Made by Asus, the new 7-inch Google tablet Nexus 7 will go on sale today in Australia from $249 with a promised delivery of mid-July.

 

This is the first time a Nexus device will be sold directly to Australian consumers, and the new tablet from Google is expected to challenge both the iPad and Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

 

While it may not be an iPad killer, the price point for a 7-inch tablet will definitely put pressure on the competition, especially the Kindle Fire. The Nexus 7 is $170 cheaper than a basic iPad, and only $20 more than an iPod Nano.

 

There are two versions of the tablet available – an 8GB or 16GB model – both have a quad-core processor, HD display, a front facing camera, will run the latest Android OS (4.1 Jellybean) and will weigh just 340 grams. The 16GB model will be available for $299.

 

The tablet will come pre-loaded with sample movies, music, books, magazines and a $25 gift voucher to use in the Google Play store.

 

Google also presented a challenger to Apple TV – the Nexus Q – an orb shaped media device, which offers many of the same features found in Apple TV, but with one key difference. The Nexus Q allows for media sharing with friends, so long as they are using Android devices.

 

The Nexus Q will go on sale today in America for US$300, and will be rolled out to other countries, however there is no specified date at this time.

 

The Nexus 7 will be available online through the Google Play store.

 

You can check out the trailer here: