As well as announcing its new Virgin TV V6 box the company has also unveiled its first tablet, which sports a 14" screen and is called the TellyTablet.
Virgin is calling this tablet a "personal" smart TV, aimed at allowing users to continue watching television while the main television in their home is in use.
Although this functionality is enabled on existing tablets via Virgin's TV Anywhere app, Virgin appears to be hoping that the TellyTablet will be an alternative for homes without an existing tablet.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? A new 14" Android-based tablet produced by Virgin Media
- When is it out? December 2016
- What will it cost? £299 upfront, or available as part of one of Virgin's mobile bundles.
At the launch event, Virgin confirmed that the new tablet would be available from December 2016.
If you want to buy the tablet upfront then the tablet will cost you £299.
Otherwise you're able to purchase it alongside a Virgin handset for an additional £10 a month, which is payable over the course of 24 months.
Virgin TellyTablet features
The TellyTablet's primary purpose is to allow access to Virgin's TV Anywhere app, which allows users to watch TV anywhere in the house and will be pre-installed on all TellyTablets.
The app is able to access live TV, on-demand box sets, and "selected" recordings.
The TV Anywhere app will also allow access to this content outside of the home over a Wi-Fi connection, and Virgin has confirmed that this functionality will be present on the TellyTablet specifically.
Additionally the app allows the ability to sync 'some' recordings for offline viewing.
As well as watching content separately, the TV Anywhere app also allows you to control your TV like you would with a remote control. You can browse for content before selecting it and having it display on your main screen, much like you would with a Google Chromecast.
You'll also have access to the full Google Play store to install any Android apps of your choosing.
Virgin TellyTablet specs
The TellyTablet runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and is equipped with a 14-inch Full HD 1080p IPS screen. We have contacted Virgin for exact details of the resolution of the screen.
The TellyTablet is equipped with four speakers total, two front-facing and two-rear facing for 5W total of sound output.
A microSD card slot is present to allow for for expandable storage, and has 32GB of internal memory, and has two USB ports for connecting keyboards and mice.
Connectivity wise the tablet is equipped with 5GHz Wi-Fi connectivity, although is not equipped with a SIM card slot to allow it to connect to 3G and 4G services outside of the home.
Virgin is claiming that the device will have a battery life of 7-8 hours, but you'll have to wait for our full review to see whether this figure holds up.
Oh, and there's a little built-in stand as well, which is a nice alternative to having to buy a case with a stand built in.
