Google Nexus 7, the search giant's first foray into an increasingly crowded and competitive market, hit U.S. stores on Friday, July 13. The tablet is off to a very promising start, as retailers have already run out of the gadgets in the face of strong demand.
Google has just started shipping units of its highly anticipated Nexus 7 tablet built by Asus, but multiple retailers are already struggling to fill orders as the tablet has sold out in virtually no time. GameStop has pulled the device order page from its Web site, and said on Friday it had run through its first two allocations of the tablet. Adorama and Staples also reported the tablet has sold out, and are currently waiting for additional inventory to meet further demand.
The 7-inch Google Nexus 7 sports a quad-core processor, the latest Android version 4.1 Jelly Bean, and many other exciting features, as well as a very appealing starting price of $199. The tablet was announced in late June, and retailers were taking pre-orders on their Web sites.
New York-based retail store Adorama tweeted on Friday, July 13, that the Nexus 7 had sold out and that it was shipping all the stock according to orders received. Adorama is still taking orders for the tablet on its Web site, and lists a tentative shipping date for around "mid-August."
Staples also wrote on its Web site that its Nexus 7 inventory has sold out, and said that "additional units may become available" between July 14 to July 18. The retailer previously said it would start delivering the tablet between July 12 and July 17 for orders placed by July 11, promising delivery within one to three days.
Those interested in purchasing the tablet can also get it directly from Google on the Google Play store. The advantage here is that you can get the $199 model with 8GB of storage, currently exclusive to Google Play. Of course, you can also get the $249 model with 16GB of storage, which is also available at retail stores.
Other retailers selling the Nexus 7 (the $249, 16GB version) include Office Depot, which has listed the 16GB tablet as being on pre-order, as well as being in stock. Delivery date is one to two weeks. Meanwhile, other online retailers taking orders for the tablet said delivery will start in August.
B&H Photo and Video, for instance, listed a 16GB Nexus 7 on its Web site, but said the tablet was released in limited quantities. Until earlier this week, shipment was scheduled to start Aug. 15, but has now been pushed back to Sept. 1. Best Buy Canada is also taking orders for the 16GB model for C$259 (US$254) on its Web site, expecting the device to reach its warehouse on Aug. 10. FutureShop Canada promises the same shipment date.
Made in collaboration with Asus, the Google Nexus 7 weighs in at roughly 340 grams and offers fairly impressive battery life of up to nine hours on video playback and 300 hours on standby. The 7-inch display can render images at a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, and the tablet also includes a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, 1GB of RAM, Wi-Fi, a microUSB port, Bluetooth, and NFC (near-field communication). Its features have sparked a lot of interest, but the low price tag has generated even more enthusiasm among consumers who want to check out Android.
