The Nexus tablet is real. Made by Asus, 7 inches and $199 – which is interesting inasmuch as Google appears to be aping the most successful Android tablet of them all, the Kindle Fire. They’re pushing this as a cheap-and-cheerful consumption device with a pure Android experience in 4.1, aka Jellybean.
This, with Google Play, is apparently meant to put Google on par with Apple and Amazon in terms of offering media and a means to use it – selling music, selling books, the like – and also to give them control over the widget. No more relying on Samsung – this is Google’s own gadget with, presumably, Google’s own schedule for updates. One less party making decisions – well, two actually, because no cellular carrier to worry about.
This, to me, is the first sign that Google gets it. Android tablets were a big bag of hurt, the Chromebook is an overpriced joke, and unlocked Nexus phones were far too expensive to be viable in the United States – but here’s a $200 device that lets you get in on Android and the entire Google ecosystem, presumably with more flexibility than the Fire (which is pretty much dedicated to consuming media and maybe gaming). This is something that I’m looking at and wondering if it’s worth an investment, given that I still haven’t had a chance to work with Android in any meaningful way. At the very least, I’m going to be banging the drum in the Friday meeting that we need to get a couple of those in the door ASAP.
Meanwhile, the changes to Android for Jellybean look interesting, if a little creepy in spots. Improved voice dictation and search are always welcome, but “Google Now” trying to use your input and search history and whatnot to find stuff FOR you without asking? Little too Minority Report for me at the moment. Wonder how well it’ll work in practice. Of course, the real question will be how quickly Jellybean gets out to a world where Ice Cream Sandwich still has single-digit adoption among Android devices – thanks to the carriers, the old saw about “Nexus shows you what you’ll have on next year’s high-end Android phone” will almost certainly continue to hold true.
As for the Nexus Q…you know, the new gadget that does for $299 what the Apple TV does for $99 and Roku does for $69…well, Google still hasn’t figured out television yet. Give them time. Third one’s the charm…