New Nexus 7 to launch within weeks?


The latest rumours suggest that the new Nexus 7 tablet could launch within weeks, sometime at the end of July or beginning of August.


Tawainese supply sources that the new Nexus 7, thought to be the official name for the device, will launch within the next month co-developed by Asus and Google.


This latest leak supports the new Nexus 7 release date and specs teased by an Asus rep at the start of the month, which also suggested that the next 7-inch Google tablet would make an official appearance this month.


The second-generation Google Nexus 7 tablet will bring a 7-inch 1980 x 1200p display, boosting the 1280 x 800p resolution of the current slate.


It will include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 CPU, quite a change from the Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor used at present, but retain the same 1.2-megapixel front facing camera.


The new Nexus 7 could introduce a 5-megapixel rear camera to the device, which would be quite interesting seeing as the first generation Google slate lacked any kind of rear camera.


Alongside the latest new Nexus 7 release date leak, the Digitimes sources suggested the Google tablet will retail with an expectedly modest $199 - $229 price tag, equating to around the same prices as the current models, despite the spec bump.


The sources estimate that 8 million new Nexus 7 devices will be sold across the world this year after it launches, but could face competition from other similarly priced tablets from Lenovo, Acer and HP.


When it launched last year, the existing Google Nexus 7 shipped 6 million units because of its attractively low price, but the new Nexus 7 may not have as much success because of the increased rivalry.


The new Nexus 7 appeared online with Android 4.3 in tow last month via an FCC filing, but could easily be one of the first devices to run the eagerly anticipated Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, coupled with the Nexus 5 smartphone.


Next, read our pick of the best tablets of 2013.