Should You Buy The New Tesco Hudl 2?

We all know that the budget end of the tablet market is filled with horribly impossible to use small Android tablets (apart from Google's own of course) but now surprisingly the UK's biggest Supermarket, Tesco, has got in on the act and has done a brilliant job. As the name suggests the Hudle 2 is the next iteration to Tesco's budget Android tablet and after the huge success of the original nobody can blame them for going at it again. At only £130 the Hudl 2 is perfect for kids and those that are perhaps new to tablets and won't use or need the features of a larger more expensive device. At that price you'd expect fairly lacklustre tech specs but Tesco have pulled out all the stops with this one.

The 8.3" Full HD screen makes using the device a joy and the crisp, clear text makes it perfect for a bit of Facebook, online shopping and reading books while the Intel Atom quad-core processor and 2GB RAM makes it great for watching HD films and even gaming. It comes with the latest version of Android (at the time of writing anyway) which is called KitKat meaning you get a great choice of apps from the Google Play store. Unfortunately Tesco have loaded a few of their own which can't be deleted but they don't really get in the way too much. However, one of these apps, the child safety app, is very useful. It lets you set profiles for everybody in the family and with this you can set which apps and websites they can use and even how long and what times of the day they can use the tablet - essential for any family.

But, and there's always a but, the battery life is really the thing you'll notice on the Hudl 2, at most it'll give you 8 hours of web browsing and book reading but as soon as you play a movie or processor intensive game the battery will really start to drain - you'll certainly be charging it almost daily. It's also not the greatest looking of tablets and weighs just over 400g which is significantly heavier than the 330g iPad Mini, but then it is half the price. The cameras are pretty pointless t00 with a 5MP rear and 1.2MP at the front - although nobody should ever being using a tablet to take masterpiece photos anyway.

So, should you buy the Tesco Hudl 2 tablet?

If you're looking for a budget tablet for your kids, something cheap to use around the house or a gift for your parents or grandparents then absolutely yes, you should buy one - it's a really great tablet.

If you're looking for a sleek, good looking, feature filled tablet for more than web browsing and the odd bit of gaming then no, you'd be better going for an iPad Mini, Nexus 7 or Amazon Fire HD.

Has 'iPad' become a generic trademark?

A generic trademark, also known as a proprietary eponym, is when a brand name becomes the word used for all products of that type. The best example being Hoover. Hoover is a brand of vacuum cleaner yet the majority of people call all vacuum cleaners Hoovers.

It's extremely difficult and probably impossible to actually define the moment a brand becomes generic as it tends to happen over quite a long period of time.

In general company's do everything they possibly can to stop their brands becoming generic, after all, why would Hoover want people calling a Dyson a Hoover? Google actively discourages the media from using the term 'googling' in an attempt to stop the trademark becoming generic.

In severe cases the original company can lose all IP Trademark rights meaning any company can then use their brand name. An example is the 'Philips head screw' which was originally a trademark that Henry Philips owned. Now any company can use the term 'Philips head screw'.

There are a number of demographics that seem to use the word 'iPad' for all tablets, in particular older people and those less technologically minded.

In work they've recently installed tablets at the the till points. I'm not entirely sure what brand they are but they're certainly not iPads. Despite this my (elderly-ish) boss calls them iPads, customers comment on them saying 'Cool, you're using iPads'. For Christmas my four year old, severely spoilt nephew had a 'Child Pad'. Nearly every member of my family, including my nephew, call it an iPad despite me telling them 'IT'S NOT AN IPAD!'.

So I don't think 'iPad' is a generic trademark just yet but I'm convinced that it soon will be unless Apple and other brands like Amazon and Google do something about it.

Do you know anybody that says 'iPad' for all tablets or do you know any other interesting generic trademarks? Comment below.