back to article Brits get to fondle Google Nexus 7 slab in just a fortnight

Now that Google is in tablets, it's clearly hoping to make its mark quickly, lining its Nexus 7 tablet up for shipping in the UK in two to three weeks. The Nexus fondleslab was spotted lurking in pre-order form on the Play store at £159 for its 8GB version, but no sign of the 16GB one yet. According to the site, the gear is …

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  1. SteveK

    "The Nexus fondleslab was spotted lurking in pre-order form on the Play store at £159 for its 8GB version, but no sign of the 16GB one yet."

    Sorry? Did you actually look? The Nexus 7 page on the UK Play store has a big button to toggle between 8Gb and 16Gb versions. £199 for the 16Gb, inc VAT but + delivery (was a tenner for the 8Gb so assume the same for 16).

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yeah, I tried to make this point too, maybe I was too blunt because I used the phrase "clicking fail", and my post seemed to vanish :)

      (This particular author doesn't seem to do very much research- maybe files from the pub on a mobile browser, and misses these details? :D)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Thumb Down

        Oi, smartarses

        There's a button for sending corrections. Did you actually look?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Probably looked it up on an Ipad with the "special" version of Safari that has subtle Google blocking to stop people suggesting tech other than Apple's to their mates who don't yet have a tablet!

    3. Cosby

      Correct Steve, I ordered the 16GB last night

  2. probedb

    "but just a 1280 x 800 HD screen and no rear camera."

    You've seen the price right?

    And the dot pitch of the screen is the same/similar to the retina display on the Macbook Pro.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "but just a 1280 x 800 HD screen and no rear camera."

      The latter being a pointless argument since you'll use a 7" tablet at much closer distance than a 15" laptop.

  3. Cuddles
    Thumb Down

    $249 = £159

    Delivery will cost a little more, but once again it's far cheaper to order from the US than to buy in the UK.

    1. vulcan

      Re: $249 = £159

      You did include duty and VAT in that price didn't you Cuddles

      1. Maxson

        Re: $249 = £159

        $199 is the £159 version.

        $199 = £128

        £128*1.2 to adjust for VAT = £153

        A 23% (20% due to VAT) or so price difference between UK and US is pretty fucking great compared to most things where it's 40-60%

        Depending on your state in America, you'll pay sales tax there too, which can bring the price in some places in the US for the 8GB version to $230 or so.

        Good deal, shame about the lack of card slot. I'd happily pay £10-20 more for a card slot on it than £40 for another 8GB of storage built in.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: $249 = £159

      At least it wasn't $249 and £249

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Touch Paper

    I can't see this taking off, people expect to pay much more for hardware and will want new Windows 8 RT and Metro.

    SB

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Touch Paper

      Ha ha good one. you are being sarcastic aren't you?

    2. This post has been deleted by its author

    3. DrXym

      Re: Touch Paper

      I don't personally like things about the tablet but I think it will offer a superlative experience within its limitations and at a price which is pretty compelling.

      Whether it sells well or not is up to Google. Previously they've sold hardware through crappy website which were hard to find and actively discouraged buyers by telling people to get lost if they were outside the sales region.

      If they want to sell the device in large quantities they'll have to sell through retail chains like Tesco. It has the qualities that would make it a great impulse buy but it needs to be seen in order to do this.

      1. Ben Tasker

        Re: Touch Paper

        @AC "people expect to pay much more for hardware and will want new Windows 8 RT and Metro."

        Almost expected to find that on Snopes.com it's so laughable!

        People wan't to spend the minimum, and it's already quite clear that almost no-one wants Metro!

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Touch Paper

          I want Metro. Have been using it since early previews and it's good. The new Start menu that is Metro is much more productive than the old style Start menu.

    4. Wild Bill
      Thumb Up

      Re: Touch Paper

      Upvoted because I can recognise sarcasm, even on the internet.

