The first-generation Nexus 7 (also commonly known as Nexus 7 (2012)) is a mini tablet computer co-developed by Google and Asus that runs the Android operating system. 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 Nexus 7 features a display, an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core chip, 1 GB of RAM, Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity, and 8, 16 or 32 GB of storage. The tablet was the first device to ship with version 4.1 of Android, nicknamed "Jelly Bean". 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.
Design work on the Nexus 7 began in January 2012 after a meeting between Google and Asus executives at International CES. The device's design was based on Asus' Eee Pad MeMO ME370T tablet that had been showcased at the conference. 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. 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. 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. Google expanded the Nexus 7 lineup in October 2012 with the introduction of 32GB versions, available in Wi-Fi–only and HSPA+ cellular-ready varieties.
The Nexus 7 received positive reviews from critics, particularly for its competitive pricing, premium-quality build, and powerful hardware. Common criticisms included the absence of cellular connectivity from initial models and no expandable storage. The Nexus 7 has been commercially successful, selling approximately 4.5–4.6 million units in 2012 and 7 million units overall. 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 second generation Nexus 7 was released on July 26, 2013.
History
Development phase In an interview in December 2011, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt announced that a Google-designed tablet computer would arrive in six months. 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. 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).
According 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. 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. Asus chairman Jonney Shih said that the software company "ask[ed] a lot" and that "our engineers told me it is like torture". Former Android division manager Andy Rubin commented that Asus was the only company capable of designing such a product in four months.
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. Having employees working in both locations allowed the engineering team to have a 24-hour development cycle, although Shih later needed to add 40 people to the project to meet Google's requests. The design for the Nexus 7 was based on a tablet that Asus had showcased at International CES that year, the Eee Pad MeMO ME370T. An official explained, "While the base design and setup was completed in the 370T to meet a certain price point and option list, the efforts required to get that design to $199 meant going back to the drawing board and starting over on just about every aspect of the unit." Among the component modifications were a new motherboard, revised system on a chip (SoC), laminated display, and rear casing with a grippier material. The Nexus 7's design was completed after a relatively rapid four-month development period; mass production began in May 2012.
In an analysis of its components, IHS's iSuppli estimated that the production cost of the 16 GB model of the Nexus 7 is $159.25 per unit, $19 more per unit than Amazon.com's competing tablet, the Kindle Fire. The Nexus 7's higher production costs were attributed to its use of a higher-quality display, a quad-core processor (instead of the Fire's dual-core), and its inclusion of a camera and near field communications (NFC) functionality. The firm's senior analyst Andrew Rassweiler suggested that the success of the HP TouchPad's fire sale helped increase the commercial viability of low-cost tablets from major brands, and the failures of other high-end tablets helped reduce the cost of parts, making tablets like the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7 possible. However, he also noted that both tablets were being sold at thin profit margins, primarily due to their respective ties to content services.
Unveiling and release
One month before its unveiling, the tablet appeared on benchmark site Rightware, which revealed that it would be an Asus-produced device known as the "Nexus 7" with a screen, a Nvidia Tegra 3 SoC, and version 4.1 of Android. On June 25, 2012, gadget website Gizmodo Australia claimed it had access to the tablet's specifications and recommended retail prices, which turned out to be correct.
The Nexus 7 was revealed on June 27, 2012, at Google I/O, an annual developer conference at Moscone Center in San Francisco, and it became available for pre-order on the same day. In addition, Android version 4.1, nicknamed "Jelly bean", was revealed during the keynote address by Hugo Barra, Director of Product Management for Android. The following day, a special white edition of the Nexus 7 was given to Google I/O attendees, along with the Galaxy Nexus with Jelly Bean pre-installed, the Nexus Q, and a Chromebox. Barra announced that the tablet would retail for $199 for the 8 GB version and that it would come with a free film, e-book, several magazines, and a $25 credit (available for redemption until September 30) to spend in Google Play, Android's digital multimedia distribution service. The Nexus 7 was interpreted by technology commentators as Google's response to the inability of Android tablets to challenge the iPads' lead of the non-phone tablet market. Shares of Google increased by 0.8 percent to $569.37 that afternoon.
