IF THE INTERNET rumour-mill is to be believed, Google’s challenger to the iPad will hit the UK shops this week. Google unveiled the Nexus 7 at its annual developer conference last month in San Francisco, and indicated a mid-July release date for the 7-inch tablet, but no exact date was revealed. However Dixons, which owns electronics retailers PC World and Curry’s, has indicated on its pre-order website that the expected delivery date is July 19th.

The Nexus 7 has a high-definition display, features the latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean software and is the weight of a paperback book, and its launch may give pause for thought to anyone saving up for an iPad. Apple’s entry-level iPad starts at $399 (€325) whereas the 16GB version of the Nexus 7 tablet is retailing on the Dixons website for just £199.99 (€252). “Google can see that the only way to beat the premium-worthy iPad is to go for the millions of customers who are ready for smaller and cheaper tablets and then grow those customers into more Android-powered devices,” said Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey.