back to article Asus-made Google pad set for June debut

An Asus staffer has let slip that the Taiwanese tablet maker is indeed working on a seven-incher for Google and that the gadget will be announced at the end of the month. The Android 4.1 standard bearer seems set, then, to be unveiled at Google I/O, the online advertising giant's annual technology conference, says Android …

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  1. ElNumbre
    Happy

    Hoping...

    I'm hoping it'll be a mini eee transformer, or at least have that option.

    It would also be nice to know if it will shop worldwide (ie. the UK) or if its US only like the fire.

  2. Bob H
    FAIL

    Why, oh why, do people keep making 7in tablets!

    Minimum 10in please!

    Size matters.

    1. Andrew James

      Couldn't agree more. Phones for ultimate portability, tablets for computing on a bigger screen than a phone.

      A couple of years ago carrying around a ten inch netbook was considered portable enough to take everywhere. Now all of a sudden when its less than 10mm thick and half the weight of a netbook thats no longer a portable size and people want something to fit in a pocket to be useful? Insanity.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Why is it a fail, exactly?

      the 7 inch form factor is actually quite usefull- why do you think E-book readers aren't generally 10" or more?

      and I always get a little bit of satisfaction from using my HTC Flyer on the train to read the news comfortably, holding the tablet in one hadn,whilst watching people elbowing each other with their oversized iPads.

    3. Neil Charles

      7" tablets are brilliant

      10" for the sofa, fine, but for travelling and office use my 7" HTC Flyer is perfect. Big enough for websites to be useable, to take notes and for emails to be readable, but not so big that it's awkward to carry around.

      Hopefully this tablet will have a similar effect to the Nexus phone. It's not about Google selling millions of the things, it's about setting a benchmark, which other manufacturers of Android tablets will have to match or exceed. Google will be saying to Samsung, Dell, HTC and others, "oh, ffs, do it like this..." and then standing back to watch the iPad's market share take a battering.

      1. censored

        Re: 7" tablets are brilliant

        But given the trend for phones is 4" or bigger (mines 4.7") if I'm going to invest in a tablet it needs to be a different form factor for a different job.

        10" is perfect for portability but a use that's different enough from my phone to be worthwhile

        1. Bassey

          Re: 7" tablets are brilliant

          "But given the trend for phones is 4" or bigger (mines 4.7") if I'm going to invest in a tablet it needs to be a different form factor for a different job.

          10" is perfect for portability but a use that's different enough from my phone to be worthwhile"

          But, AGAIN, not everyone is the same. Whilst, yes, top-end smartphones are increasing in size (seen a lot of Galaxy Notes about lately) there is still a big market for cheaper, smaller phones. I couldn't use one any bigger than 3.5" for various (irrelevant) reasons. So having a 3.5" smartphone plus a 7" tablet works really nicely. On the other hand, my retired dad has a nokia dumb phone for out and about and a 10" tablet for using around the home and for taking on holiday - which works really nicely. He has tried to use my 7" tablet but finds everything too small for his needs.

          Horses in corsets and all that.

        2. Neil Charles

          Re: 7" tablets are brilliant

          Smart phones are growing but it's a trend I can see going the other way in the near future for a fair number of users. I've got an HTC Desire HD but having picked up the Flyer tablet, next time around it's getting swapped for something phone sized.

          Pocket sized phone that can share its connection + 7" tablet and you've got a nice travel bundle. I'm not sure huge phones are the best of both worlds.

          No problem with any size of gadget though, I was just disputing the idea that 7" tablets aren't a really useful size.

    4. MikeyWilko
      Happy

      Although I would love to see a 10 inch version of this too, I would like to say that a lot of people (me included) like the 7 inch form. I take mine to work and use it to and from work, read pdf's in bed with it etc.. My sister has the 10 inch one that she loves but it doesn't leave her house. She's happy and I'm happy.

      All I'm saying is there is a very good reason for making 7 inch tablets: because lots of us like them. I'd love Google to produce a 10 inch one to keep everyone happy though.

    5. dotdavid
      Facepalm

      "Why, oh why, do people keep making 7in tablets!"

      Because they're selling? Or is this a trick question?

    6. ScottME

      but I don't want one measured in inches!

      What is the basis for continuing to measure displays in inches anyway? I reckon I could manage with a tablet of around 200mm - yeah, that's be about right.

