Google's Nexus 7 Android tablet: everything you need to know
Google's Nexus smartphone program is well-chronicled, and has produced some of the best Android phones to date. Now the company is looking to reproduce that magic with the Nexus 7, its first co-branded Android tablet. Developed in partnership with Asus, it's a $199 device that has the Kindle Fire squarely in its sights, but also aspires to achieve greater things than Amazon's media consumption device.
Google expands global reach with Nexus 7 launch in Japan
Eric Schmidt appeared in Tokyo today to show off the Nexus 7 to a Japanese audience for the first time. The tablet is available now from the Play store at ¥19,800 (about $254) for the 16GB model, and Google Play Books has also launched in Japan with a fairly solid selection of local content. Schmidt was quick to express his enthusiasm for the Japanese market, saying that it has the third highest number of Google Play installs worldwide and, at 75 percent, customers in Japan proportionally...
3G Nexus 7 could be coming in 'around six weeks'
There isn't much wrong with the Nexus 7, but one drawback for some might be the lack of mobile data connectivity — such that we questioned the Android tablet's suitability for the camping trip shown in its first commercial. Well, if you've been holding off on a purchase for that reason there may be some good news. Paul O'Brien over at MoDaCo claims that Asus is preparing a 3G-enabled variant for launch in "around six weeks," with production already underway.
O'Brien doesn't offer evidence...
Nexus 7 now available from Google Play in France, Germany, and Spain
For many in Europe the wait for Google’s Nexus 7 tablet is nearly over — the device is now available in France, Germany, and Spain. Prices are numerically the same as those in the US, only denominated in Euros — €199 for the 8GB model and €249 for 16GB, and work out identically to the UK prices of £159 and £199.
The news marks the Nexus 7’s first expanded availability since its July launch in the US, Canada, and Australia. We still don’t have any word on European availability...
Android
New Nexus 7 16GB orders shipping in three to four weeks from Google Play
The Nexus 7 may be Google's big play at the tablet market, but the ASUS-made device certainly hasn't been easy to come by. While the 7-inch tablet did meet its mid-July launch date, supplies have been low ever since it started shipping, and now the US Google Play Store says that new orders of the 16GB tablet won't ship for another three to four weeks. The first-party store and other retailers began selling the device last week, but most places still have extremely limited stock or none at...
Nexus 7 arrives: here's where you can buy it right now (update: Google Play orders now shipping)
Google has made good on its promise for a mid-July release of the Nexus 7: the company is now shipping orders placed on Google Play and the Asus-manufactured device is starting to appear at authorized resellers. Customers who placed their pre-order with GameStop are being contacted to pick up their new Android 4.1 tablet. We first got our hands on the Nexus 7 at Adorama, though the NYC-based store began sales earlier than Google had anticipated. Both it and Ebuyer, the first UK outlet to...
Nexus 7 reportedly shipping in the UK from Ebuyer, some orders scheduled to arrive on July 13th (update)
The big question since Google unveiled its Nexus 7 tablet two weeks ago is when users would get their hands on it. Despite the fact that orders directly from the Google Play store still don't appear to have shipped, it looks like some lucky UK buyers should be getting their hands on the new tablet as soon as tomorrow. A tipster wrote in to let us know that his pre-order from Ebuyer.com had shipped and was scheduled to be delivered on July 13th; the product listing on the site confirms that if...
Android
Nexus 7: when and where can you get one?
The day Google announced the $199 Asus Nexus 7 tablet, it told us the slate would ship in mid-July. Now, a series of retailer leaks suggest that the slate could arrive as early as the end of this week, depending on where you buy. It's particularly interesting to see how many brick and mortar retailers are interested in stocking the device themselves. While no store has committed to a specific ship date, Staples is teasing customers with an exceptionally vague shipping window right here:
P...
Android
Google Play store movies, shows, and magazines not coming to UK with Nexus 7
At this year's Google I/O, the company announced updates to the Google Play store with movies, TV shows, and magazines, but because of differing copyright laws many of these new features will not be available in the UK with the launch of the Nexus 7. The Inquirer spoke to a Google representative who confirmed that the new Play store content is only currently available in the US. This means that Google's new tablet, priced at just £159 in the UK, will have to do without a lot of the content...
Android
iFixit's Nexus 7 teardown reveals multiple speaker drivers, Hydis-manufactured display
As per usual, the mad repair scientists at iFixit have gotten their hands on the latest hardware and turned it inside out — this time, the victim is Google's new Nexus 7 tablet. The specs of this Asus-made device have been well publicized, so there aren't any huge surprises here — iFixit confirms the 4,326 mAh battery and Tegra 3 chipset, while also noting that the 1280 x 800 display is manufactured by Hydis. Somewhat surprisingly, there's a pair of speaker drivers packed inside the Nexus...
Apps & Software
Jelly Bean factory image for Nexus 7 released, lets you go back to stock
There are certainly lots of benefits to Google's Nexus program, and one of them is that the search company provides flashable stock images to make it easy for developers (and Android enthusiasts) to get a fresh start after bricking a Nexus device. Of course, Google has just released the Nexus 7, and right on cue it has uploaded the device's factory image of Jelly Bean onto the Android Developers website for all to use. The 246MB download is an important step in ensuring that developers feel...
