Balboa Park San Diego - Nexus 7 Wins, iPad Mini Loses

Source - http://betanews.com/
By - Joe Wilcox
Category - Balboa Park San Diego
Posted By - San Diego Hampton Inn

Balboa Park San Diego

Rest in peace, iPad mini. Google killed you. The question then: Is it murder or manslaughter -- or justified homicide, putting the Apple tablet out of our misery?

Three days using the new Nexus 7, I can't imagine why Apple let Google, and partner ASUS, seize back-to-school buying with the tablet. I don't refer just to the instrument of destruction but the means. The 2013 edition is widely available through major US retailers, including Amazon and Best Buy. By all indications there is inventory to meet demand, not the typical supply shortages, although the 32GB WiFi model is unavailable this weekend from many retailers -- but Google Play is stocked.

Now would be a really good time for Apple to launch a new iPad mini. Waiting to release iOS 7 is a mistake, but it's one I expect the fruit-logo company to make. I wouldn't recommend iPad mini over Nexus 7 to anyone. Last week, my daughter asked for the Apple tablet to take back to college. She can have the Android, and will thank me for it later. 

Google announced the tablet on July 24, with sales slated for the 30th, but they started early; on Friday. Outstanding, emotive marketing video "Fear Less", along with new textbook purchases and rentals, is sure sign Nexus 7's release timing is quite deliberate. Google knows parents and students will shop for tech tools over the next month. Nexus 7 isn't just launched, it's widely available here, as Google also ramps up distribution elsewhere.

Imagine students taking Nexus 7 to class who could have gone iPad mini. Marketing and distribution make the difference. Apple's tablet is the elephant in the room, from a market share perspective, and surely won't lose loads of weight because of Google's device. But any sales losses are unnecessary, if only there was a more competitive -- and affordable -- iPad mini ready for back to school.

Epic Competition

Let's compare the two tablets.

iPad mini specs: 7.9-inch back-lit IPS display (1024 x 768 resolution, 163 pixels per inch); A5 dual-core processor; 1GB RAM; 16GB, 32GB or 64GB storage; 5-megapixel rear-facing and 1.2MP front-facing cameras; Bluetooth; WiFi A/N; HSPA+/LTE (on three models); accelerometer; GPS; gyroscope; microphone; and iOS 6. Measures 200 x 134.7 x .28mm and weighs 308 grams.

• iPad mini 16GB WiFi: $329
• iPad mini 32GB WiFi: $429
• iPad mini 16GB WiFi/LTE: $459
• iPad mini 64GB WiFi: $529
• iPad mini 32GB WiFi/LTE: $559
• iPad mini 64GB WiFi/LTE: $659

Nexus 7 specs: 7-inch back-lit IPS display (1920 x 1200 resolution, 323 ppi); 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor; Adreno 320 graphics; 2GB RAM; 16GB or 32GB storage; 5MP rear-facing and 1.2MP front-facing cameras; Bluetooth (support for Bluetooth Smart), WiFi A/N; HSPA+/LTE (on some models); accelerometer; GPS; gyroscope; magnetometer; microphone; near field communications; wireless charging; and Android 4.3. Measures 114 x 200 x 8.65 mm and weighs 290 grams.

• Nexus 7 16GB WiFi: $229
• Nexus 7 32GB WiFi: $269
• Nexus 7 32GB WiFi/LTE: $349

The new N7 costs more than it's predecessor -- $30 for the starter WiFi, for example. Google's Nexus 7 price increase surprises but timing is perfect. The high-end LTE model, while costing more than its HSPA+ predecessor, is quite the value compared to the entry-level mini.

So for $349, you can buy a 7-inch HD tablet from Google, with fast processor, 32GB storage and LTE, or for $20 less a 7.9-inch iPad mini with 1024 by 768 resolution, 16GB and WiFi. The comparable model to Nexus 7 is $559. For the budget-conscious, and who isn't when back-to-school shopping, Google's entry tablet costs $100 less than Apple's, but with superior processor and screen resolution.

Apple, or even most Android manufacturers, cannot compete with Google on tablet pricing. That gives Nexus 7 huge opportunity to gain market share, now that the screen is HD, global LTE is available, more retailers sell the device and service Google Now rises as the killer app.

Google doesn't make money from devices but from contextual content, services and advertising wrapped around them. So the company can keep margins thin on the hardware, unlike Apple which makes the majority of profits from hardware sales. The fruit-logo company can never compete on price and doesn't have a device ready for back-to-school buying. That's a sour crop for the season.