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Topic: Tablets

Nexus 7 tablet successor to arrive in July

Summary: A second version of the Nexus 7 tablet could start landing on retailers' shelves from July 2013, with Google aiming to shift up to eight million of the devices before the year is over.

Ben Woods

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A follow up to Google’s successful nexus 7 tablet is set to arrive in July and could cost as little as £150, according to reports.

The device will swap the Nvidia Tegra processor found in the original Nexus 7 for a Qualcomm chip, according to a Reuters report that cited two sources with knowledge of the product.

The tablet will also have other minor hardware changes such as a slimmer bezel and higher resolution screen, the sources said.

Review

Google Nexus 10 review

Google Nexus 10 review

Google plans to put the tablet on sale around July and hopes to sell around eight million of the tablets in the second half of 2013. According to one of the sources, the tablet could go on sale for as low as $150 as Google hopes to supplement its hardware income from the device with ad sales. The current generation Wi-Fi only model currently retails in the UK for £159 from the Google Play store.

The first Nexus 7 device was manufactured by Asus, which is also reportedly making the successor. While this is logical it was by no means a foregone conclusion - Google uses different manufacturers to make its Nexus-branded products.

Neither Google nor Asus returned a request for comment at the time of publication. 

The first Nexus 7 device was received well by the buying public and stock shortages were quickly reported via several retailers. Its release was largely seen as a response to the success of Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet that uses a fork of the Android operating system. 

Until the release of the Kindle Fire, and later Nexus 7, Android tablets tended to come in at the premium end of the price scale, making these two of the first 'big brand, low-cost' tablets on the market.

Topics: Tablets, Google, Mobility

About

With several years' experience covering everything in the world of telecoms and mobility, Ben's your man if it involves a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or any other piece of tech small enough to carry around with you.

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19 comments
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  • But will it have...

    A rear camera, SD slot, and HDMI? The Nexus 10 has those, I was wondering if this one will follow suit.
    Maarek
    Reply 1 Vote

    • The Nexus 10 doesn't have MicroSD

      I didn't realise it had HDMI though, neat.
      bradavon
      Reply Vote

    • rear camera please

      Google just hasn't been watching consumers. Why should you have to reach in your purse or pocket for your small screen when you want a picture of a product or you want to scan a QR code or bar code ?
      Also, for older users the Nexus 7 is the phone we want because it's easier on the eyes. With Skype or other VOIP we can leave the high priced contract world forever.
      But not without a camera.
      john.medcalf@...
      Reply Vote

      • Re: rear camera please

        Not if it adds to the cost. The current Nexus 7 has been such a big hit precisely because it managed to hit a sweet spot of features and cost: that 720p HD screen can't have been cheap, and if the loss of the rear camera was the price to pay for that, then the tradeoff was worth it.

        Of course, I would expect to see 1080p Full HD on the next one...
        ldo17
        Reply Vote

  • Definitely needs SD slot

    This is meant to be a budget device so I don't expect all the bells and whistles. Personally I feel the rear facing camera isn't needed as I always have my phone with me but the SD card slot would be a huge selling point for me. The HDMI output would also be very welcome!
    MajorlyCool
    Reply 2 Votes

    • Re: Definitely needs SD slot

      Funny, I've been able to manage quite fine without one on mine. Just install a network-savvy file manager app like ES File Manager or FolderSync, that can do file transfers via SFTP or SMB, and it becomes easy to move files back and forth between it and my PC via wireless.

      See, having a mobile OS with a proper filesystem completely changes how you think about things...
      ldo17
      Reply Vote

      • Not Always

        Since installing FolderSync, I haven't swapped microSD cards between desktop and Asus tablet. But when I travel to 3rd and 4th world countries for months at a time, OTA synching is often impossible. A micro or SD card provides backup.
        ReadandShare
        Reply Vote

  • Hit for Nvidia

    The future is looking dim for nvidia. It seems their over promising and under delivering is catching up with them.
    calfee20
    Reply Vote

  • No need for HDMI

    I can stream HD content directly to my TV using WDTV Live and iMediaShare Lite (free on the Android market.
    fibreoptik
    Reply Vote

    • Nice

      That is nice but the WD TV Live doesn't support iTunes, Amazon Unboxed, Movielink or Vongo. Also, it costs $100. I'd rather pay a bit more for the tablet if it had the HDMI out.
      MajorlyCool
      Reply Vote

  • Privacy hell

    Don't buy anything from an advertising company, Amazon tablet would be a better option for low cost tablets.
    Owllll1net
    Reply Vote

    • he is right..

      We should all not buy any microsoft or apple devices as they are both ad brokers. right you are mr owl.

      we should all get kindles because being badgered to buy stuff is far better than gettibg stuff for free with targetted ads about stuff you have shown an interest in. /sarcasm
      frankieh
      Reply 2 Votes

    • Right...

      We should buy whatever your masters told you to tell us we should.
      ie. anything made by Microsoft.
      Isn't that right, prostitute?
      Naryan
      Reply 1 Vote

  • well...

    I skipped the original Nexus 7 for some reason. I can't remember why now, I think it might have been VPN inconsistencies, but as long as the price stays low, I'll probably pick this next one up.
    I don't really want to pay extra for a Nexus 4 for when I don't really want the phone features anyway, and the extra size will be nice.
    I hope they can keep the graphics horsepower up to speed without nVidia though. I'm sure it'll be an increase one way or the other.
    Naryan
    Reply Vote

    • 16Mb Max

      I skipped until the 32 GB version came out. I spend a lot of time out of WiFi & 3G ranges, so needed bigger internal storage. So far it's bee enough, using Dropbox for the sort of things I only use when I have WiFi. Still I'd prefer a 64GB version and/or microSD slot

      As for VPN, Firepass works well for me to get to the work VPN on the rare times I need it. It's better than VPN on my old Nokia phones which only seemed to work with a VPN policy server (also sold by Nokia).
      DJL64
      Reply Vote

  • Needs updated capability

    A new model desperately needs 5GHz wireless, MicroSD slot, and Micro HDMI out. Without these there really is no reason to buy a new one.
    Hemo2
    Reply Vote

  • Give me a high res display (not just "higher")...

    ...and I'm in.
    Playdrv4me
    Reply Vote

  • While micro sd cards, cameras, etc might be nice..

    ..don't count on it. And for good reason. They add cost, especially if Google wants to stay competitive with price. Sorry to have to say this, but sd card slots on phones and tablets will eventually go the way of the dinosaur. Hate on it all you want but the cloud will be the de facto standard of storage sooner than you think. Still don't like it? Create your own cloud.

    The rear camera? I would be OK with that to a point but if Google feels inclined to include this feature on the next-gen 7, they should make it a worthwhile addition with the ability to take at least 1080p video. Otherwise, leave the camera out and give us better resolution, a slightly larger screen (without increasing the size), a faster processor (more efficient?), at least 2GB of memory (the easiest and cheapest way to better performance), and a more refined design.

    That's all you need. The 7 has done very well without the "missing" features and will continue to do well without them in its forthcoming iteration.

    It's simple - give us an improved version of what you have now. Nothing more, nothing less.
    omahapianist
    Reply 1 Vote

  • Has 3g?

    The slight downside is that it has 3g.


    Recomiendo: posicionamiento web madrid|posicionamiento web seo
    samblake
    Reply Vote
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