Google Announces Brand New Nexus 7 Priced at $229

By Jane McEntegart
published

Google has finally let the cat out of the bag.

Way, way back in April, we heard that Google planned to release a brand new Nexus 7 in July. Over the last month or so, mentions of this device have really ramped up. In fact, just this morning, Best Buy confirmed it by listing the 16 GB model for $229.99 USD on its website (opens in new tab). Tying things up in a neat little bundle, Google finally made things official this morning.

The all new Nexus 7 features a 7.02-inch 1920x1200 1080p HD display (323 ppi) with scratch-resistant Corning glass, a 1.5Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro with Adreno 320 400MHz graphics, 2 GB of RAM, a 5-megapixel camera, a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, 16 GB of storage, dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz/5GHz) 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, NFC, a 3,950 mAH battery, and Micro USB with SlimPort-enabled (meaning it can output HDMI video and audio through the microUSB port thanks to DisplayPort technology and a special microUSB-to-HDMI adapter). The whole show is running on the newest release of Android, Android 4.3.

This one is a little bit more expensive than the original Nexus 7. This morning's Best Buy listing is accurate when it comes to price as Google has priced the new Nexus 7 at $229. A 32 GB model is available for $269, while an LTE version with 32GB of storage costs $349. No word on a release date for the LTE model just yet but we'll keep you posted. The WiFi-only model is out July 30.

Jane McEntegart
13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • house70
    Wow.
    I mean, we knew this was coming. But the actual conference just ended and we already have news posted here about it. Congrats, Tom's, this is how it's done.

    Excellent tablet, too, BTW. I'll get me one.
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    The original entry-level Nexus 7 may have been only $200 but it also only had 8GB flash.

    The original 16GB model launched at $250 so this makes the v2 model $20 cheaper than the original 16GB model's launch price. Quite nice considering the display, WiFi and RAM upgrades.

    I'll have to go try it in-store to see if responsiveness and other details are enough of an improvement over my N7v1 to convince me to buy the v2.
    Reply
  • bustapr
    so, who was in charge of making this one? is it ASUS again?
    Reply
  • w8gaming
    I read from somewhere else and it is Asus who makes this device once more.
    Reply
  • darkchazz
    I'm glad they dropped the nvidia junk.
    The S4 Pro is a great upgrade. The gpu can be overclocked to 450mhz to match the Snapdragon 600.
    Reply
  • theLiminator
    Woah, that's quite the upgrade. Makes me almost regret buying the original nexus 7.
    Reply
  • virtualban
    MicroSD card slot?
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    11223782 said:
    MicroSD card slot?
    Google does not believe in SD slots. They say they make storage "too confusing" - Google says people can't figure out whether files land on internal or SD storage.

    Personally, I find Google's media library "easy" solution far more confusing and frustrating than having to use a file system browser: when I dump files on my N7 from my PC, they are already neatly organized in folders so I can easily find them (at least using Antek or other file browser) but then Google's media library indexes them based on tags and ends up presenting them in way that makes no sense to me because I never tagged the files and whatever tags are on them were set by tons of different people with their own tagging habits.

    With a file browser, there is no doubt where files landed unless you didn't pay any attention to where you dumped them. With Google though, files simply land "wherever" since Google's applications (at least those I use) have no option to have them asked where you want to save or change the name of whatever you are saving from "A9185157XBA.jpg" so something more meaningful... you need to use a file manager to find the file, rename it and move it where you would have wanted to save it in the first place. Very annoying IMO. That's my biggest pet peeve with Android in general - horribly dumbed down in many wrong places for "simplicity's sake."
    Reply
  • Lasselundberg
    it is not google who doesnt want microSD on their devices be it phones or tablets, it is manufacturor, and the companies selling them who doesnt want them !

    tablets are being sold with little profit margin, theres only a few places where this margin can be increased, microsd is one of them

    a 32 gb micro sd can be found for about 20 bucks right sometimes cheaper....by not having an external microsd slot, the makers can force you to pay 50$ more to go from 16-32gb, thats 50$ for 16 gb more memory...easy money, they also save a bit of money by not having to cut an extra hole, and mounting hardware for the microsd...maybe 1-2$ saved....they sell millions so its easy to see how why they do it

    we got two of the old nexus 7...and i will be getting this one, passing my old one down to one of my kids, its great to see they finally added hdmi functionality, which is a big deal to me
    Reply
  • house70
    11225339 said:
    it is not google who doesnt want microSD on their devices be it phones or tablets, it is manufacturor, and the companies selling them who doesnt want them !

    tablets are being sold with little profit margin, theres only a few places where this margin can be increased, microsd is one of them

    a 32 gb micro sd can be found for about 20 bucks right sometimes cheaper....by not having an external microsd slot, the makers can force you to pay 50$ more to go from 16-32gb, thats 50$ for 16 gb more memory...easy money, they also save a bit of money by not having to cut an extra hole, and mounting hardware for the microsd...maybe 1-2$ saved....they sell millions so its easy to see how why they do it

    we got two of the old nexus 7...and i will be getting this one, passing my old one down to one of my kids, its great to see they finally added hdmi functionality, which is a big deal to me

    IDK about that, Samsung still includes microSD card expansion slots in their devices, and they sell quite a bit...
    Reply