Google to release its own 7-inch Nexus tablet

The tablet war is hotting up with Google expected to release its own 7-inch tablet by mid-year at a price that will challenge major manufacturers.

According to The Verge, Google is preparing for a July release of its tablet which is likely to carry the Nexus name just like its smartphone.

The device will be made in partnership with Asus and is expected to be priced at under $US200.

The tablet war is hotting up with Google expected to release its own 7-inch tablet by mid-year at a price that will challenge major manufacturers.

According to The Verge, Google is preparing for a July release of its tablet which is likely to carry the Nexus name just like its smartphone.

The device will be made in partnership with Asus and is expected to be priced at under $US200.

This lower price will be set to challenge the successful Kindle Fire colour 7-inch tablet retails for $US199. The Kindle Fire is yet to be available to Australian customers.

The new Google Nexus tablet will run the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system with a quad core processor and will be wi-fi only.

There have also been reports the tablet may even be the first device to run the next version of Android’s operating system codenamed Jelly Bean.

Google’s other motivation in releasing the Nexus tablet is to beat a rumoured 7.85-inch iPad to market.

Whispers of Apple producing a smaller screen iPad have been circulating for some time.

The rumoured device would have a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 – the same resolution of the original iPad and the iPad 2 so apps would not need to re-scaled.

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