New Tablet from Google and Asus Faces Delay, Pushed Back in July
Rumors of a new tablet from Google and Asus are ringing strongly in the technological world. New reports say that the said tablet's launch date will now be pushed back in July.
The rumored Google tablet is said to be a partnership between Google and Taiwan-based firm Asus. The name of the said tablet is "Nexus Tablet" and it was supposed to be in production by April and be available in stores by May. Other specifications of the tablet include having a 7-inch screen, Android 4.0 or Android ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) for its OS, and Nvidia Tegra three quad-core processor. As for its connectivity, the tablet would only be initially available via Wi-Fi -- no 4G LTE.
There are many speculations as to why the release of the Nexus Tablet was pushed back in July. Here are some of supposed reasons for the delay:
Price - There are rumors stating that the reason for the delay is because they (Google and Asus) want to lower the tablet price. The suggested price for the tablet is around US$249 but both companies want to find ways on how to lower the suggested price in order to provide a viable competition with Amazon's Kindle Fire that is priced for only US$199.
Competing Against the "mini-iPad" - Apple is supposedly coming up with a "mini-iPad" that would have a smaller screen size specifically around 7.85-inch. The new Google tablet is said to have plans to compete with this new device from Apple thus delaying the supposedly release date of the "Nexus Tablet".
New Android OS - Based on the rumored specifications about the Nexus Tablet, the OS for this tablet would be Android 4.0 or Android ICS. The delay in the supposed release date of the rumored Google tablet revealed new speculations that Google is planning to install a newer version of Android codenamed Android Jelly Bean.
Google and Asus have yet to address these rumors since both companies have not released any official statement denying or confirming these rumors. Though that is the case, many experts are expecting big things in the new Google tablet since Google is known to partner up with different companies like Samsung Electronics and Acer Inc. in order to boost the Android market not only for tablets but for smartphones as well.