Tablet Wars Heat Up With Introduction of Google Nexus 7

Posted on by Bernie Arnason

Google Nexus7Google unveiled the latest tablet to enter the growing battle of the new consumer electronic device category, established by Apple with its iconic iPad. The Google Nexus 7 is an extension of the Google Nexus brand, which now includes a smartphone and a new media player, Nexus Q, for the living room.  The Nexus 7, built by Asus, was introduced yesterday at Google’s I/O event, their annual developer conference.

Nexus 7 runs Google’s latest Android operating system, Android 4.1 or Jelly Bean as it’s called by Google. More aligned with its Amazon Kindle Fire competitor, the new tablet sports a 7-inch screen, smaller than the iPad’s 9.7 inches. Here are some specs for the new tablet:

•    Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core chip running at 1.2 GHz
•    8GB or 16GB storage option
•    1 GB of RAM
•    Hi-resolution 1,280-by-800 LCD screen
•    1.2 MP front facing camera
•    Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
•    Android 4.1 OS

The Nexus 7 will be available around mid July and will sell for $199 (8 GB storage) or $249 (16 GB storage).

Google’s approach with the Nexus 7 appears to be quite similar to the Amazon Kindle Fire approach. That is, sell a low priced tablet, which probably generates little profit, if any, and try to get users hooked into your content and app ecosystem. For Google, that ecosystem is now called Google Play, and it’s Google’s version of Apple’s iTunes.

Google Play gives users access to a variety of media, games, and apps. Amazon too has their own content and app ecosystem, which the Kindle Fire is designed to exploit. The goal for both of these tablets is to give customers a device basically at cost (or maybe even less) and hope to build a massive community of users for their content ecosystem, which can then be leveraged for profit in a variety of ways – they hope anyway.

Of course everyone is chasing Apple, who has managed to build an ecosystem that captures it all. Their device, the iPad, is very profitable by itself. They also have built a massive content ecosystem with iTunes, which helps fuel even more profitable hardware sales across their entire iOS footprint, which includes the iPhone and iPod.

Google is now looking to replicate Apple’s success. They are tightly integrating the full Nexus product line of smartphone, tablet, and media player with Google Play. Users will be able to synch all of these devices from the cloud and get a similar experience with access to their content across all devices.

Microsoft has also entered the fray, with the introduction of Surface earlier this month. It should all make for an interesting next few years as Apple, Google, Amazon, and maybe even Microsoft battle it out to try to capture market share in the new emerging field of media consumption via tablets. Apple is the clear early leader. Can they hold that lead over the long term?

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57 thoughts on “Tablet Wars Heat Up With Introduction of Google Nexus 7”

  6. Consumers are definitely the ones winning out here… I have been reviewing the Nexus 7, iPad Mini and Kindle Fire HD side by side for weeks now and there is a lot to love about each one. I think the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD are solid devices – I don't recommend iPad Mini at this point… it really needs a high resolution screen to justify the price difference.

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  7. What i wonder is if people will start transitioning to read magazines on these little devices considering that the screens size is too limited. i think that the iPad is just limited compared to Android powered machines. especially outside the US

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  9. I wonder if Nexus 7 will ad value to it`s users more than iPad does, or it`s just an new way for G to make extra money of the increasing demands.

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  10. With tablets expected to outpace sales of desktop pc in 2015, the tablet war is surely going to be intense. I own an iPad mini but the price difference with Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire will really make buyers have second thoughts with the mini. Amazon has also expanded the distribution of Kindle to other countries so its really the consumers who are going to benefit from this competition.

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  11. I just read the next generation tablet is going to be released soon. I'm hoping someone will come out with a larger solid state hard drive in one of these things. I would dump my PC in favor of a tablet if there was one with sufficient computing power to do all the things I need.

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  12. I think since Apple already has a big chunk of the tablet market, it is an unavoidable choice to go for a slim profit margin and try to hook users to their ecosystem. It is possibly the best but only solution to get their share of the market. We'll see how it goes.

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  14. Since the Apple tablets AKA Apple iPad continues to be revealed towards the public and also the initial industry buzz has gone away, should customers start thinking about buying Apple's latest toy? Everyone still needs to wait two several weeks for that chance to purchase the apple tablet and also the large real question is will the iPad become another ipod device or apple iphone and alter we've got the technology game or does it disappear into oblivion such as the Apple Pippin? The professional comments are in, and just what they uncovered using their initial impressions might surprise you.

    The Good

    Familiarity is paramount feature for that Apple Tablet. The iPad runs an altered version of the present operating-system utilized in the apple iphone and ipod device Touch. The tablet will synch all of your iTunes files, charge and fasten while using firmly established whitened 30 pin connection cord, permit you to purchase programs in the pre existing application store you are utilized to and also the iPad may even transfer the tunes, videos, games and useful applications that you simply already legally bought (staying away from a "double dip" of the dual purchase for the similar content).

    The screen resolution is gorgeous. Every apple tablet review gushes concerning the 1024 x 768 high definition display from the iPad's 9.7 inch touchscreen. A lot of the other technological specs are made to impress. The CPU clocks in at 1 GHz and offers lots of lightning quick energy for any handheld device. The built-in wireless products around the tablet, Wi-fi compatability and Bluetooth, will connect and run just like effortlessly because the current generation apple iphones and apple ipods.

    The Bad

    Prepare for unhealthy, because there's plenty to complain about using the new iPad. Storage is available in three dainty dimensions, 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB. No matter how Apple attempts to spin how big the interior hard disk drives, they are small for any product meant to compete within the netbook computer market. USB drives are available in comparable dimensions for a small fraction of the price (another problem using the iPad, but this is correct on most apple items). Enjoy watching television shows and films on the run? Using the minimal hard disk space the apple tablet can barely hold twelve movies along with a single season from the average tv program. This will not truly be considered a problem though because the battery existence is anticipated to last under 10 hrs under heavy use. Essentially, it will not serve you for a full day under consistent usage having a full charge.

    The Ugly

    Deal breaker time, and you will find plenty. No built-in USB ports, no expensive support for webpages, no webcam, no SMS text texting, no Skype video conferences or calls and monthly costs to gain access to the exclusive AT&T 3rd generation network are only a couple of. But nothing pales as compared to the insufficient multi-tasking. Simply put, the touchscreen miniature apple tablet using the energy of the netbook computer, same size like a netbook computer, costing two times like a almost as much ast the typical netbook computer, made to bridge the space between mobile phones (apple iphones) and laptops (Macbooks) CANNOT RUN Several APPLICATION In A TIME! For any product designed as mobile phone, the lack of ability to operate multiple programs in the same time is undoubtedly its finest flaw.

    For more information about Tablet news, please visit our website.

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  56. Recently the new release Nexus 9 would give damn good fight to the Mac book air, Nexus 9 is much far powerful than Nexus 7.

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