Google Nexus 7 in India

Google's Nexus 7 tablet has finally arrived in India. With an official announcement by its co-manufacturer Asus, the long wait of the Indians has come to an end; but not without a bit of sadness.

The 16GB version Nexus has come with a price tag of Rs. 19,999, which is a bit too high when compared to its original price in the US ($199). While there is a 32GB model, and a 3G version tablet, presently only the 16GB, Wi-Fi-only version will be available in India. This tablet would be sold at ASUS showrooms and Chroma from November 20, 2012.

Nexus 7 runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and has 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels. It weighs about 340 grams, has 1GB RAM and Tegra 3 processor. It also has a micro-USB port, a 1.2MP front camera. The battery backup is of 9.5 hours. 

There are about 675,000 apps and games, a large collection of eBooks, songs, thousands of movies and TV shows, and the latest magazines available on Google Play.

Google says, the tablet has been designed with gaming in mind.

With this tablet, one can make the best use of Google Apps like Gmail, Chrome, Google+ and Maps.

COMPETES WITH: Samsung Tab 2, Apple iPad Mini, Amazon KindleFire

Samsung Tab 2 is the immediate competitor in the Indian market, with the similar features and price range. Many people who waited for Nexus 7 since months have tweeted that they might go for Tab 2, because it has 3G.

However, with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and Tegra 3 processor, Nexus 7 gives faster performance and better touch response than the Tab 2. The Samsung device has both front a facing camera and a rear camera, while Nexus 7 has only a front facing camera of 1.3-mega pixel. 

 

The iPad mini is a bigger one with 7.9-inch display and has a resolution of 1024X768. It also has a 5-mp rear iSight camera.

Apple iPad Mini is yet to come to India, and the price of iPad mini Wi-Fi version would be far higher than the price of Nexus 7. The 16GB Wi-Fi version of the iPad mini is sold online for the price of about 26,990.

Amazon's Kindle Fire is not available in India, and will not be in the direct competition with Nexus 7. However, one can purchase it online.

There are many other budget tablets in the Indian market like Micromax Funbook, HCL ME, Akash and others, but we cannot compare them with the above said tablets. Nevertheless, it depends on the personal preference and usage.