Tesco has launched its second generation of Android tablet, the Hudl2, with enhanced parental controls, a year after the surprise success of its first tablet, which was unveiled in September 2013.
The Hudl2 tablet is larger, faster, and sleeker than the first Hudl, which was available for less than £120 and won acclaim for getting the basics right with a low price.
The first Hudl sold 35,000 units in the first two days, 400,000 in three months, and went on to sell 750,000 in a year. Tesco is undercutting rivals from Google, Samsung and Apple, hoping that the new device will bea high point in a year marked by poor Christmas sales, share price drops and an accounting scandal that has seen senior managers suspended and stock market value halve.
“Cutting-edge technology doesn’t have to come with a big price tag,” said Michael Comish, group digital officer at Tesco. “Hudl2 may be affordable, but we’ve cut no corners when it comes to performance – this is our best tablet offering yet.”
The Hudl2 has a full HD 1080p 8.3in screen, Dolby stereo speakers and two cameras: a five-megapixel rear camera and a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chats and selfies.
“We know customers want easy, accessible technology that the whole family can use whether working, shopping, gaming, learning or just taking some time out,” said Comish.
The tablet has an Intel Atom 1.83GHz quad-core processor, making the Hudl2 three times faster than the original tablet according to Tesco, as well as 16GB of storage with support for more via a microSD card slot. Tesco says the battery will last eight hours on a single charge.
‘Child safety filter on Hudl2 is more parent friendly’
A collection of Tesco apps have been added to Google’s Android 4.4.2 “KitKat”, including Blinkbox movies and TV, and Tesco’s shopping services. Tapping a small “T” in the top left of the screen opens up a list of Tesco services.
Tesco partnered with parent support group the Parent Zone to develop parental controls to filter unsuitable content for children on the tablet, while allowing full access for parents. The pre-loaded app allows parents to set up profiles for up to seven users, tailoring each according to age and suitability of content. Timers can also be set for how long children can use the tablet.
“The child-safety filter on Hudl2 is more parent-friendly than anything we have seen before,” said Vicki Shotbolt, chief executive of The Parent Zone. “Tesco really understands that making a tablet as family-friendly as possible needs to start at the design stage. Filters are never a total solution, which is why we have worked with Tesco to create helpful information for parents too.”
The Hudl2 will be available for £129 in eight colours, both in store and online, from 9 October. As with the previous generation Hudl, Tesco customers can use their Clubcard loyalty vouchers to buy the tablet for £65.
Tablets, tablets, tablets
The total tablet market is forecast to grow by 19.4% in 2014 to 260.9m units globally, according to research firm IDC, but that is down from a growth rate of 51.6% in 2013, showing slowing demand.
Research firm eMarketer expects there to be 12.3 million iPad users in the UK in 2014, representing 19.1% of the country’s total population. That figure also represents 50% of UK tablet users, which eMarketer estimates will be down from 59% share of all tablet users last year.
The budget tablet market is still expanding in the UK, as those that would have considered a low-cost laptop or PC are able to pick up tablets for less than £100. Argos and Aldi have also launched own-brand tablets in attempts to capitalise on the demand.
Whether the Hudl tablets make money for Tesco on their own is unknown, but Tesco says that 230,000 people a week access Tesco’s services through the Tesco button on their Hudl tablets.
Tesco hopes that Hudl buyers will be more inclined to continue to use Tesco’s services, a similar model Amazon uses for its Kindle Fire tablets, which are sold close to cost price but are used to drive customers to Amazon shops and services.
Trouble at Tesco
The future of Tesco’s media arm, the on-demand video service Blinkbox, was also called into question this week as reports indicted that Dave Lewis, Tesco’s new chief executive, has kicked off a strategic review of the under-performing service intending to seek a buyer.
Lewis is now dealing with the fallout from the accounting scandal, which saw Tesco admit that it had overestimated its first half profits by £250m last week, after a whistleblower had alerted it to over-optimistic accounting for payments from suppliers and business costs.
The news caused the supermarket’s share price to plummet with the suspension of four senior managers. Tesco acknowledged on Wednesday that it would face an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority. Tesco’s core supermarket business also has issues is losing market share under attack from discounters Aldi , Lidl and Morrisons.
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