The Nexus 7 tablet, which was the brainchild of a collaborative effort between Google and ASUS, proved to be a huge hit with consumers thanks largely to its low starting price and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean implementation. Talk has been rife recently regarding a 32GB model - offering a little more storage for folk who find 8 and 16GB configurations as requiring too space management - and to throw a little more weight behind the murmurings, a 32GB Nexus 7 looks to have made an appearance in Japan.
Google is expected to drop a handful of Nexus series devices this fall, and according to an alleged mobile retailer database listing, the Samsung-manufactured Nexus 2 will be one of those handsets, along with a 32GB iteration of the ASUS-made Nexus 7 tablet.
Google and ASUS had to cut a few corners to sell their Nexus 7 at $199. The tablet has no rear camera, support for cellular data, or expansion via microSD card slot, and comes with an SD front facing camera. Despite all these things, the tablet is still being sold at a loss to gain traction.
If you were one of the many people around the world who took the plunge and purchased the Google Nexus 7 when it was first announced during the annual I/O conference back in June, then congratulations on making a great decision. Google has managed to work together with ASUS to design and develop a rather fantastic little tablet that really manages to sit in a class of its own within its size category. Google may not be everyone's company of choice, but they have managed to release a product that has immediately become one of the best tablets on the market for the price point it sits at.
The fabulous Nexus 7 has only been released for a very short time and already it has managed to win over most of the doubters with its impressive specification and overall pleasurable user experience. The device itself feels like a premium build product, and the integration of Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean provides the perfect companion quad-core Tegra 3 processor which Google and ASUS have packed under the hood.
As many of you already know, Android 4.1 Jelly on the Google / ASUS Nexus 7 uses a mix of tablet and phone user interfaces. The home screen launcher is fixed in portrait mode with virtual buttons at the bottom like the Galaxy Nexus, but when you go into landscape mode for landscape-oriented apps / games like Dead Trigger, the virtual buttons are placed at the bottom unlike the Galaxy Nexus. This is a completely new mix for UI (with respect to placement of virtual buttons) that has never been seen before on Android tablets; Google developed this specifically for the 7” tablet form factor.
Two new Smart Cover-like Nexus 7 cases have been outed by a UK accessory retailer, with the two protective options both featuring similar magnet technology that allows the tablet's screen to be turned on or off based on the case's position and orientation.
Google's new Nexus 7 tablet has already proved to be extremely popular gadget amongst technology fans. As expected, it hasn't flown off the shelves as fast as we generally see the iPad go, but recent reports have shown that consumers have already depleted official supplies of the 16GB model, with prospective purchasers now needing to wait until more come off the manufacturing line before they can get their hands on that Jelly Bean goodness. With Google only recently launching their first Nexus 7 commercial via YouTube, it represents a pretty decent success story without any actual defined advertising and we are pretty sure the popularity will continue as we move forward.
As well as making any tech fan shudder, the drop tests of our much loved gadgets serve an educational purpose, because despite most consumers getting carried away with nice displays, sharp cameras and other great hardware features, few actually take into consideration how quickly it can all be lost with one spillage or drop on the floor.
Unveiled late last month at Google I/O 2012, the Nexus 7 is one of the most well received tablets since the iPad 2. Critics are absolutely loving the Nexus 7 because it offers the features of a $500 tablet – quad core processor, a gig of RAM, HD display, long lasting battery life, powerful graphics etc. etc. – at just $199. Combine all that with the latest version of Android, 4.1 Jelly Bean, and you get the best in Android tablet experiences today.
