Asus-made Google Nexus 7 3G coming in October?

Vlad Bobleanta  By on 03 Sep 12

The Google Nexus 7 by Asus is undoubtedly one of the hottest Android tablets at the moment, if not of all time. The very good price, coupled with the very latest version of Google’s mobile OS, and the promise of timely updates for the foreseeable future make this device quite a gem if you’re into 7-inchers.

However, right now it’s available exclusively in Wi-Fi-only configurations. Yet if you’ve been desperately hoping that Asus and Google would launch a 3G-enabled variant as well, your wishes may have been answered. At least that’s what MoDaCo heard from a “very well placed insider”.

Asus is apparently busy ramping up production of the 3G Nexus 7, in preparation for a launch that could happen in six weeks. That makes the middle of October a potential release time frame (more specifically, the week beginning on October 15), but no actual date has been mentioned yet. Also, there’s no telling what countries will get it first. That said, with the Nexus 7′s very limited availability even today, it would probably not be impossible for Asus to ship it to all the places in which the Wi-Fi version is out right now – from day one. But we’ll see.

Needless to say, aside from the mobile data connectivity addition, the Nexus 7 3G will remain identical to its Wi-Fi-only sibling. So now two more mysteries remain. First, will there be a 4G LTE Nexus 7 ever produced? And second, how much is the 3G version going to cost? Device makers usually like to hike up their tablets’ prices by around $100 just for the 3G data, but that would mean a 50% price increase for the Nexus 7. Will Asus and Google find a way to keep the Nexus 7 one of the cheapest tablets on the market? Let’s hope so.

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  • AudMun

    Why not 3g/4g or LTE/CDMA or LTE/HSPA+

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