Over the last five months, Google has outed two Android "Jelly Bean" tablets: the 7-inch Tegra 3-powered Nexus 7, and the 10-inch Exynos 5-powered Nexus 10. What we have yet to see thus far are additional accessories from Google outside an additional charger, and the three colorful covers for the Nexus 7. Even the Asus Dock has yet to appear in the States despite teasing customers with brief appearances overseas.
That may be about to change. Android Police has apprehended new information about the Asus dock, reporting that the accessory has been spotted on B&H Photo & Video as a pre-order item for $39.99. The product is expected to become available on December 30, and will merely feature a microUSB port and a 3.5-mm audio jack.
When held vertically, the tablet's four POGO pins are located on the bottom left whereas the microUSB port for charging resides at the very bottom edge of the tablet. Two pins are supposedly dedicated for audio whereas the other two are dedicated to charging and ground. Thus, when the tablet is seated horizontally in the dock, as seen above, audio is pumped through the pins and the tablet is recharged without having a USB cable poking out the right side.
However, for those hoping that Asus or Google would produce a dock to make up for a lack of HDMI output on the Nexus 7, that's not going to happen. What you'll get is a charging dock angled perfectly for hands-free movie and photo viewing, browsing, email checking and social lurking. If anything, you can pair a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, and have a pretend 7-inch Android-based AIO device.
To reserve your Asus dock, remember to check back here before the New Year arrives.
