id="article-body" class="row" section="article-body"> Look out Google! The popular Google Nexus 7 tablet finally has a rival in the shape of the Kobo Arc, a new 7-inch tablet announced alongside the Kobo Glo and Kobo Mini ebook readers -- and on the very day the Amazon Kindle Fire 2 is expected to be revealed.

The Kobo Arc tablet packs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which is a step behind the Nexus 7's bang-up-to-date Jelly Bean software. But it has the full slate of Google apps and access to the official Android app market, Google Play, which puts it streets ahead of other cheap Android tablets.

Let's hope it's better than the disappointing Kobo Vox, anyway. Like the Nexus 7, the Kobo Arc has a front-facing camera for video chat, but no main camera. Inside is a 1.5GHz processor and 1GB of RAM, with a 1,280x800-pixel high-definition screen on top. 

Crucially, the Arc matches the Google Nexus 7 on price, costing £160 for the model with 8GB of storage, and £190 for the 16GB ve