With visions of competing with the "big names" of mobile phones, British supermarket chain Tesco is looking to launch its own smartphone later this year. It comes after it launched Hudl, the company's tablet.
But as rumors of Hudl 2 were beginning over the new device for sale in September, Tesco's chief Philip Clarke confirmed to media that they were looking to deliver a high-end mobile phone to the market that would compete against the likes of the Galaxy, One and iPhone.
The company, which has not released many specific details on the new smartphone, did say that it would be on the shelves later this year. No exact date was given.
This will be Tesco's second go-round into the phone business after its 2010 Tesco VXI Party Phone, which was marketed as a cheap, cheery alternative to the higher priced phones on the market. Now, it hopes to battle it out with Apple, HTC and Samsung in the UK.
For many in the mobile phone sector, Tesco may be over-stepping their ability to truly compete with the more established "regulars" on the market. The 7-inch Hudl, while initially seeing some success, has largely failed to capture the general public's attention due largely to its lack of uniqueness beyond the simple design.
The Hudl runs on a 1.5GHz quad-core processor and duel-band Wi-Fi with an Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2-based slate with the company's full range of digital services. But with the massive appeal of other name brands already on the market, many are questioning whether Tesco needs its own branded-devices. The low price, however, did make it a great option for those who didn't want to dish out larger sums of cash.
"Tesco's low-budget tablet might have been a good idea," says Markos Zachariadis of Warwick Business School, "but a high-end smartphone is a bold and quite unpredictable move to make for a non-traditional tech firm with no technology manufacturing experience."
He disagrees that a high-end smartphone is a good idea for Tesco.
The media reports suggest that it is still early in speculation over whether Tesco will truly be able to compete with other well-established companies who have dominated the market for years, but the chain grocery store believes that delivering a product that will compete on functionality and on price, could be a step toward a truly device-driven outlook.
