Nexus: The best of Google, now in three sizes

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/nexus-best-of-google-now-in-three-sizes.html

by cleverjake • 14 years ago

603 454 14 years ago

googleblog.blogspot.com

The idea of owning a tablet by Google creeps me out to no end. I just can't picture myself using this without the lingering feeling of having Big Brother tracking me, watching me, keeping tabs on what sites I visit and what content I post online.

jonknee7• 14 years ago

Luckily any tablet you choose will have significant tracking capabilities...

seiji2• 14 years ago

Apple isn't in the business of exploiting your private data to advertise products/services/content from third parties at you though. The incentives are completely different.

Inufu3• 14 years ago

a) how is this different from browsing on your desktop?

b) why would a company as big as Google care about what a single user does?

klez2• 14 years ago

> b) why would a company as big as Google care about what a single user does?

Nice try, Google secret agent :P

No, seriously, Google is interested in what you browse and already tracks it (anonymously, I hope) to target ads.

So it all leads to your first point. There's really no difference in practice. But in potential it's true that a device with a cellular network connection can provide more interesting location infos than a desktop tied to your desk.

codeulike21• 14 years ago

At least you can check the source code.

watty• 14 years ago

Privacy is a legitimate concern but it's not limited to Google. Apple is tracking you, your ISP is tracking you, your phone company is tracking you, etc. Just root it and put a custom ROM on it if you're that worried (and use a VPN, DuckDuckGo, TOR, tinfoil hat, etc.).

zanny2• 14 years ago

The Nexus devices all have unlocked bootloaders, go get Cyanogenmod if you are concerned.

KirinDave• 14 years ago

They are. But no more than any other vendor is.

The difference is Google gives you all sorts of services to export those insights and use them for your own benefit. Most of the google tracking data is exported (with the big exception being the backing to Google Now for card selection). But most people don't realize how much data you can farm from the Latitude API.

The problem we face is that a lot of the features we want delivered from our products are really only achievable if we offer up our data for analysis to some big external compute farm. We aren't at the point yet where your mobile devices can do it in house. So we have things we want, but the only way to get those things is to take a privacy risk.

But this is hardly a new situation. Why do you trust your banks not to do this? Credit card providers? Stores? Loan and insurance issuers? Cellphone vendors? I'm asking why you are not creeped out or outraged all the time because a trivial search of the landscape reveals all these institutions are doing such things but not providing any value back to you for it.

klausa• 14 years ago

Flagship Android device, unlocked, without contract, for $299.

Impressive.

From the marketing video it looks like Android 4.2 gained Swype-like keyboard.

It seems that they're no longer using tablet UI, even on Nexus 10 (i.e. it has status bar on top, navigation buttons are in the middle of the screen). That's weird, and I definitely don't like it, but it might not be that big of a problem.

wmf5• 14 years ago

Yeah, these prices look almost too good to be true. Other Android vendors may be getting some serious indigestion from this.

gms2• 14 years ago

Nexus 7 devices are being sold at a loss, so I suppose in one sense yes, the price there is too good to be true.

jug6ernaut2• 14 years ago

While I have no hard figured I believe the cost difference is because Google is probably selling these devices at or around there cost. They are selling them (like how amazon does with their tablets) as content delivery systems. Simply as a way to get more people to into the google ecosystem.

Other companies must sell their devices to make a profit, google does not. As long as they are close to making even on device cost they can make up for and exceed it elsewhere.

gutnor• 14 years ago

Other vendors have already failed, except on the low cost. Samsung rules the phone market, it is everyday closer to become synonym with Android and could be tempted to secede like Amazon.

That is not a good situation for either Android or Google - and except Google breaking the price, there is little else that can revive the market a little bit.

distantparts• 14 years ago

You can't imagine that Samsung will be thrilled about the Nexus 4. The Galaxy S3 suddenly looks poor value, and that's their flagship device. It was selling in big numbers, and although it's cheaper than the iPhone 5, presumably it's still a very profitable device.

If Google are determined to sell high quality devices at cost to gain market share, and can make the general public aware of this (non-trivial), Apple may find itself as the sole company making big profits from actually selling phone hardware.

That said, only Samsung with their Galaxy brand have come anywhere near the marketing impact of the iPhone, so if Google really want to make an impression, they're going to need market these devices at a level that they've never managed before.

jeswin2• 14 years ago

via Gizmodo: Quad-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB RAM, 8GB storage, 4.7-inch 1280 x 768 display, and an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera.

Impressive indeed!

jusben1369• 14 years ago

It's interesting they havent' done a front facing camera. That's big with the tween crowd.

Edit: I meant rear facing on the Nexus 7. Not front facing.

Macha2• 14 years ago

Why 1280x768 rather than 720p? Is it for the software buttons? Otherwise it'd be odd to scale a pretty standard size for videos etc. or have black bars on the side.

WrkInProgress• 14 years ago

The $299 version is the 8GB version.

The 16 GB version is $399.

elboru2• 14 years ago

*16 GB is $349

jeswin2• 14 years ago

16GB is $349, not $399. http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/29/nexus-4-official/

donniezazen• 14 years ago

Finally someone stood against anti-consumer carriers.

dude_abides• 14 years ago

Very impressive pricing!

On the other hand, it doesn't support LTE. When will Google realize that basic things like fast network speed are more important than fancy things like face unlock and NFC.

rryan2• 14 years ago

More info: http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3569688/why-nexus-4-does-...

tomjen3• 14 years ago

Honestly why do you want LTE?

You are going to burn through your data alotment very, very fast.

bad_user2• 14 years ago

LTE is not as important as you make it sound.

Mobile bandwidth is still expensive, so you only get a couple of GB per month for a decent price and if you want more, you have to shell out a lot of cash.

I don't know how it is in the US, but here in Europe (at least in my country, Romania), the 3G connections are pretty good and 4G is coming, but it's not there yet.

And I can't picture what you'd want to do with an expensive 4G connection. With my 3G connection I can watch Youtube videos just fine. But it really does work at around ~ 20 Mbps (HSPA+), which is like ~ 2 MB/s, so if I'm not careful, I can burn thorough my 5 GB plan in a couple of hours. And from personal experience, few people have more than 5 GB of monthly bandwidth.

At home I have Wifi, at work I have Wifi, all the coffee-shops I go to have free Wifis for clients, most hotels have Wifis too. The only instances where I use my 3G connection is when I commute between places or if I end-up with a shitty Wifi connection and in such instances I just browse the web casually, or read email, or read Twitter/Facebook updates. Which is what most people do.

The only heavy-usage of my 3G connection has been for Skype. But Skype works surprisingly well for me over 3G (YMMV of course).

lucian1900• 14 years ago

Why? I'm perfectly happy with HSPA+. I'll take at least 3G everywhere over LTE.

RShiki8• 14 years ago

LTE isn't even available yet in my country and it's not the third world, but France. 300 euros is cheap for a smartphone like the Nexus 4, in comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is 500 euros on amazon.fr and it's the cheapest price you can get for it, it's more like 600 euros everywhere else.

The lack of LTE won't be a dealbreaker for most people, and probably even those who live in the USA. $300 hits the right price point for a flagship phone and the upside of owning a nexus and getting Google's support is huge. I'd rather get an iPhone than an android that is not a Nexus. Both OS are constantly evolving and getting better, waiting for the carriers and OEM to get their shit together is getting old.

dazbradbury• 14 years ago

Unfortunately they are selling it for £239 in the UK, which is more like $380 - Still an absolute steal for a headline retail price, but not quite the incredible £185 I thought it would be initially.

