Google Nexus NFC tablet to cost just $199 and come with a 7″ display?

Google Nexus NFC tablet to cost just $199 suggests rumors

We reported a couple of weeks ago about Eric Schmidt’s comment to an Italian newspaper that suggested that Google was prepping a Google Nexus NFC tablet that would sport Ice Cream Sandwich. Schmidt told the newspaper in an interview that ”[In the] next six months we plan to market a tablet of the highest quality.” At that time we reached out to Google for clarification of what Eric meant when he made the comment and we hit the steely wall of silence from Google. Generally when we speak with Google we get responses pretty promptly with some pretty helpful information, so to not even get a no comment statement was a little odd.

It seems a natural progression for Google to produce its own Nexus NFC tablet because Android tablets have really not captured the market or even made a dent in the iPad’s dominance. However, there are fears that Google releasing its own Nexus NFC tablet could cannibalize the market from OEMs who are producing Android tablets. In fact, there have already been rumors of major players planning to bow out of Android tablets when Windows 8 comes along thanks to shrinking price points and profits.

So far, even rumors about the Google Nexus NFC tablet have been slim at best until today when DigiTimes published a report that shows us some more details coming out of the supply line for the rumored Nexus NFC tablet. Strangely Google Taiwan has commented that they have never heard of the firm’s intention of launching an own-brand Nexus NFC tablet at all, but upstream suppliers are talking a different story.

Google Nexus NFC tablet to take on the Amazon Kindle Fire at the $199 price point

Sources are saying that Google intends to compete directly with Amazon’s very popular Kindle Fire tablet. The Nexus NFC tablet is likely to cost $199 like its Fire brethren and is also due to feature a 7″ display. Now that’s not a lot to go on for now, and remember that we are completely in rumor territory at this point, but it does ring true for many reasons.

Microsoft is bringing a plethora of Windows 8 NFC tablets to market in the third quarter. Amazon has out-sold every tablet on the market (except from the iPad) with its Android Slate. Google needs to firm up its tablet position before Microsoft and Apple push it out. Rumors suggest that Motorola is helping Google bring the Nexus NFC tablet to market and it will, of course, feature NFC due to the fact that to add an NFC IC is relatively cheap and that Google has invested so much in NFC with Android Beam and Google Wallet. Google cannot afford for Windows to upstage its NFC efforts and more and more consumers are adding value to NFC in tablets outside of obvious business ad corporate benefits.

There are many details we do not know at this point, including which processor, whether the Galaxy NFC tablet will have secure element on board, how much RAM will be included or what cameras and capabilities $199 will buy you. What we do know, however, is that this rumor probably has a modicum of truth to it and we will now have to wait and see if and when Google decides to announcement and launch its Google Nexus NFC tablet. So, would you buy a “high quality” 7″ Nexus NFC tablet from El Goog for $199?