Google Nexus 7

Wednesday 27 June 2012’s Google I/O Developers Conference marked a strategic shift of Google from search engine giant that make the huge revenues from its online advertising into focusing to hardware. Google unveiled that it will launch its own Nexus tablet Nexus 7 designed to showcase the latest mobile operating software Android 4.1 nickname Jolly Bean.

Google Nexus 7 tablet will be manufactured by Taiwanese computer hardware maker Asus. Google Nexus 7 will features a lightweight design weighs about as much as a paperback book (340 grams), a 7 inch high definition screen display, and has a front-facing camera.

Google described Nexus 7 as “a powerful new tablet” which will makes everything extremely fast, including games. Nexus 7 is designed to provide a best-of Google experience optimized around content available at Google Play. Google is basically following Apple path to introduce a ecosystem of apps store (Google Play) and devices (Nexus 7) by its own brand to present to its customers.

Google Play is your digital entertainment destination, with more than 600,000 apps and games plus music, movies, and books,” said by a Google blog post.

“Hardware is a doorway to products and services. If you are going to use the Internet, you are going to have to use a device. Whoever makes those devices controls what services and products are offered to you,” an Internet analyst said.

The Nexus 7 will have Google latest Android mobile operating system, called Jolly Bean. With Android 4.1 Jolly Bean, the on-screen keyboard is smarter and more accurate with auto-correct feature, and can predict your next word. Voice-typing is also faster, working even when you don’t have a data connection. Google Now,  Google’ voice recognition kick start Google’s competition with Apple Siri and Samsung S Voice in virtual assistant.

Google priced its Nexus 7 tablet at US$199, which put it in direct competition with Amazon Kindle Fire. Although it is expected that Google sell Nexus 7 at cost or even at a loss, they are expected to make up for those loss with additional revenue from purchases made on Google Play, its apps and content store; additional traffic to its Youtube, and the advertising it earns from all of its Internet products.