Google's budget-friendly Asus-made Nexus 7 tablet has competition. Chinese company Smart Devices has revealed its affordable SmartQ X7 tablet, which is being touted as the Nexus 7 killer and will retail for $249.

The SmartQ X7 tablet, like the Nexus 7 boasts a 7-inch screen with 180 x 800 pixels resolution. The tablet may cost $50 more than the 16GB version of the Google offering, but the SmartQ X7 packs in a faster processor, double the RAM, and a better camera.

The Nexus 7 is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, whereas the SmartQ X7 packs in a TI OMAP4470 processor that is clocked at 1.5GHz. Additionally, the X7 comes with PowerVRSGX544 graphics, which makes the tablet handle multimedia and gaming better.

The SmartQ X7 also has 2GB of RAM vis-à-vis the Nexus 7's 1GB. Moreover, the tablet edges out the Nexus 7 when it comes to storage options as it packs in a microSD slot that offers additional memory support of 32GB. The Smart Q X7 is available only in 16GB, whereas the Nexus 7 is available in 16GB as well as the recently launched 32GB version.

The SmartQ X7 also scores over the Nexus 7 when it comes to camera. The X7 sports a 2-megapixel front-facing as well as rear-facing camera. The Nexus 7, on the other hand, only has a front-facing camera which is 1.2 megapixels and not rear-facing camera. The X7 has a 4,200mAh battery, which on paper seems evenly matched with the Nexus 7's 4325mAh one; however, the usage support offered is not yet known.

The SmartQ X7 measures 7.90 × 5.00 × 0.37 inches compared to the Nexus 7's 7.81 x 4.72 x 0.41 inches dimensions, making the former taller, wider, and thinner than the latter. The X7 weighs 11.82oz, making it slightly lighter than the 11.99oz of the Nexus 7.

Both the tablet run on Jelly Bean; however, the X7 has Android 4.1 when compared to the Nexus 7's recent jump to Android 4.2. Both the tablets support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The SmartQ X7 is now available for purchase at $249. On paper, the tablet looks promising and could be poised to pull the rug from underneath the hugely popular Nexus 7's feet.

Would you opt for the SmartQ X7 over the Nexus 7, or would prefer going for an established brand like Google over a little-known one?