By 
A new report says the Google Nexus tablet is a “done deal” and will enter into production beginning in April. The rumored slate is said to be designed by ASUS and was originally thought to be a repackaged version of the $249 Tegra 3 tablet shown off at CES. It is now being said the the two companies aim to sell the slate for as low as $149, undercutting competitors such as the Kindle Fire, though the reduced price will come with reduced hardware.
Android and Me reports that an industry insider privy to Google and ASUS’ plans can confirm the existence of the device and further reveals that the so-called Nexus tablet’s specs have been tweaked to do away with the quad-core processor. In its place we can expect a dual-core chip. The downside to the rumor is that ASUS has apparently scrapped plans for the Tegra 3 version in order to focus on the new Google design. We can guess quite a few folks will be disappointed to hear that news.
With the way things are lining up, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the device unveiled at Google I/O.
[via BGR]
Here’s hoping it at least includes a microSD slot. :)
Don’t hold your breath. No micro SD love for any nexus phone, i am pretty sure the nexus tablet will be the same.
You mean “No micro SD love for any Samsung nexus phone.” The nexus one had a micro SD slot. Samsung seems to hate micro SD slots for some reason. Thankfully, ASUS doesn’t seem to (so far). So, keep your fingers crossed.
Should I cross my fingers and hope I’ll get timely updates?
Considering that the Prime was the first device to get ICS OTA, I’d say your chances are pretty good.
Prime didn’t get ICS OTA, it came with ICS
ClayRogers: That is not correct. The TPrime launched with Honeycomb. It received ICS in January.
well the galaxy and droid charge / S2 etc all have them.
No quad core? Ugh. I think I’m willing to make the trade off of quad core for a Google tablet at $150. I think.
Disappointed? Um, no. More cores doesn’t necessarily mean better. Honestly, I think I’d rather see TI OMAP 4470 or Qualcom S4 based Nexus Tablet than a Tegra 3.
Especially because it also means that to make a version that carriers could subsidize, with LTE radios in it, would not require any changes in the CPU, unlike the HTC One X fiasco..
I agree. At least at present there are more apps/games available that take full advantage of dual-core systems then there are that utilize the full potential of a quad-core chip.
A lot of Tegra 2 tablets I’ve seen run a bit choppy on homescreen transitions, but I think that has more to do with no universal hardware acceleration in Honeycomb. A dual-core device with ICS will undoubtedly fair much better.
Sadly, nobody needs quad-core, it just sounds good. Unfortunately with Android, being as laggy and buggy and slipshod as it is, it needs all the cores it can get. And this is coming from someone using ICS on a GN.
Seriously? Laggy and buggy? On a GNex? Take it back my friend, my is smoother than butter and yours is obviously broken.
Don’t be fooled!
He’s just an Apple fanboy that comes to Android forums just to troll…
Poor guy…
he’s new here
Or you are running a bad app…mine is smooth as silk running all sorts of stuff
crApple knocks one out of the park and this is the best Google could do?
I might be giving up on Android on a tablet after this.
You seriously believe that Apple knocked one out of the park with the latest iPad? Seriously? How exactly did they do that? Hi-res 4:3 display? A dual core A5X? Must have been the quad-core graphics they crammed into the dual core A5X. Oh wait, maybe it was the1GB of RAM.
I’ll give Apple their due, but the new iPad certainly doesn’t qualify for that.
A dual core ICS Android tablet with a good screen, 1GB of RAM, microSD card slot, and decent camera(s) for $150 will be just fine with me for what will obviously be an entry level device. We’d all love a Porsche for the cost of a Kia, but that will never happen. As a matter of fact, I’ll buy 2 if those were the minimum specs.
define good screen. the new standard is now 2048×1536, if you want or not. everyone will now argue that everything else has “low resolution” and in fact the most of them even don’t know what resolution is. apple just showed the world again how long his cock is.
there need to be a equivalent tablet, with higher resolution…
this sh*t even has more resolution than my 24”..stupid and useless to push 2k into a retarded 4:3 screen
A 7″ screen at 1280×800 is pretty close to the pixel density of the ipad3.
you are right, but people will now compare every tablet with the new ipads _resolution_, that’s what I meant. especially the otto normal consumer won’t understand that really, all they believe in apple. everything else is cheap and crap. last autumn and winter I worked as a promo for sony and had to promote the tablet s and s 3g, …I can gurantee you, I can speak the whole day about the benefits of this and that, all they hear is apple. pain…
As long as the dual core is Krait, I don’t think anyone will notice the difference.
There is no reason why the dual core Krait S4 would be cheaper than the Tegra-3.
Plus in my opinion the S4 is faster than the Tegra-3. Tegra-3 to S4 is an upgrade not a downgrade.
I’m guessing the processor will be the dual core S3.
