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Google Nexus 7 tablet from Asus: hands-on video and photos

Google Nexus 7 tablet from Asus: hands-on video and photos

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Take a look at Google's Nexus 7 with Asus with our first hands-on pictures.

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Gallery Photo: Google Nexus 7 by Asus hands-on pictures
Gallery Photo: Google Nexus 7 by Asus hands-on pictures

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.

Google Nexus 7 by Asus hands-on pictures

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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 system. Available in black or white, an 8GB version will be priced at $199, with 16GB for $249 this July. A quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 1280 x 800 IPS display, 1.2-megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM, and a 4,325mAh battery are also included, consistent with previous leaks. It's also got NFC, so you'll be able to transfer things to other Android 4.0 NFC devices with Android Beam.

The build feels really solid with a nice, grippy rubberized back and metallic-style silver trim. Even though the unit on display was tethered to a table, the Nexus 7 feels remarkably light. It's comfortable to hold, too, with just enough bezel to hold with two hands without needing to rest your thumbs on the screen, and light enough for one hand. The power button and volume controls on the right side feel snappy and responsive and lie snug along the frame.

The headphone jack (as well as the Micro USB charging port) have been conveniently placed on the bottom of the device, which will come as a relief for those annoyed by the top-mounted configurations of competing products. Other sides are mostly bare, but there are two distinct microphone holes on the top and right edges of the system, and four pogo pins which will inevitably let you dock the Nexus 7 for power and possibly a data connection. Even with the abundance of ambient light, the glossy IPS display is bright and readable, and viewing angles are fantastic. Asus has sourced some great displays recently, and the 1280 x 800 display here seems to be no exception.

The speaker isn't bad: a Verge editor who will go unnamed had Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" ready in a Google Music account, and it blasted out of the slit in back of the device fairly crisply and loudly considering that we were in a large conference hall, and also bounced nicely off a table when we set it down. We'll have to see how it fares in a real-world environment. The placement of the speaker slit at the bottom of the back of the device does mean that you can block it and muffle the audio with your hand if you're holding it low, though.

Interestingly, there's no photo app on the tablet at all: the front-facing camera is strictly for video chatting and the like. Chrome must be out of Beta now, because it's the default browser on this device. Scrolling isn't bad, but it couldn't quite keep up with our thumbs. We're going to dive deep into Android 4.1 Jelly Bean now, so don't expect more updates here, but be sure to check out our video above for more of the Nexus 7 tablet!

Sean Hollister, Scott Lowe, and Justin Rubio contributed to this report.