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We are sitting just days away from Google IO, where the Nexus Tablet is said to be announced, and more rumors are now coming to light. According to the latest Ninja discovering, the Pure Google device is said to already be shipping and will be available for purchase next month (July).
Digitime’s sources are also stating that the ASUS device will be priced starting at an affordable $199. And Asustek Chairman Jonney Shih will be there to announce it along with our beloved Google team. Other details include the fact that Google and ASUS will stick to WiFi-only versions, there is no rear-facing camera, and the device will measure in at 7 diagonal inches.
We can expect the omission of such features, as the tablet’s affordability is the main focus. But if you really like cheap, ASUS is also going the solo route. The same sources also state that ASUS will be releasing another 7-inch tablet on its own… going for $159-$179. Could it be the ASUS Eee Pad MeMo 370T we saw at CES?
With Microsoft coming into the tablet market very strong, Google (and Apple) will have to really kick things up a notch. Windows 8 tablets are designed to be as productive as a laptop computer, so Google has to find a way to keep our wallets on its side. Of course, one method is affordable devices. A good, affordable device is always welcome.
But let’s keep our minds open and our hearts doubtful. These are, after all, only rumors. Our best advice would be to take it with a grain of salt until everything comes to light at Google IO, next week. We will be there, guys… we will be there.
[Via: Digitimes]
No camera? Perhaps a conflicting message from the supposed camera shots yesterday, taken by the tablet?
if the camera that took that pic yesterday *is* the camera, it’s better to say there is no camera.
They were taken with the front camera.
They said no REAR facing camera. I’m sure it will have a front facing camera for video chat. In my opinion a rear facing camera on a tablet is stupid anyway.
Who really takes pictures with a tablet. Id rather it have a really goof FFC for video chat vs having a rear cam at all.
Clearly you’ve never been to a pre-school graduation. Plenty of people are taking photos and videos with their iPads.
And they all look like idiots!
Since they’re behind the camera, it doesn’t matter if you think they look like idiots. They end up with a photo easily shown, edited, and shared on the spot.
Is it really any easier than using a phone? Or a current camera?
If there is more than just a friend or two, then yes, it is easier to see the photo on a tablet. A tablet would work better for editting (though that is somewhat rare (still)). Phones and tablets have the advantage on sharing wirelessly. A tablet with a USB port can also be used to share the photo via a thumb drive. So, yes there really are advantages in some settings.
Of course, the dedicated camera will have a better tripod mount and flash, so sometimes the need for a quality photo in challenging settings will win out over ease of display and sharing.
use it for watching videos and reading books, which is a lot more comfortable than any 10″ tablet. http://DemoforFrank.blogspot.com
Not chrisp and balanced and showed as on my Galaxy Note, with a real camera and a large enough 286ppi 12.3 sq. Inch display. Then the subjects name an date written on the photo on the spot.
I used my rezound to take pictures and videos at my daughter’s preschool graduation. Didn’t know that I needed an iPad or a tablet to do that.
I will admit it looks a bit ridiculous but if people use then they use it and will vote with their wallets
I use my camera phone primarily to deposit checks using my bank’s app. If this doesn’t have a RFC, then that limits functionality for me. I’d probably fall-back to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 inch. I admit that using a 10-inch tablet to take pics looks goofy, but I don’t have a problem with 7-inch picture takers!
good. rear cameras on a tablet are for ruh-tards.
The idiots (to put it nicely) who insist on using a tablet/iPad to shoot video at a public venue or in a crowd is utterly annoying.
I would not call them idiot. If they chose to use a big tablet as a camera, it’s their choice. However the fact that they use such a big table as a camera and when they hold it high to capture the scene, they block people behind them. At my kid’s school performance, I unfortunately sat behind such people and suffered. I would call them INCONSIDERATE!
Google please make the follow 3 Nexus devices for ALL carriers shipping with Jelly Bean:
1. Nexus-4 4.0″
2. Nexus-4 5.0″
3. Nexus-4 10.1″
Or get rid of the retarded 4.7-5.0″ phone all together. Thank you.
