Google’s much talked about Nexus 7 tablet seems to be doing exceedingly well. The device, made by Taiwanese electronics major and Google partner Asus, was announced at the Google I/O Developers Conference late last month. The first commercial device to run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the device came loaded with a host of new features and not to mention, an attractive price tag.
A few weeks after the launch of the device, Google seems to have grossly underestimated the demand for the 16 GB version of the Nexus 7 which has as of now gone out of stock in the key markets of U.S and the UK. As it is now learnt, Google had expected its online buyers to opt for the lower capacity (and lower priced) 8 GB version of the tablet – pinning their hopes on them to adopt their cloud based storage when they run short of storage.
Instead, buyers seem to be more interested in paying slightly more and get the device with double the storage capacity. Both the Nexus 7 tablets as you might be aware, doesn’t come with memory expansion slots.
The result is that Asus is now ramping up production of the 16 GB version of the tablets. It is unclear as to how long it would take for Google to replenish the supply of the Nexus 7.
That said, archrival Apple might not be too happy with the performance of the Nexus 7 – now that Google has a product that competes directly with its popular iPad. Thanks to the stiff competition these smaller screened tablets from the likes of Amazon, Barnes and Noble and now Google, there have been rumors about the possibility of smaller screened iPad making a debut later this year. This is in contrast to Steve Job’s famous rant against tablets with screen sizes lesser than 9.7 inches!