Nexus 7 doesn't support MHL or full USB On-The-Go, but that's partly Google's call
Once upon a time, the Nexus 7 had an HDMI port. That's no longer the case, but can you eke some extra functionality out of the Micro USB port that remains? We spoke to Asus, and it sounds like the current version of Android doesn't allow much of it right now. As of today, the company says that the shipping build of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean doesn't support the Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) which would allow it to double as an HDMI port, nor advanced USB On-The-Go (OTG) functionality.
H...
Android
Matias Duarte on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and the Nexus 7 (video)
At Google I/O, we sat down with Android's head of user experience, Matias Duarte, to talk about Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the Nexus 7, and the premiere Google Now feature. It was a casual conversation where Duarte gave us the skinny on Google's philosophy behind its new products this week. It's Friday, come chill out on the couch with Josh and Matias for 20 minutes of design, insight, and laughs.
Android
Asus Nexus 7 pre-orders now available through Gamestop
Instead of only available through the Google Play store, you can now pre-order the recently announced Asus Nexus 7 at Gamestop retail locations and through the company's online store in the United States. The first Android 4.1 Jelly Bean tablet is priced at $249 for the 16GB version, with no option for the 8GB model, and as an added incentive, Gamestop is offering an additional 30 percent in trade-in credit when customers put video games and hardware toward the purchase of a new Nexus 7....
Google Nexus 7 review
Google’s Nexus 7 tablet is not exactly a surprise. Nor is the fact that I’m able to work on a review of the product just hours after the device was announced. For years now, Google has had the uncanny habit of not only making big announcements at its I/O events, but then immediately sharing what it has shown off with developers and members of the press.
This year was over the top. Not only did Google hand out its new, 7-inch, $199 Nexus 7 tablet, but it also introduced a new version of...
Nexus 7: how a budget Asus tablet vanished — and reemerged as Google's Kindle Fire killer
I'd be willing to bet that most people believe Google's Nexus 7 tablet is a wholly new design: that Google contracted Asus to produce a $199 Kindle Fire killer in just four months, like Andy Rubin and Asus chairman Jonney Shih told AllThingsD last night.
The truth is far more complex. The truth is that the Nexus 7 is the Asus ME370T, an Android tablet whose destiny has repeatedly changed.
At CES 2011, a year and a half ago, Asus announced the Eee Pad MeMO, a 7-inch tablet with Android 3.0, a...
The Nexus 7's most important price is £159, not $199
It's been evident for a good long while now that Google's big announcement at I/O 2012 was going to be an Android tablet to do battle with Amazon's Kindle Fire. Whether you were asking anonymous Asus executives, upstream component makers, or Andy Rubin himself, Google's mission over the past few months has been to reassert itself in the tablet marketplace — and the Nexus 7 shows that the strategy chosen for doing so has been to assault the low end of the pricing scale.
Nexus 7 designed and manufactured in four months, sold at cost
Asus' Chairman Jonney Shih and Google's head of Android Andy Rubin have revealed that the Nexus 7 is being sold at cost, and was built in just four months. "Our engineers told me it is like torture," Shih tells All Things D. Asus was told that the Nexus tablet was to be ready in four months, must be high-end, and should not cost over $200. "They ask a lot."
Rubin says that only Asus could move that fast: "we went from zero to working product in four months." He admits to being frustrated at...
Android
Nexus 7 Guidebook available now on Google Play Books
Google had a lot to announce at its I/O keynote yesterday, but if it's all been too much to take in then this could be a solution of sorts — a guidebook to the new Nexus 7 tablet on Google Play. The 84-page tome isn't just restricted to those interested in the Asus slate, however, as it acts as an introductory guide to the Android platform and Jelly Bean in particular.
Now, admittedly you'll probably want an Android device to download and read the book in the first place, but even...
Google I/O attendees receiving special white edition Nexus 7 tablets
Remaining true to Google I/O tradition, those attending this week's event will receive a collection of loot, including a Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.1 Jellybean, a Nexus Q, and a white version of the Asus Nexus 7, otherwise unavailable to the public. Unlike the model currently available for pre-order, which comes with a black textured backplate, developers and other attendees are receiving the Nexus 7 with a white finish on the rear panel. As far as we can tell, the device has no...
Android
Google Nexus 7: ebooks' sleeping giant finally has its own reader
Tablets are insanely versatile, and Google's selling its new entry as a total content device with brand new Jelly Bean bells and whistles. Still, let's face it: at this size and price point, the Nexus 7's natural competitors are first and foremost reading-centric tablets like Amazon's Kindle Fire. And make no mistake: Google is selling this as a reading device, adding magazines to Google Play and touting its bookstore as "the world's largest ebook collection." That's the play here:...
Google Nexus 7 tablet from Asus: hands-on video and photos
The Asus Nexus 7, Google's first tablet in the Nexus family, is here. You're looking at it right now. We just got our first hands-on pictures of the device... and you'll find impressions, more photos and video right below.
