Google
today announced its own tablet at Google I/O, the company's annual
event for developers in San Fransisco. TOI had reported on June 26 that
Google would enter the tablet market on June 27.
Apart from competing with Apple's iPad, which has the highest market share in the tablet market, with its tablet Google is also aiming to take down Amazon's Kindle Fire, a 7-inch tablet that runs on Android but doesn't use several Google services like other Android devices do.
The tablet, named Nexus 7, has a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels. It is powered by quad-core Tegra 3 processor with 12 core GPU and has 1GB RAM.
The tablet runs on Jelly Bean, the latest version of Android operating software which was also announced at the I/O event. Nexus 7 is made by Asus. It has a 4,325mAh battery. The tablet has a 1.2MP front camera and weighs 340 grams. The device supports wi-fi but not 3G, something that may limit its appeal to users who like to carry their tablet everywhere.
Nexus 7 will cost $199 in the US. This looks like the price for 8GB model with 16GB likely to cost a bit more. The tablet can be preordered today by people in the US, Canada, Australia and UK. The device will ship out to customers in mid-July. At the moment there is no information on the availability of the tablet in India.
While Android tablets are selling in the market for the last one year, they have failed find buyers and dent the iPad market. Also, Amazon launched Kindle Fire last year and sold more tablets in a few months than what Google's hardware partners had managed in a year. The irony is that Fire is powered by Android, Google's operating software, but Amazon has heavily modified it. This means Fire doesn't come with the Google services pre-installed. This affects Google's ability to make money from Fire even though it uses Android.
"Google believes it has given its partners ample time to innovate and compete but they have been unsuccessful versus the iPad," said Patrick Moorhead, president at Moor Insights & Strategy, firm that advices several computer hardware companies.
With its new tablet, Google hopes to provide a clear direction to its hardware partners the way it does in the case of smartphones with Nexus devices. It also hopes that by entering the fray, it can motivate developers to write more tablet-specific apps for Android.
Apart from competing with Apple's iPad, which has the highest market share in the tablet market, with its tablet Google is also aiming to take down Amazon's Kindle Fire, a 7-inch tablet that runs on Android but doesn't use several Google services like other Android devices do.
The tablet, named Nexus 7, has a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels. It is powered by quad-core Tegra 3 processor with 12 core GPU and has 1GB RAM.
The tablet runs on Jelly Bean, the latest version of Android operating software which was also announced at the I/O event. Nexus 7 is made by Asus. It has a 4,325mAh battery. The tablet has a 1.2MP front camera and weighs 340 grams. The device supports wi-fi but not 3G, something that may limit its appeal to users who like to carry their tablet everywhere.
Nexus 7 will cost $199 in the US. This looks like the price for 8GB model with 16GB likely to cost a bit more. The tablet can be preordered today by people in the US, Canada, Australia and UK. The device will ship out to customers in mid-July. At the moment there is no information on the availability of the tablet in India.
While Android tablets are selling in the market for the last one year, they have failed find buyers and dent the iPad market. Also, Amazon launched Kindle Fire last year and sold more tablets in a few months than what Google's hardware partners had managed in a year. The irony is that Fire is powered by Android, Google's operating software, but Amazon has heavily modified it. This means Fire doesn't come with the Google services pre-installed. This affects Google's ability to make money from Fire even though it uses Android.
"Google believes it has given its partners ample time to innovate and compete but they have been unsuccessful versus the iPad," said Patrick Moorhead, president at Moor Insights & Strategy, firm that advices several computer hardware companies.
With its new tablet, Google hopes to provide a clear direction to its hardware partners the way it does in the case of smartphones with Nexus devices. It also hopes that by entering the fray, it can motivate developers to write more tablet-specific apps for Android.
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