And like that, Google is officially in the tablet hardware business. Google kicked off its yearly I/O conference and perhaps the biggest news of the show was the announcement of the Google Nexus 7 tablet. So what is the Google Nexus 7 tablet?
Well, for starters it comes in both 8GB and 16GB models packed in a 7-inch 1280×800 HD display (216 ppi) back-lit IPS display covered in “Scratch-resistant Corning glass”. A Tegra 3 SoC powers Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) and Google promises the 4325 mAh battery should provide up to 8 hours of use. There’s NFC, GPS and a 1.2MP front-facing camera.
The 8GB will go for $199 with the 16GB hitting at $249. This puts it in straight competition with Amazon’s Kindle Fire like we had predicted. For a limited time, buyers will get $25 in Google Play store credit with the purchase. Google is taking pre-orders now with shipping expected in 2-3 weeks.
Here is Google’s introduction video of the Google Nexus 7 Tablet:
[youtube id=”YMQdfGFK5XQ” width=”600″ height=”340″ position=”left”]
Also, check out how it performs as compared to the iPad, Kindle and Surface tablets.
