Google's Own Nexus Tablet Leaks Into the Wild 224
lukehopewell1 writes "Days out from Google's I/O conference, training documents have been issued to resellers all over the world detailing Google's new Nexus tablet. It's a 7-inch device with an optimized Tegra 3 chip inside and it's going to be the first device to run Jelly Bean, the new version of Android, that, among other notable features, will see Google manage device updates. The device will be priced at $US199 and is aimed as a direct competitor to Amazon's Kindle Fire."
Sad... (Score:5, Insightful)
Sad that even Google is afraid to take on the iPad in it's territory. Almost all the 10" Android tablets have seen dismal sales, HP Touchpad was sold in a firesale,
Playbook's having a tough time and Amazon and Google are forced to play in the sub $200 territory. All of these devices are oriented towards only consumption. Maybe Microsoft Surface will get traction by doubling as a device that you can actually do some light work on, but lets see what price it launches at.
Re:Sad... (Score:5, Insightful)
All tablets are "oriented towards consumption". You have neither a keyboard nor even a stylus; you have all the input capabilities of a kindergartner's finger-painting. The iPad is not an exception to this, despite the sweet-ass picture you made in that game of Draw Something.
Most people are more or less okay with this and know what they're getting into when they buy the thing. When I buy a hamburger, I don't complain that it isn't steak.
Re:Sad... (Score:2, Insightful)
And the thing is, they will fail against the Fire, too. People buy Fire because of Amazon, not Android.
Re:Sad... (Score:5, Insightful)
When I buy a hamburger, I don't complain that it isn't steak.
Exactly. When you buy a bicycle, don't complain it doesn't have A/C and triple exhaust!
People who won't buy a tablet until it has a keyboard don't actually realise what they want is a normal notebook because they can't envision the use-case for a tablet (at least until they own a decent one).
Re:Sad... (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't think it is an issue of capability. You can watch movies on all these things. You can check email and surf and post on twitter.
The problem is that there is no innovation going on here on the Android side. The Android devices all are trying to be "Well it's no an iWhatever, but it's good enough and it's a bit cheaper". Where is the 10" screen tablet at a similar price point and hardware specs? That's really all it would take, and yet we still have none.
Now a few years later we have moved on from "meh" copies of Apple to trying to copy Amazon? This doesn't make any sense to me.
People want an iPad with Android on it. That's all. It's really just that simple. Why shuffle the deck chairs? Give people what they want.
Re:Motorola? (now, was Nokia) (Score:4, Insightful)
At least you hopefully haven't bought a Nokia Lumia 900 that was just Osborned last week when Microsoft announced all current Win 7 phones on the market will not run Wp8 when it is released in the fall.
This happened the same week that Elop let go his entire 'stealth' low-cost linux-for-emerging-markets-sans-Microsoft-License project. Gotta love the guy for consistency.
But wait, current Lumia 900 owners will be able to enjoy a new Start Screen that sort of looks like a Windows 8 phone, although technically it will be known as 7.8.
Personally I am pleased as punch with my Nokia N9 that looks like a Microsoft-enabled Lumia 900 but with better hardware specs, like 64gb RAM, front-facing camera that works with Google Talk, SIP, SSH/PGP, Firefox 13, flash, Swipe (OS and) keyboard, and also its own html5 browser. Contact integration (with Google using MailForExchange gateway) in the Notification area is awesome; weather is a nice touch. It is a keeper, and thank goodness it is also durable as Hell. SportsTracker w/ bluetooth is also very good.
The Maemo guys are also supporting my N900 with regular OS updates, and the keyboard is solid. I'm invested for awhile, just sitting on the sidelines trying to get work done, (scripting via SSH FTW!).
Elop could raise a lot of cash if he'd ever sell the N950 properly, but that would be inconsistent.
Re:Sad... (Score:5, Insightful)
Most awesome typo ever.
It wasn't a typo.
In other words: wooosh!
Re:Sad... (Score:5, Insightful)
The problem is that there is no innovation going on here on the Android side. The Android devices all are trying to be "Well it's no an iWhatever, but it's good enough and it's a bit cheaper".
I'm curious what you think innovation looks like. There's a dozen form factors with focus on various improvements such as better cameras, brighter screens, longer battery life, better performance, lower prices, detachable physical keyboards with their own supplemental battery supply, SD and MicroSD card slots, USB ports, dongle-less micro HDMI ports, and more.
Where is the 10" screen tablet at a similar price point and hardware specs? That's really all it would take, and yet we still have none.
Wait, so "innovation" in your mind is "the same thing only different"? That's not innovation, that's knockoff-ism. And you're not looking very hard if you haven't found an Android tablet that offers similar specs. Transformer Prime is the same price point, with added features, better battery life, better performance, thinner, lighter, and some interesting other bonuses. Also the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is so much the same thing that Apple has been suing Samsung over it.
People want an iPad with Android on it. That's all. It's really just that simple. Why shuffle the deck chairs? Give people what they want.
And they have it several times over, plus other options that try less to be an iPad and do a commendable job of being their own thing, often for a lot cheaper.
Re:Motorola? (Score:2, Insightful)
Most apps are still written to be compatible with Android 2.2 (Gingerbread), as that's the lowest common denominator for a lot of devices in circulation. The issue isn't "users can't run the newest apps" it's rather "nobody is writing apps that take advantage of the nifty new features because then the apps won't run on everyone's phone".
In fact, I'm struggling to think of any ICS-only apps; anyone know one off the top of their head?