Google reveals pint-sized Nexus 7 tablet for just $199

The tablet, manufactured by Asus, runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Today at Google I/O 2012, the company revealed its new device — a 7-inch Nexus tablet running Android's newest operating system flavor, 4.1 Jelly Bean. The pint-sized slate was manufactured by Asus, known for making other Android tablets including the Transformer and the Transformer Prime.

The device has a 1280 x 800-pixel high-definition display, made with reading and watching videos in mind. It has a speedy Tegra 3 with a quad-core processor under the hood, front-facing camera for video chat, 9 hours of video playback — compared to the iPad's 10-hour playback life — and 300 hours of standby battery time. The tablet weighs 340 grams, which is about as much as a paperback.

It features tighter integration with Google Play, with content being front and center, similar to how the Amazon Kindle Fire functions. Due to this, Google Play now has a new 3D magazine app with s tablet-optimized articles that renders well on the Nexus 7's screen.

Nexus 7 will also be the first device that ships with Chrome as its native browser — Chrome, despite being Google's browser, hasn't been available on Android until a beta version of it was introduced for Ice Cream Sandwich devices. Google has also overhauled Google Maps with additional information and review features which can predict which restaurants you'll likely enjoy. Offline maps will also be a hotly sought-after feature, and now that Apple and Microsoft are touting similar features, it's an important bullet point to have.

Preorders for the teensy Google Nexus 7 tablet begins today. You can order the new tablet from the Google Play store with two price tiers — $199 for the 8GB model and 16GB version — making it a true Kindle Fire competitor. It will start shipping in mid July. The Kindle Fire lands at a similar price point, but with its apps governed largely by what Amazon declares suitable for its shop, the Nexus 7 will have everything the Fire has, and then some. Despite similar hardware specs — screen size, screen resolution, etc — the Nexus will offer a much more genuine Android experience from a software standpoint.

Google is clearly making a play for potential iPad customers with this sleek, streamlined device, and with a price tag of less than half of the base model Apple tablet, the company may have a real shot at success. $499 gets you a 16GB iPad with a 9.7-inch Retina display, but if ultra-sharp screen resolution and a few more gigs of storage aren't a big deal, the 7-inch Nexus slate will be much easier on your pocketbook.

Of course, it's unclear how Microsoft's Surface device will shake up the consumer tablet market. With a physical keyboard and Windows 8-esque software design, it seems like Android and iOS devotees will already have their minds made up between the iPad and the Nexus 7.

This article originally appeared on Tecca

INSIGHT FROM A NAVY SEAL

All of us at the recent Keys to Success event, an annual kickoff meeting attended by all consulting office owners in North America, were so lucky to hear from our guest speaker, Eric Greitens, Navy SEAL and award-winning author of “The Heart and the Fist.”  The most powerful part of his message was the mindset required to survive the Navy Seal boot camp. Only about 10 percent of these highly-fit soldiers make it. Eric said that it was not the great collegiate athletes that survived. Instead, it was the ones with the greatest will.

The attributes that he described for the successful are the same ones that are needed for success in our business. Here is a sampling of his comments that I wrote down:

“Confront your fear and push yourself.”
“Courage is the courage of perseverance of willing to do the hard things day after day.”
“People quit when they think how hard it is going to be, but rarely when they are doing those hard things.”
“The Navy Seal challenges are called ‘evolutions’.  Your character evolves until you get to the place where you change who you are.”
“To get the life you want, change the compass just a few degrees and march in that direction every day.”
“If you attempt a challenge and do not succeed, the challenge always remains – the challenge always remains.”

Lessons for all of us.  Eric, we will always be grateful and learned so much from you during the conference. Your words will stick with us now and in years to come.

Via: www.cydcor.com

BIOGRAPHY   ::   http://www.ericgreitens.com/biography

TWITTER   ::   twitter.com/ericgreitens

BOOK   ::   www.theheartandthefist.com