Alcatel has announced that the Xess, a 17.3-inch tablet designed to live in your kitchen, will be available for purchase starting on April 22nd for $499. The Xess, which was built in partnership with Alcatel's parent brand TCL and carries TCL branding, blurs the lines between a tablet and all-in-one computer, and comes preloaded with software for managing a household and working in the kitchen.

The $499 price gets the Xess, with its 17.3-inch, full HD display, dual 3-watt JBL speakers, 1.5GHz octacore processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage (with slot for MicroSD expansion), and a remote camera that can be placed anywhere in the house and monitored through the Xess. Alcatel says the Xess was built with families in mind, and has preloaded the device with content from Nickelodeon, such as shows and apps. The Xess also has integrated recipe and meal planning, making it ideal for kitchen use, while the remote camera can act as a baby monitor. The device has an integrated kickstand, carry handle, and stylus, as well as two USB 2.0 ports for device expansion.

The Xess has a custom launcher designed to make use of its expansive display, but underneath is standard Android Lollipop, along with all of Google's services. We'll be spending more time with the Xess and its unique features in the near future, so stay tuned for more.