devices. Just how aggressively will Tesco have to price and market its smart phone to make an impact in the UK market? Especially when considering the OnePlus One, which offers hardware comparable to the Galaxy S5, will be available from £230 in June? A couple of things that Tesco has in its favor is a ready-made distribution channel with its hundreds of shops, and being able to offer the own-brand handset on value for money contracts, leveraging their Tesco Mobile brand.
Do you own a Hudl tablet? If so, would you be interested in upgrading to the newer model later this year? Or are you more interested in the Tesco brand smart phone? Let us know in the comments or via our Google Plus page.