Best Buy already launched its pre-order sales ahead of the official Nexus 7 announcement at Google's press event on Wednesday. In keeping with its habit of pushing the Android-powered tablet to customers earlier than expected as well.
The Verge has confirmed that Best Buy will be shipping out the device to pre-order customers today, despite the announced July 30 launch date in the U.S. set by Google. In addition, if you want to buy one in person, the Best Buy retailer in Union Square in New York City has stock available.
While Best Buy is leading the charge, Walmart also has early stock of the Nexus 7 at some locations, including the store in Monroe, New York. Meanwhile, Amazon's Nexus 7 pre-order listings also offer delivery by Monday provided the customer opts for one-day shipping. Google's other retailers, B&H, RadioShack, GameStop, OfficeMax and Staples, don't seem to be pushing the envelope and are sticking to the original July 30 release date.
The newly updated Nexus 7 adds a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 1920 x 1200 display to the successful formula that Google and Asus introduced last year with the original 7-inch tablet. The price of the new Nexus 7 starts at $229 but the price factors in a faster processor, twice the onboard RAM and an all around thinner designed that users can use to justify the extra cost.
The Nexus 7 is likely in such high demand as many insiders want to be among the first to test out the newest version of Android, 4.3 Jelly Bean. Jelly Bean is an update to the Android system that was also announced alongside the Nexus 7 at Google's press event. While it isn't a revolutionary new operating system, it's the newest and most up-to-date version of Android and is launching first on the tablet. This seems to have caused demand to increase. Android 4.3 should be coming for more devices soon.
