Carphone Warehouse slashes price of Avoca tablet to £49

The Christmas tablet war continues with a seven-inch Android device now available for under £50. But how does the Avoca compare to other budget tablets from Tesco, Argos and Amazon?

Carphone Warehouse has cut the price of its Avoca seven-inch Android tablet from £99 to just £49.

The move makes the budget tablet one of the cheapest on the market and undercuts recently launched low-cost rivals from Argos and Tesco.

However, the £50 discount is a limited time offer and is only available until 4th November.

So let’s take a look at whether the Avoca is worth rushing out to get.

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The specifications

The seven-inch Avoca tablet comes in a white metal case and only comes with Wi-Fi connectivity.

It has been built to run on Google’s Android Jelly Bean 4.2 operating system, which isn't the latest version but means you get access to the Google Play store and over 850,000 apps.

Inside there is 8GB of storage built-in, which can be expanded up to 32GB via a Micro SD card.

In terms of performance the 1GHz processing speed is a little slow and the 512MB of RAM will make multi-tasking a struggle.

As for the display the Avoca has an 800 x 480 resolution, producing a pixel density of just 133 pixels per inch (ppi). That's pretty poor considering Tesco's Hudl manages 242ppi.

The Avoca is also missing a rear-facing camera, though it does come with one at the front. So you can still take self-portraits and use the gadget for video calling, though the quality won't be great compared to other tablets as the camera is only 0.3MP.

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How it compares

Here’s how the Avoca stacks up against other budget tablets from Tesco and Argos as well as more expensive options from Amazon, Google, and Apple.

*Price range available direct from retailer

Carphone Warehouse says the Avoca is a 'family-friendly' tablet, 'great for everyday activities' like internet browsing, social networking, apps, videos and music. But at £49 I think it’s clear that you get what you pay for.

Important specifications that make using a tablet enjoyable like the display, camera, processing speed and RAM are all lacking with the Avoca compared to other low-cost tablets that are available.

Of the range above, the Tesco Hudl offers the best specifications at the best price. It is available for £119 but you can bag the device with just £60-worth of Tesco Clubcard vouchers via Clubcard Boost.

However, if you want the best features in the seven-inch tablet market the Google Nexus 7 is the only model to consider. It boasts more RAM, better display and better processing speeds than the budget Teso Hudl and the high end iPad Mini.

If the latest specifications are all you're after Amazon and Apple are launching next generation seven-inch devices later in November. Read Apple iPad Air and iPad Mini with Retina Display: what they will cost you for more.

All in all the Avoca is a bit of a bargain at £49, but once the price goes up to £99 after 4th November, you're better off spending £20 more on Tesco's Hudl.

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