Google's Nexus 3G and 10-Inch Models Revealed

 Ahead of Google's big event, we've already seen the new Nexus phone leak out, now a new pair of tablets have been exposed to the world before their bow.  

Tablets on the Range

Having just one tablet has officially gone the way of the dodo this week. First Apple breaks with its mono-strategy and brings us the mini model. Now Google is varying its own line with a 3G version of the 7" Nexus (handily leaked by the radio-emissions people at the FCC) and now a 10" model for those who like their tablets supersized, which was revealed after Korean sites starting waving the manual around. 

This comes hot on the heels of a U.K. phone store showing off the new Nexus 4 smartphone, all before Google's big event on Monday. I'm sure the company will run the show as planned, pretty much as Apple does, and hope it has one or two real surprises to show the world. As with the Nexus 4, expect these devices to be Jelly Bean powered, while the 10" tablet will have a superb resolution of 2560×1600 for incredible video and image potential. 

Tablets Going Places

The 7" 3G model will help users enjoy their tablet-based activities on the go, and increase the pressure for cheaper data rates and multi-device contracts from telcos, as evermore numbers of users take them out and about. 

The 10" model will definitely remain an at-home affair for most. Perhaps it will replace the need for second TV sets in bedrooms as users settle in for a night's movie watching or web browsing with their new monster tablet. 

Expect the full in-depth details to break out on Monday, along with decent images of the devices. While the 7" may retain the low-cost styling of the original Google Nexus 7, the 10" tablet will probably need some hefty construction to cage and protect the screen, so maybe design partner Samsung will have something special to show off in the vein of Apple's iPad mini and Microsoft's Surface reveal. 

 

 

Source : cmswire[dot]com

Google Takes The Nexus 7 Tablet To Some Of Europe

Google has, with little fuss, expanded the international availability of its Nexus 7 7-inch Android tablet to include France, Germany and Spain. That exposes some 200 million people to the device, which until now had only been available in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia. The tablet is selling for €199 for 8GB and €249 for the 16GB model ($249 and $311 equivalent price, likely including sales tax).

Google's Nexus 7 may be one of the most interesting Android tablets around, thanks to its low U.S. price of just $199 and the fact it's an official own-brand product--a cheap flagship, if you will. Amazon, Google's biggest rival in the 7-inch tablet game with its heavily-skinned U.S-only Kindle Fire device, is expected to release its updated Fire lineup in early September. An updated Fire may be joined by a larger tablet approaching the iPad's size. Apple, leader in the entire tablet game, is now rumored to have its own small format iPad launch in October.

Source : fastcompany[dot]com

iPad Mini to Trigger Content Battle Among Small Tablets

 Google's Nexus 7 is a powerful, well-priced tablet winning great sales and reviews. Amazon is preparing a new Kindle Fire, while Barnes and Noble has just trimmed the price of the Nook. So, how will the Mini iPad fare when Apple isn't first to market and what can Apple do to sweeten the deal?

Not Just a Mini

The iPad Mini could still be a collective hallucination experienced by the tech world. While we've seen enough parts of an iPhone 5 that you can practically build your own (if you have the right contacts in enough Asian factories) the diet iPad remains a ghostly enigma. Sure, case makers are selling protective add-ons based on the likely size, but that didn't stop them being wrong about last year's abortive iPhone 5 launch.

Even so, working on the assumption that Apple does launch a Mini iPad in September or October, it will place the company in an interesting position, where it won't be the first to market in the category. Also, going on the fairly firm rumor of a 7.85-inch, non-Retina display, at around $200, its rivals will be well entrenched and Apple will lack a killer hardware feature. 

Playing the Software/Content Game

Magic is all about misdirection, as any good Magic's Secrets Revealed viewer knows. Despite their best efforts, we see Apple building desirable hardware with one hand, but we rarely hear about the software and services being sneakily dealt with by the other, until the official news and there is plenty Apple could add to iOS 6.

Having concluded that it is in the software arena that the Mini iPad will need to stand out, and after years of rumors, how likely is it that Apple will either finally buy Spotify, or launch a comparable service across all media? That could provide a monstrous amount of content for users and put it on a par with Amazon's hit services. 

Or, it could work along the lines of Sony's PlayStation Plus service, offering a number of the better quality iOS games, some films and the latest music, all for a monthly subscription. These offerings are key in a market now dominated by content and not technology, and is an area where Apple is lagging behind.

Finally, there's the ever nagging feeling that Apple has a big gaming play up its sleeve, and with Amazon now entering the games developer arena, could Apple follow in some capacity? An iPad Mini would make the ideal unobtrusive console, connected to a big screen via HDMI and played through wireless controllers. 

Pre-Game Hype

While there are some flamebait headlines doing the rounds based on a recent consumer survey, the iPad Mini will likely do a roaring trade on launch, as the Google Nexus 7 did. But as the Kindle Fire has proved, good content makes the tablet experience, and that's more important to end users than it is to the critics.

If Apple delivers some new compelling opportunity for those who found the full-size iPad too expensive, it could carve out huge amounts of revenue on a monthly basis from those users. Without it, Apple could find the new iPad looking decidedly plain in the view of price-concious consumers. 

 

 

Source : cmswire[dot]com