Google's first Nexus-branded tablet is a
compelling device offered at an aggressive price point — a combination
that could make the Nexus 7 a fierce competitor to Amazon's Kindle
lineup, though it won't likely have much of an effect on Apple's
current, larger iPad.
Starting at just $199 for the 8-gigabyte model, going up to $249 for double the capacity, the Nexus 7 is clearly an aggressive effort by Google to push Android in the tablet space and an attempt to counter Amazon's Kindle Fire. Google has good reason to go after the Kindle Fire: Amazon's own touchscreen tablet, released less than a year ago, essentially hijacked Google's work on the Android platform to make its own forked tablet operating system.
In countering the Kindle Fire, Google's Nexus 7 is an indisputable success. While the $199 price point was essentially the main selling point for the slow and limited Kindle Fire, the Nexus 7 would be a compelling device for consumers looking for a 7-inch tablet at prices much higher than the $199 Google is asking. Unlike the Kindle Fire, the Nexus 7 has adequate horsepower to do most of the activities users have come to expect with a tablet.
But because of its smaller screen — particularly its narrow width when used in portrait mode, which is the default orientation — the Nexus 7 feels like a device that is better suited for reading e-books or light Web browsing. The device's form factor, combined with a relative lack of enticing tablet-specific applications for Android, simply puts it in a different class of device — and an entirely different market segment — than Apple's market leading iPad.
Starting at just $199 for the 8-gigabyte model, going up to $249 for double the capacity, the Nexus 7 is clearly an aggressive effort by Google to push Android in the tablet space and an attempt to counter Amazon's Kindle Fire. Google has good reason to go after the Kindle Fire: Amazon's own touchscreen tablet, released less than a year ago, essentially hijacked Google's work on the Android platform to make its own forked tablet operating system.
In countering the Kindle Fire, Google's Nexus 7 is an indisputable success. While the $199 price point was essentially the main selling point for the slow and limited Kindle Fire, the Nexus 7 would be a compelling device for consumers looking for a 7-inch tablet at prices much higher than the $199 Google is asking. Unlike the Kindle Fire, the Nexus 7 has adequate horsepower to do most of the activities users have come to expect with a tablet.
But because of its smaller screen — particularly its narrow width when used in portrait mode, which is the default orientation — the Nexus 7 feels like a device that is better suited for reading e-books or light Web browsing. The device's form factor, combined with a relative lack of enticing tablet-specific applications for Android, simply puts it in a different class of device — and an entirely different market segment — than Apple's market leading iPad.
No comments:
Post a Comment