HP made a concerted push into the budget “phablet” market with the launch of HP 8. Retailing for just $170, Engadget reports the device as having an Android-powered quadcore processor chip, designed by ARM and made by Chinese firm Allwinner.

Other features include a 7.85-inch LCD display with 1024 x 768 resolution, a Tegra 3 processor, as well as 1GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage.

Battery power, running on Android 4.2.2 Jellybean, extends up to 8 hours of usage.

Android Authority dubs HP 8 as nothing more than a re-branded US launch of the Compaq 8 that was launched in China last year.

The HP 8 is almost half the price of its 8-inch “Slate” device and, according to Android Authority, is one of the least expensive 8-inch tablets on the market.

In January, HP announced Slate6 VoiceTab and Slate7 VoiceTab – the numbers relate to screen size (inches).

According to the vendor, “consumers are looking to consolidate their phones and tablets, which is propelling the voice tablet market”.