Nexus 7, Google's new computer tablet

DAILY DOT COM - The Google's Developers conference is underway. Wednesday, the company unveiled a new tablet called, Nexus seven. Pre orders are available now, with a delivery around the middle of July, and the cost will be $199.  So, is this the killer to the Kindle Fire, the iPad from Apple or Microsoft's Surface?

Here are the specs:

Google's Nexus 7  

• - Price: $199 for 8 gigabytes of storage, $249 for 16 GB.
• - Screen size: 7 inches
• - Screen resolution: 1280 x 800 pixels
• - Weight: 0.75 pounds
• - Cameras: Front-facing, 1.2 megapixel camera
• - Battery life: 9.5 hours
• - Operating system: Google's Android  

Pros: Access to a variety of games, utilities and other software for Android devices, though not as extensive as apps available for iPad. More features than Kindle Fire at same price.

Cons: Integrates with Google Play store, which is still new and isn't as robust as Apple or Amazon's stores. Data storage cannot be expanded with memory cards. No option for cellular wireless broadband.

Amazon's Kindle Fire:

• - Price: $199 for 6 gigabytes of storage
• - Screen size: 7 inches
• - Screen resolution: 1024 by 600 pixels
• - Weight: 0.9 pounds
• - Cameras: none
• - Battery life: 8 hours
• - Operating system: Modified version of Google's Android
• Pros: Cheap and portable. Convenient access to Amazon store.  

Cons: No-frills tablet lacks camera and microphone. Small selection of third-party applications available from Amazon. Data storage cannot be expanded with memory cards. No option for cellular wireless broadband.

Apple's iPad :

• - Price: Starts at $499 for 16 gigabytes of storage, goes up to $699 for 64 gigabytes, more for versions with cellular data access. (Apple still sells the older, iPad 2 for $399.)
• - Screen size: 9.7 inches
• - Screen resolution: 2048 by 1536 pixels
• - Weight: 1.44 pounds
• - Cameras: 5-megapixel camera on back and a low-resolution camera on front, for videoconferencing
• - Battery life: 10 hours.
• - Operating system: Apple's iOS

Pros: Unmatched access to third-party applications, high-quality Apple software and the iTunes store. High-resolution screen. Widest range of cases and accessories available. Available with access to fast 4G wireless broadband networks.

Cons: Relatively expensive. Data storage cannot be expanded with memory cards.

Microsoft's Surface  

• - Price: Not yet announced. Storage options will range from 32 to 128 GB
• - Screen size: 10.6 inches
• - Screen resolution: Not yet announced
• - Weight: About 1.5 pounds for low-power version, 2 pounds for version running PC-style Intel processor.
• - Cameras: Front and back cameras
• - Battery life: Not yet announced
• - Operating system: Microsoft's Windows  

Pros: Runs upcoming version of Windows. Compatibility with programs available for traditional Windows computers. Storage can be expanded with memory cards.

Cons: Runs upcoming version of Windows. Operating system lacks good track record on tablets, and selection of third-party applications is small.

Bottom line:

It all boils down to how much you want to pay and what bells and whistles are most important to you.  For now, the iPad costs the most but it's arguably the highest quality device.  Not to mention customers have access to the biggest catalog of apps, music and movies from iTunes.  However, the Surface offers better storage capabilities.

If you're not looking to spend a lot of money, the Kindle Fire or Nexus 7 may be your best bet.  Comparing the two devices, the Nexus 7 has more features, even though it's the same price as the Fire, but it integrates with Google's Play store, which is still rather new and not nearly as robust as Amazon's stores.

Incidentally, the Nexus 7 wasn't the only announcement from Google today.  The company also unveiled a streaming media player called Nexus Q.  The Android app for Google+ was also released, and new glasses. Project Glass won't be delivered until early next year, but go ahead and start saving now.  It seems the futuristic specs will cost around $1500.