Google’s Nexus 7 Android tablet: everything you need to know

The move continues Google’s effort to expand beyond its home base of the United States, following a recent push into Europe. This is an area where Apple thrives and Amazon consistently stumbles, with seemingly no-one able to match Cupertino’s global reach. Japan is a potentially huge market for Google and Play Books in particular, with a large, affluent population that has so far proven difficult to crack in terms of ebooks. Amazon has announced plans to launch Kindle products in Japan, but they have so far failed to materialize, and the most credible competitor to date is Rakuten’s recently-launched Kobo Touch.

Surprisingly, in launching Play Books in Japan Google has even managed to beat out Apple, whose Japanese iBookstore remains a public domain wasteland over two years after opening. The Nexus 7 is a strong product at an undeniably attractive price point and, coupled with a library of Japanese-language content, could well catch Apple by surprise. Japan’s fragmented publishing houses are notoriously conservative and make it difficult to secure rights deals, but from all appearances Apple hasn’t even made the effort. While literary giants such as Haruki Murakami are predictably absent from Play Books for now, Google’s selection could well expand if the Nexus 7 succeeds — not to mention Play Books on the countless Android devices already out there in Japan.

There isn’t much wrong with the Nexus 7, but one drawback for some might be the lack of mobile data connectivity — such that we questioned the Android tablet’s suitability for the camping trip shown in its first commercial. Well, if you’ve been holding off on a purchase for that reason there may be some good news. Paul O’Brien over at MoDaCo claims that Asus is preparing a 3G-enabled variant for launch in “around six weeks,” with production already underway.

O’Brien doesn’t offer evidence for the claim or any other details on the launch, such as which carriers will offer the variant, in what territories it’ll be released, or how much it’ll cost. He does, however, have a solid track record, and attributes the information to his “very well-placed insider.” File this one under “rumor” for now, but we’ll keep an eye out for any additional details.

The news marks the Nexus 7’s first expanded availability since its July launch in the US, Canada, and Australia. We still don’t have any word on European availability at retail, but ordering now from Google Play should get you a tablet in 3–5 days. And to the rest of Europe, we’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Update: Clarified post to note that the US Google Play Store is listing the new three to four week shipping timeframe.

Google has made good on its promise for a mid-July release of the Nexus 7: the company is now shipping orders placed on Google Play and the Asus-manufactured device is starting to appear at authorized resellers. Customers who placed their pre-order with GameStop are being contacted to pick up their new Android 4.1 tablet. We first got our hands on the Nexus 7 at Adorama, though the NYC-based store began sales earlier than Google had anticipated. Both it and Ebuyer, the first UK outlet to officially launch the device, were told to halt sales. Lucky buyers who got in quickly have already received their Jelly Bean fix, but it’s clear that the floodgates are now opening for the rest of the Android faithful.

Abt: A sales representative told us on Friday evening that they started the day with “about a hundred” and are currently down to nine available in-store. 16GB

The big question since Google unveiled its Nexus 7 tablet two weeks ago is when users would get their hands on it. Despite the fact that orders directly from the Google Play store still don’t appear to have shipped, it looks like some lucky UK buyers should be getting their hands on the new tablet as soon as tomorrow. A tipster wrote in to let us know that his pre-order from Ebuyer.com had shipped and was scheduled to be delivered on July 13th; the product listing on the site confirms that if you buy within the next eight hours or so you can have it delivered this Friday. There’s also a stock tracker on the site which we’ve seen in the past and verified as a reliable indicator that the retailer has product available.

Obviously, nothing is official until the product is in customers’ hands, but it seems that day may be drawing closer for at least a segment of pre-orderers. Unfortunately, those of us who ordered directly from Google itself are still stuck waiting for word on when our tablets will arrive — but if Ebuyer will be delivering them tomorrow, we’d have to expect Google’s shipments to be released soon, as well.

