Besy Buy’s “Insignia Flex” Android tablet will be priced around $250

Hitting Best Buy store shelves during early November, the Insignia Flex could be a solid mid-range competitor for the tablet market.

According to a Reuters source, Best Buy plans to launch the 9.7-inch ”Insignia Flex” this holiday season for a price between $239 to $259. Designed to compete against tablets like Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD and Google’s Nexus 7, the Insignia-branded Android tablet uses a a dual-core 1GHz processor and offers ten hours of battery life. In addition, Best Buy has confirmed that Insignia Flex will be running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich when the tablet is released to consumers on November 11, 2012.

However, Best Buy hasn’t outlined other specifications of the tablet such as the total amount of RAM or the storage capability of the device. While a Wi-Fi logo can clearly be found on the only picture of the tablet, it’s unclear if Best Buy plans to release a version with 3G or 4G capabilities.

According to the source, the tablet will come equipped with a camera that can be utilized for video conferencing. In addition, the Insignia Flex weighs 1.45 pounds. That weight is similar to the 1.44 pound weight of the 9.7-inch iPad.

Best Buy hasn’t indicated if the company will follow Amazon’s lead on the advertising model used on the Kindle Fire HD. When a user powers up a Kindle Fire HD, an advertisement is located on the lock screen. Hypothetically, Best Buy could utilize a similar concept to advertise current sales based off the user’s current geographic location. 

In addition, Best Buy could have a significant price advantage during the holiday shopping season. Similar in specifications, Apple currently sells the iPad 2 for $399. Amazon’s 8.9-inch, Wi-Fi only Kindle Fire HD is priced at $299, however it’s likely that the 1.5Ghz dual-core processor within the Kindle Fire HD will provide a significant speed advantage over Best Buy’s tablet. However, Best Buy could slash the price of the Insignia Flex below the $200 level as a special deal during Black Friday or Cyber Monday in order to increase adoption.