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SAN FRANCISCO — This morning at a low-key media event, Google unveiled the latest in its flagship tablet lineup: the 2013 Nexus 7.
The Nexus 7 features a 1080p high resolution display, high-end hardware specs, and runs Google’s latest Android OS, Jelly Bean 4.3. Two key features this new OS offers are support for multiple users with restricted profiles — useful if you share a tablet — as well as Bluetooth LE for pairing with wireless accessories.
But the first thing you’ll notice about the Nexus 7 is its screen. It’s now the world’s highest resolution 7-inch Android tablet, with a 1280 x 1920 pixel display — that’s 323 pixels per inch. Google says the Nexus 7 display can show a 30 percent wider range of colors than the original. It can render true 1080p video, and the Netflix app was just updated to take advantage of that capability on Monday. To complete your 1080p movie watching experience, the Nexus 7 features stereo speakers, one located at either end of the device when you’re holding it in landscape mode.
Inside it’s got a 1.5Ghz Snapdragon S4 pro processor, which offers 1.8 times the CPU power and 4X the GPU capabilities of its predecessor. The tablet includes NFC, so you can share data with other nearby NFC-enabled devices. It also includes wireless charging. Both of these technologies are available in a growing number of Android and Windows Phone devices these days, but due to clunky real-life use cases, have proven a more gimmicky than useful.
And the Nexus 7 isn’t rough on the eyes, either. It’s dominated by “black on black” styling, with the same soft-touch texture as the original that provides a nice amount of grip in your hand. Google also slimmed down the new Nexus. It’s 2mm thinner and 50 grams lighter than before, with a thinner bezel around its edge. The lighter weight in particular should make holding the tablet for long periods (like when you’re watching a video on your commute) more enjoyable.
While Google focused its presentation on the tablet as an entertainment device — something for watching movies and gaming — Google is also making a foray into the education space, which Apple’s iPad currently dominates. Google Play Textbooks bring content from five major textbook publishers including Pearson, Wiley, and McGraw-Hill to Android for the first time, allowing students to rent or buy digital content.
The Nexus 7 starts at $229 for a 16 GB Wi-Fi-only model. You can get a 32 GB Wi-Fi-only N7 for $269, or a 4G LTE version that works on AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile for $349. The Wi-Fi versions go on sale Tuesday, July 30

(Credit: Apple)

Proof of Apple's much-rumored, low-cost iPhone might have been revealed inadvertently in a new report.
Released today by watchdog group China Labor Watch, the report accuses Apple supplier Pegatron of several worker abuses, including safety violations, poor living conditions, and excessive overtime.
Page 11 of the 62-page report describes Pegatron as assembling cell phones and tablets for Apple. "Its assembled products include iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, and low-priced plastic iPhones," the report said.
The long, difficult day in the life of one factory worker is detailed further in the report. Page 28 describes that worker's task with the plastic iPhone:

Today's work is to paste protective film on the iPhone's plastic back cover to prevent it from being scratched on assembly lines. This iPhone model with a plastic cover will soon be released on the market by Apple. The task is pretty easy, and I was able to work independently after a five-minute instruction from a veteran employee. It took around a minute to paste protective film on one rear cover. The new cell phone has not yet been put into mass production, so quantity is not as important.

The report's purpose apparently was to find out how a low-cost iPhone can be produced.
The executive summary specifically states: "Apple is preparing to release a cheap iPhone. Just how does a prosperous company like Apple produce a discounted version of its phones?" Another question asks: "So what is the competitive advantage that Pegatron has utilized to win Apple's order of the cheap iPhone?"
The report blames some of the violations on the rush to create a cheaper iPhone:

At this moment, in Shanghai, China, workers in Apple's supplier factory Pegatron are monotonously working long overtime hours to turn out a scaled-back, less expensive version of the iPhone. Six days a week, the workers making these phones have to work almost 11-hour shifts, 20 minutes of which is unpaid, and the remainder of which is paid at a rate of $1.50 an hour ($268 per month) before overtime. This is less than half the average local monthly income of $764 and far below the basic living wage necessary to live in Shanghai, one of costliest cities in China. So these workers rely on long overtime hours. If a worker does not finish three months at Pegatron, the dispatch company that got the worker hired will deduct a large portion of his wages.

