[Discuss] Google's Nexus 7

[mark at buttery.org (Shirley Márquez Dúlcey)]

On 7/9/2012 3:25 PM, Tom Metro wrote:
>
> Available now for pre-order from Google, or it'll be in stores, like
> Staples, in a few weeks. (It looked like Staples was only offering the
> 16 GB model, but that'll probably get updated.)

GameSpot is also only offering the 16GB model. I wouldn't be surprised 
if the 8GB is direct only. The estimated manufacturing cost is $185 and 
Google is selling it for $199; that leaves barely enough to handle the 
order processing. The 16GB model probably only costs $5 more to make but 
sells for $50 more, so there is a little room to let the retailers have 
a small markup without Google actually taking a loss.

I've already got one on order from the Google Play store. I went for the 
16GB, though I feel it would be a better value if they had included an 
SD card slot in the more expensive model. It wouldn't take two circuit 
boards, just don't bother to install the $2 socket on the cheap ones. 
Even if you can't write to it (which is a stupid limitation that Android 
phones don't have) it would still be useful for storing music and 
movies, especially since that 9 hour battery life means you can get 
through an entire flight with it.