Google Nexus 7-inch tablet is a prime opportunity to beat Apple and Microsoft to the punch

The Google I/O conference starts later today, and the largest rumor by far is that of a 7-inch Nexus tablet running the company’s latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system. The rumored specs include a Tegra 3 SoC, 8GB or 16GB of memory, and a 1280×800 resolution IPS display. The hardware will be in a 7-inch form factor and will run $199 for the 8GB version and $249 for the 16GB version. With the older (8GB, WiFi) 7-inch Galaxy Tab 2 costing $249 and an Ama on Kindle Fire ringing up at $200, the Google Nexus tablet is priced very competitively for what you’re getting — at least if the rumors hold true.

Beyond the good price/performance aspects, the new Nexus tablet will be a very important addition to the company’s lineup. Being a Nexus device, it will carry Google’s latest and greatest operating system, and in a pristine, bloatware-free package. It will act as a reference point and the purest form of Android available to consumers in that market segment.

Although high-end tablets like Apple’s iPad are selling well, the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablets have been very popular with consumers thanks to their portability — and most importantly — price. At around $200, these tablets are much more accessible to the masses and are able to be bought for yourself or as gifts for others.

Interestingly, this is a market segment that Apple does not really compete in. The Cupertino company does offer older generation iPads, but no 7-inch models. Further, as Ryan Whitwam observed earlier this year, people are more willing to purchase tablets at unsubsidi ed prices compared to phones. That is a good thing for Google as it means that its tablet does not need carrier support to be successful. Bringing in a flagship Android tablet at competitive prices with the Kindle Fire puts it squarely between the heavily customi ed Fire with Ama on ecosystem integration, and the more expensive tablets like the Asus Transformer. As most people likely do not reali e that the Fire and Nook are built on Android, the Nexus tablet will really help to bring the Android brand to the 7-inch form factor for the masses. Bringing with it the vanilla Android experience at a popular price point, the tablet will appeal to tech-savvy Android fans as well as those not already heavily invested in Ama on or Barnes & Noble content.

It’s a good opportunity for Google to promote its Play Store application and position the Nexus 7 as the best way to consume media. Ama on is selling its hardware with little to no profit margin, but it’s making up for it by selling Kindle books, music, and videos. The Nexus tablet is a prime candidate for a similar model that focuses on developing the Google Play Store ecosystem.

There are already a couple of 7-inch tablets that run Android with only minor customi ation (at least compared to the Fire), including the Samsung Galaxy Tab, but Google has the opportunity to market the Nexus as the best option for Android thanks to the updated hardware and the company’s commitment to handling all the updates itself — meaning that it will always be running the latest version of Android.

Right now, it is also a prime opportunity for Google to expand its market share in a popular area that Apple does not focus on. In the future, the company may have more competition from ARM-powered Windows 8 RT tablets. Set to debut later this year, Microsoft is making a huge push into the tablet space with the Surface tablet and Windows Store. Google will have several months at least to market and sell the Nexus tablet before that happens. Google is certainly releasing its vanilla tablet at an interesting time, but assuming the rumored price and specifications hold true, it has the potential to carve out a large chunk of the market. Putting its best foot forward with the Nexus tablet, Google is trying to make Android and the 7-inch form factor synonymous terms in the minds of consumers as the market heats up and the holiday shopping season is just a few months away.

The success of the Nexus tablet as a premier media consumption device will heavily depend on pricing and hardware, but if the rumors hold true Google has a real chance here.

Google Nexus 7-inch tablet is a prime opportunity to beat Apple and Microsoft to the punch