The UK’s high streets are alive with the sound of own-brand tablets, or at least they will be soon after retailer Argos announced its first Android-powered device, following in the footsteps of retail giant Tesco which introduced the Hudl in September.
The BBC reports that the Argos ‘MyTablet’ is a 7-inch device running Jelly Bean (Android 4.2.2) with a series of apps pre-loaded, including BBC’s iPlayer service and Angry Birds games. Under the hood it includes a 1.6GHz dual-core processor, 1024 x 600 resolution LCD screen, 8GB of internal memory, and Wi-Fi and BlueTooth connectivity.
The tablet will cost £99.99 ($160) and will go on sale from Wednesday.
Argos says it is targeting kids, and in particular those aged between 8-13 years-old (MyTablet will include parental controls), as Simon Barry, Argos’ technology trading manager, told the BBC:
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Kids find it hard to share, so we’ve priced our tablet at a level that means everyone in the family can have one.
We know a lot of families are probably feeling worse off [financially] this Christmas than last. We’re confident MyTablet is going to do really well.
Tesco says it sold 35,000 of its £119 Hudl device within ‘a few days’ of its launch. With British shoppers tipped to buy 8 million tablets per year, it will be interesting to see how MyTablet fares.
Related: Hudl: With Tesco’s tablet, you get a lot of bang for your buck
Thumbnail image via Gene Hunt / Flickr – images via Argos
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