The report goes on to highlight the labor violations claimed by China Labor Watch, which sent investigators to three Pegatron factories to conduct almost 200 interviews with workers from March to July

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean: all the new features

 

Google has officially announced Android 4.3 yesterday, and it’s another gradual update to Jelly Bean, but what’s really new about it? We've broken down the 10 biggest new features including the ones that made it into the highlights - the new multi-user system and the fact that with 4.3 Android should run even faster and smoother.

In reality, it’s clear that Android 4.3 is not a huge update from a user perspective. Google has already done the interface polishing with Android 4.0 and its beautiful Holo UI language and Roboto font.

Now, with 4.3 it is focusing on features that developers will appreciate and the ten innovations listed below will be of most interest to devs, not average users. With over 1 million applications in the Google Play store, Android now can finally say that it has the largest app catalog, bigger than Apple and needless to say multiple times bigger than Windows Phone.

Android 4.3 makes it possible for developers to bring really console-grade games with support for Open GL ES 3.0 graphics and many under the hood improvements in the way the system handles visuals. It is adding tons of possibilities for accessory makers with Bluetooth Smart and Low Energy support. It is opening a new realm for those that want to implement location in their apps with hardware geofencing. All of that is right below, with a quick explanation of each new features in Google’s own words, take a look.

Android, the world's most popular mobile platform

Android powers hundreds of millions of mobile devices in more than 190 countries around the world. It's the largest installed base of any mobile platform and growing fast—every day another million users power up their Android devices for the first time and start looking for apps, games, and other digital content.

Android gives you a world-class platform for creating apps and games for Android users everywhere, as well as an open marketplace for distributing to them instantly.

Global partnerships and large installed base

Building on the contributions of the open-source Linux community and more than 300 hardware, software, and carrier partners, Android has rapidly become the fastest-growing mobile OS.

Android’s openness has made it a favorite for consumers and developers alike, driving strong growth in app consumption. Android users download more than 1.5 billion apps and games from Google Play each month.
With its partners, Android is continuously pushing the boundaries of hardware and software forward to bring new capabilities to users and developers. For developers, Android innovation lets you build powerful, differentiated applications that use the latest mobile technologies

Powerful development framework

Android gives you everything you need to build best-in-class app experiences. It gives you a single application model that lets you deploy your apps broadly to hundreds of millions of users across a wide range of devices—from phones to tablets and beyond.
Android also gives you tools for creating apps that look great and take advantage of the hardware capabilities available on each device. It automatically adapts your UI to look its best on each device, while giving you as much control as you want over your UI on different device types.
For example, you can create a single app binary that's optimized for both phone and tablet form factors. You declare your UI in lightweight sets of XML resources, one set for parts of the UI that are common to all form factors and other sets for optimzations specific to phones or tablets. At runtime, Android applies the correct resource sets based on its screen size, density, locale, and so on.
To help you develop efficiently, the Android Developer Tools offer a full Java IDE with advanced features for developing, debugging, and packaging Android apps. Using the IDE, you can develop on any available Android device or create virtual devices that emulate any hardware configuration.

Open marketplace for distributing your apps

Google Play is the premier marketplace for selling and distributing Android apps. When you publish an app on Google Play, you reach the huge installed base of Android.

As an open marketplace, Google Play puts you in control of how you sell your products. You can publish whenever you want, as often as you want, and to the customers you want. You can distribute broadly to all markets and devices or focus on specific segments, devices, or ranges of hardware capabilities.
You can monetize in the way that works best for your business—priced or free, with in-app products or subscriptions—for highest engagement and revenues. You also have complete control of the pricing for your apps and in-app products and can set or change prices in any supported currency at any time.

Beyond growing your customer base, Google Play helps you build visibility and engagement across your apps and brand. As your apps rise in popularity, Google Play gives them higher placement in weekly "top" charts and rankings, and for the best apps promotional slots in curated collections.
Preinstalled on hundreds of millions of Android devices around the world, Google Play can be a growth engine for your business.