But will it have “quad core graphics”? /s
seriously though, I don’t really care about the processor as long as it is actually fast and smooth.
im getting more interested now that the price is lower at the worst it would be good for my son
I’d prefer the Tegra 3, but I’m sure 90 percent of the world would prefer the $150 price tag. What will be interesting to see is what it does to the rest of the Android tablet market. I’d guess Samsung, Moto, et al will not be pleased being so dramatically undercut.
who gives a crap about quad core, what if its the new s4 snapdragon?!?! I doubt it will be based on price but this monster shows that dual core can be powerful
I’m not holding my breath until I see a confirmed spec sheet. If it drops at $149, it might be worth a look…might not. Android is all about choices and this is one choice I like.
No quad core, no 10″, no Verizon = no deal.
For only $150 I could “settle” for 7″ dual-core, wifi-only, 16GB, no microSD slot, no GPS, and no camera.
Only a very crappy low-res non-OLED display, or a hideous form factor, could sway me from buying the first Nexus 7″ tablet at that price point. (I assume $150 is for the 7″, and not 10″)
Let’s not settle for less. Only way I’d pick one up at that price is it if included a microSD card slot and at least a VGA Front-facing cam.
It would not be that bad with the new S4 SoCo Chip…
woops was tryign to reply
Ugh happened again. Why do my replies to Adam Collins show up down here?
This news sucks. The nexus brand is the thing that represents goggles android. People want higher specs. Yeah leave out the quad core but people don’t want last years specs.
Personally, I think the Nexus brand represents Google’s Android. ;)
Wasn’t ICS optimized for the dual core OMAP in the Nexus? Works great on my phone.
“Really people how could you all be dissapointed in this.” Its a Nexus Tab and its made by a reputable company Asus. This is prety dope especially for $150.00.
Because the Nexus brand has little to no value anymore.
It never really was suppose to. However, now we can see that Google wants to be in on the content game like amazon and itunes. Hence the market change to Google Play. This tablet must have some kind of hdmi output and I’m in.
For $150 I expect it to be as “amazing” of a device as the Fire. And for that reason, I’m out.
Hold off judgement until you see it =)
Especially considering Asus’ track record with making insanely hot Android tablets.
Aight Ill refrain from judgement until it is revealed.
Depending on which dual core processor it is, this could still be a good tablet. Hell, for the price, I’m still down for one.
Nexus devices are not supposed to be the most powerful thing out there. They are developer devices that are directly supported by Google and see updates to Android faster than other devices. If you want power, go spend $600 on an outdated tablet.
Tell that to my Nexus S still languishing at version 2.3.6.
Have you not heard of XDA. You cant moan unless your willing to do somthing about it. ICS came out for the Nexus S like a week after the galaxy nexus
Dude, there’s links ALL OVER the web with the direct download of ICS for the T-Mobile and Sprint Nexus S’s. Just go upgrade, geeze I can’t believe you’re actually using a phone on 2.3.6, what are you a freakin caveman. “Me caveman, me make fire, me use oldest Android version available because my simple caveman mind don’t know how to download links” HA
Terrible response. You must suck at life.
Way to excuse the fail that is Google Nexus
I agree that was bitter troll-like comment from David Gray. However, my google nexus s from t-mobile is not a fail! Thanks to timely updates I can patiently wait for the galaxy S III without missing too much.
I’m sorry for the people who actually got their free nexus s from sprint when I paid full price. A little sarcasm there but glad I actually got something for buying my phone off contract.
Well said
Everyone knows this.
Wtf are you talking about? Pretty obvious you’r eeither a troll or a moron.
ICS still lacks a major user base. With a ultra low cost tablet with ICS, ICS’s user base grows. A big user base for ICS is more important inmy opinion as a first step
Hopefully its a A15 dual core processor. But seeing how Google has been since Nexus One it might be a old dual core processor from last year possibly TI.
Not really excited about dual core yet. Need to be reminded if its advantages and how it improves the tablet and smartphone experience without just stating its faster. Dual core will work for me
$150 with a 10.1″ screen = REVOLUTIONARY
I think i dont mind it not having a quad core due to cost-benefit. And by the time i can utilize a quad core, itll be time to get a new tablet
The point of a Nexus device is that it is top tier, not chopped up to meet a low price point. That’s what the Fire is for. I was all ready to buy the super-powered 7 inch Tegra 3 prime when it came out. Looks like this will be another Android tablet that’s at most 80% of what the customers wanted.
But with this approach, Google can build up a ICS user base first then introduce high end devices latter
Every time some one lowers the price, We all get the chance to soon have tabs, 10″ tabs hit the sweet spot for about $2-250. Magical iPad, cost $213 to make when launched, sold that puppy for $5-800 and I ask why? why is that necessary when you have a billion other ways to make money off the iPad?
