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Tag: google nexus

  • More HTC Nexus 10 Rumors Surface

    More HTC Nexus 10 Rumors Surface

    Apple and Samsung still dominate the tablet segment, but Google has managed to maintain a foothold in the industry in recent years through its Nexus tablet line.

    Through multiple iterations now Google has stuck with Asus as the manufacturer for its Nexus 7 tablets, a relationship that seems to have worked out well for both companies. Current industry rumors hold that Google and Asus have teamed-up once again on an upcoming eight-inch Nexus tablet.

    Google’s larger Nexus 10 tablet, on the other hand, was manufactured by Samsung. However, it now appears Google is turning to a different manufacturer to keep its 10-inch tablet line alive.

    A new DigiTimes report this week backs up rumors last week that HTC will be making the next Nexus 10 for Google. According to the report’s unnamed “industry sources,” the news is surprising given HTC’s revenue woes in 2013. The move also seems strange given the earlier talk that HTC might abandon the tablet market as a whole.

    As DigiTimes notes, HTC was Google’s first choice of partner for the Nexus 7 as the companies had previously teamed-up on the early Nexus One Android smartphone. HTC’s refusal to work with Google on the tablet led to the successful Asus/Google partnership and it now appears that HTC wants back into the fold. Given the limited success of the Samsung/Google Nexus 10, however, HTC may be too late to the Nexus party to make any impact.

    Image via Google

  • Next Nexus Tablet Could be 8 Inches

    Rumors of Google’s Nexus tablet line have been swirling for a few weeks now, with only a few details about future devices leaking out. HTC is said to be the next partner Google has for the Nexus line, with the manufacturer developing the next Nexus 10 tablet. For its smaller Nexus tablets, however, it seems that Google is sticking with Asus.

    A new DigiTimes report today holds that Asus will again be the manufacturer behind the latest Nexus 7 – only this time it won’t feature a seven-inch screen. The report cites unnamed “Taiwan-based supply chain makers” as saying the next Google Nexus tablet will sport an eight-inch display and that the company is “very likely” to stick with Asus as a brand partner. Previous rumors had named LG as the manufacturer of an eight-inch Nexus tablet.

    According to DigiTimes’ sources, the change was made to avoid the current race-to-the-bottom price competition occurring in the seven-inch tablet segment. The size increase could also help separate the new Nexus tablet from larger smartphones, which some market watchers believe could begin cutting into the market for smaller tablets.

    This new Nexus device is reportedly coming at the end of April. The initial shipment for the tablets, according to the DigiTimes report, will be two million units. The previous version of the Nexus 7, which launched last year, sold fewer than three million units.

    Image via Google

  • Nexus Tablet Refresh Could Come in May [RUMOR]

    DitiTimes, a Taiwanese publication that covers the tech manufacturing industry in Taiwan, is reporting that the next version of Google’s Nexus 7 tablet could be coming as soon as May of 2013. Citing “sources from the upstream supply chain,” the report claims that Google is once again working with Asus on the tablet.

    The device is rumored to feature a “Full HD resolution” display and a thinner bezel around the screen. These statements are similar to the rumors surrounding a retina display version of the iPad Mini and a new, much thinner full-sized iPad. Of course, the next nexus tablet would also come with the latest version of Google’s Android operating system, and would sell for the same price as current models of the Nexus 7.

    By DigiTimes’ shipping estimates, over six million Nexus 7 devices will have been shipped by the end of this month, with the $249 32GB Wi-Fi-only version being the best-seller. DigiTimes’ sources estimated that, including the rumored next-generation Nexus 7 tablet, Google is expected to ship around 10 million of the tablets in 2013.

    (via BGR)

  • $99 Google Nexus Tablet Still Rumored For This Fall

    The rumors of a $99 Nexus tablet sound almost too good to be true. Such a device would undoubtedly prove to be popular, as the $199 Nexus 7 has already become a force in the mini-tablet market.

    Today, DigiTimes fuled the rumors by reporting again that a $99 Nexus tablet model will be out later “in the fourth quarter of 2012. It also revealed a bit about what might running be inside the tablet.

    With such a low price, it’s unsurprising that the rumored specs for the device are pretty low. The DigiTimes report quotes “Taiwan-based supply chain makers” as saying the tablet is being produced by Quanta Computer, the largest manufacturer of notebook computers in the world. The device reportedly has an ARM single-core 8950 processor and a “HUVA TN” touchscreen panel.

    These low-price tablet rumors are circulating at the same time that photos of upcoming Nexus phones, such as LG’s “Optimus Nexus,” and news of a 10-inch Samsung Nexus tablet are leaking. It appears that Google is following through with its plan to take a more active role in the hardware its Android platform is running. That’s good, since manufacturers and mobile carriers have been agonizingly slow in issuing updates to their devices, which are often shipped loaded with unnecessary UI changes and crapware.

