Google and Asus are gearing up to launch a rebooted Nexus 7 tablet in time for Summer 2013, reports claim.
Reuters reports to have heard from two anonymous sources which point the finger at a July launch. It was also claimed Google intends to ship around eight million of the Nexus 7 successor device in the second half of the year.
It’s expected the revamped Nexus 7 will sport as similarly low a price tag as its predecessor, although things will be interesting this time around as the original Nexus 7 was the first low-cost, high-spec slate to hit the market.
It’s stood up well against competition from Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD, Apple’s iPad Mini and the Nook HD, amongst others. By the time the new Nexus 7 lands, however, it may well be up against a new iPad Mini 2, if rumours are to be belived, and will also face competition from Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8.0 and Asus’ own low-cost FonePad.
The market has most assuredly followed Google’s lead, but can the Android giant once again re-define the battlefield?
Fitting in with earlier rumours about the device, the two sources said the rebooted model will have a higher resolution display and a narrower bezel around the edge of the screen. Comments about the internal hardware were interesting as it’s said the next Nexus 7 will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip instead of the Nvidia Tegra.
The sources suggested Google had decided on Qualcomm for its battery-friendly properties. While processor specifics haven’t been mentioned it’s more than likely we’re talking about a quad-core setup and possibly even one of the new-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chips.
A definitive feature of Google’s Nexus devices is also, of course, a stock and up-to-date build of the company’s Android operating system software.
By the time the Nexus 7 reboot arrives it’s expected Google’s I/O event in May will have unveiled the new Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie build, so it’s likely we’ll see this, and hopefully a boatload of new features built-in, onboard the new Nexus 7 when it lands.
by pbriden via Featured Articles
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