A new pair of ASUS tablets just went out to the FCC, the MSQK001 and MSQK0W, which are both branded with the ASUS MeMo tag. This is very relevant to fans of the Nexus line since our seven inch tab of choice is the Nexus 7, which was originally the MeMo 370T. So far we know that these will both be Wi-Fi only models.
We’ve also reported on another tablet, the Asus ME127V as also being the rumored $99 Google Nexus 7 so all of this is just speculation at this point. The benchmark stats from this device are:
- 7 inch screen with resolution of 1024 x 600
- A single-core 1GHz processor and 1GB of RAM
- 8GB of native storage (with expandable microSD port)
- A 4270mAh battery
- Android 4.1.1
There are a couple of red flags in the above stats, most notably the OS version and SD card compatibility. We know that Google doesn’t offer expandable storage and it’s also not like the search giant to release a device that doesn’t run the latest iteration of Android even if it’s only slightly behind the current version.
Google has been making huge waves lately with low prices on ridiculously high end devices. If the chaos that occurred during the Nexus 4 launch is any indication, a sub one hundred dollar tablet with the Nexus name will surely bring the entire internet to a complete standstill. Lately I’ve been picking up first generation Kindle Fires and repurposing them as stock Android devices for Christmas, so a $99 Nexus 7 would make my life easier…I’d be in for about five of them.
These are rumors of course and should be taken as just that but it’s always fun to speculate. Also, whether any of these tablets bear the iconic Nexus name or not Google has in fact still changed the game. We’ll be getting affordable devices with great specs. Gone are the days (thankfully) of the budget tabs that do nothing except turn people off the OS we all know and love.
We’ll likely be getting more and more leaks in the leadup to CES so stay tuned for new details.