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  • I’m just going to wait for Transformer TF700 if Google doesn’t announce a 10 inch version of this

    • Honestly, the tablet seems to encourage people to shut out the world around them and stare at a screen when using it “around town”. The best parts about the tablet are media playback, and viewing multiple widgets for better efficiency. While I’m walking around I don’t need that; I just need to have my phone give me some information and put it away.

      The tablet could be useful in an office environment , but i have quick access to things on my PC there. At home, I also have a PC with a bigger screen. Currently I also have a 10.1 Prime that acts as a netbook. The 10.1″ screen is better for home use because it’s obviously bigger and you don’t need the portability of a 7″. The 10.1″ with the dock provides a better typing service and longer battery life as well as a “stand”.

      The place that I find true usefulness with a 7″ tablet is in the car. You could use it as a head unit of sorts. The 10.1″ in a car is a little big, and the phone can be a little small. It would be good to un dock it and use it for entertainment purposes on the road. If you had a boat, it could easily transfer to a dock there as well. However, these uses are very limited, and currently do not entice me to get a 7″ tablet. However, a $200 Nexus tablet may change my mind in the future after a price drop.

  • Nexus 7 makes sense because the term “Nexus” is from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (The book Blade Runner is based on). In the book, the main series of robots are called the Nexus 6. So the Nexus 7 would be the next generation after them.

    • the Nexus 6 was also indistinguishable from humans. My GNex doesn’t look like me. :p

      • Or maybe, that phone in your pocket is not really the Galaxy Nexus, it’s a replicant and the real G-Nex is watching you from the shadows!!!!! Trololololo.

    • or it could be the same naming scheme that Samsung uses on its tablets.

      Nexus 7 = 7″ screen or 7″ tablet

  • This would be great. A tablet that I could take everywhere (more places than my transformer!). it would be cool to see lots of people buy one but id be happy with just one.

  • I’m guessing the rumors for JB being a tablet focused OS could have merit. I mean..OEMs are just BARELY getting their first wave (a few phones/tablets) of updates ready for ICS. How on Earth can Google expect anyone to get JB on anything any time soon? I guess Google I/O will explain.

    I hope.

  • To everyone crying about the screen size/ resolution, quit bitching already. Do you people not realize that this first tablet is a “test”. If this one sells well, and it will, there will be a Nexus 10 which will boast a high resolution and more beastly specs im sure. And it will cost $400.

    Be patient and stop your bitching and try to understand that google knows what the hell they are doing, otherwise they wouldnt be so rich and powerful.

  • It makes total sense for it to be 4.1 and not 5.0. Why do we need a drastic change so fast? We dont.

    Also, im very satisfied with these specs and the name itself, im ready to buy my first tablet!!

    • I made the jump to the Xoom, it’s pretty solid and I can pop in my phone SIM if I want data.

  • for a 7 inch screen 768 X 1280 will be fine, if they make a 10in version then make it 1080 X 1920 but going as far as apple is kinda stupid wasting all that horse power just to run a super high res screen when it could be doing something useful. that’s my 2 cents Google hurry up and take my money !!!!

  • you can’t really go wrong with a Tegra 3 tab for $200. I’d probably rather it had ICS unless JB is fully polished, which if ICS’ debut was any indication; it isn’t.

    • hmm…what about ICS was not polished? I’m curious?

      I have the Galaxy Nexus, the flagship device for ICS, and I think it’s quite polished actually. Probably the most polished version of Android ever released.

      4.1 will be incremental, which probably means it will be even more polish to ICS and not so much anything hugely drastic. A fit and finish update to ICS.

      • so do I, and perhaps you noticed that there had to be a major update as soon as you turned on the phone out of the box and unrooted ppl have been waiting for 4.0.4 to fix a lot of other annoying bugs. 4.0.4 is VERY polished.

  • A $200 Nexus Tablet being the only device running Jellybean could fly off the shelves. I would buy one.

  • I want to buy a 7inch tablet. my xoom is just too big to hold one-handed comfortably. (i love having school books on it though), but a 7incher would be just the perfect size for reading.

      • Bionic is 100% right. 90% of the 7″ Android tablets still have 1024×600 screens. Heck, some like Dell’s Streak 7, are still just 800×480. 1280×800 is still the de facto Android tablet resolution and is perfect for that size. I’m more concerned about the quality of the actual panel and how much internal storage it’ll have.

    • there’s a phone number you can call and give Google customer feedback on future device.

      (888) – 922-2222

  • 4.1 already? when 4.0 is on like 6% of all android??
    mmm I guess no one will get 4.1 til like 2013.

    • So, what should Google do? Sit and wait until all OEMs upgrade devices to 4.0 and then start working on 4.1? Google is working on Android, releasing new versions. OEMs are upgrading (or not upgrading) devices. This is how Android works, for better or for worse.

