New Nexus 7 Release Date Imminent: Pre-Orders Now Available At Best Buy, Device Already Purchased At Office Max

Best Buy and Office Max decided not to wait until “breakfast” with Google senior Vice President Sundar Pichai in order to introduce the new Nexus 7 fully equipped with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Reports indicate that the retailers already have the second-generation tablet on hand.

At Best Buy, customers can already pre-order the new Nexus 7 on its website. The 16GB tablet is listed at $229.99. According to the retailer, the specs for the new Nexus 7 are as follows: 7-inch 1920 x 1200 LCD IPS display, 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with Adreno 320 graphics card, 2GB of DDR3LM memory, 16GB and 32GB internal memory options, 5-megapixel main camera and 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, MicroUSB port with SlimPort, and of course Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

Additionally, Best Buy has included a photo gallery of the new Nexus 7, which comes in black, features a wide bezel and on screen buttons situated widthwise. The retailer has not yet listed shipping or in-store pick up information.

Meanwhile, stealthy Reddit user xQcKx was able to pre-order the new Nexus 7 from Office Max using the product’s SKU number on July 20 and received his tablet ahead of its official launch. The user shared an initial post on Reddit, uploading a photo of the receipt for the 32GB new Nexus 7, which he purchased for close to $269.99 plus tax, and also admitting that he is an Office Max employee. That post has since been deleted; however, once his Nexus 7 was delivered, he shared photos of the device as well as the box it came in.

Most are assuming the device is not an elaborate fake; the tablet shown in the photos does appear similar to the photos in Best Buy’s gallery, only we noticed that it is missing the embossed Asus branding that is visible in Best Buy’s photos. Another supposed OfficeMax employee insists that the retailer would not ship the older-generation Nexus 7 as it has been long discontinued.

Another Reddit user reportedly confirmed the SKU number for the 32GB Nexus 7 as 24127222; which means consumers should be able to use it to order their own tablet before it is even launched.

Google’s “ Breakfast with Sundar Pichai” will start at 9:00 a.m. PT, 12:00 p.m. ET, where the new Nexus 7 and Android 4.3 operating system are expected to be unveiled. Once launched, the Nexus 7 should be available in retail stores within days. Best Buy will reportedly begin selling the Nexus 7 on July 30 while Staples should have the tablet available on July 31.

Check out the live stream of Google’s Event.

What do you think of the new Nexus 7 being available before it is official? Let us know in the comments below.

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