Hasta La Gadget!

Google will refresh its Nexus 7 tablet this summer, launching a new version powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor around July, according to Reuters – which is about a year after it launched the original Nexus 7. The news agency said two unnamed sources also told it Google is aiming to ship between six and eight million of the tablets in the second half of the year.

Google has not released official sales figures for its $199 to $249 slate, which is made by Asus, but an analyst estimate pegged sales for 2012 at between 4.5 million and 4.8 million, suggesting Mountain View is hoping to grow Nexus 7 sales significantly this year – even by as much as almost double.

According to Reuters’ sources, the forthcoming version of the Nexus 7 will get some hardware improvements, with a higher screen resolution and a thinner bezel design both being mentioned. It will also use Qualcomm’s chipset in place of Nvidia’s Tegra 3 which was used in the original Nexus 7s. Qualcomm’s chip was chosen over Nvidia’s for “power reasons”, according to one of the sources. The slate will continue to be co-branded with Asus.

If Google is hoping to significantly ramp up Nexus 7 sales it’s possible it will drop the price to encourage adoption but Reuters’ sources said pricing is “yet to be determined and Google’s plans are fluid”. One option is for Google to retain the $199 entry level price. Another is to price the slate even lower, at $149, according to one of the sources. The old model would be discontinued. A key factor that could determine how Google ultimately decides to price the Nexus 7 is if Apple launches new iPads this year.

Reuters goes on to quote Fubon Securities analyst Arthur Liao noting that a ”zero-margin strategy” plays to Google’s core business strengths — underlining the reasons for Google to push the Nexus 7 price lower. “Ninety-seven percent of Google’s revenue comes from advertisement, so it needs to sell more mobile devices in order to reach more consumers,” he told the news agency.

Last fall Amazon refreshed its Kindle Fire line-up of tablets, including dropping the price of the old model to $159. So a $149 Nexus 7 would undercut Amazon’s cheapest slate — at least, for now. Last month Amazon was rumoured to be working on building a $99 tablet – a rumour the company denied, telling TechCrunch:  “We are already at the lowest price points possible for that hardware.”

It’s time to bring out the big guns with The Conduit HD for Android, a game that’s been boosted into the mobile space by the developers at High Voltage Software assisted by the Tegra team at NVIDIA. With this version of the game you’ll be rolling out with everything you saw on the original Wii version and more – 9 mission of furious blasting of alien beasts from the comfort of your own smartphone or tablet! This game is out this week for Tegra-toting machines, here in the mobile universe for the first time!

What you’re seeing here is a rather radical environment in which your mission is to destroy a mysterious and other-worldly enemy with a dynamic user interface available right from your touchscreen device or wirelessly with your own Bluetooth-connected gaming controller. You’ll be using pistols, machine guns, and a fabulously strange “All Seeing Eye” device (ASE in the game) to explore this strange new world and puzzle solve as you blast through the opposition. Below you’ll see the game running on the Google Nexus 7, the ASUS-made tablet working with NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 quad-core processor under the hood.

You’ll be able to control your gameplay from start to finish with control options everywhere from flipped tapping to auto-fire mode. You’ll be able to change the layout of the buttons and controls, change the way you target and move, and you’ll have – specifically – GameStop Controller support as well. This is the more “traditional” way to play the game, they say, with Bluetooth-connected blasting on your side.

The weapons you’ll be using number to 18, unique firing modes and actions for each, with the ASE to back you up from start to finish. You’ll be destroying your enemies which number to 14, for starters, both human and alien creatures coming at you not just from straight up in front, but below and up above as well. Head down the stairwell, watch out for snipers up on a second level, and toss grenades all around.

And the best part is the graphics have been given a bump between the original Wii version and here with NVIDIA’s Tegra SoC. With the Tegra 3 quad-core processor you’ll be blasting up and out with what the Chief Creative Officer of High Voltage Software, Eric Nofsinger, calls “console-quality visuals on mobile devices.” This includes enhanced lighting in all your darkest corners, higher resolution graphics than ever before, and “much-improved” visual fidelity compared to this game’s original release.

This game will be available to you immediately if not soon from the Google Play app store through the NVIDIA TegraZone with a rather unique pricing structure. You’ll be able to download the game for free, and the first two levels are completely free. After that you’ve got the option of buying the whole rest of the game at once for $4.99, or you can buy each of the two halves of the game for $2.99 each. At the moment we can’t imagine why you’d only want half the game, but to each their own.

