Google Nexus 7 Tablet: Should You Buy It?

Google Maps on the Google Nexus 7 tablet. (Photo : REUTERS/Stephen Lam)

New Android devices are making a dent this year in Apple's indisputable dominance in the smartphone and tablet market. First it was the Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone, and now Google is trying to vie for a piece of the tablet market with its Google Nexus 7 tablet. The Nexus 7 tablet is expected to start arriving on the doorsteps of those who preordered it through Google today, on July 16, so for those of you still undecided on buying it, let's see what the device has to offer.

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The Google Nexus 7 tablet is not meant to be a direct competitor to Apple's iPad (in fact, Apple's upcoming rumored iPad Mini would best be seen as a competitor to the Google Nexus 7). Instead, it will be smaller, and priced cheaper, starting at $199, to do battle with the Amazon Kindle Fire and even the Barnes & Noble Nook budget tablets. It will also be Google's first foray into making tablets.

The Google Nexus 7 is available for $199 for the 8 GB model, and $249 for the 16 GB model.

The Nexus 7 will have a scratch-resistant screen of a 7 inches and a display resolution of 1280 X 800 with HD capabilities. The entire device will be 198 mm long by 120 mm wide by 10.45 mm thick and weigh 340 g, making it slim and small enough for easy portable use.

It will also feature a quad-core Tegra 3 processor that should deliver up to eight hours of battery life during active use.

Google's tablet will run the latest version of the Android Jelly Bean operating system, giving it full access to and integration into Google Play for easy app purchases.

Other features include an NFC chip for wireless data sharing via Android Beam, a microphone, micro-USB port, a GPS, gyroscope, magnetometer, and accelerometer.

Microsoft is planning on releasing their own tablet, the Surface, later this year to directly compete with the Apple iPad at a higher price point. In the budget tablet market, however, the Nexus 7 is an attractive option. If you like the Android operating system, and would rather not wait until the iPad Mini introduces the Apple iOS 6 to you at a lower price, it's hard to argue with the Nexus 7 especially if you enjoy Google services such as Gmail, Google +, and Google Maps.

Are you going to buy the Google Nexus 7? Or would you rather wait for the rumored iPad Mini to come out?