The day Google announced the $199 Asus Nexus 7 tablet, it told us the slate would ship in mid-July. Now, a series of retailer leaks suggest that the slate could arrive as early as the end of this week, depending on where you buy. It’s particularly interesting to see how many brick and mortar retailers are interested in stocking the device themselves. While no store has committed to a specific ship date, Staples is teasing customers with an exceptionally vague shipping window right here:

Meanwhile, Office Depot (in a leaked memo obtained by Droid Life) says that shipments should begin July 12th, but doesn’t seem to specify when they’ll actually go on sale.

At this year’s Google I/O, the company announced updates to the Google Play store with movies, TV shows, and magazines, but because of differing copyright laws many of these new features will not be available in the UK with the launch of the Nexus 7. The Inquirer spoke to a Google representative who confirmed that the new Play store content is only currently available in the US. This means that Google’s new tablet, priced at just £159 in the UK, will have to do without a lot of the content advertised to US consumers. Google aimed to beat Amazon’s Kindle Fire with international distribution, and although the company never claimed that these features would be available outside the US, it’s still a disappointment for international consumers considering a Nexus 7.

As per usual, the mad repair scientists at iFixit have gotten their hands on the latest hardware and turned it inside out — this time, the victim is Google’s new Nexus 7 tablet. The specs of this Asus-made device have been well publicized, so there aren’t any huge surprises here — iFixit confirms the 4,326 mAh battery and Tegra 3 chipset, while also noting that the 1280 x 800 display is manufactured by Hydis. Somewhat surprisingly, there’s a pair of speaker drivers packed inside the Nexus 7, despite the external appearance (and note on Google’s official specs page) that the tablet uses a single speaker. Unfortunately, iFixit wasn’t able to confirm whether the Corning-made glass covering the front of the Nexus 7 is Gorilla Glass, Gorilla Glass 2, or something else entirely. As for repairability, the Nexus 7 got a seven out of ten; almost as good as the Kindle Fire, and significantly more repairable than the new iPad. To see all the gory details, check out iFixit’s full teardown right here.

Once upon a time, the Nexus 7 had an HDMI port. That’s no longer the case, but can you eke some extra functionality out of the Micro USB port that remains? We spoke to Asus, and it sounds like the current version of Android doesn’t allow much of it right now. As of today, the company says that the shipping build of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean doesn’t support the Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) which would allow it to double as an HDMI port, nor advanced USB On-The-Go (OTG) functionality.

However, it does function as a USB host device, so you can plug certain other peripherals into the Nexus 7 and have them function. We saw Nexus 7 devices use USB ethernet adapters at Google I/O, and AnandTech notes that a mouse and keyboard will also work. Unfortunately, the publication also reports that the Nexus 7 won’t recognize USB storage.

At Google I/O, we sat down with Android’s head of user experience, Matias Duarte, to talk about Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the Nexus 7, and the premiere Google Now feature. It was a casual conversation where Duarte gave us the skinny on Google’s philosophy behind its new products this week. It’s Friday, come chill out on the couch with Josh and Matias for 20 minutes of design, insight, and laughs.

Instead of only available through the Google Play store, you can now pre-order the recently announced Asus Nexus 7 at Gamestop retail locations and through the company’s online store in the United States. The first Android 4.1 Jelly Bean tablet is priced at $249 for the 16GB version, with no option for the 8GB model, and as an added incentive, Gamestop is offering an additional 30 percent in trade-in credit when customers put video games and hardware toward the purchase of a new Nexus 7. While the company has yet to provide a confirmed ship date, Google has promised general availability for the Nexus 7 would begin in mid-July. Unfortunately, Gamestop’s pre-order page is unavailable at the moment, but while you wait, check out our comprehensive review.

Google’s Nexus 7 tablet is not exactly a surprise. Nor is the fact that I’m able to work on a review of the product just hours after the device was announced. For years now, Google has had the uncanny habit of not only making big announcements at its I/O events, but then immediately sharing what it has shown off with developers and members of the press.

This year was over the top. Not only did Google hand out its new, 7-inch, $199 Nexus 7 tablet, but it also introduced a new version of Android (4.1) called Jelly Bean, upgraded its flagship phone, and... rolled out the Nexus Q. Perhaps the most odd of all, the Q is a spherical media player / amp which functions as a wired audio and video output for all of your Google content.