      1. Synonymous Howard

        Re: but I don't want one measured in inches!

        Because metric measurements are euro-centric and smells of socialism ... Imperial(ish) measurements are what the 'merkans use. I'm of the age that continues to think in both and you probably meant to say 178mm anyway.

    7. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Size matters

      Price matters too, and 7" devices can be produced significantly cheaper than the 10" devices.

      <sarcasm>

      Why, oh why, do people keep making cars slower than Bugatti!

      Minimum 0-60 in 4 seconds please!

      Speed matters.

      </sarcasm>

      With computing devices, yes, size does matter... but not always in one way (sometimes a little smaller can be better), and not always to the exclusion of everything else (like price).

      It's a bit ridiculous to think that in a world where the average grocery store carries 30 varieties of breakfast cereal, we would only have one form factor for tablets... isn't it?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This is the tablet you are looking for.

    Decent specs. Not too naff, decent pricepoint, and unlike the Amazon one, it's got the full Android experience, not a gimped one.

    They need to do a 10in version to cover both bases, then it's job done.

  4. censored
    FAIL

    Google Mis-Step

    By launching a 7", they're not competing with the iPad. They're competing with these: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5073692.htm

    Apple have shown there is a huge market for 10" devices, and even if they came in at £250 rather than £200 Google would be massively undercutting.

  5. Pat 11

    The thing is...

    Why are phones so expensive if you can make one of these for 200 bucks? Is making it smaller and bunging in a GSM chipset really worth 2x the price?

    1. Bassey

      Re: The thing is...

      "Is making it smaller and bunging in a GSM chipset really worth 2x the price?"

      I've wondered this for ages. Phones have smaller batteries, smaller cases and smaller (albeit higher PPI) screens. From a completely uninformed viewpoint there seems to be little in it BOM-wise. The only reason I can see for certain phones costing a LOT more than tablets is the sales model. Punters spread out the cost of a phone purchase over a 24-month contract and so don't notice the cost. With tablets, the full purchase price is usually paid up front.

      As an example, I just got my Mum a Samsung Galaxy Europa (i5500). For the phone, an 8GB memory card and in in-car holder/charger it was £66 off Amazon. It is a cracking little phone. The wife has had one since September and loves it (hence Mum wanting one). How can a Galaxy III cost more than EIGHT TIMES that?

      1. Johntron

        Re: The thing is...

        I believe cell phones are also encumbered with necessary patent license fees.

  6. the-it-slayer
    Happy

    Three things...

    a) Google is too late to the party with this device.

    b) Poor spec's and low-end does not make it attractive enough for anyone to buy.

    c) It's too small. 7" tablets are not worth it and make it useful for anything productive.

    Uncomplicated common-sense really.

    1. Synonymous Howard

      Re: Three more opinions...

      a) Nope .. the market is by no means saturated yet .. billions more devices could be sold.

      b) Poor spec would be a problem .. but no one knows what the spec is yet .. so wait and see.

      c) No it is not. I have a 3.5" smartphone and a 10" ipad .. 7" would be a nice single device compromise if 3G is included.

      In consumer devices, common sense does not always apply.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How about fixing ICS on the TF101 first?

    ICS on the TF101 has been a crappy experience for the best part of 4 months now. I'd rather they fixed the problems for their existing customers who've missed a third of their warrenty period due to the software problems.

    1. dotdavid
      Angel

      Re: How about fixing ICS on the TF101 first?

      Haven't had any problems myself since the latest couple of ICS updates were sent OTA - before that I did have a random reboot issue, since resolved.

      Actually I think other manufacturers can learn a lot from Asus' update policy.

  8. Mikel

    Looking good

    7" Asus Tegra 3 Android for $200? If they don't muck up too much else, I'm in.

  9. bailey86

    APT-X

    Will it have Apt-X?

    This is surely a killer feature - CD quality music streamed to an Apt-X receiver like Creative's speakers or an Apt-x receiver/dongle plugged into your stereo.

    Creative have it on their tablets - but have disabled Market Place so that's a show stopper.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Toshiba Excite 7.7

    I'm wondering how this will be better than the Toshiba Excite 7.7, also Tegra 3, ultra slim and with surprisingly good looks too. The only downside is he $499 price tag of the Tosh.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Toshiba Excite 7.7

      Errr: I think you answered your own question - $499 vs $200

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