  • I will buy this Id never by an ipad. this will be a much better option and all this for a great price! google will crush the competition and this will get key lime pie! please take my money

  • I’d definitely like to see a higher definition screen and access to LTE. These two features are what keep me on the iPad rather than my Transformer Prime.

  • Duh? Of course Jelly Bean will be an incremental update. Jelly Bean was never going to be version 5. The only reason it will have a name (Remember that Honeycomb was versions 3.0-3.2) is because it will most likely have Google Assistant integration, a gamecenter of sorts, the ability to pair with Google Glass, and even more cloud-based features. Those may be the tip of the iceberg, but those seem pretty astounding as an update, but nothing revolutionary as far as UI is concerned, which is why Honeycomb and ICS both got new version numbers (3 and 4 respectively). And a 7 inch tablet would be perfect to introduce 4.1 because it is in between a 4 inch phone and a 10 inch tablet. Plus this would also be a good time for Google to make the statement that they are now a Hardware company (ish) as well as a software company. Starting a line of Google (stock) devices is the best idea that they have had. But will the US carriers *cough cough* Verizon *cough cough* be supportive of this bold new move? We will have to wait and see. Until then, I can’t wait to see what is going to be unveiled at Google IO this year 🙂

    • I was surprised that even Droid-Life had been referring to Jelly Bean as 5.0. It doesn’t coincide with Google’s history of versioning Android. 4.1 made a lot more sense and I called that out when Jelly Bean was rumored to be released as 5.0.

  • Bad choice! 7 inches and just 1280×768 and that too with the less-desirable Tegra3. Look at the performance! Google shoulv’e gone with S4/Pro or the new Exynos.

  • I hope a 10 inch version comes out as well. I’m thinking of getting a tablet this summer.

      • Agreed with both of you. I’ve heard iPhone/iPad called a ‘consumption device’, which I cannot agree with more. They are mostly made to watch and be seen, where as Android has always felt like the platform of choice to do things on. A 7″ tablet is great for something like the Fire, which is an Android consumption device, but for productivity, I would find a 10″ much more useful.

        • But wouldn’t a 10″ device cost more than $200, i think their motive is to compete against the fire seeing that their is a market for it after seeing how many amazon has sold with its limited device and figured they could do a lot better for the same price. But I agree, i’d rather have a 10 inch tab or something similar to the padfone where i can just plug my phone into a tablet, but make it universal for a group of phones to be used with.

          • Well, yea, it would cost more. Maybe 300-350-ish. It’s just that the 7″ has limited usefulness, especially with all the very large Android phones out there. It makes sense for Apple to have an in-between device, but I’m worried Google may be making a mistake here.

    • That’s why I bought an LTE Xoom on eBay. Dev community is solid and I can pop in my phone SIM if I want to use 3G/4G.

  • I don’t like that resolution…. Or that 4.1 is coming so soon!!! C’mon Google don’t do this please.

  • I heard from some testers that had 4.1 on the Galaxy Nexus (before it was even released on Verizon) that 4.1 will include a feature related to Android @ Home and that new USB api they showed off at IO last year. It wasn’t included in ICS though for some reason. My guess is they will show off the final version at IO this year and roll it out to Nexus devices as soon as its released (with Verizon/Sprint following shortly after)

  • I dont know if i like the 7inch screen, whats the point? the notes screen is almost that big, its needs to have a 10.1 atleast, or whats the point of having somthing slightly bigger than my phone?

  • If it’s 4.1 it would make sense that it is incremental and that 5.0 would possibly be debuted at sometime in the fall with the next wave of Nexus devices. Dunno, a lot of speculation!

  • Froyo > Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich > Jelly Bean will probably be similar. Not major UI overhaul, just a few new features and lots of fixes.

    • Eclair 2.1 to Froyo 2.2 (no big changes in UI, just features)

      Froyo 2.2 to Gingerbread 2.3 (some UI changes and features)

      Gingerbread 2.3 to ICS 4.0 (Major UI changes and features)

      ICS 4.0 to Jelly Bean 4.1 (some UI changes likely and new features are a given)

      I left out Honeycomb because Google itself admitted it was a rushed version of Android for tablets and strictly only for tablets.

      But if you look at the version numbers, they indicate how big the update could be, usually a small number jump isn’t a major update, but if its something along the lines of going from 2.3 to 4.0 (imagine 3.0 as the latest version for Gingerbread but it wasn’t).

      I doubt we will see major upgrades to the OS before 5.0

  • Expect this to launch with 4.1, but I expect it to be a major update to ICS with Jelly Bean coming later in the year as 5.0

  • We need to know more information before saying we’ll buy it. More than likely I’ll still buy it anyways given the price.

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