So for now, having paid only slightly more for my sim-free S3 months ago, it's not that good a deal.

Still patiently waiting for a nexus with a hardware keyboard like the good old days...

adhipg4• 14 years ago

> paid only slightly more

I see SIM free S3's selling for around the £500 mark. How much is the slightly more?

knotty66• 14 years ago

That's actually a lot better than the deal the UK got on the ARM Chromebook released last week, which was priced at $249 in the USA and £229 in the UK.

After taking 20% VAT into consideration, that's only a x1.07 premium compared to the US price as compared to a x1.23 premium on the Chromebook, which is actually unusually good. Often we see dollars converted directly to pounds.

Strange that the conversion is not consistent - can anybody speculate why?

scubaguy• 14 years ago

>> It seems that they're no longer using tablet UI, even on Nexus 10

Maybe this is for consistency. I find it a bit of a mental shift when I used the Nexus 7 with the tablet UI. I assume I'd prefer the status on top look & feel on the Nexus 10 as well. I know not everyone prefers status & notification on top, but I'm used to it and I like the consistency of it across phone & tablet.

yohui3• 14 years ago

Status bar up top is probably fine.

I would think though that sticking the navigation buttons in the center while in landscape mode would be aggravating. I would rather have the buttons rotate while the bar stays on the narrow end. That would even be consistent with the actual phone UI.

josteink2• 14 years ago

Good catch. This will hopefully be configurable on custom ROMs, as I'm with you on this one: I don't want this on my 10" tablet.

codeulike21• 14 years ago

What, no 3 hour long livestreamed press event?

edit: oh, they had one planned in NY, cancelled due to the hurricane

dangrossman• 14 years ago

It was cancelled due to the hurricane. The event was going to be in New York.

codeulike21• 14 years ago

Ah, I see. Thanks.

Multi-user in Android 4.2 looks handy.

edit: ah, but device specific so far, so only on the Nexus 10.

seiji2• 14 years ago

Odd they announced it anyway. Could you imagine Apple having to cancel an event then just throwing the specs up on their website?

MattSayar• 14 years ago

I honestly prefer this format. I got all the critical details within 10 minutes, the press will be able to salivate over it for the next week, and I'm still just as hyped about the devices.

codeulike21• 14 years ago

I think this is the most stuff I've ever seen launched in one blog post.

codeulike21• 14 years ago

I think Google are going to lose out though. This was a potentially huge launch. For example: The Guardian has absolutely nothing on this at the moment, but they were all over Surface and the iPad Mini. They'll catch up in a couple of days, but there will be no livestream on the Guardian front page etc.

Inufu3• 14 years ago

Now I have to decide between the Nexus 4 and the Droid Razr Maxx HD :-/

abraham• 14 years ago

If it wasn't for the Maxx running 4.0 I would seriously consider it.

StavrosK5• 14 years ago

I have no idea about the device, but that name is embarrassing.

Macha2• 14 years ago

Could be worse. Could be the "Samsung Galaxy SII Epic 4G Touch".

Although that said, it seems to be worse in the US. Your carriers take the manufacturer name and replace it with their own (Desire HD -> Inspire 4G) or tack it on at the end (Galaxy S2 -> Galaxy SII Epic 4G Touch)

Inufu3• 14 years ago

the name is quite annoying, but it has a ridiculously large battery.

astrodust2• 14 years ago

Calling your product something generic like XK39-B50 or any of Sony's impenetrably confusing product names for their electronics would be better than the names they come up with.

CountSessine• 14 years ago

You'll never get a firmware update with a Motorola phone. Even under Google they've abandoned phones that they previously 'promised' would see firmware updates.

computerbob• 14 years ago

I just bought the nexus 7, but I might be buying the nexus 10. Finally being able to have different accounts on one tablet is awesome.

StavrosK5• 14 years ago

I'm guessing it'll also be available on the Nexus 7.

melvinram• 14 years ago

Someone forgot to tell their marketing team: http://www.google.com/nexus/

Edit: Basically the website still has old info about old devices.

jonknee7• 14 years ago

Maybe they're evacuated--these devices were supposed to debut at an event in NYC that was cancelled because of Hurricane Sandy.

hyperbovine• 14 years ago

But but... why use reason when you can make a facile, snarky observation instead?

cbhl3• 14 years ago

New devices don't go on sale until November 13 according to the release so they've got a few weeks to update the site (and the Play devices store for that matter).

patrickaljord• 14 years ago

You can buy it here https://play.google.com/store/devices?feature=askme_campaign

chrisbolt• 14 years ago

Looks like they're halfway through fixing it: http://cl.ly/image/3K171Y0o3r3F

AndyIngram• 14 years ago

looks like they just pushed the update.

emehrkay• 14 years ago

Not to be nit-picky, but all of the nexus 10 images up until the video section have horrible aliasing

http://i.imgur.com/15WB0.png

fr0sty2• 14 years ago

And someone finally implements the killer-feature for the "Family Tablet": Multi-Account Support:

> But what makes Nexus 10 unique is that it's the first truly shareable tablet. With Android 4.2, you can add multiple users and switch between them instantly right from the lockscreen. We believe that everyone should have quick and easy access to their own stuff -- email, apps, bookmarks, and more. That way, everyone can have their own home screens, their own music, and even their own high scores.

acgourley• 14 years ago

Nice catch, that's a huge step forward. But is that not on the nexus 7?

stanleydrew4• 14 years ago

It is an Android 4.2 feature so I'm sure it's also on the Nexus 7 and Nexus 4. But those devices are smaller and less likely to be shared so they are not playing multi-user up in those marketing materials I suspect.

pixdamix• 14 years ago

It may be related to patents:

"Why Android Jelly Bean 4.2′s Multiple User Account Switching Is Tablet-Only? (Hint: Nokia Patented It For Phones)"

http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/29/why-android-jelly-bean-4-2s...

upthedale• 14 years ago

Doesn't Windows 8/RT do this too?

trimbo2• 14 years ago

Yes, it does.

gdilla• 14 years ago

And the new Nook HDs from B&N.

MatthewPhillips• 14 years ago

Surface beat them by 3 days ;)

Mythbusters• 14 years ago

with kid's corner feature to boot so that you can have fine grain control over what the kids have access to.

jebblue2• 14 years ago

Unfortunately it's not running on Linux and it's running Windows.

StavrosK5• 14 years ago

Will phones get this? Or other-size tablets?

Does anyone know when the 4.2 update will go out?

hendi_2• 14 years ago

Nope :-( "Available only on tablets.", see http://www.android.com/whatsnew/

New versions of Android usually roll out to Nexus devices days or weeks after the release of the new hardware. So you should expect November 13th + X days.

andrewpi• 14 years ago

If you're comfortable running unofficial ROMs, I'm pretty sure ROM developers will have multi-user support running on phones as soon as they get the source code.

tremendo• 14 years ago

On a phone, wouldn't you need to also switch the SIM card? It seems to me that switching accounts on a phone might not be practical if the device still answers to the same phone number. Am I wrong?

wyclif• 14 years ago

I, for one, never want to use someone else's poop phone...even a friend's.

w1ntermute6• 14 years ago

And just $399 for the 16 GB version!

mtgx4• 14 years ago

And with that crazy resolution.

aw3c2• 14 years ago

As I understand it in the US the taxes are added after the displayed price, how much would that be in the end? In Europe it seems to cost €399 which is 30% more!

rplnt2• 14 years ago

Both Gnome and KDE became touch-ready over the years. They of course have this feature. I just wonder, does any manufacturer sell their tablets with these?

ralfn• 14 years ago

They have not became touch ready. Their desktop shells have, the actual applications all still have cascading menu's for god sake's. As a platform they are ready, as an ecosystem, not even close. And few if any of the stakeholders are focusing on the actual applications, so i wouldnt hold my breath.

josteink2• 14 years ago

Both Gnome and KDE became touch-ready over the years.

