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Google took the world by storm last year when it launched its first ever own-brand tablet, the Nexus 7. Offering top-end quad-core performance and Google's then latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, but costing less than £200, the tablet was an unexpected success, stealing a significant portion of the tablet market from Apple.

But one year on, the Nexus 7's control of the tiny tablet market has been challenged, with key competitor Apple releasing the iPad Mini and Amazon releasing its Kindle Fire HD. Aware of this, Google has come out swinging, unveiling a new super-swish upgraded Nexus 7.

What's more, it is absolutely chock-a-block full of new features and under the bonnet upgrades. So much so, in fact, that knowing what's actually new on the latest Nexus 7 can be difficult. Here to help, as ever, V3 has put together a definitive list of the new Nexus 7's 10 best features.

One major shortcoming on the original Nexus 7 was the absence of a rear-facing camera.

While we still maintain taking photos on a tablet makes you look like an absolute plonker, many people complained about not being able to take photos using their Nexus 7. So Google added a 5MP rear camera to the new model.

While the low megapixel count means the new Nexus 7 won't be anywhere as good at snapping photos as most top-end smartphones, the new camera software added to Google's latest Android 4.3 OS means images should still at the very least be usable.

9. Cost
The cost of the basic Nexus 7 unit is £199.99 and for that you get 16GB of internal storage and WiFi connectivity.
The 32GB model steps up to £239.99, and the 4G 32GB unit will cost £299.99. All of these prices compare favourably to Apple's iPad Mini offering, the cheapest of which can be yours for £269.99.
Meanwhile, the original Nexus 7 continues to sell for £159.99, but we'd recommend plumping for the new model if you have the extra cash, as the new Nexus 7 is rather more future-proof than its predecessor.


8. Bluetooth smart
Apple iOS devices have boasted Bluetooth smart technology since the start of 2012, however it has only just arrived on Android with the release of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.
While it sounds small, the inclusion of Bluetooth smart is a big deal as it lets the new Nexus 7 connect with next generation, power efficient Bluetooth accessories, like remote speakers, fitness equipment and other smart devices. As an added perk, the connection is significantly less power demanding than traditional Bluetooth connections.
Given the number of desk gadgets and "productivity" aiding smart device peripherals most business folk like to surround themselves with these days, we're thinking the addition is going to be a big boon for work tablet users.


7. Better battery
Considering all the new features, including the very impressive screen and the faster processor, you would expect battery performance to be diminished.
On top of that, in order to achieve the wafer-thin design of the device, Asus had to cut the battery's capacity by roughly 10 percent from 4,325mAh to 3,950mAh. Despite this, reports suggest that battery life is extremely favourable in comparison with the original machine. So, no worries there if you're a heavy user who's away from power outlets for a while.
The battery also supports wireless charging on the Qi standard, which is a great addition for those who prefer not to have cables for multiple devices trailing around.

 
6. Sleeker design
Google chose to completely rework the new Nexus 7's design, hoping to make it look far nicer and than its predecessor, which, featuring a glued on back and glass screen, felt a little bolted together. Doing so Google's given the new Nexus' a smooth finish and slightly rounded chassis that wraps around the device's sides.
It's also made the tablet slightly thinner and lighter than the 197x120x10.5mm, 340g original Nexus, with it measuring in at 200x114x8.65mm and weighing a feather-light 290g.
All this adds up to make the Nexus one of the nicest looking 7in tablets currently available.

5. OpenGL ES 3.0 support
OpenGL ES 3.0 is a key under the hood addition to Google's Android 4.3 OS designed to entice developers to create more applications for the ecosystem. Believe it or not Android is the first operating system to support the new API extensions, which is odd considering how many awesome perks it offers.
The tech lets developers create much nicer-looking applications than before, letting them produce more detailed graphical textures and lens flares, and reflections.
As an added perk the support also radically boosts Android's compression powers meaning the improved graphics should theoretically require less processing power and memory when running than they would on older Android versions. This means that using Android 4.3 the Nexus 7 should be able to run far nicer looking high performance apps than most other tablets.


4. Multiple account rights management
Google originally added multiple account support in Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. However the feature was fairly bare-bones, not letting the device's owner set up specific privileges for each account. This meant the feature's overall business appeal was limited. Aware of this Google has revisited the idea adding advanced account management features.
This means that the owner of a new Nexus 7 can not only create multiple user accounts on the device, they can also set up separate privileges for each account.
Specifically, the feature means that IT managers looking to have a shared tablet for the office can set their shiny new Nexus 7 to have a locked down employee profile, blocking the foolish scamps from doing things like downloading a dodgy Trojan app from a third party marketplace.

3. Improved processor
The new Nexus 7 replaces the quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 chip seen on Google's first 7in Nexus 7 tablet with a quad-core 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4.
This means that on paper the new Nexus 7 should be significantly faster and offer users radically improved performance, even when compared to more expensive devices like the iOS powered Apple iPad Mini.
Having had a decent play with the device during our hands on we definitely noticed a bump in power, with the new Nexus feeling like one of the nippiest and most responsive 7in tablets we've ever had the pleasure to use.



2. Screen
The Google Nexus 7's display is without a doubt its biggest selling points, with it being the first ever tablet to break the 300ppi threshold packing a 7in 1920x1200 HD 1080p 323ppi screen.
Google also claims the new Nexus 7 screen is able to display a 30 percent wider array of colours than the old Nexus 7.
This means that on paper the Nexus 7's screen is the best ever seen on a tablet and will make watching videos reading text and pretty much every activity you can do under the sun on a tablet more pleasant.

 
1. Future proof
Fragmentation is a massive problem facing the Android ecosystem, with all too many smartphones and tablets running using outdated version of the mobile operating system. Outside of the fact that this means many Android users are missing out on cool new Android services, like Google Now, it's also a pretty serious security concern.
This is because fragmentation makes it easier for criminals to target the ecosystem as most security developers can't afford to release patches for all of the different Android versions - meaning that like Windows, older versions are more vulnerable.
For this reason the hallowed Nexus branding is itself a massive selling point. This is because unlike third party manufacturers' phones and tablets, Google branded Nexus devices that meet new Android versions' technical specifications are guaranteed to get the update.