Google on Wednesday unveiled its own branded Nexus 7 tablet computer designed to challenge Apple's iPad and be a window into its online shop for films, books, movies and more.
The seven-inch tablet powered by the latest generation of Android software was made for Google by Taiwan-based Asus and weighs about as much as a paperback book, according to Android team head Hugo Barra.
The device features a 1280x800 screen, quad-core Tegra 3 processor and weighs in at roughly 340 grams.
"We wanted to design a best-of Google experience optimised around the content available at Google Play," Barra said during a presentation opening the internet titan's annual I/O developers conference in San Francisco.
Nexus tablets were available for order in Australia, Canada, Britain, and the United States at the Google Play store at a price of $199 for the 8GB version and $249 for the 16GB model.
The devices would begin shipping in mid-July, Barra said.
The tablets come with a $25 coupon for Google Play content.
Google also introduced an Android-powered Nexus Q device for wirelessly streaming films or music to televisions or speakers, priced at $299.