As someone who has loaded Ubuntu onto my Asus Transformer tablet, let me tell you, no they haven't.

martythemaniak• 14 years ago

Shameless Plug: Kytephone (https://www.kytephone.com/) adds a de-facto multi-account support to any Android phone or tablet running 2.2 or above.

It's aimed at adding accounts for kids and while it's not as extensive as the baked-in one (kids can't have their own gmail account for example) it does come with goodies such as time limits for games.

pbhjpbhj2• 14 years ago

>kids can't have their own gmail account for example //

http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&a...

Kids [under 13, dependent on region] "can't" have their own gmail account anyway, it's against the rules.

btb• 14 years ago

Yeah I've been wondering which tablet/pad to recommend to my parents. They arent that much into computers, and I dont think they want to have two tablets lying around when one is all they need. So for them the nexus 10 sounds like a good choice, provided that the multi account implementation allows them to keep their emails private. From the google info page it sounded like you didnt need passwords to switch accounts, which I found a bit odd. Will wait for the reviews for specifics.

netcan3• 14 years ago

I like that. Makes switching easy.

aviraldg2• 14 years ago

I'm pretty sure they'd written this beforehand and scheduled it to be posted but forgot all about it when they cancelled their event.

ryanwaggoner• 14 years ago

Let's hope, because this is a pretty pitiful launch.

notJim• 14 years ago

Yeah, it's really quite sad to see just a lame blog post and very little press at all around what should be a huge launch.

I suspect part of the reason they launched is that basically all of the information has been out there for a few weeks now anyway, so better to kill off the rumor mill.

bryanlarsen8• 14 years ago

Their press event was cancelled because of a hurricane. Cut them some slack.

monkeyfacebag• 14 years ago

Hopefully this starts the ball rolling on Android tablet apps. I really love my Nexus 7, but the app selection is definitely inferior to what's available for iOS.

GuiA• 14 years ago

You know, I have a feeling that this might come, in major (but non integral) part from the Android SDK. Objective C & Cocoa just have an extra layer of polish to them that I believe contributes highly to the resulting level of quality of the app

eropple9• 14 years ago

I'd agree with that. I switched from an iPhone 4 and an iPad 2 to a Galaxy Nexus and a Nexus 7, in part because of a new job as an Android developer and in part because I just couldn't put up with the OS anymore. I absolutely hate Objective-C and Xcode, but even I have to admit that the Android SDK is kind of crap. Even in Eclipse its integration isn't very good (though I use IntelliJ as my IDE, which is finally catching up) and the documentation is just awful, badly-written stuff that desperately needs the attention of a good technical writer or twelve. I can totally buy that app quality is negatively impacted because very little makes sense and there's not a lot of documentation to straighten you out.

levesque2• 14 years ago

What kind of app do you find yourself wishing for? The apps I use the most are the default apps, i.e. Calendar, Mail, Chrome, Reader (google version) and Google+/Facebook/Twitter.

codeulike21• 14 years ago

Official scrabble app.

Scrabble on iPad is awesome. Also, please dont mention Words With Friends.

adhipg4• 14 years ago

A high quality simple sketching app like Paper by 53 on the iPad.

dubya2• 14 years ago

I'd be interested to know if there's something like Papers or BibDesk for Android. Something where you can browse ArXiv, save PDFs for later, and then read and optionally mark up what you've saved. Integration with bibtex would be nice as well.

codeulike21• 14 years ago

Decent music production apps. My understanding is that Apple is ahead there due to better sound SDK and hardware standards, lower latency.

actf2• 14 years ago

Apple is still miles ahead when it comes to real time audio processing apps. The obvious example here being garage band, but on the less obscure side there are a ton of guitar amp/effects apps on iOS (which are awesome if you play guitar) for which there is absolutely nothing even remotely equivalent on android.

My understanding is that the android api has improved recently with respect to the ability to support these types of apps, but for whatever reason there's still a noticeable lack of these apps.

27182818284• 14 years ago

For me it is that an Android app comes, but it always comes much later. PG has mentioned that iOS almost always comes first with Y Combinator startups, for example.

When bored I'll browse to see if there is a new app, but it is always the same. Sales are bad too as I generally have purchased more than 85% of what Google decides to put on sale.

Aardwolf• 14 years ago

Now all we need is 3 SIM cards for the same mobile contract, so you can use all three devices without swapping SIM cards all the time and without paying for 3 separate contracts.

cbhl3• 14 years ago

I've seen "family plans" where minutes and data (!) come from a shared pool like this, although I forget where.

chaz• 14 years ago

AT&T and Verizon both offer shared plans.

3amOpsGuy• 14 years ago

In the UK the last operator to stop doing this (Vodafone) stopped around 2004, the others in the 2-3 years before that.

Was really handy for a car-phone (remember those!) sim which meant the car rang pre-bluetooth days.

Less relevant these days but i also have an old BMW E38 i cherish which would benefit from such a setup were it available today.

MartinCron• 14 years ago

I was just thinking about that. I've got a 2004 era Mercedes with a built in car phone and was wondering if I was supposed to get a distinct phone number for it, which seems preposterous.

LandoCalrissian• 14 years ago

Is there some reasonable way to clone SIM cards? I would be all for that if the providers are going to be buttheads.

slewis• 14 years ago

The phone comes with wireless charging built in. Looks like that's a first. Does it come with a charging pad as well?

I think I'd buy a phone just for this feature.

jonny_eh• 14 years ago

I don't know what you mean by "a first", but the HP Touchpad had built-in inductive charging.

vvhn• 14 years ago

also the HP/Palm Pre3. Neither Nokia or Google/LG are first with inductive charging.

fudged712• 14 years ago

It is not included. Optional accessory.

bitcartel5• 14 years ago

It won't be long before the usual suspects start claiming

- screen resolution isn't important

- multi-user accounts are overly complex

- low prices mean the devices are cheap and nasty

rimantas• 14 years ago

Thank you for rushing in and claiming it for them.

w1ntermute6• 14 years ago

I'm eagerly awaiting posts of this nature from Marco, Gruber, and Siegler.

notatoad2• 14 years ago

In fairness to the usual suspects, their reviews of the nexus 7 were all pretty fair (and for the most part, favourable).

tadfisher3• 14 years ago

It didn't stop Gruber from complaining about the lack of cell data (which, thankfully, will be fixed when the $300 Nexus 7 flavor comes out).

illumin85• 14 years ago

It sure wasn't long before the Google apologists started clamoring that you don't really need LTE anyway.

bitcartel5• 14 years ago

It doesn't matter what Apple or Google fanboys think, consumers have real choice in the Android market.

Some phones offer LTE, others have a removable battery, provide expandable storage, are waterproof, have wireless charging or even hold two sim cards. It's great!

