At the Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco Google has confirmed details of its first branded tablet. The Google Nexus 7 is built by Asus, runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and comes at a very attractive price point.
Weighing 340g, the Nexus 7 about the size of a paperback book, as predicted it has a 7-inch 1280×800 HD display using back-lit IPS technology and it’s powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. But what’s really interesting is the price – it will cost $199, which includes $25 of Google Play credit. Google has just confirmed it will cost £159 – so for once we’re not being ripped off in the UK.
The announcement was made by Hugo Barra (Google’s head of product). Asus CEO Jonny Shih was in attendance, but unfortunately didn’t take to the stage.
Google had three aims when making the tablet. ‘To create the best possible Google Play experience; make Google Apps work and support the next generation of apps and games.’
The Nexus 7 runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and will ship with Chrome as the standard browser along with the latest version of Google Maps. Other features include a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC. Video playback is an impressive 9 hours.
Google is pushing the Nexus 7 as an entertainment device and demonstrated some TV programs currently available from Google Play, along with games Horn and Dead Trigger, both of which looked stunning with fluid animation.
We’re impressed by what we’ve seen of the Google Nexus 7. Partnering with Asus (manufacturer of the best Android tablets) the hardware should be outstanding and Jelly Bean looks look good too. It’s interesting that Google has opted for a 7-inch tablet – perhaps leaving the big-screen tablet space to Apple? There’s certainly a market for a smaller tablet as the success of the Amazon Kindle in the US has shown
The Google Nexus 7 will be available in the US, UK and Australia and can be pre-ordered from Google Play today, shipping in July. The US price is $199 and £159 and you can pre-order it here.
Leave a Reply