Asda’s launched a £99 Android tablet. That’s right, the supermarket giant will be stocking it alongside its food and home goods. Which got us thinking: which other supermarkets sell tablet PCs? And who’s the cheapest? You might be surprised to see just how mainstream tablets are have become…
And for those thinking of launching their own, we’ve come up with some suggestions, to keep them on-brand (and with an eye to landing a juicy cheque for commission).
So grab a trolley with a knackered wheel as we present Android tablets, supermarket editions. Price check aisle nine!
Selfridges
Cheapest on offer: Samsung Galaxy Tab or Toshiba Libretto W100, £399
Not exactly a steal, at 400 sheets, but both fine machines. Though we’d plump for the Galaxy Tab over the twin-screened Toshiba.
Unreleased: The Life Portal by Selfridges
This is not just a tablet. It’s an experiential device helping deliver lifestyle-rejuvenating episodes to consumers through a collision of engagement, connection, and inspiration. While simultaneously helping them part with vast sums of cash. Surfing a wave of hyperbole, the tab promises a lot, but what it all adds up to is making you think it might get you laid.
Tesco
Cheapest on offer: Binatone 2GB Homesurf Tablet PC, £131.74
An 8-inch touchscreen with a paltry 800×600 resolution isn’t enough to tempt us to our nearest Tesco, even if it is next door.
Unreleased: Tesco Value Tab
The box is a bit battered, you know that by buying it you’re contributing to the death of all that was once great about the high street, and the bag they give you to carry it home in is soon in tatters like a newspaper in a downpour. Still, it’s just easier isn’t it. With a Tesco on every street, it’s not like you have to hunt it out.
If only there was a way of peeling off those shame-inducing blue stripes…
Somerfield
Cheapest on offer: View Quest Slate2, £199.99
Another 8-inch effort from a little known manufacturer, running the stone age Android 2.1.
Unreleased: The SomerTab
Cheap, low-specced, but now Somerfield is owned by Co-op, it’ll come preloaded with an app for arranging your own funeral. It also attaches to a trolley and makes screaming noises, so you don’t feel left out if you don’t have any children of your own.
Waitrose
Cheapest on offer: n/a
Unreleased: The Waitrose Effete
With a screen that doubles as a mirror for the preened clientele, and running the latest version of Android with a customised skin that makes it look and feel a little bit more special, this is the tablet for the more discerning Android user. Well, an iPad, basically.
Extras include a flip-out olive dish, organic carrot sticks that double as a stylus, and in-built satnav software that directs you to the nearest posh gin-dispensing hostelry.
Harrods
Cheapest on offer: Asus Eee Pad Transformer 16GB, £379.99
A great tablet that’s not too pricey, though this is without the keyboard.
Unreleased: The Harrods LavishTab
A 17-inch behemoth that’s been vajazzled with Swarovski crystals in the pattern of a henna tattoo, and comes in a tasteful shade of blushing pink or baby blue. It’s running a creaking old version of Android 2.2, but again it’s been given a skin to fool gullible users into thinking it’s more exclusive than it is.
In terms of features it’s a pretty poor showing, with no headphone socket (just a speaker so everyone can hear everything you’re doing), a VGA rear camera, 4GB storage, yet it costs a jillion pounds. And it weighs a ton, but it’s ok, your assistant will doing the carrying.
Sainsbury’s
Cheapest on offer: n/a
Unreleased: Sainsbury’s Practitab
With an orange frame, it’s certainly no looker, but it gets the job done well enough. And it’s less irritating than a lot of competitors.
Extras include an AR app that lets you virtually try on a range of primary coloured t-shirts that are too narrow at the shoulders and too long in the body, and an app using the accelerometer telling you which angle to push the trolley to compensate for the gammy wheel.
Thankfully those promo vids featuring Jamie Oliver have been pulled, too.