ChrisClark4• 14 years ago

But I've never thought LTE was necessary, even in the iPhone. Not something I want/need.

nodata3• 14 years ago

Don't give us Sun-style crazy version numbers please Google! 4.2 should have got a new name!

stanleydrew4• 14 years ago

I remember reading that they considered a new name, but they didn't feel like the feature updates were strong enough to warrant it. Which is refreshing actually. The post did call it an update to jellybean.

klez2• 14 years ago

Then they should have only bumped minor version.

blissofbeing• 14 years ago

Do any of these support LTE?

codeulike21• 14 years ago

Apparently not.

jug6ernaut2• 14 years ago

Does not appear to have LTE support out of the box. But the chipset DOES have an LTE modem, so there is hope.

neovive• 14 years ago

I've been very happy with Galaxy Nexus so far. The specs on the Nexus 4 look impressive. Anyone going to upgrade their Galaxy Nexus for the 4?

stanleydrew4• 14 years ago

I won't, but I think my girlfriend will upgrade her Nexus S. She's not thrilled by the increasing screen sizes though. And I agree that a smaller option would be nice. I refuse to consider anything other than a Nexus device though so I guess I'm stuck.

sjmulder• 14 years ago

I have the same issue. I’m on a Nexus S as well and it’s starting to show its age with the latest operating system and apps. But the form factor is great, and all these newer flagship phones are huge.

navs• 14 years ago

I've been waiting for a smaller nexus to hit the stands before I buy my first Android phone but it looks like that won't happen so I may just get the Nexus 4, once it becomes available in New Zealand. I just wonder for how much.

rplnt2• 14 years ago

I'm not sure about NZ, but my guess for EU is around $450.

veeti• 14 years ago

I wasn't going to, but at this price point the temptation certainly is there.

rf45• 14 years ago

I will! :)

jbrechtel• 14 years ago

Sadly enough, I'm considering it. No good reason why though.

programminggeek• 14 years ago

Ok, um, did anyone else notice that 4.2 is called Jelly Bean, like 4.1 was called Jelly Bean?

Up until now it was Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Jelly Bean. Did they run out of tasty treats already?

bryanlarsen8• 14 years ago

2.0 & 2.1 were both eclair, and 3.0 & 3.1 were both honeycomb.

The fact that they didn't change the product name indicates that this is a fairly minor update.

dschep• 14 years ago

There was also a 3.2 Honeycomb release.

cbhl3• 14 years ago

It's just a point release. There's been at least one for every version since Eclair except Froyo.

http://developer.android.com/reference/android/os/Build.VERS...

jkimmel• 14 years ago

Internally, Google Engineers work "by dessert" [1], the version numbers are decided by someone further down the product pipeline. With an instance like this, the developers most likely made a number of updates to the same branch of the OS (Jelly Bean), that someone in marketing/product management felt were significant enough to warrant a new 4.x number. At the end of the day though, it's still the same Jelly Bean core, so the next desert is reserved for another actual OS branch.

[1] - I believe JBQ said this to the media once, but I can't find the source now.

codeulike21• 14 years ago

Android updates are named after things you might want to eat. OS X updates are named after things that might want to eat you.

codeulike21• 14 years ago

By launching three flagship devices with three different manufacturers (LG, Asus and Samsung), do you think they are trying to say something about Android and hardware?

wmf5• 14 years ago

Google has always spread the Android love among different companies.

revelation4• 14 years ago

That hardware (manufacturing) is a commodity? I think they already know, judging from the inane modified android UIs they put on their handsets.

I think it would be more important to break the "you are just a dumb pipe" news to the mobile carriers. They still have illusions.

codeulike21• 14 years ago

Our mobile carriers in the UK seem to be getting the message, fortunately.

pooriaazimi4• 14 years ago

The screen for 10.1" model is great: 2560x1600 (300ppi) - iPad (3 and 4) are 2048x1536 (264ppi). Which means it has 30% more pixels (409600 vs. 3145728).

Xuzz• 14 years ago

However, the screen is "PenTile" (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PenTile_matrix_family), which means that each pixel is only 2/3 of what we'd usually think of a pixel. And it really does look like crap, even at high densities (such as on the Galaxy Nexus).

If you calculate out the number of subpixels (what actually shows colors on the screen, the important number), the 2048x1536 display on the iPad is still significantly ahead: https://www.google.com/search?q=2560*1600*2/3+-+2048*1536

revelation4• 14 years ago

Is there a confirmation for this somewhere?

silasb• 14 years ago

Confirmed that PenTile is crap. I came from a OG Droid to Galaxy Nexus and was horrible not impressed by the PenTile screen. It is really noticeable when using low brightness.

tonfa4• 14 years ago

According to The Verge, at least for the Nexus 10, the screen is Plane-to-Line Switching, so not Pentile.

Edit: and looking at the specs none of the current Nexus hardware is Pentile (4, 7, 10).

bryanlarsen8• 14 years ago

Google calls it "True RGB Real Stripe PLS", so definitely not PenTile.

Osiris• 14 years ago

When can I start buying non-Mac laptops with this kind of resolution? It probably doesn't help that Windows doesn't have good support for scaling at high resolutions (although I would bet that Metro apps will scale fine due to the use of XAML).

JBiserkov• 14 years ago

Probably a typo, the iPad is 2048 x 1536 (4:3 = 16:12), the Nexus 10 is 16:10.

pooriaazimi4• 14 years ago

Thanks. It was indeed a typo.

zanny2• 14 years ago

I can't see pixels on my 1920 x 1200 Transformer Infinity, but I can't help but think more pixels is a good thing. Maybe we can finally get some 2560 x 1600 desktop monitors at reasonable prices around 20 - 22".

mtgx4• 14 years ago

It's actually 10" not 10.1".

asdfs• 14 years ago

It's 10.055" according to the blog post, so either one is correct. It depends on whether you round to the nearest inch or tenth of an inch.

dholowiski• 14 years ago

As expected, very little support for other countries (specifically Canada where I am). Movie purchases, and HSPA, but no magazines or TV shows, no google music. Nexus 4 not available in Canada.

[edit]Correction - magazines now available in Canada (Woohoo!) they just didn't say so. Now, can we please have google music?

bryanlarsen8• 14 years ago

Nexus 4: 8GB for $299; 16GB for $349; available unlocked and without a contract on 11/13 on the Google Play store in the U.S., U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Spain and Canada.

Importantly to me, it's got 1700MHz support so it will work on Wind & Mobilicity.

lrem• 14 years ago

Bah... My Nexus 7 came with preloaded content in French. I thought it was an error, until I checked out the store. Need a VPN just to buy any content in a language I understand :/

tonfa4• 14 years ago

Surprisingly Google Music "match" (similar to itunes and amazon) will first be available in Europe.

jskopek• 14 years ago

Canada has always been a tough region for music support. Spotify has a pretty decent international reach (including many parts of Europe), but Canada is still out of the picture. Same goes for Pandora.

icebraining2• 14 years ago

In (a small subset of) Europe. Smaller, poorer countries like mine get shafted.

mladenkovacevic3• 14 years ago

I was able to activate the Music account here in Canada via a proxy. Still no access to the Music Store though but free storage for 20,000 songs that sync to my phone is pretty cool.

ChrisClark4• 14 years ago

Nexus 4 is available in Canada for $309 and $359.

pooriaazimi4• 14 years ago

Full details are available here: https://play.google.com/store/devices?feature=microsite

----

4": https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_4_16g...

7": https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_16g...

10": https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_10_16...

ableal• 14 years ago

"Sorry! Devices on Google Play is not available in your country yet."

Yeah, but I'd like to window shop and know what the neighbours are paying, perhaps ask someone over there to buy me one.

I really dislike this automatic geolocation enforcement that Google spreads liberally over all its stuff. At least Apple lets you look at, or even get things from, other country stores with minimal fuss.

(I know, proxies, bleargh.)

P.S. http://www.google.com/nexus/ now has info and pictures viewable anywhere. (Link found in melvinram's comment, thank you.)

Scottopherson• 14 years ago

Looking at the close-up images, will having the front-facing speakers located where you hold the device be an issue?

