News & Analysis
Google launches 7-inch, $199 Android tablet
Dylan McGrath
6/27/2012 2:48 PM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO—As expected, Google Inc. used the occasion of its Google I/O developer event here Wednesday (July 27) to launch a 7-inch media tablet, made by Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc., which will be available in mid-July starting at $199.
The Nexus 7 features an Nvidia Tegra 3 chip set, including a quad-core CPU and a 12-core GPU, along with a 1280 x 800 HD display, said Hugo Barra, Google's product management director for Android. The tablet offers a front facing camera, supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Near Field Communications and weigh just 330 grams (less than 12 ounces), about the weight of an average paperback book, Barra said.
Nexus 7 is power thrifty, supporting up to nine hours of video playback and up to 300 hours of standby time on a full charge, Barra said.
The 8-GB version of the Nexus 7 will be available for $199, while a 16-GB version will go for $249. Both are available through Google Play, Google's online store. Google Play offers more than 600,000 apps, millions of songs and books, and thousands of movies that can be consumed on the Nexus 7 as well as other Android devices.
Google was widely expected to introduce a small form factor tablet at the developer event.
Nexus 7 will run version 4.1 of Android, codenamed "Jelly Bean," which was also announced by Google Wednesday. The latest version of Android includes a smoother and more responsive user interface, a home screen that adapts to fit content, a predictive keyboard feature that suggests the next word before a user begins typing it and more interactive notifications, according to Google.
Nexus 7 will initially be available in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia, Barra said, with availability in other countries expected to follow.
Hugo Barra, Google's product management director for Android, speaks at the Google I/O development event Wednesday.
According to NXP Semiconductors NV, the Nexus 7 includes NXP's PN65 NFC solution, featuring an NFC radio controller and an embedded secure element.
Google also announced an Android 4.1 platform development kit for Android hardware developers, in addition to a software developer kit.
Rounding out Google's major announcements Wednesday, the firm launch Nexus Q, a spherical shaped streaming media device which connects to stereo speakers and televisions to wirelessly stream music and video from Android handsets or tablets to be played on large speakers and screens. The device is priced at $299 and expected to start shipping in two to three weeks, Google said.
Prior to the announcements, Vic Gundotra, said there are now 400 million Android devices, up from 100 million a year ago. About 1 million Android devices are being connected each day, he said.
The Nexus 7 features an Nvidia Tegra 3 chip set, including a quad-core CPU and a 12-core GPU, along with a 1280 x 800 HD display, said Hugo Barra, Google's product management director for Android. The tablet offers a front facing camera, supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Near Field Communications and weigh just 330 grams (less than 12 ounces), about the weight of an average paperback book, Barra said.Nexus 7 is power thrifty, supporting up to nine hours of video playback and up to 300 hours of standby time on a full charge, Barra said.
The 8-GB version of the Nexus 7 will be available for $199, while a 16-GB version will go for $249. Both are available through Google Play, Google's online store. Google Play offers more than 600,000 apps, millions of songs and books, and thousands of movies that can be consumed on the Nexus 7 as well as other Android devices.
Google was widely expected to introduce a small form factor tablet at the developer event.
Nexus 7 will run version 4.1 of Android, codenamed "Jelly Bean," which was also announced by Google Wednesday. The latest version of Android includes a smoother and more responsive user interface, a home screen that adapts to fit content, a predictive keyboard feature that suggests the next word before a user begins typing it and more interactive notifications, according to Google.
Nexus 7 will initially be available in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia, Barra said, with availability in other countries expected to follow.
Hugo Barra, Google's product management director for Android, speaks at the Google I/O development event Wednesday.
According to NXP Semiconductors NV, the Nexus 7 includes NXP's PN65 NFC solution, featuring an NFC radio controller and an embedded secure element.
Google also announced an Android 4.1 platform development kit for Android hardware developers, in addition to a software developer kit.
Rounding out Google's major announcements Wednesday, the firm launch Nexus Q, a spherical shaped streaming media device which connects to stereo speakers and televisions to wirelessly stream music and video from Android handsets or tablets to be played on large speakers and screens. The device is priced at $299 and expected to start shipping in two to three weeks, Google said.
Prior to the announcements, Vic Gundotra, said there are now 400 million Android devices, up from 100 million a year ago. About 1 million Android devices are being connected each day, he said.
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elctrnx_lyf
6/27/2012 2:57 PM EDT
Oh man .. This is getting really interesting. Yesterday Microsoft n today google, this doesn't let apple team work in peace actually. By the how does it par when compared to Samsung 7 inch tablets.
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chanj
6/27/2012 4:41 PM EDT
Competition will never stop coming. The price of Nexus 7 is very attractive. It poses highest threat to Amazon Kindle and B&N Nook Color. They are both 7".
Interestingly, GPS is not one of the features. I wonder why.
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FireBadTreePretty
6/27/2012 5:53 PM EDT
Check the specs: GPS is included.
https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_8gb&feature=device-featured#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDIwMiwibnVsbC1mZWF0dXJlZF9kZXZpY2VzX1VTX18yX3Byb21vXzEzNDA1MTg5NjUwMzYiXQ..
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Sanjib.Acharya
6/29/2012 12:24 PM EDT
True...this is the strongest competitor for Amazon's Kindle fire. The price is very attractive and hence this might just possess threats for all other 7" tabs...especially Samsung's Galaxy tab?
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t.alex
7/1/2012 9:33 AM EDT
I am quite tempted to buy this.
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KB3001
7/5/2012 10:40 AM EDT
I am too! Long live competition!
