Asus unveils 32GB Nexus 7 in India

Almost a week after the 16GB Nexus 7 went on sale on the Google Play Store, Asus has officially launched the much-awaited 32GB tablet. The Asus 7 3G version will be available for Rs 21,999 while the Wi-Fi variant will be priced at Rs 18,999 in India.

Google had officially unveiled the Nexus 7 back in June 2012 during the Google I/O event. The tablet is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 chip.This tablet is supposed to be a gamer's delight, and Google has touted it to be a serious gaming device as the brand has added a 12-core Nvidia GeForce GPU as well to the fray. This tablet also comes with Google Wallet pre-installed.

The 32GB Nexus 7 to go on sale through Asus soon

A newer refreshed version of the tablet was unveiled in October. The most important feature of the revised model of the Asus-manufactured Nexus 7 is its HSPA+ connectivity.

Here's a quick look at the key specifications of the Nexus 7:

• 7-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels
• Available in 3G and Wi-Fi variants
• GPS with AGPS Bluetooth, NFC
• 1.2 megapixel front facing camera with HD 720p video shooting capabilities
• 32GB of inbuilt memory 

The 16GB variant of the Nexus 7 went on sale on Google Play in the end of March and the pieces are all set to start shipping on April 5. While Google has introduced an HSPA+ model of the Nexus 7 that isn’t reliant only on Wi-Fi, this one doesn’t seem to be that model. There is no mention of connectivity other than the standard Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC.

That Google would begin selling its devices in India through official channels was hinted earlier this month when it was discovered that the Google Nexus microsite listed India as a supported country.

While only the 16GB variant of the Nexus 7 is on sale on Google Play Store, Asus has gone out to release the 32GB variant in India. Unlike Google, Asus has independently launched both the 3G and Wi-Fi variants of the 32GB Nexus 7.

A representative for Asus said that the Nexus 7 pieces will be hitting Asus retail outlets in around a week’s time. Retail outlets like Croma and Vijay Sales will be getting the devices soon as well.

“We are elated to announce the most awaited ASUS Nexus 7 to the Indian consumers. We have received an assenting reception for this tablet from the users globally and we are happy to cater to the growing demand in India by making it easily available in the country,” Peter Chang, Regional Head – South Asia and Country Manager, System Business Group, ASUS India, said on the occasion of the launch.

Before Google put the Nexus 7 on sale on the Play Store so suddenly, the only way to get your hands on a Nexus 7 through official channels was in Croma, where the tablet was being sold at a price tag of Rs 19,999. Google had later revealed that it had nothing to do with Croma retailing the tablet.

It is interesting to note that while a much-awaited Nexus device is officially being released in India, Google has put up the lowest variant of it for sale on the site. The manufacturing company Asus has unveiled the 32GB variant of it with barely any backing from Google. There is no word on when the 32GB version of Nexus 7 will go on sale on the Play Store.

As Nexus 7 goes on sale, Samsung drops Galaxy Tab 2 prices

Earlier this week, the Nexus 7 went on sale on the Google Play Store and became the first Nexus device to be sold through that channel in India.

Priced at Rs 15,999, the Nexus 7 is indeed an interesting proposition and perhaps the first real competitor to Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2 range, at least in terms of price. So naturally, Samsung has reason to be worried.

The Korean company responded by dropping the price of the Galaxy Tab 2 310 from Rs 23,000 (price at launch) to Rs 16,250 while the Galaxy Tab 2 311, which went on sale only recently, can now be had for Rs 12,750. The Galaxy Tab 2 311 is a Wi-Fi-only affair, whereas the Tab 2 310 can make and receive video calls as well as surf on 3G networks.

Now available for a bargain

As always, you could find them for cheaper at online as well as grey market retailers. Both tablets come with 7-inch displays with a 1024 x 600 resolution. The displays themselves are of the PLS TFT LCD variety. Under the hood, 1GHz dual-core processors give both tablets enough oomph, while the 1GB of RAM only adds to the power.

Both have 3 megapixel fixed focus rear cameras, VGA front-facing cameras and 4000 mAh battery. The Tab 2 310 comes in 8, 16 and 32GB storage options while the Tab 2 311 has 16GB of internal storage, which is expandable up to 32GB with a microSD card.

The Galaxy Tab 2 311 launched with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, something the Tab 2 310, which shipped with Android 4.0 when it launched, also has now thanks to a software update. Connectivity wise, both tablets support Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n bands, have USB 2.0 ports and are good for Bluetooth as well.

The Nexus 7 is undoubtedly the big competition for Galaxy Tabs in India now. And with Google opening up the doors for Nexus devices, the next-generation Google-approved tablets will most likely also arrive in India soon after they are announced. This could be one of the major reasons why Samsung has severely cut down the prices of its tablets.

We can also expect such aggressive pricing for the company’s Galaxy Note 8.0, which will launch in India as the Galaxy Note 510. The iPad mini rival will also face competition from the Nexus 7, so we can expect pricing to be around the Rs 20,000 mark. The tablet, which can also make voice calls, comes with an 8-inch display with a 1280 x 800. It’s powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core processor and has 2GB of RAM. There are two internal storage options to choose from for potential Galaxy Note 8.0 buyers – 16 and 32GB – but the tablet comes with microSD card slot for cards up to 64GB. On the back is a 5-megapixel camera, while a 1.3-megapixel unit does duty on the front face.