Raphael_Amiard2• 14 years ago

Thank you Google, for making the Nexus 7 16gb 199$ 1 week after i bought mine .. I love this tablet, but the one thing i really wish is i had the 16gb version, but couldn't afford it at the time.

achompas2• 14 years ago

Not sure if you're in the US, but if so you have 15 days to return it:

http://support.google.com/googleplay/bin/answer.py?hl=en&...

Go get a bigger tablet!

Raphael_Amiard2• 14 years ago

Heh, thanks :) But i'm not :/ Anyway, it was already a good deal in the first place, i'm not gonna complain.

OriginalSyn• 14 years ago

I think you can only blame yourself for purchasing a Nexus 7 last week. There was already plenty of speculation by that point that they'd be announcing the next iteration at the event.

stcredzero2• 14 years ago

With regards to tablets, one of the next major battlegrounds is going to be in the enterprise, with Apple, Google, and Microsoft duke-ing it out. From that perspective, Surface makes a whole lot more sense. If they can perfect Surface, they will be in a fierce position to defend their enterprise territory.

With regards to the emerging enterprise tablet market, Google is playing serious catch-up. If Microsoft can come late to the game, but demonstrate the tenacity they have in the past, they might pull another "IE over Netscape" on Apple.

Derbasti• 14 years ago

I sincerely hope that with regards to tablets, the next major battleground will be the desktop. I want a tablet that acts as a tablet on the go, but plugs into my mouse/keyboard/monitor at home and just replaces my desktop.

Performance is not quite there yet, but it's getting close. OSes are not quite there yet, but progress is being made there, too. I think it is only a matter of time and it might get there faster than we think.

codeulike21• 14 years ago

> faster than we think

Surface Pro, hopefully.

theintern2• 14 years ago

The Lenovo Yoga seems pretty incredible, much more expensive though. http://www.cnet.com/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-yoga-13/4505-3121...

fumar• 14 years ago

I have Galaxy Nexus. I was thinking of upgrading to the Nexus 4, for better battery life. But, LTE is missing from the device. On the other hand, the price is great. I wish Google used some muscle to make carriers bend towards Google's needs. I am grandfathered into a Verizon unlimited plan, and would love to stay.

I am excited to see the screen on the Nexus 4.

arrrg3• 14 years ago

Arrrgh! That Nexus 4 looks delicious, absolutely awesome. But why does it have to be such a monster! With their flagship product, can't they shoot for a happy middle ground and not for monster sizes?

bryanlarsen8• 14 years ago

With their new naming convention, it seems to me that there's a very nice slot for a "Nexus 3". Hopefully such a device wouldn't feature inferior specs like the s3 mini.

arrrg3• 14 years ago

I don't necessarily want a really small phone. Just a bit smaller, that would be nice.

I really do not want a non-Nexus phone, and it just annoys me a bit when Google is able to pick all the right trade-offs for me, except that one.

code_duck• 14 years ago

Alas, the iPad Mini is definitely inferior to the full size, as well. It's more like an iPod Touch 5 Maxi.

marquis2• 14 years ago

Is there a size guide for these phones? What does "4.7" diagonal" mean anyway? How big is the damn thing in real-world terms? As big a Penguin book? Smaller than an iPad-mini? It would be nice if they could put a hand in the photo.

I am holding onto my older LG Android because it's small and fits in my purse. I just want fast, awesomely small Google-brand phone that doesn't look like I've dragged a mobile brick from the 80s while hauling around an unnecessarily large purse to contain it.

neya• 14 years ago

Finally, they nailed it! Well done Google. Samsung displays are one of the best there ever is (apart from LG). For $299 I think its a killer deal!

Alcedes• 14 years ago

I guess google is going after budget conscious. No LTE is ridiculous and their excuse that they don't want carrier interference is lame. Does Apple have to deal with carriers interfering with deploying LTE? Please, the real reason why they don't support LTE is the Nexus is not a big seller. So it makes little sense to create multiple sku's. Gotta love that Google spin.

codeulike21• 14 years ago

I'm guessing its more like battery and target-cost limitations

edit: and the carrier thing as discussed in The Verge

drivebyacct29• 14 years ago

Anyone who's been paying any attention knows this is no conspiracy, Google is not happy with Verizon AT ALL. Wallet/ISIS is only a small component of that.

Painting this is something else is just inaccurate.

mbesto• 14 years ago

And soon enters the paradox of choice. Do I bring my smartphone, mini-tablet, tablet and/or my laptop in my bag? Wait, why did I buy all of these again?

bitcartel5• 14 years ago

The Galaxy Note could replace your phone and tablet, especially if you don't like to carry items on your person, and prefer to throw them into a bag or handbag.

TillE2• 14 years ago

Smartphone everywhere, mini-tablet if you're carrying a bag, Kindle if you have time to do some reading, laptop if you need to get work done. Larger tablet always stays at home.

That about covers it for me, anyway. The 10" tablet now feels like the least desirable device, unless you have a relatively rare use case like reading a lot of big PDFs.

mahyarm3• 14 years ago

Mini-tablet replaced the kindle for me. I never had the paper book and e-ink reading requirements that many have. e-ink is just too slow for me.

pjmlp2• 14 years ago

SDK site still lists Android 4.1 as latest version. :(

Raphael• 14 years ago

Give them 2 weeks.

pjmlp2• 14 years ago

I am curious to see if NDK is still standing still or more freedom is given to the native developers.

Or if at least more JIT improvements are available.

suprgeek• 14 years ago

The Pricing on the Phone for the Given specs is very impressive. Howvwer I would wait for the reviews for the Nexus 4 to come in and wait for a few months. This phone is made by LG and every person I know who has bought any LG telecom product (Phone/Tablet) has had Quality issues with...

theintern2• 14 years ago

That's the only thing I'm worried about, hopefully the close ties with Google have made sure that the quality and reliability is up to scratch.

rryan2• 14 years ago

Here's a video by the verge which provides a lot more detail, hands on demonstrations, and interviews with the Android team. http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3570034/inside-android-bu... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6...

ericdykstra2• 14 years ago

No LTE is a deal-breaker for me on the Nexus 4. I would pre-order one right now if it was included. I think I'll wait for the next great Android phone that has LTE. The Nexus S is a pretty good phone, so without an upgrade in internet speed I don't see any reason to upgrade.

As for the Nexus 10, I hope that it gets enough sales to start pushing developers to make tablet apps for Android, and for Google to make the split between phone/tablet sized apps better in the Play Store.

w1ntermute6• 14 years ago

> No LTE is a deal-breaker for me on the Nexus 4. I would pre-order one right now if it was included. I think I'll wait for the next great Android phone that has LTE.

There's a good explanation of the LTE situation by The Verge[0]. If Google wants to release timely upgrades, they need to break free of carrier control. And since Verizon and Sprint devices require carrier approval, this will never happen. As for AT&T, their LTE coverage is so limited and the frequencies unique, so it doesn't make economic sense.

> The Nexus S is a pretty good phone, so without an upgrade in internet speed I don't see any reason to upgrade.

With AT&T, there will be an upgrade in speed from the Nexus S to the Nexus 4 (or to the Galaxy Nexus, for that matter). The Nexus S doesn't support HSPA+ (what AT&T is falsely claiming in its TV ads to be 4G - it's actually more like 3.5G), whereas the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 do.

0: http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3569688/why-nexus-4-does-...

ericdykstra2• 14 years ago

Oh I definitely understand why Google made the decision, it just isn't a decision that suits me. HSPA+ isn't enough of an upgrade for me to make the purchase, especially if 6 or 8 months from now there's a great Android phone that does have LTE.

