Google unveiled its own Nexus tablet, the Nexus 7, at the Google I/O conference Wednesday in San Francisco. The 7-inch tablet running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will have a 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor as well as a 1280x800 IPS display with a 178-degree viewing angle.
The tablet, which Google says is "built specifically for Google Play," will have a 1.2-megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM, and a 4235mAh battery that will get it 8 hours of battery life "during active use" or 9 hours of video playback. The tablet weighs 340 grams, just shy of 12 ounces, and is 10.45mm thick (2.6 ounces lighter and just under a millimeter thinner than the Kindle Fire). Both 8GB and 16GB configurations will be available. Bluetooth, WiFi, and NFC all come standard, and there is no version of the tablet that can connect to a cell network.
When Google showed the device, it made special note of the fact that the user's content collection is front and center, much like on the Kindle Fire. When demonstrating the magazine viewing experience, a Google employee was able to swipe through a pile of magazines, and a "view text" link would reflow a visible article into a formation that is "optimized for reading." The tablet will also have a "new recommendation engine" for content that will show users content tailored to their tastes.
As for apps, the Nexus 7 will ship with Google's Android version of Chrome as the standard browser. The Maps app has been beefed up to allow Street-View-like capability inside buildings, with the gyroscope detecting the direction of view. Maps can now be downloaded for offline viewing. Google also touted the capabilities of the Nexus 7 as a gaming device, showing off the quad-core processor's 3D graphics prowess with a game called Horn.
The Nexus tablet hits the same $199 price point as the moderately successful Kindle Fire. Buyers will receive $25 of credit in the Google Play store "for a limited time," according to the product page, and the device will ship in July.
Google's manufacturing partner for the Nexus 7 is Asus, which showed off a $249 quad-core Tegra 3 tablet at CES this past January.
