Tech Report – Google Nexus 7

By TheTechDad

There is only one way for tablet manufacturers to beat Apple in the tablet market, and that’s the same way that notebook and desktop manufacturers currently beat Apple in the personal computing market – on price!

It may have taken the tablet manufacturers the best part of two years to work this out, but it looks like the message is finally sinking in. No longer can Samsung, Acer and the rest produce an iPad look-alike, price it the wrong side of $450 and expect the buyers to come flocking. They have to make it different in a way that consumers will notice, and the biggest difference is always price.

The pricing shift started last fall with the Kindle Fire. But although the $199 price tag turned a lot of heads, the Fire was clearly an inferior product. Even with all the early bugs cleaned up, it still missed essential hardware and software features, to say nothing of the dearth of apps.

Into this affordable tablet void comes the Google Nexus 7, which is manufactured by ASUS. At just $199 for the 8GB version and $249 for the 16GB model, the Nexus 7 is a fully-functioning tablet, running the latest Android software and offering full access to everything Google has to offer.

Although the Nexus 7 may be much cheaper than the iPad 2 and other rivals, it still competes nicely on looks. The scratch-resistant Corning glass high resolution screen is surrounded by a comfortable black border, which is easy to hold and seems much more smudge-resistant than most other tablets. At just three-quarters of a pound, the Nexus 7  is actually lighter than the Kindle Fire and its super-slim design makes it seem lighter still.

Back to that screen. With 1280 x 800 pixels packed into just 7 inches, the Nexus 7 may have the highest resolution of any tablet screen on the market today. The sharpness of the screen is important because Google is clearly positioning the Nexus 7 as an entertainment device. Apps for reading e-books, playing music and watching videos are all front and center, giving you direct access to Google’s sparse but rapidly growing entertainment warehouse.

Another ground-breaking feature of the Nexus 7 is that it runs the latest Android Jelly Bean operating system, which offers a host of new time-saving tools plus much tighter multi-touch environment. Using its Wi-Fi-only connection, the device flies, providing an instant response as you seamlessly move around the Internet, play games, or watch those enticing movies.

Perhaps recognizing the fact that people are still reluctant to take photos using a tablet, there is no rear-facing camera, although there is a 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera for video chat. There is also a pretty impressive built-in audio system, which can easily fill a mid-sized room. Although there is a micro-USB slot, there is no HDMI port and no memory card slot for additional storage. Google claims up to 9 hours of HD video playback for its non-removable battery.

The Google Nexus 7 is currently available for pre-order and is expected to ship in the second half of July. When it does, expect another seismic shift in the mobile market. Google just cut the price of a top-quality tablet in half!

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