I may end up buying the Nexus 4 anyway, but no LTE puts up a big resistance barrier that would otherwise put me in line to pre-order the phone.

lnanek23• 14 years ago

Definitely not my experience. I'm sitting miles away from Walnut Creek, a town i the East Bay, and I have LTE on AT&T. I certainly have it anywhere closer to civilization, like SF itself or NYC. I wouldn't call AT&T coverage limited at all.

onetwothreefour4• 14 years ago

This "explanation" is a BS excuse.

revelation4• 14 years ago

Whats your use case for LTE? With most carriers in the world, 5 minutes of continuous LTE usage at the advertised speed will race you across any traffic limits and put you back into 64k stone age.

lnanek23• 14 years ago

Every single thing you do that involves network access of any amount does it faster. Do you enjoy waiting for pages to load and apps to pull in data? LTE isn't about more data per se, it's about faster data. It's entirely possible to use it without downloading any more data and still benefit from it.

twism2• 14 years ago

Can you really tell the difference between 42mbps and 72?

ChrisClark4• 14 years ago

That's what I was thinking. And in that case, why do we even need 42mbps. My home internet is fast enough and is only 15mbps.

ceejayoz• 14 years ago

No one gets near the theoretical maximums.

lnanek23• 14 years ago

It was probably a deal breaker for a lot of the carriers Google talked to as well. T-mobile is on board for pushing the phone, but the others really prefer any new device to support LTE. It doesn't make sense for them to push devices that don't use the huge amounts of money they are putting into supporting and building out LTE.

liotier2• 14 years ago

LTE is mostly about increased capacity - no one reaches the theoretical maximum unless they camp under an antenna. So while LTE will improve the network as a whole, don't expect too much from it as an individual user - and don't break a deal just for that...

illumin85• 14 years ago

Says who? I've benchmarked my friend's Verizon LTE phone and gotten consistent 20 megabits down and 20 megabits up in a variety of locations across the tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT). This is better than cable modem service in a lot of areas.

mikeevans• 14 years ago

>Nexus 4 comes with wireless charging capability built right in. Just place your Nexus 4 on a compatible wireless charging mat to charge -- and retire the wire for good.

One's not included in the box though. I wonder how much they plan to charge for that accessory.

anonymouz• 14 years ago

I like the wireless charging feature. It's the kind of thing that, viewed pragmatically, isn't really all that important, but it has a slick futuristic ScFi vibe to it that makes me want to have it.

bengillies• 14 years ago

It's cool and all but, if it's not included in the box it's not a feature. It's an optional extra.

georgemcbay• 14 years ago

Those look like some very nice devices at very compelling prices.

I'm still a bit disappointed though. I've been waiting/hoping for a Nexus hybrid (ala the ASUS Transformer). I'm really sold on that form factor and hope they do something with it on a "Nexus" device. The continued lack of this makes me wonder if they just haven't gotten around to it yet or if they are avoiding it due to Chrome OS related strategy tax.

beggi• 14 years ago

Ok so, 4th generation of Nexus phones is called Nexus 4 and the tablets with 7" and 10" screens are called Nexus 7 and Nexus 10? What..? Also, this greets me when going to the product page (not trying to buy the phone, just trying to look at the phone): http://cl.ly/image/2t2R0L1L0H0F

wmf5• 14 years ago

Maybe they rounded 4.7" down to 4.

Aissen• 14 years ago

More like truncated at this point.

codeulike21• 14 years ago

Nexus 4 has a 4.7" screen so the naming convention just about holds true.

vasco• 14 years ago

Is there anything country specific on the phone? Seriously thinking about crossing the border to buy one. Would I have problems with the store or anything?

marquis2• 14 years ago

The specs say "NETWORK Unlocked GSM/UMTS/HSPA+ GSM/EDGE/GPRS (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) 3G (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz) HSPA+ 21". So I'm also assuming this means you can use it worldwide with any SIM, I've used my older LG android all over the world (AT&T or T-Mobile in the US).

netcan3• 14 years ago

This is a test period for the post Jobs Apple.

Apple has a loyal mac user base willing to pay an Apple premium. A business that won't just disappear overnight. They had a good head start on iphones. Combined with the obscure phone prices on plans, Apple can easily get their premium here. The tablet market they pretty much had to themselves.

Now Android really is mature. Great devices at great prices that compete with iOS devices on features and not just on price.

Lets see if they can keep up their margins.

jawngee• 14 years ago

Android still has a long way to go. I have the Nexus 7 (I should divulge I am an iOS/Cocoa developer) and I kind of like it, but it still has a cheap usability feel to it. The parallax is pretty obvious which translates into issues like laggy typing and occasional awkward pauses. The select/copy/paste is just bizarre. Video playback is crappy.

Android is to Toyota what Apple is to Mercedes. They both essentially do the same thing, will get you to the same places, but it's a different kind of ride. Some people like Toyotas, and that's OK.

I also don't think the kind of people that buy Android devices are the same people that buy iOS devices. Not mention the homogeny of the whole Apple experience and how much smoother that gets with each iteration of OSX and iOS. I can pick up one device where I left off on another one. Because Google doesn't own that kind of end to end experience, it will be hard for them to compete on a whole.

ajross• 14 years ago

The qualitative arguments are valid enough, and I won't try to dispute them except to point out that most of what you argue is lets-just-say-controversial and not uniformly agreed upon.

But the car analogy is just bad. Mercedes sells cars into different markets with different feature sets than Toyota. People don't buy a Camry expecting it to accelerate like a E350. And the "polish" features are things like Leather Seats and climate control, which are objectively measurable.

Compare the Nexus 10, which by basically all objective measures is a better piece of hardware than the retina iPad. All that Apple has on it is brand and opinion.

Even Mercedes can't sell cars on brand and opinion alone.

ionforce• 14 years ago

What is parallax, in the context of the Nexus?

jvm• 14 years ago

A lot of these things you're saying have to do with just being aligned with the Apple universe.

> I can pick up one device where I left off on another one.

I would argue that seamlessness across devices has historically almost always been stronger on Android than iOS (although they're pretty similar right now that iCloud is fairly caught up with Google's cloud offerings). It's changing OS that's a hassle.

> The select/copy/paste is just bizarre

Really? I found this quite intuitive and feature complete; I don't really know what it's like on iOS, are you sure you're not just used to a different way of doing things?

I didn't have your laginess issues with the N7 but I'm sure your complaints are legit. Nevertheless I think they will vary from device to device; it's not clear that Apple could build a $200 tablet with those specs that didn't ever lag. Knowing Apple, if they couldn't they just wouldn't.

On paper the N10 looks considerably better to me than the iPad (lighter, has better screen resolution, etc.). That's BMW vs. Mercedes not Toyota vs. Mercedes. We'll see if it lives up to its specs but if it does I don't think there's much left to the argument that Apple products are on the whole better rather than different.

RShiki8• 14 years ago

"I also don't think the kind of people that buy Android devices are the same people that buy iOS devices."

Really ? I used to own an iPad 2 and an iPhone 3g. Because they were much, much better than the competition at the time. I sold my iPad 2, got a nexus 7. I'm going to buy a Nexus 4 as soon as it's released. I don't understand your point about laggy typing with the Nexus 7. Did you hit the bug on the 16gb that starts when you have your internal storage filled ? (yeah, I agree that this kind of bug shouldn't even exist, but if you've filled your N7's ssd and ignored this bug you don't really know how smooth the device can be) I've always been good at typing, I get a very high word-per-minute on a real keyboard and a satisfying wpm on touch keyboards with good prediction, I admit I use swiftkey rather than the built-in android keyboard but I haven't noticed a lag so far. The experience has been stellar for me, everything runs as smooth as my iPad 2 but I now get the functionality I have always desired, such as a real filesystem access, the ability to disable built in apps and use a third party app as the default (Android Intents) and so on.