  • Is Sony Making A Nexus Phone For Google?

    Is Sony Making A Nexus Phone For Google?

    UPDATE: Turns out the Sony Nexus X was a fake. Bummer, I know.

    Thanks to a photo leak, we know that LG is making Google’s next Nexus smartphone. The leaked photos are looking pretty sleek, but could Google have another Nexus phone up its sleeve?

    Another leak hit the Internet this weekend with pictures of a rumored Nexus phone from Sony. It’s called the Nexus X, and it looks a lot like Sony’s current line of Xperia Smartphones. Check out the first images below:

    Sony Nexus X Google

    Sony Nexus X Google

    At the moment, nobody can decide if the rumored device is real. There are people in both camps pointing to reasons why it may or may not be fake. The biggest tip that this may be fake is that it doesn’t have the Xperia branding anywhere on the phone. Of course, the Xperia branding could be omitted in this case as the Google branding would take center stage.

    Traditionally, Google has only released one Nexus smartphone at a time. Could this be the year that Google throws their full weight into the smartphone market with attractively priced Nexus smartphones built by the best and brightest manufacturers out there? I certainly would buy Sony hardware insured by Google. It would help us avoid Sony’s nasty habit of promising software updates and reneging on that promise at the last minute.

    [h/t: Xperia blog]

  • Google Tablet Details Leaked: Nexus 7

    Google Tablet Details Leaked: Nexus 7

    Gizmodo Australia has uncovered a training document that details the exact specifications of the new Google Nexus 7 tablet, and how much it is going to cost. The news comes ahead of the I/O developers conference which starts tomorrow. Gizmodo made the discovery late yesterday, so a one or two day heads up is all you’re going to get on this leak, but its still good to stay ahead of the game.

    The tablet will be called the Nexus 7 and will be built by Asus. It will include a 1.3Ghz quad-core Tegra 3 processor, a GeForce 12-core GPU and 1GB of RAM. You will have two different storage options with 8GB and 16 GB releases.

    Nexus 7 will feature NFC and run Google Wallet (though probably not in the US, because we’re way behind on mobile payment technology) and Android Beam.

    The screen is an IPS display with a 178-degree viewing angle and will have a resolution of 1280 by 800. It will include a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera and a battery life of 9 hours of continuos usage.

    The 8GB model will sell for $200 and the 16GB will cost $250.

    It will be the first to run on Jelly Bean, the newest version of Android. Google will also handle all updates for the device, but it is unclear if that will apply to all Jelly Bean deices or just the Nexus 7. We will probably find that out tomorrow at I/O.

    No release date was given on the document, but tech blogs are reporting that it wil likely be in July. Then again they might surprise us like Apple did at their conference, and have them ready to ship immediately after the announcement.

  • Asus Confirms New Google Tablet On the Way

    For a few months now there have been rumors that Asus and Google will be releasing a 7-inch Nexus tablet at the upcoming Google I/O conference. Now a report from Android Authority is confirming that the rumors are true. They sat down with an Asus executive over the weekend, and he said that the Google tablet does, in fact, exist. On top of that, he confirmed that it would be available by the end of June.

    This really does seem to indicate that the rumors of the I/O conference unveiling are also true. The San Francisco conference wraps up at the end of June, so this can be the only logical conclusion.

    Late last week, a few shots of the rumored tablet were supposedly leaked. The tablet is said to have a 7 inch screen and will run on a quad core Tegra 3 processor with 1 gigabyte of RAM. The pictures also revealed a forward facing camera and what appears to be an earpiece similar to a smartphone.

    Early rumors also pointed to the possibility of it running on Android 5.0 Jellybean. Later reports are saying that that is false, and it will run on Android 4.1 OS. So the operating system doesn’t appear to be getting a complete overhall, but expect to see quite a few changes to the 4.1 OS.

    According to Android Authority, ASUS is also in talks with carriers to bring the Padfone to the United States. So far, they all hate it (free data), but AT&T may be willing to give it a try. According to the source, this front is moving slowly.

  • Google Nexus Android Tablet Leaked

    Google Nexus Android Tablet Leaked

    Phone Arena has caught a Nexus Android Tablet in the wild. The rumored tablet is supposedly a collaboration between Asus and Google. So far they have done good to keep it out of the hands of the media, until now. Many think it will be officially revealed at the company developer’s conference June 27.

    The tablet is rumored to have a 7 inch screen and an updated version of Android software to run on. It is expected to cost around $250 dollars, putting it in direct competition with the Samsung Galaxy Note and the Kindle Fire.

    You may have noticed at least one oddity about the leaked photos. They appear to have an ear piece slit on the top of the device. It Google really making a tablet phone? Samsung tested these waters by offering the Galaxy note, a device that lands somewhere in between tab and phone, but it will be strange to see a full on tab that doubles as a phone.