  5. Robert Caldecott

    Ordered mine already

    £159 for this is a great price - and Amazon will lose out seeing as their equivalent Fire tablet isn't even available in the UK. This is just what I have been waiting for.

    And kudos for not simply changing the $ sign to a £ when converting the price like so many other US companies do. $199 = £130 + 20% VAT = £153. Close enough.

    1. AlexQPR

      Re: Ordered mine already

      Hi Rob,

      Were you able to order this through the nexus website? or Play store? as I am currently getting a message saying this is not available in your country. This could be because I'm in the Isle of man but doubtfull.

      Alex

      1. Robert Caldecott

        Re: Ordered mine already

        I ordered it through the Play store. I'm in Wiltshire. :)

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Ordered mine already

        Not available in the Channel Islands either, not sure if this is intentional by Google or if it's the same situation as for apps published as UK only where Google does not include the Channel Islands, which whilst technically correct for the definition of the UK is not very helpful as most of the UK apps are relavent here too.

        1. AlexQPR

          Re: Ordered mine already

          re channel Islands reply.

          I note some Online retailers will be able to sell the nexus tablet online so we may have to go through those channels to get our greasy mitts on it. I think the retailers are carphone warehouse, pc world, comet & ebuyer so hopefully we will buy and get them delivered from there.

          I'm in complete agreement re; uk specific apps! Frustrating!!!

          Alex

  6. Gashead

    It's a shame it won't make the most of that enormous catalogue 2048x1536 resolution movies the fanbois slobber over.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Or those 1920x1080 movies either :(

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      What 2048x1536 resolution movies?

      There aren't any. Apple fanbois are iewing 1920x1080P SCALED up. I'd rather have 1:1 pixel mapping and no caling artefacts, even if they are almost invisible.

      1. ACcc

        Re: What 2048x1536 resolution movies?

        I refer you to the fine gentleman quoted below:

        Posted Thursday 28th June 2012 15:36 GMT

        Wild Bill

        ....I can recognise sarcasm, even on the internet.

        *sigh*

  7. sugerbear

    Too much ?

    Price point - anyone think it is too high ? At nearer to £100 it is worth it, once it starts moving up to the £200 level it is no longer such a good deal.

    I have a 7 inch android tablet that is pretty good for reading/emailing, had hdmi out, plays games etc, ok the battery isnt great but it only cost me £80 and has a micro sd card slot thrown in.

    Why include NFC then exclude a microsd slot ? No one is going to pay for stuff using NFC on this device because it isn't a wallet sized phone/card. and you can pick up a microSD card with NFC built in.

    Looks a nice display and I am sure it will be quick, just doesn't tempt me at the price.

    1. Martin Marv

      Re: Too much ?

      NFC isn't just for payments (/stealing credit card and passport details). It's also used to communicate between devices (like the new Nexus Q)

    2. dotdavid
      Thumb Up

      Re: Too much ?

      On balance I think you're right. I think Google have been pushing their own agenda a little too much with this tablet (must have NFC, must not have expandable memory) even though that might not actually tally with what people want.

      It's nice to see them pricing it at lower than the £1=$1 exchange rate that is the norm, and I bet it won't be a sales disaster being from an established brand at a reasonable price, but a lot of the cheapo Chinese tablets are very very close to this and literally half the price.

      It does absolutely kick Amazon's arse though - why buy a Kindle Fire when you can have this not-cut-down version, and run the Kindle app on it if you like?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Too much ?

        Exactly, I was considering getting a Fire and whacking ICS on it so it becomes a standard android tablet (why would I want to buy apps through amazon when i've got an android phone and already purchased apps?) there seems little point when this is the same price and faster.

        1. Dr. Mouse

          Re: Too much ?

          I have to say I agree with other comments here.

          A tablet is not as serious a device, IMHO, as a phone or laptop. A laptop needs to be able to cope with at least semi-serious work, and a phone is going to be used all the time because you have it with you anyway. I see a tablet as a bit of a toy, mostly. It can't replace a laptop as it's not capable enough, it can't replace a smart phone as it's not portable enough. It's great for ebook, watching movies or surfing on the go.

