Google and Asus are reportedly teaming up to craft the next-gen budget Nexus 7 tablet, reports Taiwanese tech-media DigiTimes.
It's not so long since the quad-core Nexus 7 invaded the tablet market and rumours are rife that the net-gen budget variant of the tablet is already in the making. The Digitimes report further suggests that the low-cost Nexus tablet would be priced as low as $99.
According to the report citing various industrial sources, China-based touchscreen maker O-Film-Tech is roped into the supply chain to provide glass-film-film (GFF) technology, aimed at cutting down the cost production of rumored budget Nexus 7 tablet.
"O-Film reportedly started shipping products for the Nexus 7 in December 2012. GFF technology will help cut production costs for the lower-priced Nexus 7 as well as make it thinner," reports DigiTimes on Wednesday.
The affordable tablet is speculated for a release in first quarter of 2013. Albeit, the publication also cited sources saying that the tablet is likely to be slated for the second quarter launch, as the first quarter of the financial year is deemed as slow purchase period. The report further claims that the company would target emerging market with the launch of budget Nexus tablet, with the initial shipment projected between 500,000-600,000 units.
"However, market observers suspect that Google and Asustek may not be able to release such a low priced tablet in 2013 due to limits as to how far the companies can drive down costs in their supply chain. The low-priced Nexus 7 will most likely be priced between $129-149 as a result, added the observers," said DigiTimes.
The imminent device is speculated to include 7-inch 1024×600 display, 1GHz processor from WonderMedia, 1GB RAM, 400MHz Mali GPU and 1 megapixel front camera under its hood.
The original Nexus 7 debuted earlier this year in June. The 8GB tablet version initially sold at $199 was later discontinued and the 16GB variant replaced it for same price.