How is the 4.7-5″ phone market “retarded”? Maybe people would like the functionality of both a tablet and a phone, while only carrying one device. Having a larger screen on a phone (that is rarely being used for phone calls) facilitates such usage… If Verizon had a Galaxy Note sized device on it’s network I know it’d be a strong seller…
4.3″- 4.5″. 4.0 (my nexus s) was too narrow.
nexus4 S (4.3″)
nexus4 M (5.2″ (note sized)
nexus4 L ( 7″ tab)
Nexus4 XL ( 10″ tab)
I could probably 4.3″, but I find the 4.0″ screen size of the Incredible 2/4G to be perfect for a phone. All these giant phones will probably push me back to the iPhone 5.
As long as a smaller device with near-best specs are offered, I see no reason to criticize having a more practical, larger smartphone. The market has spoken, larger devices allow you to better see and use all the processing power we now have. I’d expect smaller phones to go the way of the physical keyboard in that they will become few and far between, but still available, with near-but-not-quite top-tier specs.
Guess what? Don’t like the larger screen sizes? Don’t buy em. Amazing, right?
I won’t, and this is exactly why I’m asking for a 4.0″ Nexus running Jelly Bean. The Incredible 4G is an example of an extremely powerful device (Snapdragon S4) with LTE and a small profile.
4″ is too small, ask your gf. It’s almost as crappy as the Iphone’s watch sized screen
Nice try but everyone doesn’t need to put a tablet sized cellphone in their pocket to have something big in their pants.
Nice try but everyone doesn’t need to put a tablet sized cellphone in their pocket to have something big in their pants.
I’ve tried the 4.0 screens. They’re still too small for my eyes which apparently this year decided to age 10 years. Now when I look at 3.5″ phones I think “how the heck did I not cause brain seizures to myself for looking at that tiny screen”. The GN’s size is fine for me atm. No more headaches from eye strain and no more swiping the phone back and forth to read an article. But like the others say, there are choices for just about every .2 inches for you to choose from. To say “I’m running back to iphone5 if google doesn’t make a 4” phone sounds a lot like a child throwing a tantrum hoping it will take the parent’s hostage. And we all know that never works unless everybody throws the same tantrum.
You can say that but at the end of the day I’m sick of these phablet phones and Apple may end up being the only company that knows how to makes reasonably sized phone that receives updates.
I’d buy the Incredible 4G LTE but it’s MIA, not to mention it’s not a pure Google OS, I don’t like Sense, and I want to receive updates. I’m NOT buying a 4.8″ Nexus4.
Root the Inc 4G LTE and ROM it to a stock build. It’s not like the Verizon Galaxy Nexus has a stellar track record when it comes to updates.
a 4.5″+ screen does not make a smartphone a “phablet”. Tablets are 7″+ (and still pocketable in some pants/jackets/etc). Everyone said the 4.3″ screen on the Droid X was ridiculously large. Then they used it for more than 5 seconds, and saw the benefit of having a large, beautiful screen on a capable device. Many people are finding the same benefits and comments on the Galaxy Note. People think it’s too big until they use it for a week, then can’t imagine going without it.
Fewer and fewer phone calls are being made with smartphones. Heavy callers typically use bluetooth headsets. So why not make the device more productive for the 90% of the time you’re using the screen, as opposed to being concerned with how it looks in your skinny jeans/hand.
Sorry small screens suck so go get your new small iPhone 5 and be quiet.
Cool.
?? Does it have jellybean ??
I think it’s the first device shipping with JB.
I would imagine JB will ship late 2012 just like ICS.
I’d like to see a cellular version for an added $50. I’d definitely pay $250 if it had lte
With Verizon’s new shared plans, it would probably be a good move. Even though the plans are a joke for those of us with grandfathered unlimited, it is compelling for those with a plethora of devices. Only paying $10 a month is pretty reasonable for most people to add access to their tablet.
That benefit will likely disappear soon enough though. The same goes for Sprint’s unlimited data. It’s only a matter of time.
