Google's Nexus 7 makes over-priced India debut at Rs 19,999

Nexus 7, the tablet developed by Google in partnership with Asus, has finally landed upon the Indian shores – officially. The 7 inch tablet is available with 16 GB of storage and is priced at Rs 19,999. First announced in June this year, the 8 GB model has been unofficially available in the country for a while on sites like Indiatimes Shopping (for Rs 16,808) and eBay India (for Rs 17,490).

But to get a better idea of the device, let us have a quick look at its specs.

This tablet features a 7 inch IPS LCD touchscreen display (1280×800 pixel resolution) and runs on the latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system. It is powered by a 1.3 GHz Quad-core Tegra-3 processor (which is quite impressive) and comes with 1 GB RAM. Users will have the choice between 8 GB and 16 GB of internal memory. The device has a 1.2 MP front-facing camera for video calling that can also record high definition videos (720p).

On the connectivity front, Nexus 7 has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, comes with a microUSB port, but there is no microSD port. It has NFC, which means it will have Android Beam. The device measures 198.5mm x 120mm x 10.45mm, and weighs 340 gm. This one comes with a 4,325 mAh battery, which will provide 9 hours of HD video playback, 10 hours of web browsing/e-reading and 300 hours of standby time (that's what Google claims).

But what is bugging us is the price. Late last month, Google launched a 3G version of the 7 inch tablet, post which the 8 GB (Wi-Fi only) model was discontinued while the 16 GB (Wi-Fi only) model got a price cut. The reduced price of the model is now $199 or Rs 10,838. But when you are purchasing the device in India, you will be paying nearly double the actual price.

Not even Apple does this. Without the contract, the price difference between an iPhone 5 in the US and one in India is around 22-25 per cent. So what is Asus thinking? Here in India, does one want to spend so much on a Wi-Fi only tablet (available at half the price in the US) just because it is a Google device? Or is it trying to match Samsung and Apple in terms of pricing? Moreover, there is no confirmation from the company on the availability of the 3G version of the tablet that will go on sale in the US and some other countries from next week.

We feel it would have been better if the India pricing was kept at around Rs 15,000, thus giving its competitors a run for their money. The tablet's biggest competitors in India will be Apple's yet-to-be-launched iPad Mini and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2, the 16 GB Wi-Fi+3G version, which is available for Rs 19,700. Note that the 16 GB version of the iPad Mini is also unofficially available for pre-order for Rs 26,990.

(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)