Google preps revamped Nexus 7 to take on iPad mini

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Google is reportedly working on a successor to the Nexus 7, one aimed at taking the fight back to both Apple's iPad mini and Amazon's Kindle Fire by shrinking the bezel to accommodate a larger and higher-resolution display.

nexus 7


The follow-up to the Nexus 7 will launch in July of this year, Reuters reported Monday. That would see the new tablet hitting the market almost exactly a year after the unveiling of the first Nexus 7.

According to sources familiar with Google's plans, the revamped Nexus 7 will feature a larger screen, achieved by shrinking the thick bezel featured on the current model. The new model's display will also see resolution bump beyond the current one's 1280x800, 164ppi HD display.

The report also has Google switching chip providers for the next model. Instead of Nvidia, which provided the Tegra 3 chip that powers the current Nexus 7, Google will reportedly adopt a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor .

One thing that will remain the same is the tablet's low-margin pricing. Google ? which makes most of its money in online advertising ? will apparently subsidize the price of partner Asus' manufacturing process for the new Nexus 7, as it did with the first model. The low price point for that model, along with the respectable internal tech, was a major selling point for the device.

Google is setting its sights a bit higher in terms of sales for the Nexus 7 follow-up. Reportedly, the search giant is looking to ship as many as eight million of the Asus-made tablets in the second half of the year. The previous Google tablet sold about 4.6 million units in the same span of time, and Asus' Chief Financial Officer David Chang revealed in October that the company was shipping around one million units per month at that time.

The new Nexus 7 will enter a small tablet segment much changed from the one that existed last summer. Apple's iPad mini is thought to have sold a significant portion of the Nexus 7's four-month total in the weekend after its release. Apple is also widely thought to be planning a mini follow-up that would pack a high-resolution screen.

In addition to Apple, Google must contend with Amazon, whose Kindle Fire devices ? running a forked version of Google's Android mobile operating system ? are among the best-selling tablets outside of Apple's iPad. Samsung, too, has re-entered the fray, rolling out the Galaxy Note 8.0, a stylus-enabled 8-inch tablet meant to reclaim share in the mini tablet sector that Samsung helped pioneer years ago.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 37
    rothgarrrothgarr Posts: 58member
    I have the current Nexus 7. It's not bad, but there's just something about it that doesn't compel me to use it the way I used my iPad for hours a day.

    As for shrinking the bevel, I think that's a mistake. When the iPad was originally introduced I laughed at the huge bevel but it makes sense. When I hold the Nexus my palms sometimes tough the screen which registers as touches...
  • Reply 2 of 37

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rothgarr View Post



    I have the current Nexus 7. It's not bad, but there's just something about it that doesn't compel me to use it the way I used my iPad for hours a day.

     


     


    Of course, it's called quality tablet apps, for which Android is atrocious. 

  • Reply 3 of 37
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    Nexus 8 = innovation. It's a well known fact most people want bigger screens.

    Could it be that the pioneers of the small tablets and the big phones are now playing catch up? Why would they change their design when they got it so right?
  • Reply 4 of 37
    isaidsoisaidso Posts: 750member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rothgarr View Post



    I have the current Nexus 7. It's not bad, but there's just something about it that doesn't compel me to use it the way I used my iPad for hours a day.



    As for shrinking the bevel, I think that's a mistake. When the iPad was originally introduced I laughed at the huge bevel but it makes sense. When I hold the Nexus my palms sometimes tough the screen which registers as touches...


    When the iPad was "originally introduced" is quite a while ago, now.


    I'm pretty sure all tablets going forward from today with have increasingly minimized "bezels". The iPad Mini showed the technology is there to make this happen with virtually no problem with unintentional touch registers. It's one of my favorite things about the Mini.

  • Reply 5 of 37
    I just want a small tablet with a card reader. To me that is the only thing missing from the Nexus 7. I like the screen size. Having a higher resolution would be good but not necessary for me.
  • Reply 6 of 37
    yvvvyvvv Posts: 18member
    The current Nexus 7's screen is 216 ppi, not 164 ppi. The iPad mini's screen is 162 ppi.
  • Reply 7 of 37
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    Curious to see if the weight will increase much. It'll increase due to the larger screen, but if they can make it retina like,, I wonder if it needs a larger battery and therefore increases the weight. If it (hardly) doesn't, maybe Apple will release a retina mini this year nonetheless.

    This action from Google will go down as 'pulling a Samsung'.
  • Reply 8 of 37
    mubailimubaili Posts: 453member


    Nexus 7" doesn't stand a chance in the light of iPad mini with an 8 inch screen. It is huge difference. Boy, that is another thing that Apple totally get it right.

