First cases for new Nexus 7 begin to appear

Whenever a new iPad is announced, it's quickly followed by a flood of accessory manufacturers announcing new cases for it. With the new Nexus 7, the number of case announcements is more of a trickle, but we expect to see lots more in the coming weeks.

Of course, plenty of sleeve-style cases for the old Nexus 7 will fit the new Nexus 7 because the two products, while not exactly the same size (the new model is slightly taller and slimmer), are similar enough to fit in a sleeve that has some play to it. However, fitted cases truly customized for the old 7 won't work.

Dodocase, the company known for its bookbound-style cases, announced several new cases for the new Nexus 7, as well as one sleeve.

Waterfield Designs has tweaked its various sleeves to fit the new Nexus and is already selling the new products. The "custom-fitted" Nexus 7 II cases include: the Ultimate SleeveCase, the Slip Case, the Suede Jacket and the Travel Express, which range in price from $19 to $59.

I also got an email from M-Edge, which has been touting flexibility of its "universal" folio cases, saying its $39.99 Stealth case is now available for new Nexus 7.

With universal cases, you tend to strap the device in at the corners with elastic bands, so a case could be used for virtually any 7-inch tablet, including the Kindle Fire and Nook HD (and the iPad Mini, too). The nice thing about going universal is that as you go from one device to the next (and perhaps sell your older model) you can keep the case. Not surprisingly, more generic versions of this type of case can be found on Amazon for less.

It might be a few weeks (or months) before we start seeing tougher, fancier rubber/plastic cases from Otterbox, Speck, and plenty of others, but as soon as a bunch hit the market, we'll put together a round up of the best cases -- and best values.