Walmart starts selling Hisense Sero 7-inch Android tablets from $99

While there have been lower-tier latest android tablet available on the cheap for some time, Walmart's decision to promote Hisense's Sero 7 version for $99 starting this weekend marks an important next step in the tablet pricing wars.

You might see other 7-inch Android slates at drugstores and the like for similar prices or lower, but they aren't given the Walmart seal of approval through website banners like the one above from Walmart.com. The $99 Sero 7 isn't going to be confused with a high-end model, as it includes specs like a 1.6GHz dual-core processor from an unnamed manufacturer, standard 1,024x600 resolution, Android Jelly Bean 4.1, and a mere 4GB of storage (though it does include a microSD card slot for additional capacity). Then again, it is breaking the $100 price barrier.

If you are looking for a better-equipped model newest tablets for less, the Sero 7 Pro still will only set you back $149, but you get a quad-core Tegra 3 chip, double the storage, the newer Android Jelly Bean 4.2, and a higher-res screen (1,280x800). That compares well with the Google Nexus 7 if you don't want 16GB of storage for $50 more.

Of course, there may be reluctance on the part of some buyers to purchase a tablet from a vendor like Hisense that's not well-known in the United States. Others may find the deal too good to pass up, however. Enough of such buyers may put more pressure on other Android tablet makers to drop their prices. Could $99 could be the next price point new budget tablets will be sold around?

Are you one of those who thinks the new Sero Q88 Tablet are a good deal? Are you planning to buy one? Let us know in the Talkback section below. If you're a 10-inch Android tablet user, we've got some lovely news for you in time for the weekend. The BBC has updated its iPlayer video streaming application and it's finally added support for 10-inch tablets.ds3SC3FC

The BBC says version 1.7.0.112 adds support for 10-inch slates and also features a tweaked design for 7-inch tablet users as well as smartphone users. Next on the agenda for the broadcaster and its app is further optimization for larger screens as well as continuing work on video downloads.

While users will no doubt be happy about the support for larger tablets, it's a no-brainer for the BBC, which just last month saw more tablets than phones accessing its iPlayer service. Tablets were a whopping 200,000 requests ahead of mobile devices in April. These cheapest tablet requests were apparently driven primarily by TV viewing as opposed to catching up with radio shows.

Launched on December 25, 2009, the BBC's iPlayer allows people to catch up on the last seven days of their favorite BBC TV and radio shows for free. The current Android app is available for Android 2.2 to Android 4.2 and is currently rated three out of five stars on Google Play.