Have a peek at the timeline below for more Tegra-enhanced games available in the NVIDIA TegraZone right this minute, and don’t forget to hit up our own massive Tegra Hub too for more NVIDIA mobile action than you can handle!

The Conduit HD Android Tegra Enhanced Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s finally arrived – the official Google Nexus 7 Pogo Pin dock made for your very favorite 7-inch tablet, straight from the big G. This release has been awaited by fans of the device since it was first realized that the unit had a set of Pogo Pins on its side. What this means is that you’ll be able to drop the tablet in to the charger sideways and you’ll have to do no plugging of any sort to make with the charging – so simple!

This device is being shown in each of the three major sales locations for the device on Google Play, both in the USA and across the sea in both the UK and greater Europe. The price remains relatively similar depending on where you’re grabbing it from – so similar, in fact, that you’ll want to pick one up in the store that resides inside your own land mass, without a doubt.

For the USA version you’ll be dropping $29.99, in the UK you’ll be paying up 24.99 in English Quid, and across the Euro mass you’ll see 29,99 EU, as it were. The device remains essentially the same no matter where you’re purchasing it, save the wall-plug, of course. If you’ve seen this device before this release, you’ve quite likely been paying $10 USD more (or that’s what we’ve seen in general, that is).

This device is quite simple, only holding your Nexus 7 upright and charging it just so long as you’ve got the cord out the back plugging in to a power port. And that’s it, that’s all, that’s all there is! Have a peek at the Nexus 7 timeline below to see other recent happenings surrounding this lovely tablet device.

Nexus 7 Pogo Dock hits Google Play store online is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Reports are rolling in from around the web that the Android 4.2.2 update is rolling out to the GSM Galaxy Nexus handset and both the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets. The first reports sprang up on Reddit, and were followed closely by posts on Google+ and Twitter. Nothing official has been said about the update, but all signs point to the update popping up on your device soon.

According to users on Reddit who say they’ve received the update, the problem with Bluetooth audio streaming has been corrected somewhat, although it is being reported as still having occasional issues. One user reported that after updating, the Bluetooth still disconnects when the network changes from wifi to the mobile data network.

Per the screenshots Android Police has up, the update is build number JDQ39, and is 47.6MB. Users are receiving the update over the air, although many still haven’t had it arrive yet. Still, screenshots have cropped up showing the update on the GSM Galaxy Nexus, the Nexus 7 tablet, and the Nexus 10 tablet, so users with one or more of those devices will likely see the update within the next day or so.

Not much else is known at the moment, since nothing official has been posted. According to the system update screen that users have seen, the 4.2.2 update is said to improve “performance and stability.” Users can set up their own accounts on the devices for customizability, and there’s Gesture Typing for typing words by sliding one’s finger across the keys.

[via Android Police]

Android 4.2.2 rolling out to GSM Galaxy Nexus and both Nexus tablets is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

On November 30, we reported that an official ASUS Nexus 7 docking station has appeared on the ASUS Japan website with a handful of information and not much else. Originally it was rumored that the dock would be available in early December, eventually with December 30 being marked as the shipping date. That day came and went without event, but now retailers are saying that the device will begin shipping later this week.

The dock is now listed on the ASUS Japan website along with a price – 3,480 yen – in addition to a note reading “I am currently out of stock.” Over at B&H, however, users can place a pre-order for $39.99, with the retailer noting that the expected availability will be on January 10. The device isn’t currently in stock, however, and so the expected availability date isn’t set in stone.

Previous reports have said that the dock would begin shipping on January 10, however, so the numbers are matching up thus far. The dock is the first official one available for the Nexus 7, and while it isn’t anything extraordinary, it offers all the things one could want in a tablet dock.

The Nexus 7 dock features a micro USB port and a standard 3.5mm stereo output port. It’s not very big at 8.6L x 2.6W x 1.2H-inches, and weighs in at just under 10 ounces (280 grams). It requires the tablet to be running Android Jelly Bean 4.2. According the Japanese Asus website, users have to keep the dock plugged in when using audio output. If you have a Nexus 7 and are in the market for a dock, you can pre-order the device online and expect to receive it in the relatively near future.

[via Android Community]

Nexus 7 official dock to begin shipping later this week is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.