Google's New Tablet

By Mark Barger, NBC News

July 1, 2012 Updated Jun 30, 2012 at 4:33 PM PDT

The name of the new seven-inch tablet Google has introduced: the Nexus 7.

Along with a high resolution screen and front facing camera, the Nexus 7 will also offer features such as voice search.

Those features take advantage of jelly bean, the next version of Google's android operating system.

The Nexus 7 will be available in mid-July with a price starting at $199, the same as Amazon's Kindle Fire.

"Google's sending the signal that it's serious about making hardware and not just with this tablet," said Jon Fortt, CNBC technology reporter.

It's a message similar to the one sent last week by software giant Microsoft, when it jumped into the hardware game with its surface tablet.

Google also introduced a home entertainment device today called Nexus Q.

It'll allow streaming of both personal and online media content to existing televisions, controlled by Android phones or tablets.

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