New Nexus 7 vs. the competition: battle of the budget 7-inch tablets

The original Nexus 7 launched in a relative vacuum -- there were other low-cost, 7-inch Android tablets before, but few with the full support of a major manufacturer. The 2013-era Nexus 7 is entering a far more crowded marketplace with many recognizable names, and even more aggressive pricing. With that in mind, we've compared Google's latest tablet with three of its newest 7-inch peers -- ASUS' MeMo Pad HD 7, HP's Slate 7 and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 -- to see whether it's as strong a value as its predecessor.

Ironically, the new Nexus 7 occupies the high end in this space. It's the most expensive tablet here, with the sharpest display, the fastest processor and the most built-in storage. However, that doesn't mean it's priced out of contention. The $30 you save with the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 just isn't worth it; Samsung's tablet is a big step down in every aspect outside of expandability. And you're clearly getting what you pay for with the Slate 7, whose low price doesn't excuse a poor display and sluggish performance.

The Nexus 7's real competition comes from its own manufacturer, ASUS. While the MeMo Pad HD 7 has a lower resolution screen and a slower CPU, its cameras, display quality, processing power and storage are superb for the price. If you don't crave the Nexus 7's technology or stock Android 4.3, it may be wiser to save $80 and buy the good-enough MeMo Pad instead. Full specifications for all the tablets are available after the break.