The Kindle Fire and Nook Tablets are two low cost Android tablets that are arguably the first Android tablets to be very successful, especially as gifts during this past holiday season. The $500+ iPads are nice, but not everyone is willing to pay that much money for a secondary computing device (the PC isn’t dead yet!). There is also the form factor issue in that many consumers prefer the smaller and more portable 7" tablets that Apple has yet to provide.
Image via techiser
It seems as though Google has taken notice of the success of the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet and is ready to throw it’s weight around and show manufacturers how to replicate that success with a reference 7" tablet of their very own. Much akin to the Google Nexus smart phones that Google released to act as a base / vanilla platform for manufacturers to base their designs on; Google is planning to release a Google Nexus Tablet. Recent rumors suggest that such an Android tablet is a "done deal" according to sources within Google’s supply chain. Further, the Nexus tablet will allegedly feature a 7" form factor and will be powered by a TI OMAP 4 processor to keep costs low (versus using NVIDIA’s Tegra 3). In addition, the Nexus Tablet would run an updated version of Android, specifically Android 4.1.
Speaking of costs, the Verge has stated that the new Nexus Tablet will retail for $199 USD, though there may be other varied SKUs that come in at lower/higher price points depending on the amount of RAM and storage.
The Google Nexus smart phones never really caught on with the majority of consumers, but many tech savvy people appreciated the vanilla Android experience that did not involve waiting months for OS updates (I’m looking at you, Samsung). If anyone can create a low cost tablet to replicate the success of the Kindle Fire, it’s Google. What are your thoughts on these recent rumors?
” (I’m looking at you,
” (I’m looking at you, Samsung) ”
what about Motorola? they have a far worse reputation of rolling out OS updates for their Android smart phones. People thought when Google took over Motorola atleast the OS updates would be rolling for their devices quicker than before but the situation is still the same(hopeless) for Moto Droid users.
i’ll pass on the goog data
i’ll pass on the goog data collection devices.
Love it. I probably would
Love it. I probably would have preferred to pay a bit more and get the Tegra 3 in it but I’m sure there is a price point they are trying to hit and couldn’t get there with the Tegra 3. I’ll be picking one of these up for sure.
agree more ways to collect
agree more ways to collect your info
My wife is wanting to upgrade
My wife is wanting to upgrade her current cheapo 7″ Android tablet that she primarily uses for books. She doesn’t like the larger 10″ tablets for use for reading as much as they are too large and heavy for her after a while. This should be just the ticket!
small glowing screens are
small glowing screens are great for your eyes.