Undoubtedly tired of watching OEMs make little headway in their uphill struggle against Apple's iPad, Google executives took the stage at this year's Google I/O developer conference to announce a branded seven-inch tablet of their own: the Google Nexus 7 by Asus.

Like other Nexus-branded devices, the Nexus 7 tablet isn't actually hardware manufactured by Google (as you may have noticed thanks to the suffix). As Mountain View has done with Samsung, HTC and Motorola in the past, the company paired with Asus to design and manufacture its slender tablet.

It's a smart move: among Android tablets, Asus makes some of the best around, but matching the rock-bottom $199 (£130) price of Amazon's Kindle Fire while exceeding its meager specs would be a challenge for any manufacturer.

And make no mistake: The Nexus 7 by Asus is more of an effort to stomp out Amazon's unwelcome (and forked) version of Android more than it's attempt to dethrone Apple's reigning champ.

The good news is that very little has been sacrificed along the way, unlike with Amazon's initial offering. According to Android boss Andy Rubin, Google's profit margin bears the brunt of any sacrifices made, both from selling hardware at cost but also from tossing in generous perks such as a $25 (or £15) Google Play credit for every Nexus 7 owner.

But enough about why and how Google and Asus have released the Nexus 7: Is it worth even $199 / £159 of your hard-earned cash?