Gizmodo Australia claims to have read a training manual for Google's rumored tablet

Gizmodo Australia claims to have read a training manual for Google's rumored tablet to be launched this week at the Google I/O Conference. According to the document, the tablet will be called the Nexus 7, will be built by Asus, and will use a 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor with 12-core GeForce GPU and 1GB of RAM. The 7" display will have 1280 x 800 resolution, and the tablet will have a front-facing 1.2 megapixel camera and a battery that will give 9 hours of runtime. It will support Near Field Communication (NFC) for wireless transactions, and Google Wallet. The document says that the tablet will run Jelly Bean, the next version of Android, but it doesn't mention a version number. The Nexus 7 will be sold in two configurations, 8GB for $199 (U.S.) and 16GB for $249.

Google's intention with the Nexus 7 is to compete with Amazon's Kindle Fire and keep customers out of Amazon's ecosystem. However, if Gizmodo's story is correct and rumors about Amazon's new tablets are also correct, Google may still find itself flat-footed. The Kindle Fire's price is said to be dropping to $149 very soon, to make way for a replacement model with better specifications in Q3, which will also be priced at $149. A second 7" model, with specifications similar to the Nexus 7, is supposed to also be released in Q3 of this year, probably at the same price(s) as the Nexus 7. Given Amazon's superior distribution and support capabilities, it's unlikely that the Nexus 7 will gain much traction, at least in North America.