Few weeks ago, search engine giant, Google, marked it entry into the tablet market world with unveiling of Nexus 7 at the official opening of Google I/O developer's conference 2012.
Jumping into direct competition with Amazon Kindle Fire tablets, Nexus 7 was made available by Google for pre-order in UK, U.S., Canada and Australia via Google Play Store in two variants 8GB and 16GB. The tablets cost $199.99 and $249.99, respectively.
At the time of launch, Google announced the device would be released to the market and on retail shelves some time in mid-July. However, up until now, the Android creator has remained tight lipped about the launch date for its tablet. According to retailer Staples, the launch of Google Nexus 7 has been scheduled for next week.
The Google Nexus 7 will begin shipping from Staples between July 12 and 17, according to the tablet's retail product page. Further, customers who preorder the Nexus 7 by July 10 can expect a tablet delivery within one to three business days, arriving no earlier than July 13.
Meanwhile, only the 16GB version of the tablet seems to be available for preorder on the site for $249. Both the 16BG and an 8GB, $199 version can be set aside in Google Play.
According to "PCWorld," when reporters asked about the Staples listing, a Google spokesperson informed them that the company has not yet reveal an official release date.
"We have only said mid-July so far," Google said, which is consistent with the Staples listing, said the report. Staples also did not immediately return requests for comment.
Over at Staples' online store, the listing for the Nexus 7 tablet said "Pre-order your Google Nexus Tablet by July 10th, 2012, to reserve one of these limited quantity tablets. Product will ship between July 12th and July 17th. Expected delivery: 1 - 3 business days, arriving no earlier than July 13 2011. Your credit card will be charged at shipment."
Whatever the case may be, it looks like Nexus 7 is coming out very soon. As far as specs are concerned, Nexus 7 will come packing a 7-inch display (with 1280 x 800 pixels resolution) in "Scratch-resistant Corning glass", 1.2MP front-facing camera and built-in NFC, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities.
The tablet will come powered by Nvidia's Tegra 3 chip, which has a quad-core processor, 12-core graphics chip, 1GB RAM and will come preinstalled with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS. The Nexus 7 weighs 340 grams, has a dimension of 198.5 x 120 x 10.5 mm and is loaded with 4325mAh battery.
In addition, Google is also attempting to heavily attract consumers for the Google Play Store via Nexus 7, as the tablet will support a full complement of media types, such as, video, magazines, music, books and more. Furthermore, Nexus 7 will also offer a custom Google Maps app. Other goodies include Chrome browser, a free copy of the latest Transformers movie and $25 credit in the Play Store.