Android: General Chat

[CVByrne]

Really interesting that Cyanogenmod is now become incorporated. They think the future will be a downloadable paid app which will install CM on your phone as long as your bootloader is unlocked.

This would be great as you could then be free to pick hardware like the G2 and get the same OS on your phone every time.

[BOF]

Anyone?

The Tesco Hudl is a surprisingly affordable quad-core Android tablet (hands-on)

When you think Tesco, you probably think of big supermarkets, Clubcard points and Jane Horrocks, but certainly not an own brand tablet. Step forward the Tesco Hudl, a newly announced 7-inch Android slate that the company is looking to push to its 20 million strong customer base starting next week.

Tesco has been developing the Hudl over the last year intent on capitalizing on its customers’ increasing awareness of mobile technology and it’s own growing online and mobile services.

The Hudl is a balance of affordability against some surprisingly solid specs. Tesco’s debut device is based on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, with a few tweaks to better suit the company’s needs, mainly in the form of widgets and apps giving quick access to Tesco’s many services.

The Tesco launcher is always accessible from the UI bar at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and links the user through to Tesco Groceries, banking and blinkbox’s collection of around 10,000 movies and TV shows, as well as nearly 12 million tracks from blinkbox music, with a books service joining the fray in the coming weeks. In addition there are a host of widgets that display helpful information such as a Clubcard points balance and grocery orders.

We were a little surprised by our first experience with the Hudl. It’s a thick bezeled 7-inch tablet with a bright, high fidelity display toting an impressive 1440 x 900 WXGA resolution. Graphics looked crisp and lag during 3D games seemed minimal, no doubt as a result of the 1.5GHz quad-core processor at the Hudl’s heart.

Users will find 16GB of onboard storage out the box and expandability via microSD up to an additional 32GBs if they need it. Its look isn’t that dissimilar from Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD, offering dual stereo speakers, as well as a 2-megapixel front and a 3.2-megapixel rear-facing snapper sans flash. What’s more the Hudl can offer up to 9 hours of video playback on a single charge and totes additional connectivity options like HDMI-out and Bluetooth 4.0.

We can expect the Tesco Hudl to hit stores at the start of next week with an impressively low price tag of just £119. Tesco customers will also be able make use of the supermarket’s Clubcard Boost voucher exchange program, meaning that they’ll potentially be able to pick it up for as little as £60 when paired with vouchers according to Tesco.

It’s clear that the company is hoping to push its digital store front and services into more homes than ever before. With a compelling tablet package being made available in over 1000 stores in the next week, and the offer of in-store technical support and a wealth of additional Hudl branded accessories on offer, it could well become a UK favourite for those on the hunt of affordable power in the tablet space.

So it hits stores next week for £119.

[CVByrne]

Can't see why you'd get it over a last gen Nexus 7 tbh. New Nexus 7 is £80 more and a considerable improvement.

[jim]

Most consumers won't see that though. They will just see an £80 saving and go for the Tesco jobbie.

[Davkaus]

"It's only £80 more" is one way of looking at it.

 

Another way is "it's almost twice the price", which is the perspective I imagine that Joe Average is going to have.

Edited September 23, 2013 by Davkaus

[jim]

Yep, plus Tesco will do a deal with club card points no doubt and it will cost next to nothing.

[PompeyVillan]

I think it's a solid looking option to get for the kids or mum or nan to muck around on. Whilst £200 for a tablet is affordable, if you get a decent experience out of a £120 tablet and your user demands are not huge, then why not. It doesn't look like the kind of thing I'd buy, but if it's any good, then I expect they'll sell a lot of them. Especially if you can trade clubcard points to get one for £60! 

[Dodgyknees]

Nayson, what is a good case for the Nexus?

[limpid]

Which Nexus?

[Dodgyknees]

Nexus 4.

[limpid]

I use the official bumper for the N4 when I use a case.

[The_Rev]

My official bumper broke so I got a ringke fusion from Amazon for £10

[mykeyb]

So some benchmarks have been revealed which peg the Nexus 5 as being a quicker beast than the S4 and 5S.

 

October 14th cannot come quickly enough.

[Tegis]

It should be, It has a newer chipset than the S4. It should be compared to the Xperia Z1, Note3 or any other device running the snapdragon 800 (If we are talking android devices)

Edited September 26, 2013 by Tegis

[mykeyb]

It should be, It has a newer chipset than the S4. It should be compared to the Xperia Z1, Note3 or any other device running the snapdragon 800 (If we are talking android devices)

 

It was

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/nexus-5-smashes-galaxy-s4-in-leaked-benchmarks-1184107

[Tegis]

Very nice!

[CVByrne]

I just hope it has the same screen and battery life of the G2 and I'm sold.

[PompeyVillan]

I wonder whether it'll be 'reasonably' price again?

 

If I remember correctly the Nexus 4 was very good spec wise when it came out, but not the best like the Nexus 5 seems to have.

[The_Lions_Roar]

That's the thing, I expect it to be more than last time. If its sub £400 and to the rumoured spec then I'll get it. If not then I think I'll wait for the s5.

[dont_do_it_doug.]

Reading around all these benchmark scores and performance tests, the Xperia Z usually come out on or near the top in every single one.

So why isn't it talked about enough?