The Nexus 7 is an instant hit; selling out at key retailers
Google started selling its Nexus 7 at brick-and-mortar retailers this weekend and, according to numerous sources, retailers are having trouble keeping up with demand for the Android-based tablet, revealed at Google’s I/O conference last month. The tablet is sold out at most major chains, with some having stopped taking orders altogether.Reports PCWorld:
GameStop has pulled the Nexus 7 tablet order page from its website, while Adorama and Staples said the tablet had sold out and that they were waiting for additional inventory.
GameStop has already delivered some Nexus 7 stock to stores for buyers who opted to pick up the tablet in-store. A GameStop store in New York had one tablet waiting to be picked up, and a store representative wasn’t sure when a second wave of Nexus 7 tablets would arrive, guessing it could take a few weeks.
The next wave of shipments may not occur until August, according to some reports.
Writing at Bloomberg News, columnist Rich Jaroslovsky called the Nexus 7 a Kindle-crusher:
It’s the most-asked question by consumers about any new tech gadget: “Should I get this now or is something better coming along soon?”
For buyers of Amazon’s Kindle Fire, we now have the answer: You should have waited.
Regarding the Nexus 7’s marketplace positioning, PC Magazine weighed in with the following:
The Nexus 7 isn’t seen as a direct rival to Apple’s best-selling iPad, a larger device at nearly 10 inches that has a higher resolution display and starts at $499. But like the Kindle Fire before it, Google’s tablet is potentially shaping up to be the among the first non-Apple tablets to succeed in a market where would-be iPad-killers like Hewlett-Packard’s discontinued TouchPad, Motorola’s Xoom, and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry PlayBook have struggled mightily to simply get off the ground.
There’s a caveat to the Nexus 7 success story, however. Just as Amazon is reportedly doing with its Kindle Fire, Google appears to be selling the Nexus 7 at or near a loss to keep the price tag down, according to a recent IHS iSuppli teardown that estimated the cost of making a Nexus 7 tablet to be between $152 and $167.
The tablet is available — if you can find it — at Staples, Office Depot, Adorama, B&H Photo and others. It can also be purchased directly from Google at their Google Play Store. The company is taking orders for a $199 model featuring 8GB storage and $249 model with 16GB storage.
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