Google’s first Nexus-branded tablet is expected to be unveiled later this month
when the search giant will host its annual Google I/O developer
conference. The 7-inch Android tablet is reportedly made by Asus, and
represents Google’s first attempt to create a pure Android tablet.
Google Nexus vs Kindle Fire
However,
the device will not be an iPad rival, which is what people would assume
Google would be interested in launching. Instead, the Google Nexus will
be an affordable Android tablet meant to neutralize the Amazon Kindle
Fire and its potential effects on the Android tablet business.
Amazon
released the Kindle Fire last fall, and the $199 tablet became quite
popular in the U.S. during the Christmas shopping season. The device
managed to match, and even surpass, tablet sales from other Android
tablet makers including Samsung, Motorola, HTC, LG and others, although
the Kindle Fire demand has cooled down in the recent months.
However, the Kindle Fire, and its successors
that should be unveiled at some point later this year, are a threat to
Google. Amazon decided to create its own custom Android version for the
device, and completely shun Google web services from it, thus
controlling the entire Kindle Fire ecosystem, from hardware, to
software, to digital content stores.
Since Android is free, any OEM can customize it and adapt it as it sees
fit, but most companies developing Android smartphones and tablets know
better than to remove Google’s various mobile services (such as Search,
Gmail, Maps, and others), which is very important for Google. After
all, that’s how Google makes money off of Android, mobile advertising
rather than actual device sales.
Google Nexus pictures
While
we saw various rumors detailing Google’s progress with this first Nexus
tablet (the name is yet to be confirmed), we have not seen any official
images of the device, at least until today. Phone Arena has
gotten its hands on the first leaked press images for the Google Nexus
and while they can’t be confirmed at this time, they certainly appear to
play the part.
The tipster that sent in the images also mentioned
certain specs and features of the device, confirming the previously
rumored quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 CPU, 1GB of RAM and most importantly,
Android 4.1. The Galaxy Nexus images reveal that the tablet will be
available in white and that it will lack any physical Home button.
Moreover, the tablet will come with a front-facing camera and we’re
apparently looking at a device that will offer users a 7-inch
edge-to-edge display. Volume keys can be seen on the left-hand side,
while on the back we spotted a shadow that could indicate the placement
of a rear-facing camera and some sort of an on/off button on top. In
case it matters, Google and Asus branding can be found only on the back
of the device, but there’s no trace of the “Nexus” name.
What’s
worth insisting on is the fact that the device is said, again,
to come with Android 4.1 on board. The Galaxy Nexus tablet has been
rumored for quite a while to be the first Google device to run the
company’s new mobile OS update, Android 5.0 Jelly Bean. Now it looks
like the device will run a slightly improved Ice Cream Sandwich version
instead of a completely new Android OS.
original post:
9:22 pm
