It’s offical Google has annouced the Nexus 7 tablet. Its looking pretty sweet. Will you be buying it? Check it out below.
Google Announces Nexus 7 Tablet!
Google Inc. (GOOG) (GOOG) unveiled a handheld computer called the Nexus 7 that features a 7-inch screen and is designed to help the company vie with Apple Inc. (AAPL) (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) (MSFT) Corp. in the surging market for tablets.
The Nexus 7 will feature Google’s Android operating system, according to a video posted on the YouTube website. The company will probably unveil other information about the product at an event today in San Francisco. Google has been planning a $199 tablet co-branded with Taiwan’s Asustek Computer Inc. at its Google I/O developers conference this week, people familiar with the matter have said.
Google is on the hunt for ways to fuel sales of tablets, a market that may almost double this year to 118.9 million units, according to Gartner Inc. Though Android has grabbed more than half of the smartphone market, tablets with the software have won less than half the iPad’s share, and will face new pressure from Microsoft, which unveiled its own tablet last week.
“The tablet market is a major challenge for Google at this point,†said Clayton Moran, a Delray Beach, Florida-based analyst at Benchmark Co. “They need to have a competitive product with the iPad.â€
The Google tablet will also showcase Android’s latest iteration, which is named Jelly Bean, according to the video.
Shares of Google, based in Mountain View, California, gained 1.4 percent to $572.60 at 1 p.m. in New York. Through yesterday, the stock had fallen 13 percent this year.
David Chang, chief financial officer of Taipei-based Asustek, declined to comment, as did Shari Yoder Doherty, a spokeswoman for Google.
Brand Recognition
Android tablets are already available from companies such as Samsung Electronics Co., HTC Corp. and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., which Google acquired (GOOG) last month for $12.5 billion. Still, Google is seeking to capitalize on its own brand name. It also seeks to woo consumers with a slimmer device that features the latest software yet carries a lower price than the larger iPad, the newest versions of which start at $499.
An image of what is probably the Google tablet-style device could be accessed on the Google Play website today.
“When you look at the tablet market, you have iPad — and others,†said Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at industry researcher IHS iSuppli. “Everybody is trying to figure out how to compete against the iPad. And I just see it as just one more experiment going down that road.â€
This would also be the first tablet to get Google’s Nexus designation. Google has worked with manufacturers such as Samsung in the past for Nexus smartphones to highlight the best features of Android software. The processor in the new tablet will be provided by Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) (NVDA), one of the people familiar with the matter said.
Microsoft’s Surface
Gartner expects the iPad to remain the global tablet leader through at least 2016, even as it loses some market share. The iPad will account for an estimated 46 percent of shipments in 2016, down from a projected 61 percent this year. Android may have 37 percent by 2016, a gain from 32 percent.
Microsoft, which had zero percent of the tablet market last year, is expected to nab 12 percent by 2016. That number may increase, because the Gartner report was issued before Microsoft unveiled its Windows-based Surface tablet, which is likely to be released by the end of the year.
Sales of Android-based tablets have been held back by a lack of developers for the platform. Apple’s App Store has more than 650,000 downloadable applications that include games, news and travel tools for the iPhone and iPad. Though Google Play has more than 500,000 for Android devices, Apple’s success with the iPad has given it a greater lead in apps designed specifically for tablets, said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Gartner.
Android Challenges
“At the moment, we don’t see the ecosystem being strong enough to compete,†Milanesi said. “There’s just not enough apps that give you a rich experience on the tablet as you have at the moment with Apple.â€
HootSuite Media Inc., whose programs help users manage activity on Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. social networks, has had an application on the iPad since 2010, the year it debuted, said Chief Executive Officer Ryan Holmes. HootSuite plans to release an application for Android tablets, he said.
“We haven’t had strong enough demand yet to prioritize on development of that,†he said. “For our development priorities, it’s all demand-based.â€
