As expected and leaked, Google has gone ahead and announced the new version of Nexus 7. The new Nexus 7 still packs in a 7-inch IPS screen, but with a much higher resolution of 1920*1200 and a 323ppi. The display panel is also improved and sports much better color accuracy, and contrast levels.

While the side bezels of the device has been reduced, the top and bottom bezels have been increased to facilitate better ergonomics. The new tablet is also 2mm thinner and 50gms lighter than its predecessor.

Other specs of the new Nexus 7 include a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro clocked at 1.5GHz, along with an Adreno 320 GPU. The same SoC is found inside the Nexus 4, and is no slouch. There is also 2GB of RAM, 16/32GB of storage space, dual-stereos with Fraunhofer virtual surround sound and a 5MP camera at the rear with a 1.2MP front-facing camera for all your video-chatting, multimedia and photography (!) needs.

Connectivity and Software

On the connectivity side, there is dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n (No ac sadly!), Bluetooth 4.0, a notification LED, NFC, Wireless charging and a microUSB/SlimPort. Perhaps, the most surprising feature of the new Nexus 7 is a single LTE model that will work on Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T. On the software side, there is a new version of Jelly Bean – Android 4.3. Sadly, this new version of Jelly Bean does not bring any new major feature except for more butter, and major under-the-hood changes. You can read our list of what’s new in Android 4.3 here.

If you are thinking that the specs of the new Nexus 7 are similar to the Nexus 4, then you are correct. The internals of both the devices are exactly the same. While the Nexus 4 is known for heating issues, the extra thermal headroom in a tablet should help keep the new N7 pretty cool under heavy load. Google states that the battery life is around 10 hours of web browsing, and up to 9 hours of video playback.

Availability and Price

The leaks about the pricing were also right, with the 16GB version coming in at $229 and the 32GB version costing $269.99. You can already pre-order the new Nexus 7 from the Play Store, or just go ahead and buy it from any of the Best Buy, PC Connection and other retails stores from July 30th. The 4G LTE model will come with 32GB of storage space will cost you $349, and will be available in coming weeks.