I admit that android is lacking in tablet apps, but that's almost certainly going to be solved with the release of the Nexus 7 and now the Nexus 10, because past android tablets really sucked and you couldn't count on them to get OS upgrades. With the Nexus 7 and 10, developers will have a good reason to come to the platform. The Nexus 7 is already outselling all the other android tablets combined I think. JellyBean and ICS fixed a lot of what was wrong with the UI and smoothness. When it comes to the core OS itself, I now consider Android on par with iOS, which wasn't the case for me during the days of 2.x and honeycomb for tablets. Why do I like android better than iOS now that they're on par (IMHO) ? the ability to customize the OS, even without having to root the device. I didn't root my N7 nor did I install a custom rom. But I'm using a third party launcher, keyboard and lots of app that CAN'T exist under the iOS ecosystem. I've always wanted to use Android, but bought iOS devices in the past because they were objectively better and too good compared to the subpar android releases, my desire for a more free (as in freedom) ecosystem didn't outweigh the cons of early android. But in 2012, with Nexus devices ? iOS is dead to me.

I'm not saying iOS sucks. I still like it a lot, and think that Apple truly changed the market and I doubt the competition would've become as good if Apple didn't release those devices. But I absolutely can't stand the walled garden and only submitted to it because of the lack of real competition, until now. If Apple gave us the kind of freedom with expect on a computer, be it an OS X laptop or Windows 8 laptop, I would have no qualms in coming back to iOS, and buy the next iPhone or iPad. But with android getting much better than it used to be, and iOS being still as constraining as it was in the past, hell no! Waiting for the jailbreak when new devices are released, and waiting before installing os updates because they break the jailbreak is not for me. Android allows me to do things you'd need a jailbreak on iOS, but not something like rooting or unlocking the bootloader on Android. Btw I'm not a software pirate, I buy the apps that catch my interest, I don't need "full freedom" but android gives out far more freedom out of the box than iOS and some of those freedoms are truly useful. Swiftkey is the best virtual keyboard I've ever used, your mileage may vary. You can't replace the keyboard on iOS without jailbreaking. You can't have a keyboard with symbols for programming without jailbreaking. Why ? Why should we let ourselves be shackled by Apple so much ? Windows 8 (RT and Phone) is going the wrong direction too. Sideloading shouldn't even be a word. Installing apps outside of an app store shouldn't be considered a specific, niche use case.

achompas2• 14 years ago

The "iPad mini vs. other 7" tablet" battle has been going on for a week, but if nothing else I hope these new Nexus tablets force Apple to move away from $100 jumps for memory and $130 jumps for radio.

The ~$450 I paid for a 32GB iPad mini would net me two base Nexus 7s. Alternatively, for $100 less I can get an equivalent Nexus 7...with cell radio. Those jumps add up!

mtgx4• 14 years ago

Just being available in the market at those prices will not force Apple to lower theirs. Only if you vote with your wallet and stop buying Apple products for those prices, they'll start to listen.

dbecker2• 14 years ago

It can work either way. They could lower their prices, because otherwise people will move from Apple to the cheaper devices.

On the other hand, if the price conscious consumers move to competitors, they may raise their prices (because only people willing to pay a premium are interested anyway.)

Empirically, their are many examples of competition leading to lower prices. But the entry of low cost generic drugs have historically caused the associated branded drugs to raise their prices.

It's hard to predict which way it will work in the tablet market.

yumraj• 14 years ago

In the era of beautiful Surface and iPads why oh why did the Nexus 10 have to be so ugly, when Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 are pretty. The specs on Nexus 10 make me want to buy it, but the shape is just not helping me make that decision.

james4k• 14 years ago

I don't find it that ugly, but I can't help but think they were just trying to differentiate themselves from the iPad.

fudged712• 14 years ago

The 10" would be far better with the studded back texture of the 7"

saturdaysaint• 14 years ago

I've been a happy iPhone customer since the first model, but I think a good low-price competitor is going to be a real challenge for Apple - an affordable and desirable unlocked phone strikes me as a big breakthrough. Whether Google is going to make a push to spell out the saving to contract-happy U.S. (and risk alienating carriers and competing handset makers) is the real question.

astrodust2• 14 years ago

Apple's not in any significant danger yet. The margin built into their products is usually high, so should push come to shove, they can always cut that.

Normally demand is high enough that even at the premium price the product is sold out until it's replaced by a more sophisticated model and the "old" product can be manufactured more cheaply.

Other vendors should be thankful that Apple doesn't sell things at cost. This leaves significant opportunities for other vendors to fit in and compete.

seunosewa• 14 years ago

They are not in danger of outright failure, but they are in danger of significantly reduced earnings and stock price, which is always a big deal for a publicly traded corporation.

nachteilig• 14 years ago

I've been an iOS device guy since the beginning, but these low pricepoints on a flagship Google device make it very, very tempting to at least give Android a try. Well done, Google!

drivebyacct29• 14 years ago

This stuff is blowing my mind.

On every single spec, Nexus exceeds the iDevice equivalent. The Nexus 4 has two NFC radios, a higher res screen, is thinner and lighter and is less than half of the price of the iPhone 5. (edit: That's unfair, I forget about LTE, though I understand why Google skipped that)

Similar things hold for the Nexus 10.

Am I the only one really surprised?

(This is of course not to mention the numerous new Android 4.2 features that everyone except the Verge has ignored)

jmillikin• 14 years ago

The iPhone 5 is thinner and lighter than the new Nexus.

drivebyacct29• 14 years ago

I did indeed misspeak, the tablet is thinner and lighter, the Nexus 4 is a smidge thicker than the Nexus 4, my apologies, I mushed those together in my head.

wutbrodo• 14 years ago

I don't have that clear a picture of the mobile landscape over the past couple of years (since the last time I was in the market for a phone), but has this not consistently been the case? I remember hearing as far back as 2010, "Specs aren't everything, android fans are obsessed with numbers". The price of course is rather new, but to my memory, this latest comparison really seems entirely in line with the last couple years of the smartphone landscape.

drivebyacct29• 14 years ago

I think for me it's the seriousness of the tablet, more so than the phone.

Anyway, yeah, Nexus phones have always been competitive, but they've always skimped. PenTile display, or low memory or low ROM, or a shit camera on the Galaxy Nexus. This looks like PREMO nearly best you can source parts across 4, 7, 10.

onetwothreefour4• 14 years ago

You're only surprised because you're comparing a spec sheet to another spec sheet. And it's not thinner and lighter. And you don't know if the screen is actually going to look better. And it doesn't have LTE (no matter what the excuse).

Additionally, the Nexus 10 is massive, is ugly as hell, runs Android and thus has like 10 apps designed for a Android tablet.

I own every Nexus device in existence and every iOS device, so that's where I'm coming from. The Nexus 7 was a waste of money.

drivebyacct29• 14 years ago

> And it's not thinner and lighter.

The tablet certainly is. You're a troll, what are you stalking me? [edit: it appears I did misspeak, the tablet is lighter and thinner, the phone is not, though practically, they're both basically the same-ish dimensions give-or-take nothing that actually matters)

>runs Android and thus has like 10 apps designed for a Android tablet.

