Nexus 7: Let's go Camping with Google

Finally !!Yes you can say that again.

Finally we have an Android tablet worth talking about. All thanks to Google and their nexus branded products. For the uninitiated, nexus products are  designed and marketed by Google but the hardware is from a manufacturer (This time it is Asus). Google usually uses this to show off their new OS iteration (Jelly bean this time) and their product designing chops. That like Apple they can also design products which the customers would fall in love with. Whether they have been successful is up for debate, but the products have nevertheless been topnotch. But for the first time, Google has launched a Nexus branded tablet and has made head turns for the right reasons.

I can blabber all the tech specs, but this is not the right forum. We can duly suffice that it is a great product, but we are here to discuss the marketing aspects. The most eye catching aspect being the Price: 199$. Yup, a whole 300$ less that the latest iPad. But is there a catch, yes my dear sir, there always is. This tablet comes with Wi-Fi only. But how much of a turn off this is for you, depends upon your usage patterns. But Google got the basics right, a kick-ass product at a kick-ass price. It has hit the sweet spot for the customers because it is flying off the shelves and it has been sold out everywhere within the first few days of its launch. Now all they need to do is get the marketing communication right. So lets discuss how did they fare in that department-

It shows a father and son bonding over a camping trip and nexus 7 acts as a sort of facilitator for the fun and the sharing. The cute and adorable quotient was definitely there. They also successfully highlighted the key product features of the tablet through the commercial, torch light, book reader, games, compass etc. But the twist comes at the end, when we discover that it was more of a backyard camping rather than the good old fashioned jungle. This little twist was bit of a hit and miss. It highlights the key weakness of the product that it works only on Wi-fi and is also slightly misleading if you are not watching carefully or you are not too much into reading tech specs. Although you can always use your mobile for data tethering as a mobile solution. But the biggest miss was the Price. I know its an unbelievable product which they give due attention to, but the price is the biggest catch. Why would you not highlight it? Why Google Why?

I think the argument here could be that the low price might distract from the quality. People might perceive it to be a low quality product given such a low price. You could not blame them actually for the kind of android tablets currently flooding the market. There must be quite a few who would have burnt their fingers after buying one of those and they will certainly dissuade others from falling for the same trap. But rest assured the product is worthy and a must buy at the price its being sold.

I am buying one for myself. Now anybody returning from US or UK anytime soon.