Google’s second-generation Nexus 7 tablet will launch “around July,” powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors, Reuters reports. The device will reportedly push Google deeper into the “cut-price” hardware market with yet another aggressive pricing strategy, competing with other affordable tablets like the Amazon Kindle Fire.
The Nexus 7 has spontaneously appeared on the Google Play store in India, without any official announcement from Google. You can purchase the 7-inch slate for Rs. 15,999 (about $290), with shipping expected to take place by April 5.
Asus could be gearing up to launch a second-generation Nexus 7 tablet in the coming months, according to sources in the company’s “upstream supply chain,” who also claim that the device will be followed by a new Intel-powered smartphone. Asus has already announced a number of new devices this year, but it seems it is nowhere near finished just yet.
Cheap Android tablets are stealing the iPad’s market share.
Even though Apple had a head start on tablets with the iPad, the number of Android tablets in use is expected to pass the iPad later this year.
According to a new report from IDC, the iPad’s marketshare will decrease in 2013 from 51%, down to 46%, while Android grows its marketshare to 49%.
The Asus Transformer Pad TF300 will become the first non-Nexus device to be upgraded to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Asus has announced that the update is rolling out over-the-air to users in the United States today, while those in other regions should start receiving it by the end of the month.