Gimme a break, I'm not wasting my time on you. I don't even believe the last line of that post.

drivebyacct29• 14 years ago

Quite frankly, I haven't seen these mentioned anywhere except in a very long Verge video so I'm making a list of Android 4.2 features:

- Google Now will now automatically detect packages you are going to receive and will notify you of their progress. You can now dictate calendar events (also, in 4.1 they added the ability to say "navigate home").

- You can take 360 degree panoramas

- Quick Settings & Multi-user accounts

- You can swipe the lock screen to reveal informational widgets. (quickly check your calendar, etc)

- Swype functionality built into the keyboard. (Even cooler than Swype though because of where it shows the word and the suggestions)

I've also yet to see anyone mention that the Nexus 4 rests in a capacitive, magnetic dock.

hack_edu2• 14 years ago

Have detailed specs of the Nexus 4's components been released yet? One of the most surprising features of the Nexus S was the superb Wolfson DAC audio, which is almost unheard of in a phone. If the Nexus 4's compares I'll preorder today.

manishsharan• 14 years ago

Can someone please comment on how PDF and ebooks from Manning's programming books render on Nexus 7 vs. mini-IPAD ? That, for me, is the deciding factor.

mahyarm3• 14 years ago

PDFs render pretty well on the Nexus 7 with Adobe's reader app. I'd guess better since there is more resolution?

yohui3• 14 years ago

Agreed. I would add that really big (large textbook size) PDFs occasionally hang Adobe Reader. ezPDF tends to handle those better.

mfringel• 14 years ago

Since I see a lot of "Hey, doesn't X do that too?" remarks, I just wanted to say:

Execution counts.

It's not enough to say "Hey, X does that, too." There has to be a qualifier on how well/poorly/etc. it does it. Otherwise, we're meaningless comparing feature checklists, which could be done by a small perl script.

Achshar• 14 years ago

Won't anyone think of us folks in India. I really want a tablet and I would get nexus 7 if it were available here at that price. Also google music and play store won't hurt either.

mladenkovacevic3• 14 years ago

Miracast support. I hope more devices (TVs and set-top players) really jump on board with this protocol.

jebblue2• 14 years ago

Nexus 4 looks interesting but a bigger screen would be nice and I could go to the Nexus 7 now that they have one with a phone option and MicroUSB for connectivity! Ah, it has no camera well a 1.2 MP front facing one but that's it. Maybe the Nexus 10, big, would take some getting use to to replace a phone with it and it has an 8MP rear facing camera, but no phone option. :-(

When I can get a 7 with phone and at least 32 Gigs or preferably expandable storage like my Nexus One which I've had 32 Gigs on now for a year or two and an 8MP real rear camera and a front facing camera and MicroUSB then I'll upgrade from Nexus One to Nexus 7 or if the 10 gets a phone I might go to that.

The 10 would be a strong option for me now if it had at least 4 Gigs RAM, 64 Gigs storage or expandable and a phone as well as rear and front facing cameras.

shimon_e• 14 years ago

FYI, the Nexus 4 is quad core. However, the Nexus 10 is only dual! I've tried switching to a tablet at the beginning of the year but web browsing performance wasn't good enough for me. Hope the dual core downgrade won't make that much of a difference.

edit: I was under the impression they both were Samsung Exynos arm processors. Turns out the Nexus 4 is using the Snapdragon S4 Pro and the Nexus 10 is using a A15 Samsung Exynos.

Symmetry• 14 years ago

I was surprised by that too. An A15 ought to be individually faster than the Krait cores in the S4, but not by that much.

jordanthoms2• 14 years ago

They are using the exynos 5 because it's the only SOC out right now that can support a screen with that resolution. The A15 cores should run very well, I suspect it'll be faster than the nexus 4 for most tasks.

metalsahu• 14 years ago

This is a new phase of the tablet wars. During phase 1, an iPad was not only more polished (both hardware and software) but also much cheaper than the competition. In 2009, no other tablet maker could match iPad on cost for equivalent specs because Apple had completely optimized the supply chain. Non-iPads mostly sucked!

Fast forward 3years, tablets are no longer a novelty and users have figured out that the product is more function based rather than status driven - unlike Phones where brand plays a part in the purchase esp because majority of the usage happens in front of other people.

One sign of this change in consumer behavior was signaled by the launch of iPad 4 within 6months of the iPad 3. Felt like Apple saw a glitch in the matrix and had to make sudden changes. Q3 earnings confirmed that iPad sales were down.

What now? Well, the door is wide open. People will pick based on personal preferences as there is no clear "objective best": iPads, Kindles and Nexuses are all interchangeable.

chm• 14 years ago

I wonder why they chose not to add a full-size HDMI port. A lot of people have HDMI cables/TVs at home, but I guess most of them do not have micro-HDMI cables. The device doesn't ship with one, either.

From the viewpoint of the customer, this feels awkward. I guess the business people and engineers see it otherwise...

Jach• 14 years ago

http://www.amazon.com/Fosmon-HDMI-Micro-Cable-Feet/dp/B003UH... HDMI size problem solved, I don't think that alone would turn away any customers though it would be an annoyance. At least the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 have HDMI output, the lack of that is still my biggest complaint about the Nexus 7 and has so far been the deal-breaker keeping me from getting one. (Lack of SD card support is also annoying, but I can live with USB-expanded storage.)

JVIDEL• 14 years ago

I don't know what's more insane: the N10's 2560 x 1600 screen or how hard is to find a laptop with a measly 1080p screen for twice the price of that tablet.

The N4 is bonkers too. Sure there are other phones with HD screens now, but with a quad Krait? the only other I know is the Mi2, and good luck getting one at launch.

The N7 with cellular is really tempting since with a little hack you could have a tablet+phone hybrid (using a Bt headset). Too bad it still uses the Tegra3, a SoC that couldn't keep up with the dual Krait.

But overall I think Google just brought a gun to knife fight...

chj• 14 years ago

They need to work more on their browser. They are using the same webkit core as iOS, right? Reality is, every time I used the browser on Nexus 7, I want to throw it out of window.

nodata3• 14 years ago

Steal my idea, Google: hot-swappable batteries please.

radiosnob• 14 years ago

Geez, I hate Google localisation. It NEVER works. It is always off.

I'm sitting in Germany, all my Chrome settings are set to English. Go to the main Nexus blogspot website and its in English. Great. (despite being blogspot.de)

Click on Nexus 10. Its in german. Understandable as I'm Germany. But please respect the browser settings.

Go back and click on Nexus 7, and its in English.

Go back and click on Nexus 4, and its in FRENCH!! Why?!

Click on the expanded memory option on the French page and it goes to the English version of the Nexus 4 page.

This infuriates me no end. This is the single reason why I will not use Google Play. I know that if I buy a book or a movie, the chances of it being in the language I set for the device will be slim. I have no desire to through money away like that.

david927• 14 years ago

I'm in France and I'm getting pages in a mix of English, French, and... German! On the same page. (With no way of changing it.)

blrgeek• 14 years ago

Finally Android tablets have caught up to (and even surpassed on some things) the iPad. [Of course iOS vs Android is a big choice.] It's taken just 4 years!

Nexus 10 - clearly better than the iPad on price, display (resolution, size, aspect ratio), sound, Wifi, RAM, GPS. Battery life is unknown though, GPU likely to be worse.

Nexus 7 - beats the iPad Mini on price and resolution, matches on most other things.

codeulike21• 14 years ago

Tuesday: I'd say the storm has cost Google a lot of publicity. Guardian Tech is leading with the Apple management reshuffle, way down the page there's a small article saying 'google were going to launch something or other but had to cancel, here are some rumours'.

Nexus: The best of Google, now in three sizes

Related Stories