          For these tasks, an £80 tab as you can get from the likes of eBuyer/eBay etc. is more than adequate. Sure, the Nexus 7 has better CPU/GPU, and will likely be more responsive & perform better, but £80 better?

          Had they included a 3G modem and an SD slot it may have been worth it at that price. Without, I'd go for a cheaper model.

          BTW, this is the tab I'm thinking of by comparison: http://www.ebuyer.com/386278-sumvision-astro-7-tablet-pc-astro-7

          OK, the processing and graphic capabilities are much less, but it's half the price. I've seen one in action and it performs more than adequately for the sort of use I'd expect people to put it to.

          1. Afflicted.John

            Re: Too much ?

            You pays your money...

            I for one would prefer (and clearly do prefer as I just ordered a 16GB model) the IPS display with Gorilla Glass. My kids are going to go nuts playing with this thing. Tegra 3? A gaming sensation! Well, certainly daft throwaway games such as Angry Birds etc...

            Since Daddy's last Funny Computer (The HP TouchPad) died, I have been in the mood for a new Funny Computer. Looks like Google came to the rescue.

            1. Zolko Silver badge
              Thumb Up

              Re: Too much ?

              My Dell Streak (a 5 incher) died also, kids complaining. I've though about a Samsung Player 5, but this one might actually take the business. I wonder though if I'll have to do all those Angry-Birds levels again, or if the Google account will have remembered it...

              Great idea to drop the rear camera.

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Too much ?

              Giggle, the Nexus 7 is primarily designed as a "funny computer" offering decent performance and a sane price. It's a brilliant term, made me grin.

              (I hope that you and your kids have fun with it XD)

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Too much ?

            You're not just paying for hardware with these things; you're paying for future support.

            A cheapo chinese ebay knockoff will run the version of android it's currently got, if you're lucky. You may struggle to get updates because not enough people own it to support it properly (even in dev communities). A Fire / Nexus will be snapped up by enough people for it to be supported by communities as well as google / amazon (until they release a new model and refuse to support the old one).

          3. get off
            Thumb Up

            Tell me you bought this too with your Astro-tablet. Please?

            the Wifi pillow. ! No I'm not quite sure what it does yet, but I sooooooooooo want one....

            "Yea, I've got a wifi connected pillow, right"

            http://www.ebuyer.com/337259-imusic-pillow-wireless-wikiimuspilwless

            !

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Disappointing, but maybe that's good?

    I found this a bit 'meh'. It's just another 7" android tablet, nothing particularly new or interesting. The screen is ok, but could have been higher res, and the tegra 3 is a bit underpowered for graphics.

    But then again, it's a pretty solid tablet for an excellent price (and I've just seen it mentioned that google makes zero margin). If google can sort out the android tablet apps dearth then this could be a very easy recommendation. I'll give it a weak thumb up that could get a bit stiffer with app support :)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Disappointing, but maybe that's good?

      "and the tegra 3 is a bit underpowered for graphics"

      Pardon?

    2. Zolko Silver badge
      WTF?

      Re: Disappointing, but maybe that's good?

      "The screen could have been higher res"

      pardon ?

    3. Durdy

      Re: Disappointing, but maybe that's good?

      You do realise the screen res is more or less the same DPI as the new "retina" (eugh) macbook? And that graphics wise, you can't do much better than tegra 3 for ARM?

      This will be great with the inbuilt GPS and offline maps, could make a very handy satnav as well as all the other tablet functions.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Flash price

    Interesting seeing Google charging as much for extra storage as Apple:

    8GB = $50

  10. DrXym

    $49 for 8GB

    It's a nice looking tablet. It's just too bad Google cynically omitted a SD slot card so people who want more memory are compelled to pay a ludicrous $49 or more to get it. $49 for an extra 8GB is taking the piss.

