Tesco Hudl
Search engines and booksellers aren't the only companies making great 7in tablets. Here we test Tesco's new model.
Google's original Nexus, a top-quality 7in Android tablet that came at an affordable price, blew our minds when it first launched. The improved hardware and performance of the updated version merit the rise in price to £199, but the Nexus 7 inhabits a more crowded marketplace than its predecessor, and has to compete with a new wave of tablets that are even cheaper.
Tesco branding
The Tesco Hudl costs just £119 and although it doesn't have the cutting-edge technology of the Nexus 7, there's a lot more to the device than its discounted price might suggest. Tesco could have dramatically altered the Android operating system to push its own services, as Amazon has with its Kindle Fire; blocked access to Google's Play Store to take its own slice of any app profits; and added an impenetrable layer of Tesco-branded shopping opportunities. Fortunately, it hasn't. While there are Tesco services preinstalled on the device and you're encouraged (but not forced) to create a Tesco account if you don't already have one, the changes are remarkably subtle. There's a Tesco button in the bottom-left corner of the screen but it's small and discreet enough not to bug you. Swipe from the home screen to the alternative homepages and you'll find panels offering a range of Tesco services, but tapping, holding and dragging them to the cross in the top left will remove them, as with any Android widget. If you use Tesco's services, from Blinkbox movie rentals to online shopping, you should find these options useful. Within five minutes of turning on the device, however, you could have it mostly cleaned of Tesco add-ons, if you so wish.
Hudl vs Nexus 7
Aside from the Tesco apps, there's a standard version of Android 4.2.2. This is the first hurdle at which the Hudl drops behind the Nexus 7, which comes with Android 4.3. However, Version 4.2.2 still places Tesco's tablet ahead of most of the rest of the competition. The Hudl is surprisingly weighty at 370g. By comparison, the Nexus 7 is only 290g, and most other tablets of this size are less than 320g. Its similarly sized to the Nexus 7 (200 x 114 x 8.5mm) but thicker by a millimetre. With a screen resolution of 1,440 x 900 pixels, the Hudl again falls short of the Nexus 7, but compares well with most other compact tablets around at the moment. It can't show full resolution 1080p HD video, but it's questionable whether you're going to miss this on a 7in screen. Tablets tend not to have brilliant speakers because there simply isn't the space to fit in a decent set. The Hudl is no exception to this rule, and you'll need to use headphones if you want decent quality sound from it. Inside, the Hudl has a 1.5GHz quad-core processor with 16GB of storage, which is a similar specification to the Nexus. However, it doesn't perform as well, running at around half the speed of the Nexus 7 when tested with the Geekbench 2 benchmark. If you're after a tablet that plays the latest cutting-edge games and want it to last a year or two before the latest software demands start to make it look sluggish, it would be worth stepping up to the Nexus 7. But if you're not bothered about games and want a device primarily to watch video and surf the web, you're unlikely to have any problems with the Hudl's lesser performance. One of the key things you don't want a tablet to cut back on is the battery life. The Hudl's lasted 10 hours and 24 minutes in our tests, which is almost an hour and a half less than the Nexus 7's 11 hours and 48 minutes, but it's still above average compared to many other compact tablets.
Hudl vs Nook HD
Barnes & Noble's Nook HD is currently available for £40 less than the Hudl. To get the price down to £79, the Nook has shed both front and rear cameras, dual-band Wi-Fi and GPS. It also has Barnes & Noble software layered on top of Android, though this isn't offensive and you can still access the Google Play Store and install any Android apps you like. The good news for buyers is that you can now decide how much you're prepared to pay and get an appropriate 7in tablet for the price. We'd still plump for the Nexus overall, but if you've got less than £100, opt for the Nook HD, because you won't be disappointed with what you get for the money. If you can stretch to somewhere between the two, the Tesco Hudl is a good tablet for the price. Our only niggle is its performance, which has been overshadowed by Google's technological wizardry in creating the top-of-the-range Nexus 7.
OUR VERDICT
With the Hudl, Tesco has provided a welcome addition to the choice of 7in tablets, and a viable contender in an increasingly competitive market. At £119, it's significantly cheaper than the top-of-the-range Google Nexus, but has key technologies that the lower-priced Barnes & Noble Nook HD doesn't. It can't match the performance, battery life or screen resolution of the Nexus 7, and it's a chunkier, heavier tablet. But if you're not hell-bent on playing the latest games, it's a great option, especially if you can't do without cameras, dual-band Wi-Fi and GPS, which are all missing from the Nook. For its low price and the convenience of being able to pick one up while doing your weekly shop, the Hudl is hard to beat.