I’d be willing to bet that most people believe Google’s Nexus 7 tablet is a wholly new design: that Google contracted Asus to produce a $199 Kindle Fire killer in just four months, like Andy Rubin and Asus chairman Jonney Shih told AllThingsD last night.

The truth is far more complex. The truth is that the Nexus 7 is the Asus ME370T, an Android tablet whose destiny has repeatedly changed.

It’s been evident for a good long while now that Google’s big announcement at I/O 2012 was going to be an Android tablet to do battle with Amazon’s Kindle Fire. Whether you were asking anonymous Asus executives, upstream component makers, or Andy Rubin himself, Google’s mission over the past few months has been to reassert itself in the tablet marketplace — and the Nexus 7 shows that the strategy chosen for doing so has been to assault the low end of the pricing scale.

This is an entirely sensible approach for Google to adopt since Android isn’t yet competitive with iOS in terms of tablet user experience and application quality, but Amazon clearly beat Google to the $199 punch with its own Kindle Fire — what is Google’s trump card here? The answer, as it turns out, is wider distribution. Yes, Google expanded its Play Store to include movie and TV show purchases plus magazines — to better compete with Amazon’s enormous content library — but it’s the fact that the Nexus 7 will be on sale in Australia, Canada and the UK that truly gives Google the edge.

Asus’ Chairman Jonney Shih and Google’s head of Android Andy Rubin have revealed that the Nexus 7 is being sold at cost, and was built in just four months. “Our engineers told me it is like torture,” Shih tells All Things D. Asus was told that the Nexus tablet was to be ready in four months, must be high-end, and should not cost over $200. “They ask a lot.”

Rubin says that only Asus could move that fast: “we went from zero to working product in four months.” He admits to being frustrated at the lack of Android tablet sales in the past, but says Google now has a full ecosystem in place that will allow users to consume media on one of the company’s tablets. “I think that was the missing piece.”

Google had a lot to announce at its I/O keynote yesterday, but if it’s all been too much to take in then this could be a solution of sorts — a guidebook to the new Nexus 7 tablet on Google Play. The 84-page tome isn’t just restricted to those interested in the Asus slate, however, as it acts as an introductory guide to the Android platform and Jelly Bean in particular.

Now, admittedly you’ll probably want an Android device to download and read the book in the first place, but even experienced users might find it useful to delve into the new Jelly Bean features. For others considering the Nexus 7 as their first Android device, it might make for an appropriate way to test the device’s capabilities as a reader. It’s available now in countries where books are sold on Google Play.

Remaining true to Google I/O tradition, those attending this week’s event will receive a collection of loot, including a Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.1 Jellybean, a Nexus Q, and a white version of the Asus Nexus 7, otherwise unavailable to the public. Unlike the model currently available for pre-order, which comes with a black textured backplate, developers and other attendees are receiving the Nexus 7 with a white finish on the rear panel. As far as we can tell, the device has no other unique characteristics and the packaging looks identical to the standard version. Of course, Asus may offer a white version in the future, but as it stands, it is available only to a select few.

Tablets are insanely versatile, and Google’s selling its new entry as a total content device with brand new Jelly Bean bells and whistles. Still, let’s face it: at this size and price point, the Nexus 7’s natural competitors are first and foremost reading-centric tablets like Amazon’s Kindle Fire. And make no mistake: Google is selling this as a reading device, adding magazines to Google Play and touting its bookstore as “the world’s largest ebook collection.” That’s the play here: inexpensive hardware, subsidized by selling media, driving customers towards Google’s ad-supported services.

So like Microsoft, Google needs to make its own hardware both for its own sake and to show Android OEMs how it’s done. But it also needs to stop the Kindle and Nook from bleeding Android dry. Google has to show that the latest and greatest official version of Android performs as well or better on a reading machine than its older forked counterparts.

The Asus Nexus 7, Google’s first tablet in the Nexus family, is here. You’re looking at it right now. We just got our first hands-on pictures of the device... and you’ll find impressions, more photos and video right below.

