Google was forced to cancel a planned Android product unveiling event in New York City on Monday morning due to the approaching Hurricane Sandy, but the company went ahead and announced three new products on Monday at noon anyway, among them, a new Nexus tablet: the Nexus 10 from Samsung, which is logically 10 inches long, putting it in the same category as the full-size iPad but at about 20 percent off the iPad’s entry price, with the Nexus 10 retailing at $399 and the new iPad starting at $499.
The Nexus 10 will be available for sale online beginning November 13, Google said. It’s WiFi only for now, and comes in 16 GB ($399) and 32 GB ($499) models.
Google’s release of the Nexus 10 underscores the increasing competition across all sizes (form factors) within the tablet market, with Google’s Nexus 10 release coming just days after Apple’s unveiling of a 7.9-inch iPad Mini.
Google unveiled its first branded tablet, the 7-inch Nexus 7 from Asus for $199, back in late June. Google hasn’t released sales figures on that device yet, but analysts project the total will be anywhere between 4 million and 8 million units sold by the end of the year, compared to over 60 million iPads globally.
Google on Monday also unveiled new versions of that tablet with larger onboard memory, up from the 8GB version initially released to 16GB and 32GB versions for $199, $249 and $249, respectively. Prospective consumers have the option to add HSPA+ data plan support on their 32GB Nexus 7 for an extra $50. All new Nexus 7 models are poised to go on sale November 13, too.
Finally, Google on Monday additionally announced its new Nexus smartphone — the Nexus 4 from LG. Coming in 8GB and 16GB models for $299 and $349, respectively, the new phone, which goes on sale November 13, runs the latest version of Google’s Android operating system, Android 4.2 (still “Jelly Bean,” like 4.1), which Google claims is the “simplest and smartest” version of Android since the software debuted in 2008.
But that’s not to say Jelly Bean 4.2 doesn’t come with new features, including a new built in photo app called “Photo Sphere,” that allows users to create multidirectional panoramas, as well as “Gesture Typing,” in which a user can slide their finger across multiple keys rather than pressing to type, plus a new version of “Google Now,” the company’s instant, personalized alert system that set off some controversy and dystopian hand–wringing over its wide range of knowledge about a user’s life and habits (home address, friends, sports teams, etc.) when it was first released in July.
Here’s a video of the “Photo Sphere” feature in action, posted by Google on YouTube on Monday:
Google also expanded the ability for users of its Google Play store to purchase music to U.K, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
