Google announced on Wednesday the Nexus 7 Android-powered tablet, a US$199 tablet that completely resets the bar on the 7-inch tablet form factor. The device runs Android 4.1, called Jelly Bean, and it features a quad-core Tegra 3 processor and a 12-core graphics processor. The device has a resolution of 1280 x 800 (216 pixels per inch), or 720p in high definition parlance.
Google Nexus 7 Android Tablets
Google announced the device during a keynote event at its annual Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco. The company tapped Asus to develop the hardware, but it is being marketed as a Google device.
Google is launching the device with all of the digital content available from Google Play, including movies, TV shows (which are new to Google Play), apps, ebooks, and a variety of digital magazines.
The device has an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a digital compass built in to it, and the 4325 mAh battery offers up to 8 hours of batter life. It also includes near field communications (NFC) capabilities, and has a 1.2megapixel front-facing camera.
For $199, you get 8GB of storage, and for $249, you get 16GB. Google announced that for an unspecified, limited time, customers who buy the device will get a $25 credit good towards Google Play content.
The company made the device available for pre-order today, and it is expected to shop in mid-July. The Mac Observer will be offering up a spec comparison with the iPad and Kindle Fire on Thursday
Google Promo video for Nexus 7