SPECIFICATIONS
• 7in IPS LCD screen
• 1,440 x 900 pixels resolution
• 242ppi
• 10-point multi-touch screen
• 1.5GHz A9 quad-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• Mali 400 Quad core GPU
• 16GB internal storage
• 80211a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz)
• Bluetooth 4.0
• 2MP fixed-focus camera
• 3MP auto-focus camera
• 2 x 1W stereo speakers
• Microphone
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• GPS
• Micro-USB 20 port
• Micro-HDMI port
• Micro-SD slot (32GB)
• 193 x 129 x 9.85mm
• 370g
FOR
• Great set of features
• Significantly cheaper than Google's Nexus 7
AGAINST
• More expensive than the Nook HD
• Doesn't have Nexus's cutting-edge technology
Tesco branding
The Tesco Hudl costs just £119 and although it doesn't have the cutting-edge technology of the Nexus 7, there's a lot more to the device than its discounted price might suggest. Tesco could have dramatically altered the Android operating system to push its own services, as Amazon has with its Kindle Fire; blocked access to Google's Play Store to take its own slice of any app profits; and added an impenetrable layer of Tesco-branded shopping opportunities. Fortunately, it hasn't. While there are Tesco services preinstalled on the device and you're encouraged (but not forced) to create a Tesco account if you don't already have one, the changes are remarkably subtle. There's a Tesco button in the bottom-left corner of the screen but it's small and discreet enough not to bug you. Swipe from the home screen to the alternative homepages and you'll find panels offering a range of Tesco services, but tapping, holding and dragging them to the cross in the top left will remove them, as with any Android widget. If you use Tesco's services, from Blinkbox movie rentals to online shopping, you should find these options useful. Within five minutes of turning on the device, however, you could have it mostly cleaned of Tesco add-ons, if you so wish.
Hudl vs Nexus 7
Aside from the Tesco apps, there's a standard version of Android 4.2.2. This is the first hurdle at which the Hudl drops behind the Nexus 7, which comes with Android 4.3. However, Version 4.2.2 still places Tesco's tablet ahead of most of the rest of the competition. The Hudl is surprisingly weighty at 370g. By comparison, the Nexus 7 is only 290g, and most other tablets of this size are less than 320g. Its similarly sized to the Nexus 7 (200 x 114 x 8.5mm) but thicker by a millimetre. With a screen resolution of 1,440 x 900 pixels, the Hudl again falls short of the Nexus 7, but compares well with most other compact tablets around at the moment. It can't show full resolution 1080p HD video, but it's questionable whether you're going to miss this on a 7in screen. Tablets tend not to have brilliant speakers because there simply isn't the space to fit in a decent set. The Hudl is no exception to this rule, and you'll need to use headphones if you want decent quality sound from it. Inside, the Hudl has a 1.5GHz quad-core processor with 16GB of storage, which is a similar specification to the Nexus. However, it doesn't perform as well, running at around half the speed of the Nexus 7 when tested with the Geekbench 2 benchmark. If you're after a tablet that plays the latest cutting-edge games and want it to last a year or two before the latest software demands start to make it look sluggish, it would be worth stepping up to the Nexus 7. But if you're not bothered about games and want a device primarily to watch video and surf the web, you're unlikely to have any problems with the Hudl's lesser performance. One of the key things you don't want a tablet to cut back on is the battery life. The Hudl's lasted 10 hours and 24 minutes in our tests, which is almost an hour and a half less than the Nexus 7's 11 hours and 48 minutes, but it's still above average compared to many other compact tablets.
Hudl vs Nook HD
Barnes & Noble's Nook HD is currently available for £40 less than the Hudl. To get the price down to £79, the Nook has shed both front and rear cameras, dual-band Wi-Fi and GPS. It also has Barnes & Noble software layered on top of Android, though this isn't offensive and you can still access the Google Play Store and install any Android apps you like. The good news for buyers is that you can now decide how much you're prepared to pay and get an appropriate 7in tablet for the price. We'd still plump for the Nexus overall, but if you've got less than £100, opt for the Nook HD, because you won't be disappointed with what you get for the money. If you can stretch to somewhere between the two, the Tesco Hudl is a good tablet for the price. Our only niggle is its performance, which has been overshadowed by Google's technological wizardry in creating the top-of-the-range Nexus 7.
OUR VERDICT
With the Hudl, Tesco has provided a welcome addition to the choice of 7in tablets, and a viable contender in an increasingly competitive market. At £119, it's significantly cheaper than the top-of-the-range Google Nexus, but has key technologies that the lower-priced Barnes & Noble Nook HD doesn't. It can't match the performance, battery life or screen resolution of the Nexus 7, and it's a chunkier, heavier tablet. But if you're not hell-bent on playing the latest games, it's a great option, especially if you can't do without cameras, dual-band Wi-Fi and GPS, which are all missing from the Nook. For its low price and the convenience of being able to pick one up while doing your weekly shop, the Hudl is hard to beat.
SPECIFICATIONS
• 7in IPS LCD screen
• 1,440 x 900 pixels resolution
• 242ppi
• 10-point multi-touch screen
• 1.5GHz A9 quad-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• Mali 400 Quad core GPU
• 16GB internal storage
• 80211a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz)
• Bluetooth 4.0
• 2MP fixed-focus camera
• 3MP auto-focus camera
• 2 x 1W stereo speakers
• Microphone
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• GPS
• Micro-USB 20 port
• Micro-HDMI port
• Micro-SD slot (32GB)
• 193 x 129 x 9.85mm
• 370g
FOR
• Great set of features
• Significantly cheaper than Google's Nexus 7
AGAINST
• More expensive than the Nook HD
• Doesn't have Nexus's cutting-edge technology
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