Amazon is giving away a kindle to nickle and dime you on services $204 to make, 199 to sell. Apple could do this. If they did, they would own the market to a literal 100% but nope, they have held strong NEVER LOWERING THE PRICE NOT ONCE, released incremental upgrades each year. Please realize we have had 3 iPads in 2 years, raping their poor little iSheep to the tune of about 2 grand in 2 years! 3 incremental upgrades that just barely match or exceed current standards. iPad one was over priced, iPad was unnecessary. and iPad 3 is what iPad one should of been. and none of them should of been 5-800 bucks!
Let’s not forget you are completely ignoring Apples business model. Apple make their money through margin; device margin. For apple to sell an iPad at less than its manufacturing costs would be ridiculous and completely out of character. Apple are not fundamentally a company that has revenue streams in either advertising (aka Google) or in services and media (aka Amazon) and therefore will always base their model around making significant margin on device sales alone. In the past 10 years Apple have dipped their toes into more avenues through resale of media etc, but this will never draw in the kind of monies needed to maintain the Apple brand. Never.
again,,, it’s via “BGR” !!!
very disappointed
I didn’t need a fire, and I still don’t…..even if it costs 50 bucks.
Despite already having a Transformer Prime I was really looking forward to ASUS’ $249 tablet. I mean, to have a high spec’d tablet at that price point and size would have been great. With Tegra 3, potentially SD card expansion, and the small form factor, this would have been in my bag everywhere I went. I’ll be rather disappointed if this rumor proves to be true. But, an honest to god Nexus tablet could still be a good consolation prize.
Google is really going after Apple. $149 will bring in crap load of people buying tthe tablet and profits are in numbers from the ad money. Most people have no need for a Quad core tablet. Nicely done Google but I rather pay the extra $100 and get the quad core.
Disappointed? HA! More like overjoyed now that there’ll be a great quality tablet for 1/5th the price of everything else on the market!
Come on Google, please listen to your TRUE customers and at least give us HALF of what we want, especailly on your 1st Nexus TABLET!!! SD card Slot is #1 on most of our lists, some type of USB and HDMI would be nice (USB more so if you can only do 1) and maybe a removable battery but that’s not a must. If you add the SD slot and USB and ship it out with your latest OS I’m sold. I still regret not buying the original Nexus One when it was out so when the Nexus S was released I jumped on it. I’d probably had the Galaxly Nexus if there was a TMO version and i didn’t alreday have ICS on mine.
wtf? The Nexus brand is supposed to be the frontrunner for all android devices… If this tablet doesn’t introduce anything worth while, who would buy this shit? If they’re not gonna put the Tegra 3 chip in there, fine, at least make it into something that can compete with the “New iPad” instead… Google is just allowing for Apple to run all over them…
This is horribad.
You sir have no concept of how business models work, as for claiming Google is letting apple run all over them you seriously need to think before you type something in a public forum that will be immortalized on the internet.
As for the price points, 149 for a 7″ and 249 for a 10″ tablet would be revolutionary, as for not having brand spanking new Nvidia procs, it’s rather simple Nvidia is charging way too much for the procs now because they are new. No one needs a quad-core tablet, Most people don’t even need quad-core desktops, they never use the potential of the device, not to mention 2 extra cores will increase power consumption, I’d rather see this launch with a mature dual core processor with excellent power management vs a quad-core that I’ll never see the full benefit of.
Crappy. Google is going the cheap car route instead of offering a high quality experience in an attractive price point. If more companies start passing off this cheap crap as a symbol of what android can do, it’s done. Android will be gone.
i would rather they get a huge installed base out there and work their way up.
most car companies start as everyday cars and work their way up to luxury. what point is there to sell a high end product at a high end price and then have no apps for it because teh installed base isnt there. at least if they sell it for $150-200, they will sell a ton of them and if the experience is good enough and its not pure crap no one will bad mouth them given it was only $150-200.
“ASUS has apparently scrapped plans for the Tegra 3 version”…NOT the ‘magically priced’ $249 MeMo, I’m hoping!!!
>=o(
This seems odd since the Galaxy Nexus is around $300 and if you buy it off contract more like $600. They would make a tablet that cheap?
I don’t know, if it had compelling features, and the hardware at least stands up to the iPad, and of coarse the price is that low…I might consider getting a tablet, though I still don’t know why I should get that over a netbook or laptop that has more functionality.
I hope this lowering price tide drops all boats.
Meaning I want some 10 inch tablets for $200.
Hell yeah!!!!! My prediction 7 inch $99 . 10 inch $149. Apple killer!!!!!!!! Ahahahah I feel sorry for all those sheep’s that just bought the new iPad ahahahahahah suckers! Android ftw!
I bet it’s an OMAP 4470. Why would it be anything other than googles suggested processor for ICS?
I wonder why nobody’s speaking about a keyboard-dock! I wouldn’t want any tablet without one anymore!
Especially with ASUS as the manufacturer who created that trend.
Sadly to say, it’ll probably become a maintstream trend if Apple does it. Sure, other companeis for Android may do it but it won’t become the hip thing until Apple does it if ever.