Google Nexus 7 Coming To UK On 19 July?

UK retailers are suggesting that the Asus-manufactured Google Nexus 7 could be hitting UK shelves as early as 19 July.

However, it appears as though a consensus on the release date has not been reached, with the Carphone Warehouse saying it expects to receive stock a week later on 27 July.

Google’s long awaited entry into the tablet market was announced last month at the Google I/O Conference as it bids to increase the Android platform’s share in the tablet market, following disappointing sales of other tablets running the mobile operating system.

Conflicting reports

Currys currently has a pre-order listing for the 16GB version of the tablet, with interested parties asked to pay £199 and stock expected on 19 July. There is no mention of the 8GB version, while Ebuyer has the same price and release date. Google Play still says it expects delivery of the devices to occur within two to three weeks, but Carphone Warehouse says it will have stock one week later.

Asus had not responded to requests for comment at the time of writing.

Early adopters will receive £15 to spend in the Google Play store as well as free content such as a complimentary copy of the movie Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon, despite the fact that the tablet will launch in the UK without music, magazines or TV shows after failing to secure the relevant rights deals.

The tablet is set to challenge the similarly aggressively-priced Amazon Kindle Fire which has so far proved successful and could get an upgrade of its own. It is the first device running version 4.1 of Android, Jelly Bean, and boasts a Tegra3 processor, a seven-inch screen, Wi-Fi connectivity, but no support for 3G.

The Nexus 7 has already run into problems though, with Nokia asking for Asus and Google to get in contact with it as it believes the tablet infringes its patents.

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