Eager to get your hands on Google’s brand new Nexus 7 tablet? You may be in for a wait.
Just a few weeks after the search engine giant unveiled the sleek and powerful Nexus 7 during its Google I/O annual developer conference, it’s been hard to find since hit shelves on Friday. The paucity of supply seems to indicate strong demand, however it’s possible that Google is deliberately under-stocking the model to create a buzz.
Retailers such as Staples, GameStop, Best Buy in Canada and Sam’s Club have already sold out of the 16GB ($249) device. Even the Google Play store touts a message that the Nexus 7 will ship in one to two weeks, revealing a backorder for demand.
Although Google has exclusively been selling its less-expensive 8GB ($199) model through its own online store, it also appears to be on backorder. It’s unknown at this time when retailers will carry the 8GB model or when any version of the Nexus 7 will be back in stock.
In the weeks leading up to the launch, consumers have jumped on pre-orders via Google and other retailers, so some should be receiving the device any day now.
Anticipation surrounding the first tablet that will run on Android’s next-generation Jelly Bean mobile operating system has been massive. As the first 7-inch tablet with a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor and optimized for watching movies, playing games and reading e-magazines, it has been touted as a potential Amazon Kindle Fire tablet killer. But the question remains if Google can get consumers to buy e-books, music and movies on its own Google Play platform.
To get things started, the device comes pre-loaded with the 2011 film Transformers: Dark of the Moon and issues of various publications including Popular Science and the Food Network. It also comes with $25 credit to use in Google Play.
Did you try to get the Nexus 7 this weekend? Do you plan to pick one up soon? Let us know in the comments.
