Tesco Does Tablets with the Hudl

Reported in the BBC: A remarkable new step, World class retailer Tesco enters the Tablet market.  They have been a long time leader in retail technology, but this is a new big turn especially since non technology retail companies, like Amazon, have said they are not making money with their tablets.  To me this was like announcing that they decided to make TVs in the 50s, before the technology was completely mature.  I guess they are pushing the envelope again.  I admire that.  Will be watching.  And a UK correspondent suggests:  ' ...  Makes sense in that the web is the modern shop window.  Tesco in UK have also provided self scan and free WiFi for sometime, so no doubt noticing device usage has sought to link both via this device. ... '

From the BBC article:

" ... But what does the arrival of the Hudl - for that is the name of the product the company is launching this morning - mean for the overall market?

What is immediately clear is that Tesco is taking its tablet very seriously. Unlike some cheap Android tablets launched by other unlikely firms - remember Next's attempt? - this looks a competitive and reasonably high-spec offering. It runs the latest version of Android, has a 1.5 GHz processor, an HD screen and expandable storage.

The 7in device looks at first sight like any other small Android tablet - the Tesco content is mostly hidden under a "T" logo at the bottom left. Tapping here takes you to services like online shopping and the Blinkbox on-demand film service, bought by Tesco a couple of years ago. ... " 

How iPads are Transforming Retail

In TheNextWeb:  Nothing very revolutionary here.  The examples work for all tablets. Still a good reminder of the basics of what can be done.  I don't see enough about how strategic problems by management in retail can be solved using tablets.  How can management in retail use tablets creatively?   I note of interest, the last example, which is a touch of novelty for IOS7:   " ... iBeacons  ... Apple has included a feature called iBeacons within iOS 7. They enhance location services by using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) which has been included in iOS devices since the iPhone 4S. Using BLE devices can be set up to introduce a new range of geofencing and location capabilities..... " 

One Tablet per Child

Not available in the developed world.  But the concept of universal tablets (formerly universal laptops) is spreading again.  Aimed at kids.  Launches at Walmart.

Tablet Market

A look at the current tablet market.  Tablets continue to replace laptops for personal computing and information access  power.  Apples share drops among other contenders.

Smaller Tablets

Looking a several projects that aim to deliver information to small executive groups.  Mobile is esential.   The question is what are the likely formats of the tablets being used in the next 18 months?   Applications include data visualization and analytics to engage and focus decision makers to their work.    Now the move seems to be to smaller format tablets.  How much adaptation will be required for these formats to be adequate?  We are also seeing an expectation for some of these same applications to also be usable on smartphone sized devices.