At the launch event, Barra announced that the tablet would initially be shipped to Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. On July 13, 2012, Google began shipping the Nexus 7 to customers in Australia and the US who had pre-ordered the tablet. The company released the Nexus 7 to Canada and the UK four days later on July 17. The tablet was released in France, Germany, and Spain on August 27, 2012, and in Japan on September 25, 2012. Two days later the tablet was released in South Korea. The Nexus 7 was progressively released to selected markets, such as Portugal and India, in the following months.
Features
Software As a Google Nexus device, the Nexus 7 offers a "pure Android" experience, as it features the stock Android operating system, free of manufacturer or wireless carrier modifications like custom graphical user interfaces (or "skins", such as TouchWiz and HTC Sense) that exist in other Android devices. Nexus products, unlike most mobile devices, have an unlockable bootloader, which allows users to replace the device's firmware, which in turn allows from the outset to "root" the device to gain privileged control over Android's environment and further develop and modify the operating system.
Nexus devices were considered the "flagship" Android devices and are the first to receive updates to the operating system. As such, the Nexus 7 was the first device to have been shipped with Android version 4.1 ("Jelly Bean"). Jelly Bean was an incremental upgrade from Android 4.0 ("Ice Cream Sandwich"), incorporating software improvements to the pull-down notifications bar and camera, and changes to the homescreen. With Jelly Bean, Google significantly reduced latency (lag), one negative aspect of Android compared to Apple's iOS operating system. It does so by employing "vsync timing" and triple buffering, improving touch responsiveness, and programming the display to run at 60 frames per second; this initiative was called "Project Butter". The Nexus 7 was the first device to incorporate Google Chrome for Android as the standard web browser; all previous iterations of the Android OS used an unnamed application simply called Browser.
One of the most highly touted features of Jelly Bean was Google Now, an intelligent personal assistant built into the Google Search app that is similar to Apple's Siri. According to Google, Google Now displays information in the form of cards that it predicts the user would find useful based on their search habits, such as traffic conditions, sports results, and weather. Google Now can translate a selected number of written languages and provide information on nearby places of interest. Whereas Siri only works on iOS products, Google Now is available on Android and iOS devices in addition to the desktop Google Chrome web browser; users and analysts regard Google Now to be superior to Siri. Popular Science named Google Now the "Innovation of the Year" for 2012.
The Nexus 7 comes with many applications by default, including Gmail, YouTube, Maps, Calendar, Google+, Google Wallet, and Currents. According to Barra, Google emphasized the integration of Google Play across Android 4.1 on the device: "Google Play is Nexus 7 and Nexus 7 is Google Play. So which one is it that you are selling?...Well, it's really both." According to Andy Rubin, the emphasis of Google Play arose after Google learned that customers buy into an application "ecosystem" when purchasing tablets, unlike phones where hardware is the primary determining factor. The Nexus 7 is intended to take advantage of the different media formats available through the application store, including e-books, movies, music, games, magazines, and television programs. Several updates to Android were released in subsequent months, including Android 4.2 in November 2012, Android 4.3 in July 2013, and Android 4.4 ("KitKat") in November 2013. Android 5.0 ("Lollipop") was released for the Nexus 7 WiFi edition in November 2014, although users reported that the update rendered the tablet very slow. Some of the issues with Android 5.0 have reportedly been addressed in an Android 5.0.2 update.http://www.xda-developers.com/android-5-0-2-nexus-7-2012-xdatv/ xda-developers.com: Android 5.0.2 Fixes 2012 Nexus 7! In March 2015, the Nexus 7 was upgraded to Android 5.1, which fixes the lagging issues.
Hardware and design