Just as Apple's iPad 2 launches to global success and is crowned a hit by Consumer Reports in the US (beating out 10 other popular tablets), Telecom quietly released a new Android device dubbed the "Telecom Tablet”. The launch of the Android 2.1-based device was so quiet that if we hadn't of seen the company tweet about it, we still wouldn't know it's there.

But maybe Telecom didn't want to make a great big song and dance about it? Maybe it's just testing the waters to see what Kiwi customers are after.

Rather than being built for business this small tablet is aimed squarely at those who want to play games, read ebooks and watch videos. It's also a fraction of the price of an iPad 2, which might make all the difference if an iPad is way out of your budget.

But rather than waiting and then launching a tablet with the latest Google Honeycomb interface, Telecom went for an older version of the Android operating system.

That said, Android 2.1 still allows you to use popular Google tools such as search, maps and Gmail.

And using Android Market (Google's version of Apple's App Store), you've got instant access to over 100,000 apps that can be downloaded to the tablet. There's a 3.0 megapixel camera and a 7” touchscreen that features a 840 x 480 pixel resolution and memory is expandable, allowing you to store content such as music, photos and video on a microSD card.

Check back next issue when we'll have a full review of the Telecom Tablet.