The search giant revealed its Nexus 7 tablet at its developers' conference in San Francisco Wednesday afternoon. The tablet is made for Google by AsusTek Computer Inc. and will start at US$199 for an 8GB model.
Specifications for the tablet include:
- Google's latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system
- An Nvidia Corp. (Nasdaq: NVDA) Tegra 3 quad-core processor
- A 7-inch display
- "Android Beam" Near-Field Communication (NFC) support
- Up to eight hours of active battery use
- "Tons of free cloud storage"
- Tight integration with Google apps
Why this matters The sleek and inexpensive Wi-Fi-only tablet is a flagship for the latest cut of the Android OS and a streaming signpost for Google's "Play" content and app store. The device appears similar to the Kindle Fire, but sports a faster processor and more optional storage while lacking Amazon's speedy Silk browser. It is rumored that Amazon may respond with a new tablet launch as early as the end of July.
For more
- OS Watch: Google Shuns the Wireless Operators
- Google & Moto: What's Next?
- Ballmer: 'I Don't Think Everybody Wants a Tablet'
- T-Mobile Preps its First Android 3.0 Tablet
- CES 2011: The Daily Tablet
iFixit has an interesting detail in their teardown of the Nexus 7. The Google tablet is easier to repair than the Apple iPad.
This is because the Google tablet is 1mm wider and uses retainers to hold its battery in. Apple has glued the battery into its latest device.
I don't think of the Nexus as a straight-up Apple rival but that is one detail to consider.