Nexus 7 Sold Out on Google Play Store

The Nexus 7 tablet is sold out...again.

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ack in July, Google's Nexus 7 tablet was sold out everywhere. With a price of $199, it's not surprising that a product like this would sell incredibly well, but now, just three months later, it's sold out again, this time also in the Google Play Store. What's that mean? Well, aside from meaning that you can't currently buy it, it means that factories can't keep up with the demand. Why is the Nexus 7 so popular?

It seems unlikely that Google would simply stop selling the tablets, but what's probably going on is that as they prepare to announce a new version, they pulled the old models from the store. Google was set to host an event in which they presumably were going to discuss what's new about the next Nexus tablet, but thanks to ol' Hurricane Sandy, the event had to be cancelled.

Speculation suggests that Google may have pulled the Nexus tablets in anticipation of a new product announcement.

Since the event was cancelled, it would make sense for Google to put the tablets back in the store. But the other potential here is Google leaving them out of the store and putting them back on only once the new tablet is announced—that way, they could sell the old model at a discounted rate. Pulling them now when they will likely discount them very shortly is smart, as it keeps customers happy since they won't see the sticker price go down so soon after their purchase.

Regardless of the reasoning for why it's not listed on the Google Play store, one thing is for sure—a tablet that's selling this well might actually be some competition for Apple's illustrious iPad (and now, the iPad Mini).