Google Nexus 8 Tablet May Have Intel Inside

By Kevin Parrish
published

More insider talk in the supply chain.

Unnamed sources from the upstream supply chain report that Google will likely enter the 8-inch tablet market in mid-2014. That's around the same time frame Google unleashed the second generation Nexus 7 tablet last year: July 2013.

Does that mean Google won't produce a third generation Nexus 7? Sources claim that the current model has experienced less of a demand compared to the first-generation model, which saw the better half of six million units sold. That low demand is partially due to the actual price tag, which is more than a number of other 7-inch models on the market.

As it stands now, the Nexus 8 may use Intel's Bay Trail-T platform, although Qualcomm is said to be fighting to be the SoC provider. Sources also said that Asus will likely be the R&D partner for this project mostly because the company already has a working relationship with Google. Additional details are expected to be revealed sometime after MWC 2014 next month.

Google "accidentally" revealed its 8-inch tablet back in November. When scrolling halfway down the Apps and Entertainment page, visitors can see a woman smiling down at a tablet in her hands. This device does not appear to be the most recent Nexus 7 tablet nor the Samsung Nexus 10 tablet, but an unannounced device in-between those sizes sporting Android 4.4 "KitKat."

Given that Google has a 7-inch and 10-inch tablet, why bother with an 8-inch model? Because the device would compete directly with Apple's iPad mini and Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 tablet. And given that the Nexus 10 has a starting price of $399, the 8-inch model could possibly undercut both competing tablets in price.

16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • de5_Roy
    intel may have paid google to put bay trail soc in that nexus, part of intel's glorious new plan to pay major players in tablets to implement intel silicon.
    Reply
  • vmem
    "That low demand is partially due to the actual price tag, which is more than a number of other 7-inch models on the market."Someday, consumers will understand that tablets are not all made equal. the Nexus 7 2013 is still the best 7-inch tablet in terms of specs and price. there are apps that you just can't run on the lower end ones...
    Reply
  • ddpruitt
    "That low demand is partially due to the actual price tag, which is more than a number of other 7-inch models on the market."Someday, consumers will understand that tablets are not all made equal. the Nexus 7 2013 is still the best 7-inch tablet in terms of specs and price. there are apps that you just can't run on the lower end ones...
    Yes but a good enough lower end device will always outsell the best high end device if they're priced as such. Just look at what happened with the iPhone. The original Nexus 7 sold well because it was one of the cheapest 7" tablets available when it first came out. Nexus devices are starting to price themselves into the high end niche market, just watch.
    Reply
  • airplanegeek
    all dem "accidental" leaks...
    Reply
  • vmem
    12514167 said:
    "That low demand is partially due to the actual price tag, which is more than a number of other 7-inch models on the market."Someday, consumers will understand that tablets are not all made equal. the Nexus 7 2013 is still the best 7-inch tablet in terms of specs and price. there are apps that you just can't run on the lower end ones...
    Yes but a good enough lower end device will always outsell the best high end device if they're priced as such. Just look at what happened with the iPhone. The original Nexus 7 sold well because it was one of the cheapest 7" tablets available when it first came out. Nexus devices are starting to price themselves into the high end niche market, just watch.

    Oh I believe it, trust me. I guess I'm just surprised that the average consumer sees it that way, while they certainly don't seem to mind spending money on overpriced and under-powered samsung products (the galaxy tabs, not the phones). Google promises update support for Nexus devices for a minimum of two years. this would only work for a 'high-end' device in this rapidly evolving mobile market.

    My problem is with the consumer who buys a $50 7-inch tablet, then complains that half of the apps his friends have won't run on it... the same consumer may proceed to find out that he bought his tablet on a 'limited time SALE, all sales are final' event where he can't get his $50 back -_-
    Reply
  • Mike Friesen
    Quote: "the current model has experienced less of a demand compared to the first-generation model, which saw the better half of six million units sold"It might just be me, but this sentence is confusing. Did the original sell a little over 3 million? Close to six million? Or was the total between the two versions six million, and the original sold more than half?
    Reply
  • danwat1234
    Wonder If I can run some x86 programs on it
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    12516010 said:
    Google promises update support for Nexus devices for a minimum of two years.
    The official support window for Nexus devices is 18 months from launch.
    https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/3507867
    Reply
  • bebangs
    demand is partially due to the actual price tag

    Reasoning for Me and friends is microSD slot. Just take a look at all the reviews, the nexus is not perfect because there's no microSD.

    Give us microSD slot! with low pricetag and this will be perfect.
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    12518952 said:
    Give us microSD slot! with low pricetag and this will be perfect.
    I have owned three N7v2 and tried three more in-store. I have found at least one show-stopping problem (something that I would not tolerate on a $200+ device) on all of them. All of them had touch screen issues ranging from chronic ghost touches to touches failing to register or sticking, all of them were crashing far more frequently than my N7v1 did, two of them had rear camera issues, one of them (the third) had chronic freeze/restart issues (it would randomly lock up for several seconds or show a corrupted screen then shut down or reboot - and this could occur even while the tablet was cold/idle on the home or daydream screen), most of them had trouble locking on GPS satellites, the USB connector on all three I owned was too loose to provide a reliable PC connection for transferring files, etc.

    When you get six out of six unacceptable/defective devices in a row from different sources, confidence in the product goes pretty far down the drain. Many people on Google's Nexus 7 forum were reporting similar experiences of going through 3-6 devices to get a seemingly flawless unit and some of them posted again a few weeks later reporting that their "flawless" units started exhibiting signs of one or more common defects.

    Those threads died out about two months ago; not sure if that is because people gave up or problems got solved. Many people were hoping 4.4 would solve the N7v2's many issues but initial reports were mixed bags of fixed and worse. During boxing day, I tried N7v2 demo units running 4.4.x in three different stores and they seemed to still have the same issues they had back in August so I decided to give up on the N7v2.

    The N7v2 has nice specs but seems to have significant QA issues.
    Reply