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Mobile Technology

Google rumored to be launching 2nd generation Nexus 10

By Will Shanklin
January 21, 2013
Google rumored to be launching 2nd generation Nexus 10
Is Google developing an upgraded new version of the Nexus 10?
Is Google developing an upgraded new version of the Nexus 10?
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Is Google developing an upgraded new version of the Nexus 10?
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Is Google developing an upgraded new version of the Nexus 10?
Will the new Nexus 10 sport ARM's Mali T678? (Image: ARM)
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Will the new Nexus 10 sport ARM's Mali T678? (Image: ARM)

Though its sales haven't approached iPad levels, Google's Nexus 10 is a beast. It has the sharpest display of any tablet, one of the fastest mobile processors, and a US$400 starting price. But, impressive as its hardware is, the Nexus 10 isn't perfect. Google reportedly realizes this, and is ready to improve on its formula with a 2nd-gen Nexus 10.

Graphical firepower

Will the new Nexus 10 sport ARM's Mali T678? (Image: ARM)
Will the new Nexus 10 sport ARM's Mali T678? (Image: ARM)

According to Bright Side of News, Google wasn't completely satisfied with the Nexus 10's performance. Its Samsung Exynos chip benchmarks with the best, but still struggles with the device's 2,560 x 1,600 display.

Google's answer? How about an upgraded Nexus 10 with quad-core processing and eight-core graphics (the source suspects ARM's Mali T678 GPU). This would help to a) drive the display's over four million pixels without hiccups, and b) move its performance closer to that of a desktop gaming PC.

Old and new

Apart from the upgraded CPU and GPU, the 2nd-gen Nexus 10 will remain largely the same. It will sport the same ultra-sharp display as its predecessor, along with an equal 2 GB of RAM. The source reportedly viewed a prototype that had an identical exterior to the original, but didn't rule out minor changes to the market version.

Google's manufacturing partner is unconfirmed, but if the tablet retains many features from the original Nexus 10, that would almost certainly (again) make it Samsung.

Release?

The new Nexus 10 doesn't yet have any firm release dates, but Google could announce it as early as next month's Mobile World Congress, and launch by August or September. Pricing is also unknown, but it would likely cost the same as – or slightly more than – the O.G. Nexus 10.

Performance boosts alone won't help the Nexus line to sell like the iPad. But if marketing and application support hit the right notes, it – and up-and-comers like the Sony Xperia Tablet Z – could potentially chip away at Apple's dominance.

Source: Bright Side of News via BGR

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Mobile TechnologySamsungGoogleTabletNexus 10
10 comments
Will Shanklin
Will Shanklin is New Atlas' VR and Mobile Editor, and has been part of the team since 2012. He covers a broad range of consumer tech, including virtual reality hardware and software, smartphones, tablets, laptops and smartwatches.

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10 comments
Australian
Hopefully when they upgrade the Nexus they will increase the performance of the battery charger and add SD support. Only these 2 things are required and they will be the best tablet available. Will they do it? I fear not as they insist on going head to head with IPad and upselling features like memory which should be user-expandable.
Anne Ominous
In my opinion, in order to be "best tablet available", it has to be less sponsor-centric. iPad is a staunch member of the Apple "Walled Garden" and despite rhetoric early on, Android isn't a hell of a lot better. It's far too dependent on Google.
I am aware that you can disable the Google apps and use 3rd-party apps. But until a tablet comes along (can you say Linux?) that gives you pretty much completely free choice, we haven't seen the "best". Just the best for now.
Hermann Bischof
Reaching the top of tablet preferences is not a matter of height tech or fancy capabilities. As good as the tablets are today, we just need 3 full ports for: a) USB 3.0; b) FULL SD and c) HDMI, for that quantum leap. Everything else is welcome but those 3 ports are mandatory at the first place. Is that too difficult to understand? IMHO, from Chile, Hermann Bischof
BenWaB3
I'm in agreement with Australian. The lack of SD expandability, plus supposedly not supporting FLAC, were the reasons I haven't gotten one of these.
Ben
Dave Hargraves
nope sorry complete wrong design. who wants to have to carry that and their smartphone around not to mention dealing with charging two devices. samsung has the best idea so far"even though their design is not correct" with the tablet and phone as one device. regards Freelance Eng.(designer of smartphone tech)
Jmnsnow
They are still in the same place, give me something with the battery life (12+ hrs), expandable memory, has all the in & out-puts and can be used inside, outside with good hand balance that replaces everything else. I only want a single instrument that can wirelessly connect to larger displays, keyboards when necessary, etal .
Haze
The Nexus 10 is by far my favorite tablet, and I have used them all except for the original Galaxy Tab and Xoom 2. However, I don't think I would upgrade merely for a quad core processor (especially considering how well the current one performs).
If the upgrade does indeed include a Mali T678, then yes I will go ahead and upgrade... but I would be disappointed if it moved to a quad core and not Samsung's new Exynos Octa (unless of course they've resigned themselves to simply calling this new chip a quad core, since I'm sure only four cores will be used at any given time).
Alex Stewart
Does anyone else think the new version should really get 3G support of some kind? I personally would prefer that they hold out a bit longer and release a more complete, proper upgrade to the tablet with the better processing power, 3G support, and SD and HDMI support. That would give people who had already bought the tablet a reason to upgrade and convince the naysayers to get on board. This tablet is already so close to perfection, I don't see why they can't be a bit more like Apple (just this once okay? Please don't kill me!) and focus on getting as many details right as possible. I'm no Apple lover, not by a longshot, but I do appreciate their attention to detail. You never feel like they forgot something when they release a new iPad.
BeeJay13
You can expand the memory of a Nexus 7 or 10... its called a USB OTG cable, it costs $4 at Jaycar and you can plugin any USB storage device... what is the diff between this and an SD card, other than size. But seriously take advantage of skydrive, drop box and the google drive equivalent. Nobody actually needs more than 32GB of storage anymore on a tablet
FL Guy
Good point, there is currently a way to expand the local storage of a Nexus tablet (via the USB OTG) - it's a bit clumsy (leaving a 'dongle' like device protruding from the tablet), and probably best suited to occasional use, but works for getting files on and off the device at least.
As far as Skydrive being a replacement for adequate (by which I mean abundant) local storage, I beg to differ. Think airplanes, subways, service outages, sudden/unacceptable changes in TOS, ... etc., etc.
Cloud storage is a nice way to sync files, and nice to have as an option, but I won't be relying on it as primary storage any time soon.
And yes, one can use up 32GB pretty quickly, between high res/lossless audio, and movies / video. I'm using over 25GB now with about 5% of my audio collection on board (all purchased legally btw).
A large amount of local storage (greater than 32GB) is definitely an important selection criteria for me. I hope more tablet (and phone) mfgs will include support for large amounts of local storage.