The new Nexus 7 made plain: Images, pricing, and a July 24 event
Though there’s no real reason as to why, today has been a day full of new information about the Google’s new Nexus 7. Images and a video of what is likely the new tablet has surfaced, retail outlets are expecting to see the tablet next week, pricing details have leaked, and Google has officially announced an event for July 24 that will be hosted by Sundar Pichai. While the topic of the event isn’t official, it seems pretty clear that the new Nexus 7 will make an appearance. So, without further delay let’s take a look at what we know right now.
Most importantly, we have the above video and images, which show what is very clearly a Nexus branded tablet and revel a number of important specifications about the device. Keeping in mind that this could be a non-production prototype, the form factor of the device is fairly similar to the original, with rounded corners and a soft touch back. (Although the unique texture is sadly gone.) The volume and power buttons and microUSB connector are in roughly the same place, and the Nexus logo has simply been turned sideways.
The tablet is still manufactured by ASUS, and includes a Snapdragon S4 Pro, 7-inch display, 1.2MP camera, and supposedly 4GB of RAM. (Although that could easily be a typo.) Obvious additions include the 5MP rear camera, and a LED notification light which can be seen at 0:35 in the video.) The design of this new Nexus 7 actually reminds me a bit of a rounded off Kindle Fire, but you can see the rest of the images on Android Central and decide for yourself.
An anonymous source from Android Central has also provided an image that shows the new tablet’s pricing. As expected, there are two versions of the tablet based on storage, a 16GB and 32GB model. The 16GB is shown priced at $229, while the 32GB is priced at $269. While the base price is more expensive, this makes some sense if the new Nexus 7 includes a 1080p display, and perhaps even that 4GB of RAM mentioned earlier.
When will this new tablet hit the shelves? According to some internal documents, retail stores are expecting shipments of the new Nexus 7 as early as July 20. The new Nexus 7 tablets will also apparently be sold along with the originals, although there’s no telling how long stock of the original Nexus 7s will last. However, this doesn’t mean that the tablet will go on sale to the public exactly on July 20. More than likely, these tablets will arrive and be inventoried, but won’t be up for sale until at least July 24.
Why July 24? This date is actually the only official bit of news from Google that could relate to the new Nexus 7. In an invitation sent out just today, Google announced an event on July 24 with Sundar Pichai. While the company didn’t say exactly what the event would be about, it is only reasonable to suspect that the announcements that we didn’t get from Google I/O this year will be coming next Wednesday – Namely, Android 4.3 and the new Nexus 7. Other Android-related topics could come up, but I expect to see the new Nexus 7 be a big part of the show.
Though there’s no way to know for sure, it certainly seems as if everything is lining up for the new Nexus 7 to be released. I’ll certainly be waiting on July 24 to see what Sundar Pichai has to say, and will be more surprised if the new Nexus 7 isn’t mentioned than if it is.
[Android Central 1,2 | Engadget | CNET]
