Google Nexus 7 LTE disappears from Google Play Store

Just a couple of days ago Google came along and finally announced that the second generation Google Nexus 7 tablet with LTE support was for sale in the Google Play store.  Users were able to head over there and pick up the new tablet for just $350, unlocked and with 32GB of internal memory to go along with it.  The LTE device was confirmed at a Google event back in July of this year and allowed users to connect to networks with AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.  The popularity of the device quickly hit the sky and all of a sudden, the device has disappeared from the Google Play store.

Seemingly without notice, Google has removed the 32GB LTE model of the Nexus 7 II from the store and it does not appear to be announcing the reason anytime soon.  A short note left on the page that Google has on the Play store for the device claims that the Nexus 7 II LTE is “not for sale at this time” and that is it.  No further explanation has been given at this time, but maybe Google came into some issues getting the device due to demand and has decided to postpone sales rather than give a 4 week lead time.

Another reason could be that Google is having issues with the Google Play store, but nothing has pointed towards that officially for now.  The out of stock notice comes as surprise to consumers, especially since the device has been selling so well since it was added to the Play store recently.  Google had plans to push the LTE model of the Nexus 7 II all around the United States, United Kingdom and Japan with hopes of getting consumer attention away from the very popular and fast selling iPad Mini.

With Apple releasing the second generation of the iPad Mini this year, it would be in Google’s best interest to get the LTE model of the popular tablet back into the Play store as soon as possible.  The newest model of the iPad Mini will likely come with the Retina Display, as well as 4G LTE support, according to reports.  Another version of the Kindle Fire HD will be released soon from Amazon as well, giving even more competition to Google and Apple in the “mini” tablet space of the mobile market.