The tablet wars are heating up and gadget buffs will be delighted with this development. Hot on the heels of Microsoft's Surface tab announcement last week comes another debut - this time from search engine kingpin Google.
If the recent reports are anything to go by, Google plans on unveiling its first official tablet on June 27, 2012 at its annual I/O developer's conference in San Francisco, California. Built by Asus, the mysterious 7-inch tab is expected to be called Nexus 7 and is likely to run on an unreleased version of the Android OS dubbed "Jellybean." How different Jellybean (Android 4.1) would be from the current flavor - Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) remains to be seen.
Gizmodo Australia had reported seeing a "training document" which summarized the expected particulars of the gadget. Even though Gizomodo's report states that the tab would be 7 inches, it is unclear if this is a reference to the entire gadget or the display size. If the Nexus's hypothesized size is any indication, the proportions will put it at par with the 7.5 inches Kindle and make it noticeably tinier than either the 10.6-inch Surface or the 9.7-inch iPad. The Nexus is believed to be equipped with a 1.3Ghz quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 1GB RAM, a1.2 megapixel front-facing camera, and nine hours of battery life. The tab will also feature both NFC and Google Wallet.
The 8GB version of the Nexus 7 is expected to cost $199, making it iPad's cheaper, more affordable cousin. The 16GB version of the tab is likely to be around the $250 mark. Additionally, with similar apps and features, the Nexus 7 may well become a worthy challenger to Amazon's low-priced Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet.
So far, Google has struggled to establish a strong footing in the mushrooming tablet market and is looking at novel ways to purport its tab sales. Gartner Inc. is of the opinion that the tablet market may nearly double this year to a whopping 118.9 million units. One can only speculate whether Google would be able to pose a threat to Apple's dominance. Clayton Moran, analyst at Benchmark Co., averred that "The tablet market is a major challenge for Google at this point. They need to have a competitive product with the iPad."
Gadget gurus assert that apps are the focal feature of any tablet and with over 225,000 apps specifically designed for iPad, Apple can perhaps rest on its laurels. Google in comparison does not even have an official number. To add to Google's woes, IDC's research figures reveal that the Android-based tablets' market share has dropped by 2% (from 38% in 2011 to 36% in 2012).
Whether or not the supremacy of the expensive tabs has ended will unfold with the passage of time. For now, gizmo aficionados can whoop in delight as the battle of the tablets becomes more interesting, making the consumer the ultimate winner in this race for tech dominion.
