Google unveiled the Nexus 7 at their annual I/O developer conference today. It features a 1,280-by-800-pixel display powered by the Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset. The device, which is built by Asus, has a front-facing camera, and built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and near-field communications.
The 8-gigabyte model will cost $199, while a higher-capacity 16-gigabyte model will cost $249. Each will come with a $25 credit to Google Play and comes bundled with free content, including a “Transformers” film.
Google boasted about the lightweight design of the device at 340 grams, approximately the same weight as a paperback book. It is said to get up to 9 hours of battery life when watching HD video, and 300 hours of standby time.
Google also displayed how magazines would be viewed on the device, as they showed the interactive elements of the latest issue of Shape magazine.
The Nexus 7 will offer content form the Google Play store, including movies and TV shows. Also shown was a recommendation engine that uses widgets on the home screen to show content the user might be interested in purchasing.
Google also highlighted game playing on the device, which features built-in gyroscopes and accelerometers for motion control.