Tesco to enter tablet market next week with own-brand device under Hudl name

Tesco has sent out invitations to customers using the phrase “We’ve got something to show you” and using Tesco’s new Hudl trademark.

Mobile analyst with research firm CCS Insight Ben Wood suggested Tesco might try to price the device, which is expected to have a 7-inch screen, at £99.

“Obviously it’ll be [running Google’s mobile operating system] Android, probably [a storage capacity of] 16GB and attempting to hit the £99 price point — in my mind that will have to be the price,” Wood told the Guardian.

Tesco would be competing with Amazon, Google and Apple. The 8GB Amazon Kindle Fire costs £99, while Google’s newest Nexus 7 costs £199 for the 16GB model and a 16GB version of Apple’s iPad mini costs £269.

Tesco’s device is expected to be designed for online shopping and video, as it is thought the tablet will provide quick access to Tesco’s video-on-demand service Blinkbox.

Tesco applied for a trademark in February for the Hudl name to cover a wide range of goods, including a tablet and accessories.

The tablet market within the UK has boomed in the last few years. Last year, 8.3 million tablets were sold in the UK, according to CCS Insight. The UK was Europe’s biggest tablet market.