To proceed with the project, which Asus code-named "Project A-Team", the company sent a design team to Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California, while Google sent seven engineers to Asus' headquarters in Taiwan.
Patrick Brady, Google's Director of Android Partner Engineering So we really wanted the perfect device to consume all of this and thought the 7-inch tablet was a good size." "We've the biggest ebook store and we've got movies in Google Play. Former Android division manager Andy Rubin commented that Asus was the only company capable of designing such a product in four months.
Asus chairman Jonney Shih said that the software company "ask a lot" and that "our engineers told me it is like torture". After agreeing to manufacture the device for Google as the OEM, Asus was tasked with building a tablet that could sell for US$200 and would be "fast, cheap, and good" according to the concept of the project management triangle, only two of these qualities can be achieved. Īccording to Asus executive Benjamin Yeh, the idea for the Nexus 7 was conceived at International CES in Las Vegas in January 2012 during a meeting of executives from his company and Google.
While he did not refer to it as such, the device was inferred to be part of the Google Nexus series of consumer devices using the Android operating system and built by a partnering original equipment manufacturer (OEM). During the interview for Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Schmidt stated that the software company would have strong competition against Apple, the designer of the iPad line of tablets. In an interview in December 2011, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt announced that a Google-designed tablet computer would arrive in six months. The second generation Nexus 7 was released on July 26, 2013. It received honors for "Gadget of the Year" and "Tablet of the Year" in T3 magazine's 2012 awards, and was also named "Best Mobile Tablet" at the 2013 Global Mobile Awards.
The Nexus 7 has been commercially successful, selling approximately 4.5–4.6 million units in 2012 and 7 million units overall. Common criticisms included the absence of cellular connectivity from initial models and no expandable storage. The Nexus 7 received positive reviews from critics, particularly for its competitive pricing, premium-quality build, and powerful hardware. Google expanded the Nexus 7 lineup in October 2012 with the introduction of 32 GB versions, available in Wi-Fi–only and HSPA+ cellular-ready varieties. Shipping commenced in mid-July 2012 to Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, before the tablet was progressively released in other regions. It was unveiled at the Google I/O annual developer conference on June 27, when it also became available for pre-order through Google Play. Following a hectic four-month development period during which the device was modified to reach a US$199 price point, mass production started in May. The device's design was based on Asus' Eee Pad MeMO ME370T tablet that had been showcased at the conference.
By emphasizing the integration of the Google Play multimedia store with Android 4.1, Google intended to market the Nexus 7 as an entertainment device and a platform for consuming e-books, television shows, films, games, and music.ĭesign work on the Nexus 7 began in January 2012 after a meeting between Google and Asus executives at International CES. The tablet was the first device to ship with version 4.1 of Android, nicknamed "Jelly Bean". The Nexus 7 features a 7.0-inch (180 mm) display, an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core chip, 1 GB of memory, Wi-Fi and near field communication connectivity, and 8, 16 or 32 GB of storage. It is the first tablet in the Google Nexus series of Android consumer devices marketed by Google and built by an original equipment manufacturer partner. The first-generation Nexus 7 is a mini tablet computer co-developed by Google and Asus that runs the Android operating system.
HD ( 720p) resolution (mod required) ģ.5 mm headphone jack, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi ( 802.11 b/ g/ n 2.4 GHz), NFC, Micro USB 2.0, docking pins 3G ( HSPA+) only in selected models GPS, microphone, gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer July 13, 2012 9 years ago ( ) (Australia and United States)ĪRM Cortex-A9 Nvidia Tegra 3 T30L 1.2 GHz quad-core (1.3 GHz single-core mode) 1 MB L2 cacheħ.0 in (180 mm) 1280 × 800 ( 16∶10, 216 px/in) IPS LCD, scratch resistant Corning Fit glass 10-point capacitive touchscreen