Google recently unveiled the Google ASUS Nexus 7 –  a tablet made by ASUS (hardware) and Google (software).  This 7” tablet aims to compete with other small tablets, such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet, as well as bigger tablets such as Apple’s iPad.

It boasts faster browsing because of the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, but some sources say that they’re using old chips on the device AND that’s why it’s priced cheap.  PriceS starts at $199 for the 8GB, no news yet as to how much the 16GB WILL cost.  But the REAL reason why it’s so cheap may be due to other missing features.

Rear-facing camera

Sorry Instagram fans but the Nexus 7 won’t be compatible with Instagram.  This information came from Tim Smalley, digital marketing manager at Asus.  He warns that when users try to download the app, they would be greeted by an error message.  But there’s still hope, since Google can still tweak the configuration of the device to make the 1.2 megapixel front camera be compatible with Instagram.

Cellular support

If Google really wanted to take on the iPad, they should have made a cellular version, especially if they wanted the Nexus 7 to be the go-to device of mobile users.  We can’t always rely on WiFi connections, as the infrastructure in the US hasn’t fully addressed the issue.

Video Recording

Since it doesn’t have a rear-facing camera, it doesn’t make sense to put in a video recording feature. Still, some people love creating videos to send to their loved ones and a personal video is best done with a front-facing camera so you can see how silly you look like while recording your clip.

Expandable memory

The Nexus 7 will only be available in 8GB and 16GB, so this could be a problem for app-happy people – those who love downloading a lot of apps but doesn’t delete old apps even if they don’t use it.  They should’ve have added a slot for a microSD chip like the Nook Tablet.

Killer feature

When Apple launches a product, they always have that one feature that makes it standout from the rest.  When the iPhone 4S launched, its killer feature was arguably Siri.  When the new iPad launched, the Retina Display was its selling point.  So what would interest consumers in the Nexus 7?  I honestly don’t know.  Maybe they should have made it like the Asus Transformer tablets, as in a smaller version of it, or maybe they should have made it in an array of colors to appeal to the younger generations.  Google should’ve have put something in it to make it pop, or launched it with a bunch of accessories to make it enticing.