  • Reply 9 of 37

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mubaili View Post


    Nexus 7" doesn't stand a chance in the light of iPad mini with an 8 inch screen. It is huge difference. Boy, that is another thing that Apple totally get it right.



     






    Apple products are great and we all know that haters will still buy samdung and google unless you ask them to pick any product for which you are willing to pay lol

  • Reply 10 of 37
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by isaidso View Post


    When the iPad was "originally introduced" is quite a while ago, now. ...



     


    3 years is not really "quite a while ago" even in the computer world. 

  • Reply 11 of 37
    chandra69chandra69 Posts: 638member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rothgarr View Post



    I have the current Nexus 7. It's not bad, but there's just something about it that doesn't compel me to use it the way I used my iPad for hours a day.



    As for shrinking the bevel, I think that's a mistake. When the iPad was originally introduced I laughed at the huge bevel but it makes sense. When I hold the Nexus my palms sometimes tough the screen which registers as touches...


    That is why iPad is magical. It is addictive. 

  • Reply 12 of 37
    majjomajjo Posts: 574member
    rothgarr wrote: »
    I have the current Nexus 7. It's not bad, but there's just something about it that doesn't compel me to use it the way I used my iPad for hours a day.

    My experience has been somewhat opposite. I've had the original iPad, a touchpad, the original transformer, and the nexus 7. Out of all of those, I've used the nexus 7 the most by far.

    I think the biggest factor for me was weight. It just got tiring for me to hold up the 10" tablets for hours at a time. Not saying the nexus 7 is immune from this, but I could go a lot longer with it before my arms got tired.

    Apps wise, my experience has been pretty much parity between iOS and android. Everything I had on my iPad, I have on the nexus 7 at this point. My sister recently got the iPad mini, and after playing with it for a bit, I haven't found a compelling reason to switch my nexus 7 for one.

    Going forward though, I think I'm done with tablets. When it cones time to replace the nexus, I'm considering either an MBA, an ultra book or a chrome book.
  • Reply 13 of 37
    ifailifail Posts: 463member
    philboogie wrote: »
    Curious to see if the weight will increase much. It'll increase due to the larger screen, but if they can make it retina like,, I wonder if it needs a larger battery and therefore increases the weight. If it (hardly) doesn't, maybe Apple will release a retina mini this year nonetheless.

    This action from Google will go down as 'pulling a Samsung'.

    I think the switch to Qualcomm chips will help significantly since the Tegra 3 eats battery life like all hell. I don't think the device will change much to accommodate the bigger screen
  • Reply 14 of 37

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by majjo View Post



    Going forward though, I think I'm done with tablets. When it cones time to replace the nexus, I'm considering either an MBA, an ultra book or a chrome book.


    What is it about the tablet experience that makes you realize you prefer a laptop? Would you still prefer reading books on a laptop?


     


    For $350 there are netbooks that are more powerful than tablets but they weigh a lot more. A used netbook that is a couple of years old would still outperform any tablet. Do you feel that tablets are just underpowered?


     


    From what I've read many people are giving up laptops for tablets. Do you think this trend will reverse once most people have tried tablets for a while?

  • Reply 15 of 37
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    Can't wait for the barrage of "APPLE MUST RESPOND" analyst shrieking, when this thing is priced @ $149.

    Oh, and shrinking the bezel? How novel. Wonder what inspired that? The nexus 7 looks absolutely ridiculous next tothe iPad mini. Half that thing is bezel.
  • Reply 16 of 37
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    One thing that will remain the same is the tablet's low-margin pricing. Google ? which makes most of its money in online advertising ? will apparently subsidize the price of partner Asus' manufacturing process for the new Nexus 7, as it did with the first model. The low price point for that model, along with the respectable internal tech, was a major selling point for the device.

    The DOJ needs to look at this. It is illegal to use a monopoly in one market to leverage your position into an adjacent market. (this is essentially what Microsoft got in trouble for with their bundling of IE with Windows).

    Whether Google meets the legal definition of a monopoly is not clear, but they're certainly close enough that it should be looked into.
  • Reply 17 of 37
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    What is it about the tablet experience that makes you realize you prefer a laptop? Would you still prefer reading books on a laptop?

    For $350 there are netbooks that are more powerful than tablets but they weigh a lot more. A used netbook that is a couple of years old would still outperform any tablet. Do you feel that tablets are just underpowered?

    From what I've read many people are giving up laptops for tablets. Do you think this trend will reverse once most people have tried tablets for a while?

