Google Play Edition Sony Z Ultra, LG G Pad 8.3, and white Nexus 7 unveiled

[Scorpus]

Google has today announced three new additions to the device section of the Google Play Store, complementing the small selection already available. Soon you'll be able to pick up a Google Play Edition Sony Z Ultra or LG G Pad 8.3 right from the Store, or alternatively you can grab a new white variant of the 2013 Nexus 7 released earlier this year.

The first device to land in the Store as a Google Play Edition is the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, which we reviewed several months ago in its standard version. Available unlocked and off-contract for $649 (and interestingly named the 'Sony Z Ultra'), the handset comes with a large 6.4-inch 1080p LCD display, as well as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC, 16 GB of internal storage plus a microSD card slot, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 3,000 mAh battery.

One of the disappointing things I found with the Xperia Z Ultra when reviewing it was the lack of software optimized for the display size, which fits in between small tablets and standard high-end smartphones. I'm not sure slapping stock Android 4.4 'KitKat' will make the situation any better, but it could be a decent device for those wanting a large screen without any OEM skins.

The other Google Play Edition device to hit the Store is LG's G Pad 8.3, which includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 SoC and an 8.3-inch 1920 x 1200 display. Complementing the package is 16 GB of storage plus a microSD card slot, a 5-megapixel rear camera and a price tag of $349, making it ideal for anyone wanting a slightly larger tablet than the Nexus 7.

Speaking of the Nexus 7, there's the new white model, which is only available as an option for the 32 GB Wi-Fi-only model. Like the Nexus 5, it swaps out the normally-black rear cover for a white one, keeping the front bezel black. For a refresher on Google's low-cost tablet, be sure to check out our review.

Aside from the new slew of devices in the Google Play Store, you can still pick up Google Play Editions of the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, as well as the usual Nexus devices.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/54973-google-play-edition-sony-z-ultra-lg-g-pad-83-and-white-nexus-7-unveiled.html

 

[Sir Alex Ice]

My Nexus 7 2013 arrived yesterday. Unusable, as the touch screen refused to acknowledge any touch, right from the box. Sent it back to Amazon UK, of course.

Now, instead of adding new crap to Play Store, Google should focus more on Asus' quality control or more exactly lack of thereof.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

My Nexus 7 2013 arrived yesterday. Unusable, as the touch screen refused to acknowledge any touch, right from the box. Sent it back to Amazon UK, of course.

Now, instead of adding new crap to Play Store, Google should focus more on Asus' quality control or more exactly lack of thereof.

I feel your frustration but every now and then we all experience 'out of box failures'.

 

[Guest]

I think you don't understand the real issue with the new Nexus 7 2013. I have brought mine at launch time and after those three updates, meant to fix the touchscreen, google issued still mine had an unusable touchscreen. I have sent it in service they replaced the screen and now it's ten times worst. I also complained to Asus service and to the store, they can't fix it. All screens they have in stock have this hardware issue. Google knows this and it is ignoring because it must replace all the devices if to fix for real. Only some people will notice, if you only surf web, read stuff and play silly games you will not notice the issues, however in certain games and application the frustation is way way beyond my patience.
Hope the next time will do it like a it should be done.

 

[Sir Alex Ice]

I feel your frustration but every now and then we all experience 'out of box failures'.

The 2nd unit, sent as replacement, had the battery connector improperly seated resulting in 0% charge reported. It had to be opened to correct the issue.
Which begs the question about the 1st one, maybe that one too had a bad connection internally.