Google unveils Nexus 7 tablet, available mid-July for $199

Jos

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Google has officially announced the Nexus 7 tablet during its opening keynote at Google I/O 2012. As rumored, the device is manufactured in partnership with Asus, featuring a 7-inch 1280 x 800 display and a Tegra 3 SoC which itself comprises a quad-core CPU and twelve-core GPU. The device weighs in a mere 340 grams so it’s easy to carry around and will reportedly last for 9 hours of HD video playback.

Connectivity-wise you’ll get the mandatory Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but there was no mention of 3G/4G. You also get a front-facing camera for video conferencing and all the sensors you'd expect from a modern tablet.

The device will ship with the recently-announced Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system and is being pitched as the ideal tablet for music, movies, books, magazines, apps, and games. Google highlighted a few of these things on stage, including the new Google Play magazine app featuring tablet-optimized articles with interactive elements, as well as playing a short clip from TV series Parks and Recreation.

google nexus android tablet jelly bean google io nexus 7

There’s a new home screen that puts your content front and center — much like the Kindle Fire does — and new widgets to help you find books, apps, games, songs and more in the Google Play store.

Also highlighted were Google’s Chrome browser for Android, a completely redesigned YouTube app for tablets, the latest version of Google Maps with new overlays showing relevant information about places, a “Compass Mode” that lets you see inside-the-business photos, and support for offline maps.

Lastly, Google gave a glimpse at the tablet’s gaming capabilities with a couple of titles before announcing the all-important price and availability: the Nexus 7 will begin shipping in mid-July and will sell for $199.

At that price Amazon is going to have a hard time competing with its Kindle Fire — at least for now, since an update to the Kindle is rumored for the end of July. Google is certainly hoping to steal some sales from the iPad as well but given Android’s track record in the tablet market we’ll have to wait and see how that goes. One positive aspect is that since this is a Nexus device Google shouldn’t drag its feet when it comes to updates.

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Same price as my Kindle Fire, plus Bluetooth and camera for video chat? Yah, I think the wife will be getting a slightly used Fire hand-me-down this fall...
 
Same price as my Kindle Fire, plus Bluetooth and camera for video chat? Yah, I think the wife will be getting a slightly used Fire hand-me-down this fall...

This fall? The next gen Kindle Fire will definitely be available by then, and may have an even better offering!
 
Looks good for a $199 tablet, but as treeski mentioned above, the new Fire that will likely resemble the Nexus 7 specs should be out in a matter of weeks.
 
Yeah but here in the UK the Nexus is shipping at the same time as in the U.S.

By the time Amazon will get around to releasing the new Fire for us it'll be obsolete unless they've changed their ways.


I've pre-ordered a 16gb Nexus, can't wait :)
 
Just pre-ordered mine too. Have been looking at the 7" size for a few months now and getting one of this quality is worth the wait. Am a little disappointed that the unit doesn't come with a charger but at least it doesn't come with a power brick and USB chargers can be had for cheap.
 
Has anybody heard whether this will have a micro hdmi out, or similar output port? I'd really like to be able to hook this up to a tv/projector
 
Yeah but here in the UK the Nexus is shipping at the same time as in the U.S.

By the time Amazon will get around to releasing the new Fire for us it'll be obsolete unless they've changed their ways.


I've pre-ordered a 16gb Nexus, can't wait :)

I'm jealous.

I was holding off till the Surface, but Jelly Bean looks pretty good, especially for half the price.

I'll hold off for a month or so and see what else comes out.
 
I was holding off till the Surface, but Jelly Bean looks pretty good, especially for half the price.

I'll hold off for a month or so and see what else comes out.

I'm inclined to hold off as well, although I really like the looks of the 16gb for $250. The last time I pre-ordered a tablet (Transformer Prime TF201), it turned out to suck the big weenie. I look forward to the reviews of this though.
 
One of my best mates works for Google so I got to have a play on one of these at his house the other day, it's verrryyyyy nice especially for so cheap.
 
Android and Nexus 7? You call yourselves geeks?

Go watch Blade Runner again.

I do realize Rachel was a 6.
 
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