As Google unveiled Nexus 7, the immediate response in Twitter was to compare it with Apple iPad and Amazon’s Kindle Fire.
The Nexus 7 is an Android tablet but the difference is that it comes with Android’s latest Jelly Bean (4.1) and provides a pure Android experience unlike the skinned versions in other tablets.
Many felt the configuration of the tablet was good for the price - $200. “Can't believe that such a config can be sold so cheap - Nexus 7 designed and manufactured in four months, sold at cost (sic),” said @k_karthikp
@Royalphin felt like he wanted “a Nexus 7. A feeling that has evaded me with previous tablets.”
The feeling could be because of the hardware, and also because of the software - the spanking new Jelly Bean version of the Android OS.
“Google Voice search. Epic and simple interface. Nice voice too, said @4jit”, who seemed to have been bowled over by the new OS, though he was using it in his phone, not on the tablet.
Just another Android tab, say Apple fans
But Apple fanboys would have none of it. They were offended by the comparison of Nexus 7 with iPad. “Apple can 'relax', as Google Nexus 7 is 'just another' Android tablet,” said one, quoting a blog. At the same time, there were an equal number of people quoting another post in the blog saying, “Google's Tablet Is As Good As The iPad 2 And Way Better Than Amazon's Kindle Fire.”
Most of them were unanimous in their view that the most-affected would be Kindle’s Fire.
@funkadunkalunk said, “The Nexus 7 looks like a beautiful and powerful 7-inch tablet. And at £130, it's something I might end up buying on impulse.”
On the whole, the reaction in the social media was quite positive for Google’s latest hardware offering.