LOL! ya good luck with that one.
If there is a cell radio version, then you can bet any carrier will put pressure on any maker to obligate themselves to submit all ROMs, even to WiFi-only variations, for approval before release. Otherwise they end up with a lot of unapproved configurations on their network bypassing their precious SMS and protected data stream revenue streams.
My WiFi-only ThinkPad Tablet is (further) crippled by this very occurrence.
So, give me WiFi only. This is what tethering is for — especially on 7″ tablets which are probably third devices anyway. Who wants three different SIMs and three different monthly bills other than Verizon, docomo, and all the other greedy carriers?
”
Windows 8 tablets are designed to be as productive as a laptop computer”
No, not all Windows 8 tablets, only the $1000 x86 ones with poor battery life. Google’s tablet will be priced for the mass market at $200. At $200 you can just buy one out of impulse, and use it for watching videos and reading books, which is a lot more comfortable than any 10″ tablet.
how much can they cram in a 200 device?
wifi
BT
gps
FFC
dual core
1gb ram
720p
8 gb internal mem
pretty much it.
A screen would be nice. ;-)
Sorry…couldn’t resist. :p
lolcannon
Add NFC for Beam and it’s all I need…just have great battery life! Oh and expandable memory!
I’d like to see a removable battery also, and… removable fingerprints? :P
rumor specs… Can’t wait for the huge sycronized whine from everyone waiting for the io announcement only to find out the spec rumors were crap like always.
I fear a 199 tablet is going to be a shitty experience. I’m willing to pay more for a quality stock Android tablet.
Price is not the pain point. The problem has been with the disqusting form factors and non optimized performances on the likes of Samsung Galaxy Tab and Motorola Xoom not to mention the unwelcomed TouchWiz skins, etc.
C’mon, Google. Release a good quality tablet with a GOOD hardware partner, not some taiwanese company. I fear Google is going to be left far far behind in the tablet space.
Why do you guys think Microsoft chose to manufacture the hardwae of their new tablet? The main sticking point was cheap hardware and not optimized for their OS.
This is what Google needs to do and specially now that it freaking owns Motorola Mobility, I don’t see WHY THEY WOULD’NT!!
I put cyanogenmod icecream sandwich on the kindle fire (half the specs of this) and it ran buttery smooth. Only reason I sold it was to buy a nexus tablet when it launched. =D *EDIT* Just because Asus is Taiwanese doesn’t mean they suck. All my computers are ASUS. I use them to play really heavy games. My laptop is pre-built by them and I built my desktop with all ASUS parts. They are a great company.
Agreed with Seth, Asus is a good quality company. Writing them off because their Taiwanese without any other info is a bit ignorant.
I also think pricing is a key point. Kindle Fire, HP Touchpad(fire sale), Nook Colo, all cheap tablets they sold well for their time. Its not like there haven’t been good quality tablets before.
Samsung is manufacturing MS’s crappy tablets with the garbage Metro UI that everyone already hates.
Asus isn’t some ordinary run of the mill taiwanese manufacturer they made a name for themselves and put out quality products.They are only 2nd in the Android Tablet market next to Samsung has become the Number 1 android producer in regards to Phones and Tablets a like.
Beside the rumored price I’m not really seeing the advantage of a Nexus tab, I mean don’t almost all tabs come in stock honeycomb, ICS anyway.
Geez not even a 5megapixel rear camera. Lol. Fail
Ill buy it even if it has no camera at all
im looking forward this tablet in a long time but i hope they just accidentally forgot to talk about the camera it has front a 2 mp and 5 or 8mp in the back.
This will finally make the android tablet app ecosystem strong; good move google.
I wonder if a 10.1 inch model is in the works…
No back camera is disheartening but not a deal breaker. However if this thing doesn’t have at least 64gb with SD support and high resolution screen, then Google can go screw themselves
7″ sounds small. Make it 9-10″. Ship it with Jelly Bean. Sell it on Google Play and Amazon. Snapdragon S4 or bust.
I’d like to “Open Link in New Tablet” but couldn’t find IT :(