Google’s Nexus tablet will be priced competitively [Rumor]
There have been rumblings of a Google Nexus tablet that will be launching some time later this year. Many have speculated that it would be built by ASUS and would be based off the company’s ASUS MeMo 370T tablet revealed earlier this year at CES, but how much would Google price their device? Well if the reports are to be believed, it looks like Google could be looking to give Amazon a run for its money by pricing it at a competitive $199, ultimately pressuring other Android manufacturers to bring down the price of their tablets.
Since Amazon’s new Kindle Fire, set to launch in the third quarter, is expected to be priced around US$199-299, Google will price its tablet PC at US$199 to even out the price advantage.
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Currently, both Acer and Lenovo’s 7-inch tablet PCs have already dropped to a price range of around US$279, leaving Asustek Computer’s 7-inch MeMO 171 and some of Samsung’s 7.7-inch and 7-inch models still priced above US$500; however, since Asustek plans to launch its new MeMO 370T with a price of US$249 in the near future, Samsung may soon be forced to follow suit to drop its prices, while some second-tier white-box players are even reducing their tablet PC prices to below US$159 to survive.
What do you guys think? Digitimes has had a pretty shoddy track record so far, but given the success of the Amazon Kindle Fire which saw enormous adoption due to its competitive pricing, we wouldn’t be surprised if the rumored Google Nexus tablet would be priced just as competitively in order to help attract users onto the Android platform.
Do you remember the good old days of IRC and later on ICQ? I can still remember my 8 digit ICQ number, although I am quite sure that a fair number of you veterans out there do have an ICQ number that has far less digits, which is a badge of honor even until now. You could more or less see who was online among your list of friends, although there was the option to go invisible. Google has quietly rolled out a new app known as “Who’s Down”, where it will let you check out just who you would like to hang out with. How so?
For starters, when you turn on a switch that mentions you’re available and would like to do something specific (it is up to you, actually, so whether it is you carving out time to hang out at the mall or to grab a bite), then your desired status will appear with a question to invite anyone who has the same mind among your friends to join you. This status will last for three hours, and makes it easier to coordinate your desired plans with your mates.
I guess the Who’s Down app’s goal is to provide a platform where a group of friends can check out what you would like to do at a glance, as opposed to messaging one another on a group chat channel or the like. Your ego will also be protected in some way, since there is no way you can get turned down – because technically speaking, you didn’t ask anyone to join you directly. Who’s Down is available for the Android and iOS platforms.
I am quite sure that many people have already heard word concerning a Verizon-branded model of the Nexus 6 for quite some time already. Well, one can only say that the stock-powered Android phablet has been a rather difficult “creature” to spot – where even Google CFO Patrick Pichette did admit last month that they were unable to obtain enough inventory in order to cover demand for the device. The Nexus 6 can be considered to be a success in this sense, and it seems that Verizon subscribers can hope to see it arrive soon.
After all, that is what it looks like through a leaked marketing material that points to such a possibility. The label that is on the package itself did mention that it is Merchandising material from Verizon, and there was the specific phrase “Nexus 6 Launch” spotted there. True or otherwise, all that we can do is sit tight and wait.
It looks like we live in the age of speed, where delays are frowned upon on. In fact, it seems that Google too, wants to deliver near instantaneous translating with their Google Translate app on mobile devices by minimizing the amount of delay, making it feel as though it works in real-time. Word on the street has it that Google is preparing to roll out a brand new service which will be able to translate words in real-time, pretty much in the same manner as a current market solution known as Word Lens is able to do.
The update to the Android ‘Translate’ app will also be able to automatically recognize when someone is speaking another language, before going about with its translation magic to turn it into text that you can understand. The mechanics behind this app remain to be understood, but changes are one will need to have it configured to translate popular spoken languages into written text in a language of your choice, allowing it to be ever ready to see action. Anyone interested?