Newly unveiled Google Nexus products may hurt Apple further

Google has unveiled a new series of Nexus branded products that should have many Android fans salivating and leaving Apple further concerned about its place in the tech marketplace.

While Google cancelled its highly anticipated event in New York because of Hurricane Sandy [Sky News], it didn't stop the company from announcing their new Nexus devices in a more formal matter.

Unveiled by way of a tweet, a webpage and an announcement on its blog, Google has revealed details of a new Nexus phone, an upgraded version of its popular Nexus 7 tablet and a new 10" tablet dubbed the Nexus 10

Nexus 4 made by LG

The new Nexus 4 mobile phone made by LG is set to hit shops, including the Google Play store around 13th November. Sporting the latest version of Android Jelly Bean the device features an 8 mega-pixel camera and a vibrant 1280 by 768 4.7" screen. As well as NFC the device can also be charged wirelessly though there is no word on when a charger pad will be released.

The device is available in 8Gb and 16Gb version costing £239 [$299] or £279 [$349] respectively and sports 2GB of RAM which Google claims makes it the fastest version of Android ever.

Ten inch tablet

Also unveiled is a new 10" tablet which comes preloaded with the animated film Ice Age. Sporting a high-resolution 2560 x 1600 display the device is WiFi only and comes in 16Gb or 32Gb at £319 [$399] or £389 [$499] respectively.

Upgraded Nexus 7

The real killer for Apple is the announcement of a 32Gb version of the Nexus 7 as well as one with mobile data connectivity. The 8Mb version which was released in June is now unavailable and replaced by the 16Gb device priced at £159 [$199] via the Google Play store. The WiFi version of the 32Gb device is priced at only £199 [$250] while the same device with mobile connectivity costs a mere £239 [$299] though a release date has yet to be announced.

Competition

Last week Apple unveiled the 7.9" iPad Mini widely seen as a response to Google's Nexus 7 offering. Costing between $329 and $659 it faces stiff competition in what is becoming an increasingly crowded tablet market.

While initially gaining a positive response from reviewers and Apple fanboys, there was little to rave about as regards the technical specifications. While slightly larger the iPad mini's display falls lower than offered by the Asus made Nexus 7. The iPad mini has a display of 1,024x768 pixels [163 ppi] while the Nexus 7 boasts 1,280x800 pixels [216 ppi]. In other respects both devices are almost identical, though the iPad mini does have a rear facing camera, but omits the NFC capability now seen in most modern Android devices [CNET].

Price war

With the 32Gb version of the Nexus 7 costing £150 [$240] less than the iPad mini which sells at £349 [$240], for those entering the tablet market there is no contest. Of course, Apple fans will no doubt balk at entering the world of Android, but the tablet wars have clearly begun. There was more bad news for Apple after the executive responsible for the much criticised Apple Maps was reported to have quit the company [CNN / Telegraph].

There were some bizarre anomalies for some UK users trying to access the Google Play store with some pages displayed in French, German or Spanish. Prices were still displayed in GBP however, and there was no immediate explanation as to why the pages had been incorrectly rendered.

more reports: BBC / CNN / Telegraph / Independent / CNET

tvnewswatch, London, UK