In a highly anticipated press event this afternoon, Google unveiled their new Nexus 7, the latest tablet in the series. Along with this came the announcement of Chromecast and Android 4.3.
The big news of the day was obviously the Nexus 7, a thinner and faster version of the 2012 Nexus 7 release. At 7″ inches, the display was an expected size, as was the upgrade to HD with a 1920 x 1200 capability.It even boasts an impressive 323 ppi rate.
It is very lightweight and the design is sleek, and it has a dual camera system this time around. Unfortunately, the cameras are still nothing special, but yet are still on par with other devices: 5 megapixels on the back, 1.2 megapixels on the front.
Other upgrades include a 1.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processing chip, double the memory with 2GB, and dual stereo speakers with digital surround sound. Add that to the improved display and it really ups the ante for streaming video.
The battery life looks pretty standard for most high end tablets these days. They say to expect nine hours for video playback, ten for regular use and browsing. I always suggest being conservative with battery estimations, especially after time begins to drain its charge.
Available for preorder right now, you can choose from 16GB Wi-Fi ($229), 32GB Wi-Fi ($269 ), or 32GB 4G LTE ($349). It ships at the end of July.
But that isn’t all that was announced. The latest Nexus 7 will have the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system. According to press that was at the event and tried out the tablet, it seems much faster and more intuitive than the last generation.
Then we have Chromecast. This is a little device you plug into the HDMI connector of your television. It will then sync up devices such as your phone, tablet and computer, making it easier to share and stream content between all of it. You can even use your devices as a mobile control, changing what is playing, adjusting volume, and turning it on and off.
YouTube will now have a “Cast” button to push the content through your account to your television. It only costs $35 and comes with three months of Netflix access. That is actually a pretty good deal, as long as you already have Google devices in your home. It is definitely a more interesting and affordable approach to integration that won’t require you to own a Smart TV.
Source: Google Play