With the one year anniversary of the debut of probably the most successful Android tablet to date – the Nexus 7 – fast approaching, apart from a possible appearance in a recent Google promo video there really hasn’t been much heard about the Nexus 7 Mk II – until today. An Asus tablet has just been spotted listed in the FCC online repository with a brand designation of ‘Nexus’.
The Asus built tablet, model #:K009 is listed in the FCC certification documentation with a slew of hardware details which share a similarity with another recent arrival at the FCC the ME571K(K008) – also from Asus – which lists many of the same features. The FCC documentation lists some of the specifications of this tablet:
The screen size is not specifically listed but the LT070ME05000 display from Japan Display Inc. would appear to be indicative of a 7″ screen and the 4000mAh battery would also be indicative of a 7″ screen size as well given the size of tablet needed to include a battery with that power.
Also noteworthy is the processor, the Qualcomm APQ-8064 S4 Pro 1.5GHz Quad-Core processor currently powers the Google Nexus 4 and the question must be asked – is this good enough to power a tablet of late 2013? With the Snapdragon 600 or even an 800 starting to become available has the cost of the CPU been factored in to meet a specific price point?
The Qualcomm WTR1605L WWAN Module included has been listed as compatible with Australian 1800MHz LTE Bands(Band 3); however Google has not shown any interest in releasing a Nexus branded device with working LTE as yet, so it will be interesting to see if the LTE radios will be enabled when it finally launches.
Release date for the tablet is anyones guess and we can also only hope that they include Australian LTE frequencies for us to also enjoy this device to its fullest.
And your Bluetooth SIG, too!
Update – Sunday July 16: Just one day later, the K009 passed through the Bluetooth SIG, where it was listed as having a “Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 600 Quad-core CPU”. This differs to the FCC’s account subtly.
The discrepancy between the Bluetooth SIG and FCC documents could due to the model numbers of the S4Pro and the Snapdragon 600 being so similar – APQ8064 and APQ8064T respectively – and thus easily confused. Seeing that the S4Pro is nearly 12 months old, I’d assume that the correct processor is actually the Snapdragon 600.
Notably, the Bluetooth SIG lists the K009 as being available in Australia.
Is this the Nexus 7 you’re after? Let us know in the comments!
