British retailer Tesco is to take a further step into the smartphone market with the launch of its own branded smartphone later this year.
This will mark Tesco’s first own-brand technology release since its budget Hudl tablet last year, which became a big seller.
To date, the company has sold more than 500,000 of these tablets and hopes to see the release of Hudl 2, along with the new smartphone.
According to Reuters, a spokesperson for Tesco said the smartphone will be based off Google’s Android operating system and will come with a number of pre-installed apps for Tesco’s services.
Tesco’s chief executive Phillip Clarke had previously stated the company wants to improve its financial standings after an operating loss, and hopes a number of price reductions and greater push of its telecommunications products and services will play a significant part in this.
