REVIEW: hudl 2, Tesco's tablet

I am not one to spend a fortune on fancy tech. I usually buy something new when the old one is no longer working. True, my smartphone has died a few times (but been revived with prayers, rest and rice) and can only store 6 extra apps; my laptop doesn't work without the plug and is heavy enough to make me dread taking it anywhere. But nevertheless buying a tablet is pretty frivolous in my mind, even though I have a job and can afford to splash out.

So, should you buy the hudl 2? Read on to find out!

Looks

The hudl is available in a nice selection of colours. Unfortunately orange and turquoise (which are the best colours) are only sold online so instore I was forced to buy a different colour but buy the cover/case/stand in turquoise. I think my colourful hudl looks fun and is trendier than sporting something with a presumptuous Apple logo on it.

Display

If you're like me, telling you the pixel density of the hudl won't help. What I can assure you is that the graphics look crystal clear, especially when I'm shooting a baddie in the head on Sniper 3D.

Camera

What's not so sharp is the photos taken on the selfie camera. As you can see from this indoor evening attempt, if the light isn't great, I can turn out looking like I have jaundice. Still, it's better than your average smartphone.
Unfortunately, neither of the cameras have flash so you can't be "that person" who takes your tablet to a concert to take photos.

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Price

At £129 (correct at time of writing) it offers pretty much the best performance compared to the rest in the budget tablet market - I've read enough reviews to know that much. At Tesco I got my hudl for £99, using the £20 off £100 spend electrical coupon and a further £10 off using my Clubcard Boost vouchers. Oh, and the case was 1/3 off when bought with the hudl.

Useability

Before I could even use my hudl I had to wait well over 30 minutes for it to update its systems and apps. Which was a massive anticlimax and I imagine a bit of an issue when it came to kids opening it excitedly on Christmas day!
The system itself is Android so because I have a Samsung smartphone, getting to grips with the tablet's system was quite easy. Plus the hudl has a cute tutorial at startup to walk you through it.
It's quite easy to lose yourself in the hudl for hours at a time, and the decent battery life permits this.

Apps

I love being able to have more than 5 apps. I can play games, check my Tesco Bank (they tempted me to switch by offering £50 worth of Clubcard points) balance, Skype and everything else you would expect from a tablet. In fact, my ultimate challenge to the hudl is that I've written this entire article on it in an hour, on the Weebly app, using Swipe, voice-typing and good old tapping on the generously sized onscreen keyboard.
Because Tesco made this tablet, there is a screen which shows you your Clubcard points and other social content like recipes or Blinkbox TV offers. You don't have to look at this though, nor use any of the preinstalled apps.
If I was to complain about something, it would be that the Halifax mobile banking app "isn't available on this device" and that additional languages don't seem to come as standard on the keyboard prediction.

So, should you buy it?

My answer is a resounding YES!!! If you aren't bothered about designer brands, love a good bargain and want to indulge in the tablet trend then you should go for it! It's the best you are going to get for such a relatively low cost and can be shared amongst family as it has multiple user profiles and child safety controls.

Do you already own the hudl 2? What do you think? Share your comments below!