At long last, the wait is over as Google opens the hardware section of the Play store with the Nexus 7 becoming the first official Google device to be sold.
Last month, we had reported that as Asus launched a slew of their own products for the Indian market, the coveted Google Nexus 7 was held off for a later date. Well, that day has arrived, as the Google Nexus 7 has officially graced the Indian Google Play store.
A month back, we had predicted that Google would be opening up the Play Store’s hardware section to the Indian market within the first quarter of the year, with the Nexus 7 being the first device to be sold through the portal.
Besides the tablet becoming available, what’s even more interesting is that it is being sold through Google’s Play store. Currently, the tablet bears a price tag of Rs.15,999 for the 16GB version of the Nexus 7 and the expected shipping date is set to April 5.
The Nexus 7 has a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1280×800 pixels, making it one of the highest on a 7-inch tablet. The tablet lacks 3G capabilities, but does come with built-in Wi-Fi. The great thing about the Nexus 7 is that it is powered by an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor and 1GB of RAM, pegging it almost just as powerful as most 10-inch counterparts.
While it is great that the Indian consumer has the choice of one additional 7-inch tablet, what’s even better is the new trend that could be sweeping in. Google could start selling their hardware through the Play store in India, like they have been doing in the US. Could this mean that we will start seeing Google also sell the Nexus phones to the Indian audience through the Play store? Could Google finally do away with the middleman and have their phones and tablets make their way to the Indian market?