There’s not that much left to know about the Nexus 7, because all the details leaked out in grand fashion this morning and they’re now all confirmed. Most importantly, the 7-inch tablet will come pre-loaded with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Google’s latest operating system. Available in black or white, an 8GB version will be priced at $199, with 16GB for $249 this July. A quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 1280 x 800 IPS display, 1.2-megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM, and a 4,325mAh battery are also included, consistent with previous leaks. It’s also got NFC, so you’ll be able to transfer things to other Android 4.0 NFC devices with Android Beam.

It’s been on display in full form since before I/O started, but only now is it official: the Nexus 7 tablet from Asus. Built for Google Play, running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It has a 7-inch, 1280 x 800 HD display, a quad-core Tegra 3 processor with 12-core GPU, and 1GB RAM. There’s also a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera and all the sensors you’d expect from a modern slate, including NFC (there is no 3G / 4G option). Google is touting nine hours of HD video playback and up to 300 hours of standby — although the product page quotes eight hours “of active use” on a 4325 mAh device — in a device that’s 340 grams.

In case you had any doubt what Google thinks a 7-inch tablet is best for — and who it thinks its direct competitors are — the major push in the unveiling is media consumption. Music, movies, books, magazines, apps, and games. YouTube has been completely redesigned, and Google Maps has been optimized with new information overlays. Google on stage showed off Horn, a pretty stunning-looking 3D game, and Madfinger’s zombie shooter Dead Trigger. Google says this is the first device that ships with Chrome as the standard browser.

As if it wasn’t clear enough already, we’ve just received more evidence that the Nexus 7 is real. The above image of an Asus-branded Nexus 7 tablet is live on the Google Play store right now. A tipster let us know that if you change the URL of this Galaxy Nexus banner on Google Play, it reveals an Asus-branded Nexus 7 tablet, running what we expect will be introduced as Jelly Bean later today. At first glance, this looks like it could be an expanded version of the Ice Cream Sandwich phone layout, as we haven’t seen this dock layout surface on an Android tablet yet. The dock looks identical to the Android 4.0 smartphone layout, although there’s room for six apps instead of four. Hopefully this picture can whet your appetite for another half-hour or so — we’ll certainly hear more about this new tablet soon, and will post all the news live from Google I/O in our liveblog.

Update: The leaks are coming fast and furious — Google’s Nexus Q A / V streamer has just been unveiled, and a short video that came along with it showed a white Nexus 7 device. While it might just be white for the style of the video, it wouldn’t surprise us to see the Nexus 7 come in two colors today.

We’re just a few days away from the start of Google I/O, and as such we’re starting to hear more and more rumors about what’s planned. Google has already leaked out details on the name of forthcoming Android update, and now Gizmodo Australia has allegedly received a “training document” that details the exact specs and cost of the long-rumored Nexus 7 tablet. As we heard before, this tablet appears to be an Asus product — specs include a 1280 x 800, 7-inch display, 1.3GHz Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 12-core GeForce GPU. It’s also reportedly priced very aggressively — the 8GB version will come in at $199, with a 16GB version available for $249.

Unfortunately, Gizmodo hasn’t published anything from this training document aside from the image you see below, so we’ll have to wait until later this week to see if these specs are real — but we reached out to Gizmodo and were told that they’re confident in the source, and that he or she has contributed before. We had previously heard that Google was ready to launch its tablet in July, so the timing works out — Google I/O kicks off on Wednesday, June 27th, and we’ll be there live to cover all of the announcements.

Two photos taken with a Nexus 7 built by Asus have appeared on Picasa Web Albums. The 1280 x 960 images (which may have been scaled down) were taken on June 7th and June 13th and are attached to Google+ user Somit Bh. According to the Google+ geo-location data they were taken in Google Building 44. While it’s easy to fake all of this data, a number of people seemingly affiliated with Google can be found in Somit Bh’s Google+ Circles, which implies the images could be legitimate. The Nexus S was revealed in an identical manner just two years ago.

The “Nexus Tablet” has long been rumored, and over the past months we’ve been hearing reports that Asus is in line to make it. We broke the news in April that an Asus-built tablet would go on sale this July for between $149 and $199, and with Google IO around the corner, we expect to hear an official announcement soon.