There's not that much left to know about the Nexus 7, because all the details leaked out in grand fashion this morning and they're now all confirmed. Most importantly, the 7-inch tablet will come pre-loaded with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Google's latest operating...
Google Nexus 7 official: $199 tablet from Asus ships mid-July with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
It's been on display in full form since before I/O started, but only now is it official: the Nexus 7 tablet from Asus. Built for Google Play, running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It has a 7-inch, 1280 x 800 HD display, a quad-core Tegra 3 processor with 12-core GPU, and 1GB RAM. There's also a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera and all the sensors you'd expect from a modern slate, including NFC (there is no 3G / 4G option). Google is touting nine hours of HD video playback and up to 300 hours of...
Android
Google's Nexus 7 by Asus leaked: full specs, images, and video!
As if it wasn't clear enough already, we've just received more evidence that the Nexus 7 is real. The above image of an Asus-branded Nexus 7 tablet is live on the Google Play store right now. A tipster let us know that if you change the URL of this Galaxy Nexus banner on Google Play, it reveals an Asus-branded Nexus 7 tablet, running what we expect will be introduced as Jelly Bean later today. At first glance, this looks like it could be an expanded version of the Ice Cream Sandwich phone...
Android
Alleged specs and image of the Nexus 7 tablet leak out ahead of Google I/O
We're just a few days away from the start of Google I/O, and as such we're starting to hear more and more rumors about what's planned. Google has already leaked out details on the name of forthcoming Android update, and now Gizmodo Australia has allegedly received a "training document" that details the exact specs and cost of the long-rumored Nexus 7 tablet. As we heard before, this tablet appears to be an Asus product — specs include a 1280 x 800, 7-inch display, 1.3GHz Tegra 3 processor,...
Android
Asus Nexus 7 appears as a camera on Picasa
Two photos taken with a Nexus 7 built by Asus have appeared on Picasa Web Albums. The 1280 x 960 images (which may have been scaled down) were taken on June 7th and June 13th and are attached to Google+ user Somit Bh. According to the Google+ geo-location data they were taken in Google Building 44. While it's easy to fake all of this data, a number of people seemingly affiliated with Google can be found in Somit Bh's Google+ Circles, which implies the images could be legitimate. The Nexus S...
First Google tablet now expected in July due to price cutting effort
Google’s first foray into the tablet market with a co-branded Android device won't be with us until July at the earliest. The current design was ready to go for May, but Google pushed back the planned release so it could tweak the device, sources close to the project said on Friday.
The Mountain View team plans to make some design changes and hopes to lower the price from the current $249. The tablet, made in partnership with Taiwan’s Asustek Computer, currently comes with a 7-inch...
Google to begin selling tablets directly to consumers this year, says WSJ
We've been hearing rumors that a Google Nexus-branded tablet was coming, but Mountain View may have even more ambitious plans in store. The Wall Street Journal reports that Google will open up its own online store, where it will market and sell tablet devices directly to consumers. In an interesting twist, it's said that the company won't actually manufacture any of the offered hardware itself, instead leaving that duty to partners (Samsung and Asus are both named). The tablets will...
Asus pushing to be the top non-Apple tablet maker
Asus already has a strong grip on the tablet market, but now the company says it won't settle for anything less than second-best. Today, global vice president Xu Youjia told the China Times that his company would be looking to take the lead in tablets besides the iPad, citing its popular Transformer line as an example of its innovation. "Asus will not make 'me-too' products," Xu said. "In the tablet field, the goal is to rise to the top of the non-Apple group."
To some extent, Asus is in a...
Android
Google Nexus tablet: a 7-inch $199 Kindle Fire killer?
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," the saying goes.
Or in the words of Android boss Andy Rubin, "double down."
The Verge has learned from sources that Google intends to launch a 7-inch tablet in the coming months for $199, echoing several other reports in recent days.
Rubin has made it clear that Google intends to make another run at penetrating the consumer tablet market this year — a market that Apple utterly dominates by every metric — and in order to do that, it's going...
Google-branded 7-inch Asus tablet coming as early as May, says DigiTimes
Asus wants the world to know how close it is to Google, but that could be closer than we'd ever imagined if reports from DigiTimes are to be believed. The site's sources claim that the two companies are to collaborate on a 7-inch tablet aimed at the Kindle Fire with a price tag of $199-$249. It's said to be the first tablet to run the Google Play store, and is set to debut in May. Google apparently selected Asus for its quality and ODM capabilities, and the company has indeed been working on...
MWC 2012
Google to 'double down' on Android tablets in 2012, says Andy Rubin
It's no secret that Android tablet sales have lagged far behind Apple's iPad, and Google's planning to do something about it. In a meeting with reporters today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Android chief Andy Rubin called the 12 million Android tablets sold thus far "not insignificant, but less than I'd expect it to be if you really want to win," and said that "2012 is going to be the year that we double down and make sure we're winning in that space."
Rubin said that the biggest...
