HP Slate 7

HP may be getting ready to launch an even cheaper Android tablet in the near future in time for back-to-school shopping, with Walmart named as its sales partner.

The report comes from Taiwanese publication DigiTimes, and says that such a device will cost just $99, but nothing is officially official just yet.

The device is apparently being built by Chinese company BYD and will feature a 7-inch display and a single-core Intel Medfield processor. However, more details about it aren’t available at this point.

It’s worth pointing out that HP was quite successful at selling $99 tablets in 2011, but that was only because the company was forced to ditch all stock of the webOS-running TouchPad flagship tablet that failed to become the iPad rival HP envisioned. Priced initially at $499, the device ultimately sold for $99, becoming an interesting proposition for Android fans as well – dual booting webOS/Android TouchPads still exist out there.

Earlier this year, the company returned to the tablet business with the 7-inch Android-running Slate 7 that was announced at MWC 2013. Cheaper than the Nexus 7 (2012), the Slate 7 didn’t exactly become a hit product, and HP signaled as much by dropping its price even more.

A $99 HP Android tablet, if real, could be an interesting alternative for those buyers looking for very cheap tablets, but not interested in getting such a device from an unknown Asian maker.

That said, it’ll certainly be interesting to see how a $99-inch HP tablet will sell considering the alternatives available out there, including the newly announced Nexus 7 (2013).