    The casing also appears to have a place for a video camera to be placed, so they could be going for the video chat approach. Still, one might be reluctant to carry a phone the size of a tablet around with them all day.

    The anonymous tipster at Phone Arena claims that the device will include a quad core Tegra 3 CPU and will be updated to Android 4.1 OS. Early rumors said that it was going to be outfitted with Android 5.0 Jelly Bean, but the tipster says that is not the case. It will also have a Gig of RAM under the hood.

    [ht: Business Insider]

  • Google May Debut a 7-Inch Nexus Tablet at Google I/O

    Tickets for the Google I/O Conference sold out in just 20 minutes. One of the reasons for the event’s huge popularity is Google’s propensity to make make paying for tickets worthwhile by handing out cutting-edge technology to developer attendees. With that in mind, rumors that Google might reveal their 7-inch Nexus tablet at the conference should drive attending developers wild with anticipation.

    The report of the Nexus tablet comes from TechnoBuffalo, which cites a “trusted source” as stating Google and Asus have created Google’s first entry into the mini-tablet market. They state that the tablet will have a 7-inch screen, run on a NVIDIA quad-core Tegra 3 processor, and will be debuted at Google I/O. The site also speculates that the tablet will only cost $200, which is still based on previous rumors about the device.

    With the Kindle Fire on fire and Apple set to release its own iPad Mini before the end of the year, it was inevitable that Android tablets would begin to inhabit mini-tablet market. Actually, Amazon’s Kindle Fire is technically an Android tablet, though the OS has been heavily modified. A Google Nexus branded tablet will, presumably, show off what a mini-tablet with a pure Android OS can be.

    (TechnoBuffalo via Gizmodo)

  • Google to Expand Its Android Nexus Lineup

    Until now, Google has chosen one manufacturer to collaborate with and create a spec phone for new versions of Android. In 2010, HTC and Google created the first of these smartphones, the Nexus One. For the next two years Samsung was the chosen manufacturer, creating the Nexus S and the new Galaxy Nexus. These phones were often then only devices with the newest version of Android for months before other manufacturers got around to releasing their modified versions of the updates.

    Now, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google will be working with multiple manufacturers to create Nexus-branded devices. The Journal cites a “person familiar with the matter” as saying Google will “work with as many as five manufacturers at a time to create a portfolio” of Nexus-branded smartphones and tablets. Also, Google will sell the devices through its website and, possibly, through retailers. The first Nexus phone, the Nexus One, was sold through Google’s website, but, despite high expectations, sales were poor. Google quickly abandoned the web-sales model and embraced retailers.

    The reasons for this new approach to Android are clear from Google’s end. Though Android is open-sourced to give manufacturers room to modify the operating system for their needs, the clean installs of Android that come on Nexus devices are generally regarded as a better user experience. The changes that manufacturers make are, more often than not, implemented to limit the Android OS in some way, or simply to differentiate the aesthetic look of a manufacturer’s phones. By creating Nexus devices with every manufacturer, Google will be giving more consumers the choice of a pure Android experience. By allowing more customers to see pure Android in action, manufacturers will have a harder time convincing them that their crippled, out-of-date versions of the OS are acceptable. It will also encourage smartphone makers to update their non-Nexus phones in a more timely manner.

    Given the rumors that Samsung may be creating its own smartphone operating system, it’s certain that Google wants to keep control of the Android ecosystem it created. To do that, it will have to foster competition between Android device makers, and giving all major manufactures early access to Android updates is a great way to do that. Allowing Samsung to run away with the market and re-brand itself and the only “real” competitor to Apple could mean the death of the real Android.

    To begin this process, Google is already selling the latest Nexus smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, in the Google Play store. The phone is sold unlocked and is available for $400.

    (via The Wall Street Journal)

  • Google’s Nexus Tablet May Prompt Competitors to Cut Prices

    With Google’s rumored $199 Nexus tablet possibly entering the market in 2012, other entry-level tablet vendors might be pressured to lower their prices.

    Google has reportedly paired up with Asus to manufacture a device that will go up against Amazon’s Kindle Fire – but might also pressure other companies like Acer, Lenovo and Samsung to lower their prices. On average, the gross margin of tablets is about 10 to 15%, but with general price drops and manufacturing component price increases, gross margins are expected to rapidly decline. This would force manufacturers to compete over narrowing profits.

    The Google Nexus tablet is alleged to go into production around April, and might ship in June. Google’s annual I/O Conference takes place on June 27th, a forum where the tablet might be officially unveiled.

    In related news, it has been reported that Amazon might release three new versions of its Kindle Fire this year – two new 7-inch models and one 8.9-inch model.