    Even my el-cheapo Chinese tablet manages to include an SD slot, and a mini HDMI port in a tablet selling for $55 wholesale. If they can do it then there really is no excuse for Google or any other brand from deliberately excluding these ports for something costing a lot more money.

    So while I think the tablet looks excellent in other regards, the base model's poor 8GB storage , lack of expansion and lack of HDMI just sours the experience.

    1. Lunatik
      Megaphone

      Re: $49 for 8GB

      "Even my el-cheapo Chinese tablet manages to include an SD slot"

      Give me unified internal storage any day, the myth of SD cards being a solution to limited storage needs to end. This is one area where Apple have it right.

      The whole Apps2SD thing. Usability fail.

      Turn on? SD apps not available for x seconds after main boot.

      Remove SD Card? Apps disappear.

      Don't unmount/remove SD correctly? Files can get corrupt.

      SD fails? Tough luck, all your app config files are gone and you may not even be able to reinstall apps properly without a system reset, and we all know how much fun they are.

      Pity Google didn't see fit to offer a 64GB version out of the blocks. I'm sure one will be along at some point, even if it is on a mk2 version.

      1. Jyve
        Thumb Up

        Re: $49 for 8GB

        Read an interesting reason to exclude it was that by having it there, it opens them up to MS knocking on their door asking for royalties for FAT, something the Nook fell foul of. Not having that in reduces costs a fraction, gets people going for the bigger tablet, and stuffs MS asking for cash. It's a pain it's not there, but with that point, understandable.

        1. DrXym

          Re: $49 for 8GB

          "Read an interesting reason to exclude it was that by having it there, it opens them up to MS knocking on their door asking for royalties for FAT, something the Nook fell foul of. Not having that in reduces costs a fraction, gets people going for the bigger tablet, and stuffs MS asking for cash. It's a pain it's not there, but with that point, understandable."

          It's a fair point but if the Nexus 7 supports mass storage through USB host mode I don't see how they would be avoiding a patent by excluding SD. The device would still be capable of reading and writing FAT and possibly NTFS files.

          I still believe it's a cynical attempt to "sell up" to people - to advertise that the Nexus 7 is $199 while ensuring that most people end up spending $249 to get a model with acceptable storage. I just hope by seeding the market like this that we start seeing other tablets come along which offer those things.

      2. James Hughes 1

        Re: $49 for 8GB @lunatik

        I don't want the SD card slot for that stuff, I want it for data files (e.g. movies). And not having said SD card slot for movies means I probably won't buy one.

        All the stuff you mention is what the internal flash is for.

      3. nemo20000
        Pint

        Re: $49 for 8GB

        “Give me unified internal storage any day, the myth of SD cards being a solution to limited storage needs to end.”

        Here’s the reality of unified storage: Drunk knocks pint of beer over ‘unified’ device, all photos, videos, books, music, notes, child’s favourite drawings, game saves etc DISAPPEAR.

        The pint of beer thing just happened to the wife’s HTC Desire. She’d been hankering after an HTC One X until the moment the beer flowed and the lights went out. Fortunately the SD card from the Desire slotted right into a new Galaxy S3 and hey presto.

        ‘Unified memory’ devices are for the “it won’t happen to me” brigade, and good luck to you.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Beer

          Backup.

        2. Lunatik

          Re: $49 for 8GB

          "Here’s the reality of unified storage: Drunk knocks pint of beer over ‘unified’ device, all photos, videos, books, music, notes, child’s favourite drawings, game saves etc DISAPPEAR."

          All of this is backed up though, surely? Use something that autosyncs over wifi to networked storage when charging (plenty of options on Play), or some cloud service and you never have to worry about that.

          Understand some would want loads of media on such a device when travelling etc., but that's just not what I see the Nexus 7 being aimed at. This is for a bit of surfing on the couch or letting the kids play games on.

          If you want a full media tablet then surely something like an Archos packing an HDD is more suitable?

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