Developers and critics were expecting a big announcement from Google at their annual flagship I/O conference this year, and Google won’t disappointment, hopefully. Google is expected to announce its all new Tegra 3 powered 7 inch Nexus tablet, which will run on Android’s latest version i.e. Jelly Bean.
The tablet is expected to store shelves in Australia next month. The tablet is rumoured to be built by Asus and holds an array of jaw dropping features. As already mentioned the tablet will be powered NVIDIA’s 1.3 GHz, Tegra 3 Quad core processor with a dedicated GeForce 12-core GPU for handling high end graphics. RAM capacity is rumoured at 1GB and two variants are expected to be announced based on the internal memory; 8GB and 16GB.
These specs were leaked by a website based in Australia. Among other features, the tablet is expected to have NFC connectivity, Android Beam and even run Google Wallet (at least in the USA). The screen is rumoured to have a 178 degree viewing angle with a resolution of 1280×800 pixels. The battery backup is expected to hover around the 9 hour mark. A 1.2 MP front facing camera is also on the cards.
The pricing also seems competitive as the 8GB version is expected to be priced at $199 and the 16GB version at $249. The leaked document claims that the Nexus tablet will make use of Android’s latest OS version, Jelly Bean. Although, little is known about this version, Google announced that they will be handling updates from now, which will thus curb the problem of fragmentation. Google didn’t clarify whether it’ll handle updates for all handsets or just the Nexus 7 tablet.
Another question hovering in the minds of many is regarding the version number of this new update. Rumours point towards the device being stamped under the 4.1 tag only rather than an upgrade to 5.0. Rumours indicating towards a Nexus tablet have been circling for quite some time now, as we see Google’s relationship with Asus reaching new highs every day.
After Apple made its announcements on iOS, and Microsoft announced Surface and Windows Phone 8, it is high time that Google recognizes the increasing competition and takes necessary steps to ensure that it stays in the race. If these rumours are true, then we could well see a potential replacement for the iPad, especially after the success of Amazon’s Kindle Fire which was in a similar price range.