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dylan.mcgrath
6/27/2012 5:28 PM EDT
I'm not prepared to do a side by side comparison with Samsung offerings. Judging only by the introduction at Google I/O, the Nexus 7 looks pretty cool (of course, everything looks cool when it is being introduced at an event like this). I would say the Nexus 7 is going to be some stiff competition for the Kindle Fire. As for the iPad, I think the price points and the features put them in different categories. But if Nexus 7 is as advertised, I have to believe it will give people who were thinking about buying an iPad an excuse to spend a lot less money.
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FireBadTreePretty
6/27/2012 5:56 PM EDT
Tech specs include...
7” 1280x800 HD display (216 ppi)
Back-lit IPS display
Scratch-resistant Corning glass
1.2MP front-facing camera
198.5 x 120 x 10.45mm
340g
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
8/16 GB internal storage
1 GB RAM
Micro USB
4325 mAh (Up to 8 hours of active use)
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
Quad-core Tegra 3 processor
Microphone
NFC (Android Beam)
Accelerometer
GPS
Magnetometer
Gyroscope
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dylan.mcgrath
6/27/2012 6:17 PM EDT
Thanks for setting the record straight on that. Looks pretty good to me.
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D-FlipFlop
6/28/2012 10:16 AM EDT
If I am not wrong, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7" using Exynos quad core. It has very similar specs. The only thing may be that it comes pre-loaded with ICS, not Jelly bean. Oh, and Samsung also throws in it's custom UI on top of Android. So there is some difference to the look and feel.
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FireBadTreePretty
6/28/2012 11:45 AM EDT
The Galaxy Tab 2 7" is deficient (compared to the Nexus 7) in many ways.
CPU is only dual-core at 1 GHz vs quad-core at 1.3 GHz
Display is only 1024×600 vs 1280×800
No NFC
And is priced $50 higher
http://www.pcworld.com/article/258508/nexus_7_tablet_vs_kindle_fire_vs_the_rest_spec_smackdown_chart.html
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D-FlipFlop
6/28/2012 4:27 PM EDT
You are right Fire, I was wrong on the CPU detail.
The only thing to add is that Galaxy Tab 2 has microSD and 3MP back camera while the Nexus doesn't. That kind of balances the comparison, but not perfectly. Nexus may still tip the scale.
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rick.merritt
6/29/2012 4:25 AM EDT
What no 3G???
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yalanand
7/3/2012 5:56 AM EDT
@dylan, Good to hear that the features are almost similar to that of ipad. But how do you compare the specs of Nexus 7 with Microsoft surface?
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rick.merritt
6/28/2012 1:42 AM EDT
Unlike the Microsoft Surface, Google shows competitive mobile products can be co-developed with OEMs--even when you are providing them free open source software.
I'd love to hear any insider details of how the collaboration went.
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DavideA
6/28/2012 3:44 AM EDT
http://allthingsd.com/20120627/exclusive-googles-andy-rubin-and-asuss-jonney-shih-on-how-they-cooked-up-the-nexus-7
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rick.merritt
6/29/2012 4:30 AM EDT
Well, it scratches the surface at least on a story of what sounds like an intense but good collaboration.
Beats the heck out of what the NYT said the HP/M'soft collaboration on tablets was like!!!
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mcjw
6/29/2012 9:49 PM EDT
This has less to do with co-developing than custom-ordering, but it's the same strategy to me, that is, playing one OEM against another. It's just that a different company kowtows every year.
The Nexus 7 is a much more restrictive Android device than any other. According to Brian Klug of Anandtech, not only did Google omit microSD expansion (~$40 for 64GB card), they killed USB mass storage, too. USB-OTG is strictly for keyboards and such.
Therefore you're locked into this "tablet built for GooglePlay", in their own words.
It's like the smart-chip they put inside inkjet printers a few years ago to discourage third-party ink.
This is a business model where the device is subsidized by Google, rather than a free gift you seem to think.
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Battar
6/28/2012 8:40 AM EDT
Any of you lot think reading text on a 7 inch screen is fun? Try reading eetimes on it. Go on, try. Then tell me how useful this product is.
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any1
6/28/2012 9:45 AM EDT
It's all personal preference - and depends on which compromises you are willing to make. No device is perfect. I can read text fine on a 7 inch screen, but for most other graphics I prefer a somewhat larger display.
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D-FlipFlop
6/28/2012 10:14 AM EDT
I second that. Reading on a 7 incher was not fun for me at least, especially if the eyes are trained for 10 inch ones already! However, it is a personal preference in the end.
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wilber_xbox
6/28/2012 10:15 AM EDT
i think that one will have to make choice between money and more. Software tweaks should be possible to make website and other content fit better on smaller screen.
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rick.merritt
6/29/2012 4:24 AM EDT
I read the Steve Jobs on my first-gen Kindle just fine. It was my first e-book.
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kinnar
6/28/2012 2:42 PM EDT
This was the most awaited product from Google. But unfortunately it is missing GSM/CDMA connectivity. It would have been really a versatile device if they had included mobile/cell connectivity with this nice piece of electronics. Its immediate rival is iPad, lets wait for the actual product to see how better it competes.
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eewiz
6/29/2012 4:45 AM EDT
According to Google's Rubin 'When it gets sold through the Play store there's no margin, it just basically gets (sold) through.'
http://www.knowyourmobile.com/blog/1455823/google_says_theres_no_margin_on_nexus_7.html
Google hopes to sell you content and take your personal info to show ads to make money. Basically 'spoiled the market' for other vendors.
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marvin99
6/29/2012 5:05 PM EDT
It's almost perfect, except for the missing micro-SD slot. I know we are supposed to store everything in the cloud now, but 8 GB is a bit small when you are travelling outside wifi reach.
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yalanand
7/3/2012 6:02 AM EDT
@marvin99, I think it's to get more people to use cloud storage but true not providing micro-SD feature was a mistake.
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