The sensible Hisense Sero 7 Pro (pictures)

Available exclusively at Walmart, the $149 Hisense Sero 7 Pro is a bargain of a tablet, especially considering its quad-core specs and Android 4.2 OS. However, though it has plenty of potential, it doesn't quite have what it takes to rival Google's Nexus 7.

The device's 7-inch screen has a 1,280x800-pixel resolution, which is slightly higher than the HP Slate 7's 1,024x600 resolution. Though its not overly distracting, the Hisense's screen does display white hues with a more yellowish tone.

The Sero 7 Pro runs the skinless version of Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean, so you won't get any third-party skin overlaid on the UI. However, you will see a small screenshot hot key at the bottom of your screen (next to the hot keys for back, home, and recent apps).

The device measures 7.87 inches wide, 4.95 inches tall, and 0.43 inch thick. And at 0.82 pound, it's notably heavier than the Nexus 7.

The top edge houses all of the ports: (from right) a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD card slot that's expandable up to 32GB and is covered by a small plastic cover, Micro-USB, and Mini-HDMI.

The device has an all-black look (save for its slate-gray rear), and softly rounded corners. Its dimpled, rubber-like backing gives it a more durable feel.

On the back, the Sero 7 sports a 5-megapixel camera with flash. Above its display on the top-right corner sits a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

Powering the Hisense Sero 7 Pro is a 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor from Nvidia and a 4,000mAh battery. During our battery drain test, the tablet lasted 8.4 hours.

In general, the quad-core processor can execute simple but necessary tasks with ease. I didn't run into any problems or stuttering with actions like browsing the app drawer, navigating the home page, launching common apps, and switching between landscape and portrait mode.

Users will also get 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 EDR, 8GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM, NFC and Android Beam, and GPS capabilities.