Even lower-priced Nexus 7 could be in the works

New benchmarking stats suggest another possible Nexus 7 device is in the works with a lower-end spec. If you thought the Nexus 7 couldn’t get any cheaper, think again.

Benchmark results have emerged online via the GLBenchmark database showing an Asus ‘ME172V’ device.

While there isn’t anything to specify the device as having a 7-inch display or Nexus branding, it is being reported as a possible ‘budget’ Nexus 7 by BGR, a speculated price places it at $99 (£61).

It is true that earlier rumours have suggested an even lower-cost Nexus 7 might be in the works but Google has since denied it. Not that this rules the possibility out, of course.

The display size isn’t listed, but it does have a 1024x552 pixel resolution, 8GB of internal storage, a 4,270mAh battery pack and a 1GHz processor with 1GB of RAM.

We don’t know what make or model of chip and whether it’s single, dual or quad-core isn’t clear, but it will be running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (though we’d expect this to be 4.2 by time of release).

Oddly enough, it also appears to have a MicroSD slot, something which is consistently left out of Nexus-branded devices and wasn’t present on the other Nexus 7 slates.

It’s quite possible that the results are faked, but likewise there is an argument in favour of the idea.

Google’s Nexus 7 at its earlier price points was tremendously popular and a big part of its appeal was a comparatively low cost against rival devices, combined with a high spec and good value for money.

But, it will have still been outside of the budget of some potential tablet buyers.

Certainly if Google can crack this lower price bracket it will have outmanoeuvred its rivals once again. If the performance is decent, at this price we’d expect it to be a serious thorn in the side of Apple’s iPad Mini sales and Amazon’s Kindle Fire.