Even though its official launch date is July 19, some Americans that pre-ordered the Google Nexus 7 tablet are already seeing tracking activity notices of their shipments. But Canadians waiting for the new tablet running the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system don’t have any such encouragement yet.
On Google+, U.S.-based Nexus 7 customers were posting updates that their UPS tracking numbers were working. But Canadians who ordered the tablet as far back as the June 27 launch day bemoaned they had nothing to report yet. Canadians buying the tablet from the Google Play store have the option of a $209.99 8 GB version or a $259.99 16 GB version. That’s $10 more expensive than those same models sell for south of the border.
At major retail outlets such as Staples.ca and Future Shop, the 16 GB version is available for $259.99. Staples listed the item as “out of stock” today, while Futureship said it was available for online pre-order. But the estimated shipping time was between one and two weeks.
The Nexus 7 has received favourable reviews in major publications like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Google’s first piece of branded tablet hardware comes with a high resolution screen and the latest version of the Android OS, not yet available for other tablets. The fact pre-sales are going quickly at most retailers is a good sign that Google may be able to make Apple sweat over losing its tablet dominance. Undercutting the iPad on price, the Nexus 7 may help Android tablets claim more market share.
But many analysts believe Apple will respond with a smaller iPad to counter the move. That announcement could be made in September, and would cement Apple’s lead in the tablet space, analyst firm IDC says.