Google’s Nexus 7, seven inches of perfection? Photo credit: Mackarus http://flic.kr/p/7C2Mdh
The background
Google has halted new orders for its 16GB Nexus 7 after it was surprised by demand for the seven-inch tablet, the internet search giant’s first tablet. Sources close to Google told The Guardian that the firm “seriously underestimated” the demand for the 16GB version of its 7 inch Nexus 7 tablet, which has sold out widely. Demand for the smaller 8GB version “remains comparatively low,” reported the newspaper. The Nexus 7 is Google’s competitor to Apple’s iPad (10 inches) and Amazon’s Kindle Touch.
The larger Nexus 7 costs £199 compared with £159 for the smaller version of the tablet. The 8GB version is only being sold through Google’s own Google Play store, rather than physical retailers, noted The Guardian, “but online buyers appear to have shunned it, surprising Google, which had thought that the cheaper version, despite having only half as much storage, would sell better than it has.”
Nexus 7 buzz is understandable (it’s great and affordable)
In their 2 July review of the tablet, Gizmodo raved about the new tablet, and said “it’s like the iPad, if the iPad cost half as much and ran Android.” “You can argue that the iPad is a better tablet, but is it really £200 better?” questioned Gizmodo. “As useful as tablets are, they’re still kind of luxury items. £160 for a full-fledged, seriously-spec’d, fully-capable tablet is an absolute steal. Get it. Seriously.” In a 4.5 star review, TechRadar.net agreed: “the Nexus 7 is a solid performer and easily the best tablet around for the thriftier buyer.”
Seven inches is the perfect size
“The Nexus 7 is fast and sized just right – All I use my phone for now is tethering and texting,” exclaimed a bowled-over Christopher Dawson at ZDNet.com. “I only own one pair of shorts into which it doesn’t fit and I’ve never liked those anyway,” joked Dawson, who said “it’s also big enough to make me realize that my aging, computer-baked eyes shouldn’t spend hours reading, searching, or viewing on anything smaller.” Dawson said his “superphone is super-redundant and super-underutilized” now he owns the Nexus 7, and insisted that the seven-inch size is just perfect.
Apple’s market-leading iPad is not invincible
The shortage comes because Google was taken “totally off guard by how popular the 16GB model would be,” reported Andrew Liszewski at Gizmodo, who noted that Google had expected the 8GB model to be the big seller. Liszewski insisted that the 16GB model “has been a massive, surprising success.” “This (the shortage) will probably be a minor setback at worst for Google and the Nexus 7,” suggested Liszewski, who said it weill “hopefully” act as a “wakeup call for Google and its competitors that the battle to catch the iPad isn’t just a race to the bottom.”
Is the sell-out story a stunt?
“There’s nothing quite like limited availability to push the demand of tech,” reminded Chris Smith at TechRadar.com. “Just ask Apple; it has been using the same tactic to boost the mystique of its gadgets for years.”
