The Microsoft Surface tablet isn’t the only new slate that will be making an appearance in the tablet space, as one has to remember that Google I/O 2012 is set to kick off on the 27th of this month in San Francisco, and the Google guys are expected to unveil the Google Nexus tablet during the event.

The Google Nexus tablet is a 7-inch slate made by Asus according to rumours, and according to the guys over at Phone Arena by way of DigiTimes, who quote unnamed sources from upstream component makers, apparently the Google Nexus tablet will be a WiFi only Android slate with a front facing camera.

Apparently there’s no word on whether there will be a 3G version of the Google Nexus tablet, but the slate will not feature a larger camera to its rear in order to keep the pricing down to an affordable level, and the device will more than likely come pre-installed with the Google Chrome browser, and rumoured to run Android Jelly Bean.

The unnamed sources have also stated that the first batch of the Google Nexus tablet has shipped this month with the slate becoming available sometime next month with an expected retail price of 199-bucks a pop, whilst total device shipments are expected to hit a minimum of three million by the year’s end.

Furthermore, DigiTimes also states that Asus is working on a 7-inch slate of their own that will be launched in August and command a price tag of somewhere between $159 and $179; however as there is no conformation available on any of the above, one should treat this as rumour for the time being.