Google made its long—awaited debut into the tablet wars ,
unveiling the Nexus 7 to compete with Apple’s dominant iPad as well as
the recently announced Microsoft Surface.
The Nexus 7, developed in conjunction with Asus, features a 7—inch
(17.8—centimetre) screen, making it smaller but more portable and
lighter than its main competitors, which both feature screens of about
10 inches (25 centimetres). That places it in direct competition with
Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet, which is by far the most successful running
on Google’s Android operating system.
The Nexus 7 goes on sale for $199 effective immediately on Google’s
online store Google Play, with delivery starting in the U.S., Britain,
Canada and Australia in mid—July, Google said. That makes it far more
affordable than Apple’s cheapest iPad, the older model iPad 2, which
sells for $399.