Tesco's Secret Weapon In The Christmas Android Tablet Wars

Tesco Point of Sale for Hudl

For many consumers in the UK, this Christmas is going to be seen as the Christmas of the tablet. Manufacturers are going to push the devices as affordable options for everyone in the family, while the media frenzy around them will cast them into the 'must have' category. From the expected updates to the iPad range next week, through Samsung's Notes and Sony's Xperia, it's a crowded market.

Even the High Street stores are getting in on the act, with this week's announcement of the MyTablet Android device from Argos. The catalogue store's seven inch device sports a decided low end feel, with a dual core 1.6 GHz processor, a screen resolution of 1024×600 pixels, and just 8 GB of storage. Low specs, but specs that allow it to be priced at £99 including tax.

But the secret weapon to winning has been deployed. Strolling around my local Tesco store it was hard to miss the well-lit and strikingly white end-cap promoting Tesco's Android tablet, the Hudl.

The specs of the £120 are higher (quad core 1.5 GHz, 16 GB storage, 1440×900 pixels) but what will set this device apart is the marketing advantage that Tesco will be able to give it. Control over the placement of the in-store displays, prominence in advertising anything else available in Tesco's stores, and of course the finances to allow the Hudl to be sold (if required) as a loss leading product to get people into the Tesco app ecosystem, including their ClubCard membership scheme and BlinkBox media service.

In a world of Jelly Bean powered Android tablets, the real leverage is in marketing. And if there's one thing that Tesco can do incredibly well, it's marketing. It wouldn't surprise me if the Hudl becomes the biggest selling Android tablet in the UK in 2013.