New Nexus 7 tablet hits stores early
It's time to compare the new Nexus and collect some Miis.
I'm Bridget Carey and this is your CNET Update.
Google's Nexus 7 tablet hit stores earlier than expected.
Google said its new tablet would go on sale Tuesday but it's already available at BestBuy, Amazon, GameStop, and Walmart.
This new Nexus 7 has some noticeable changes from the older model.
The new one is a little lighter and thinner.
It's not as wide and the back is smooth with no texture.
There's now a back camera with a 5-megapixel sensor.
The headphone jack has been moved from the bottom to the top, and although the screen is still 7 inches the bezel around the screen is slightly thinner.
With the upgrade, you'll get a 1080p true HD display and a little more battery life along with wireless charging.
It starts at $230 for the Wi-Fi only model.
Now if you want 4G LTE with 32 gigabytes of memory, that'll cost
$350.
It's a pretty good deal considering its only 20 bucks more than the entry level iPad mini which has less memory and no 4G.
T-Mobile is trying to one-up the competition once again, this time with a promotion that lets customers pick up a new phone, tablet, or even a hotspot with no down payment, but the phone has to be paid in full over 2 years and it's divided up in payments between $20 and $27 a month.
This promotion will likely only last a few days or weeks.
AT&T and Verizon recently launched plans that also let customers put no money down and make monthly payments on a phone, but T-Mobile service rates are lower.
And I'll end today with something you may wanna keep your eye on with the Nintendo 3DS, yes.
Several days ago, it updated the StreetPass Mii Plaza application by adding 4 new games that can only be played if you get off the couch and carry your system with you throughout the day.
The StreetPass can detect and exchange data with other nearby 3DS systems while in a sleep mode.
So if you pass another person in the mall with a 3DS, you never have to say hello or even turn on the screen and yet you've collected their Miis which have special items to play the games.
It also gives you coins by just walking around which can take the place of actually finding another user.
Either way you can't play sitting down.
CNET editor Scott Stein points out that this could be a glimpse into how Nintendo is thinking about the future of mobile games, by requiring you to walk around to find another device and what would happen if Nintendo
incorporated this concept in some way with the Wii Fit?
That might be pretty cool.
That's your Tech News Update.
You can find more details on the StreetPass Mii Plaza and other stories at CNET.com/Update or follow along on Twitter.
From our studios in New York, I'm Bridget Carey.
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