Android Tablet Update

Phone Arena was just sent alleged press images of the upcoming ASUS-Google Nexus 7 tablet. If the images are real, the Nexus 7 will be a three-toned tablet, with a white front to the tablet and a two-toned black and gray backplate. I’m not quite sold on the three-tone look, so here’s hoping the Nexus 7 will come in two color schemes (white and black/gray) similar to other Android tablets. Sources for Phone Arena confirmed that the device will in fact feature a Tegra 3 processor, and that the tablet would launch with Android 4.1, commonly believed to be the launch version number for Jelly Bean.

From the press shots, we noticed that the Nexus Tablet features a speaker on the front of the device, a common placement for speakers on phones as opposed to tablets, where speakers are normally located on tablets. This speaker location leads us to believe that the Nexus Tablet will likely be able to make phone calls using Google Voice or other VOIP services. If not, having a speaker on the front of the device still makes sense to us, as it tends to result in better sound output.

We should be learning more about the Nexus Tablet at Google I/O at the end of this month, with a widespread launch slated for July. The Nexus Tablet is expected to retail in the $150-$250 range to take on the Kindle Fire and a rumored 7″ iPad that could be launching later this year. Stay tuned for updates.

The latest rumor circling the fabled 7-inch Nexus tablet claims that ASUS will soon be ramping up production of the tablet and will ship roughly 600,000 units of the device in June in time for a July release. According to the report, the Nexus tablet is expected to sell between two and two and a half million units between July and the end of the year.

Originally, the Google Nexus tablet was expected to launch in May, but the tablet launch was postponed to make changes to the design and find way to reduce hardware costs even further.

While there have been plenty of Nexus tablet leaks over the past months, Google has never officially acknowledged that they are working with ASUS on developing a tablet. Our assumption is that Google will keep things under wraps as best they can before officially unveiling the device during Google I/O in late June.

Originally, the Nexus tablet was rumored to be based off of the $249 ASUS MeMo 370T which was shown off at CES, but more recent reports indicate that Google may want to reduce the price even further by not including a quad-core processor, though we now expect that the Nexus tablet will likely ship with NVIDIA’s quad-core Kai platform.

We may not know exactly what Google has planned for its budget friendly Nexus tablet, but we’re sure that it will force Samsung, Sony, Asus, Acer, Motorla and other OEMs to produce basic tablets which will directly compete with the likes of the Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet.

How many of you already own an Android powered tablet? How much would you be willing to pay for a decently spec’d 7-inch Nexus tablet?

Those of us wanting to get our hands on the oft-rumored Google branded tablet will have to wait a little longer. In a statement provided to The Verge, sources close to the project stated that in its current state, the Google-branded tablet would have to sell for $249. This has caused Google to search for ways to drive the price of the tablet down into the $149-199 price range as it hopes to compete with the Kindle Fire and a rumored 7-8″ iPad mini.

The sources also confirmed that ASUS was in fact working on the Nexus Tablet, and that it used NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 system on a chip. This is contrary to previous reports that Google and ASUS had moved to a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chip, though the specifications are obviously not final.

From the report, we can speculate that a co-branded Google and ASUS tablet will be coming in Q3 of this year, feature some fairly high-end specs, and will likely retail for $199. Whether a pure-Google Android 4.0 tablet will be enough to steal customers away from the Kindle Fire or Apple’s iPad remains to be seen, but it’s safe to say we’re excited to see what Google brings to the table as it attempts to double-down on the tablet industry.

Speaking to an Italian newspaper, Google Chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt revealed that Google is hard at work on “a tablet of the highest quality,” and that it may be bringing this device to market as early as June 2012. Mr. Schmidt made it clear that the gloves are off in the tablet fight against the iPad, and Google’s tablet offering would be targeted to take the tablet reigns from Apple’s market-dominating tablet.

It’s unclear whether Google will be manufacturing the device in-house, or whether they’ll partner with an OEM to manufacture the device similar to what they do with the Nexus line of smartphones. We’re leaning toward the latter, with Motorola being the most likely partner due to the pending Google-Motorola merger. We hope this isn’t the case, though, as Motorola hasn’t exactly been making the most sleek and sophisticated Android tablets out there (looking at you, Xyboard). Personally, I’d like to see Google partner with either ASUS or Samsung, whose Transformer Prime and Galaxy Tab devices have been personal favorites of mine.

We must point out that the Italian translation is a rough one, so take the translation for what it’s worth. Still, Google is ready to push tablets running Ice Cream Sandwich, and they think ICS can finally dethrone the iPad atop the tablet charts.

Regardless, we’re happy to see Google fully embrace tablets, as the idea of a Nexus tablet has been exciting us here at Android and Me since the initial idea was introduced over a year ago. We’ll bring you more information on a Nexus tablet as we learn more. Meanwhile, be sure to leave a comment below telling us what you’d want to see in a Nexus tablet.