    He said that HE would likely go back to laptops. I didn't see any indication that he thought that everyone else would do the same.

    Tablets are better for some people and laptops are better for others (and some people will want both). I think it's overly simplistic to expect that either one is going to drive the other out of business.
  • Reply 18 of 37
    majjomajjo Posts: 574member
    What is it about the tablet experience that makes you realize you prefer a laptop? Would you still prefer reading books on a laptop?

    For $350 there are netbooks that are more powerful than tablets but they weigh a lot more. A used netbook that is a couple of years old would still outperform any tablet. Do you feel that tablets are just underpowered?

    From what I've read many people are giving up laptops for tablets. Do you think this trend will reverse once most people have tried tablets for a while?

    I guess the tablet experience just doesn't fit my workflow.

    Most of what I do on a tablet is web browsing, e-mail, and media consumption (music, videos/movies, photos, books/magazines). for almost all cases, I don't find the experience to be superior on a tablet vs a laptop; many times its actually worst. Holding up a tablet for 2 hours for a movie just isn't comfortable for me. You could say just set the tablet down with a stand... but if you have enough room to deploy a tablet with a stand, you have enough room to deploy a laptop, which renders a tablet pointless.

    You ask if I would still prefer reading books on a laptop. I admit I don't do as much reading these days as I used to, but oh you better bet i would. I have no issues reading word documents, pdfs, or websites on my laptop, I don't see how books would be any different. Plus if I don't have to hold up a 1lb tablet for hours at a time, it just makes the experience that much better.

    Plus, I'm still finding tablets to be too limited. If i'm browsing the web and suddenly run into a flash-only site, its time to move back to the desktop or splashtop to it.
    Same for if I'm going through my e-mail and have to write a response with an embedded table and multiple attachments.
    Same for if I come across a photo I want to touch up in photoshop.
    Heck behind the browser, I'm fairly certain splashtop is my second most used app.

    You mentioned netbooks, and I may consider them (which is why i included chromebook in my list), but other than price, I don't see the major advantage they have over a full fledged notebook.
  • Reply 19 of 37
    yvvv wrote: »
    The current Nexus 7's screen is 216 ppi, not 164 ppi. The iPad mini's screen is 162 ppi.


    Yeah and even with that the minis display looks sharper and is more visually pleasing
  • Reply 20 of 37
    zozmanzozman Posts: 393member


    I've got a nexus 7, honestly its not a very good performer, its super sluggish & crashes all the time, i like having it tho, its fun to tinker with & it means that I'm using the current android on it, as a tablet tho, its not very good, i think the 1st iPad running iOS4 runs smoother & better.


    So for the next nexus 7, they really need to fix the performance.


    the funny thing is, people read its benchmark scores & say 'hey, the nexus 7 a beast, makes the iPads specs look crappy', however when you use it, I'm wondering why it doesn't run so well considering its specs, I know that android doesn't take full advantage of its hardware, like multiple cores, however with a nexus device that isn't an excuse, google get other makers to do the hardware, yes & google do the software, it should run more seamlessly far far better than it does (maybe instead of throwing specs at it, maybe they should write better software?) just a thought.


    if you read the comments on youtube, any video about the iPad or iPad mini, there's a group of people saying the nexus 7 is better...& as an owner of all these devices, i don't get those people, i think they must be smoking crack (or shaft), its madness.


     


    My iPad mini is always with me & my iPad 3 gets used at home, I recently got a windows 8 atom based tablet, its not as good as the iPad, but is seriously seems like a better alternative to android as a tablet, in so many ways.


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by majjo View Post





    You ask if I would still prefer reading books on a laptop. I admit I don't do as much reading these days as I used to, but oh you better bet i would. I have no issues reading word documents, pdfs, or websites on my laptop, I don't see how books would be any different. Plus if I don't have to hold up a 1lb tablet for hours at a time, it just makes the experience that much better.

     


     


    From reading what you said, seems that you are the exception to the rule, from the number of sales & popularity, i think most others find tablets easier to read books or pdfs on, watching movies is the same to me on both for me.


    you can prefer what ever you like & that's cool, a lot of people are used to reading books, you hold it in your hand, you can read in bed, on any angle, & move it with you & read, so to those people going to a tablet that you hold, would be an easier transition, than reading off a tilted screen at a desk of off your lap not so much, its, even people that are used to reading off laptops, they tent to print what they write to read it properly, its easy to lose your places on a scrolling page (using a laptop or monitor).


     


     


    PS, i do lots of browsing on tablets, i prefer writing stuff on my retina macbook pro 15 or my 11inch air (which I'm using now)

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