The new HP Slate 7 targets the budget sector, aiming to give Google's Nexus 7 a run for its money, and now it's even cheaper.

As expected with mid-range devices for more budget-conscious consumers, the HP Slate 7 has no outstanding features to make it a top notch slate. It does, however, sport a 1024 x 600 display, a 1.6GHz RockChip RK3066 dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and an attractive price tag.

HP introduced its new Slate 7 Android tablet earlier this year, clearly targeting the budget sector. The tablet sported a $169 price tag when it initially went on sale, but now it's even cheaper.

HP now challenges the Nexus 7 even further and drops the price of the HP Slate 7 to just $139. Google's Nexus 7 tablet proved to be very popular due to its decent specs and performance, and especially its $199 price tag. Offering a $60 cheaper alternative, HP hopes to convince buyers to choose its tablet because it's more affordable, although it features a lower-level spec sheet.

In other words, the HP Slate 7 is a good alternative for tablet shoppers who are not looking for a top-notch, high-end device. The new price cut makes the HP Slate 7 even more competitive against the $199 Nexus 7, which sports a faster processor and a higher-resolution 7-inch display.

Other contenders in the budget tablet sector include Amazon with its Kindle Fire HD and Barnes & Noble's NOOK HD, both of which saw recent price cuts to step up competition.

The tablet market is becoming increasingly competitive both in the budget and high-end sectors, but this never-ending ultimately benefits the consumers. As companies fight hard to remain relevant and get ahead of their rivals, they boast aggressive price cuts to make their products more appealing to consumers.

Like it or not, price plays a very important role in choosing one product over another, and it often seals the deal when it comes to gadgets. HP is betting precisely on that, and the new price cuts see the 8GB and 16GB models of the HP Slate 7 priced at $139.99 and $169.99, respectively.

The company did not mention whether this is a limited-time promotion or the new prices are in effect for good. Interested buyers can grab either model directly from HP, with the 8GB slate available in silver and the 16GB one available in red.