Google always seems to have something up its sleeve, but at least some of its cards are already turned. The company's October 29 event looks like it will reveal a refresh to the Nexus 7, a 10-inch tablet, the LG Nexus 4, and a new installment of the Android OS.

The month of October appears to be “steal your competitor’s spotlight” month, with almost every major mobile company participating in press conference one-upmanship. Trying to get the last word in before the month closes is Google, with an unveil that is scheduled for the same day as Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 event. Google is tagging its event with the phrase, “the playground is open,” and will likely have a lot of hands on available for attendees. October 29 will be a busy day, so here’s a cheat sheet of what to expect from the search engine turned major mobile player.

Nexus 7

As many expected, the Nexus 7 will be one of the stars of the show with a 32GB model.  It appears that may not be the only change to the internals on seven inch tablet, as a 32GB with HSPA+ (3G) support is expected by some sources. This likely won’t be the Asus manufactured $100 model that was previously rumored, but the Nexus has been a leader in the budget-friendly tablet category.

10-inch Samsung-made Tablet

Hiding behind the internal alias of Codename Manta is a 10″ tablet manufactured by Samsung. This project has been the source of rumors for the past month, and it looks as though it may be confirmed at the October 29 event. According to sources reported on by The Next Web, the taller tablet will feature 300 pixels per inch spread across a 2560 x 1600 resolution display. The third generation iPad has 264ppi by comparison. The 10-inch device is also said to come running Android 4.2.

LG Nexus 4

 While the handset has been cycling around the rumor mill for the Google event, it appears the LG Nexus 4 has RSVPed. The smartphone will be made by LG and will run with a quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor. That, along with 2GB RAM, will power the 4.7 inch device and its 1280×768 display. The device will also sport a 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and 16GB of on-board storage. The Nexus 4, like the 10-inch Samsung tablet, is believed to run Android 4.2.

Android 4.2

The operating system formally know as Key Lime Pie will likely retain the Jelly Bean title of Android 4.1. The OS appears as though it will go at iOS 6 head on by including a panoramic camera feature with support for both vertical and horizontal settings. It will also aim to surpass its competitor with a feature called “content in the center,” which will allow for Play Store access from a widget. Tablet Sharing will also be introduced, essentially creating profiles for tablets that are used by multiple people. 

Google is gearing up for a special press event on October 29th that could see the unveiling of Android 4.2, the Nexus 4, an update to the Nexus 7 line, and even a high-end 10-inch Nexus tablet. If all of this proves true, there is a lot to be excited for at the end of this month.

Android 4.2 – What’s New?

Let’s start by taking a brief look at Android 4.2. While some rumors had claimed that Key Lime Pie (a.k.a Android 5.0) would surface, internal sources familiar with what Google is planning suggest this is just an update to Jelly Bean.

The newest version could potentially add some pretty big significant stuff, actually. While normal things like new notification settings, an update to the Gmail app and security updates are suggested as new features, the biggest stuff includes new gallery changes and multi-user accounts with parental control options.

Having a multi-user account system with parental controls means it is much easier to share one tablet with several family members. This is something that seemed to be an advantage with upcoming Windows tablets, so it isn’t surprising that the latest version of Android might be addressing the issue.

Keep in mind that these Android 4.2 features aren’t officially confirmed and could turn out to be different from what we actually see.

Moving on, let’s take a look at the Nexus 4 that is expected to be announced.

Nexus 4 – LG’s Best Phone Ever

LG smartphones aren’t bad, but they generally aren’t all that impressive, either. The Optimus G is one of the first truly exciting devices produced by the company, so it isn’t really that shocking to hear that it is probably going to be rebadged and slightly tweaked into a new form – the Nexus 4.

What can you expect with the LG Nexus 4? A quad-core Snapdragon processor, 2GB RAM, a 1280 x 768 display, 16GB internal storage and an 8MB camera for starters. One thing that might be somewhat surprising is that rumors claim it won’t feature LTE (though the G does). Considering many parts of the world have yet to implement LTE, this might make sense.

Asus Nexus 7 – 32GB

The Nexus 7 has quickly become one of the hottest selling 7-inch tablets on the market. With Apple preparing to heat things up with their upcoming iPad Mini, Asus and Google seem to be preparing to replace the 16GB version with an update 32GB model for the same price.

Other rumored changes include the introduction of a 3G variant or even a lower-end Nexus 7 at a sub-$200 price.

Nexus 10 could take on the iPad

Last but not least, the rumor mill says we could see a Samsung high-end Nexus 10 tablet. Not a lot is known about this alleged device but it could be pretty big if it has specs reasonably close to the iPad 3rd generation.

While this is speculation on Mobile Magazine’s part, it wouldn’t be surprising if the hardware lands somewhere in between Apple’s iPad 2 and newest iPad. As for pricing, a $300-$450 price tag might not be out of the question and could bring some really big competition Apple’s way.

As you can see October 29th is looking to be a pretty big day for Google fans. Check back to Mobile Magazine later that day for highlights from the Google announcement. Anyone excited? What do you think Google will unveil there?

With a week to go until EE turns on the UK's first 4G LTE network, the operator has finally revealed its tariffs, all of which include unlimited calls and SMS and are differentiated by the amount of data included.

EE is almost ready to launch the UK’s first 4G network, having already revealed the phones and the switch-on date, leaving citizens waiting for the most important details of all — how much it would all cost.

Today, EE has published its 4G LTE tariffs, so for the first time we can judge whether it’s affordable or prohibitively expensive. The good news is that it’s all very easy to understand, as EE have made the tariffs all about the data that’s included each month, instead of complicating things with calls and SMS.

It has achieved this by giving each contract unlimited calls and texts, so the only difference between them is the amount of data provided. Here’s the breakdown:

• 500MB per month will cost £36.
• 1GB costs £41.
• 3GB costs £46.
• 5GB costs £51.
• 8GB costs £56.

These are all for 24-month contracts, although if you only want to sign-up for 12-months, you can add another £10 per month to the above costs. The 500MB plan obviously gives EE a good base figure to advertise, but sensible users will want to look at 1GB or more if they’re going to grab an EE 4G plan, as high speed data tends to disappear quite quickly.

Once you’ve chosen your tariff, you’ve got to add the price of a compatible phone. EE offers the Apple iPhone 5, the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE and the Note 2 LTE, the HTC One XL and the Huawei Ascend P1 LTE. Nokia’s Lumia 820 and 920 will soon be available too.

The cheapest option will be the Huawei P1 Ascend, which is free on all but the 500MB package, where it’s £19.99. A 16GB iPhone 5 is £179 on the same plan, but only £19.99 if you go for the 8GB per month tariff.

Choosing the 1GB per month tariff at £41 means the 16GB iPhone 5 will be £109, the Galaxy S3 and the One XL £49, and the Galaxy Note 2 a hefty £139. Buyers wanting to grab a 4G iPhone 5 will be pleased to know it works out at £5 extra per month over Orange’s standard 3G tariff.

Bonuses and a comparison with AT&T

Here’s a comparison with an equivalent US 4G contract. According to AT&T’s website, a 1GB data plan with unlimited calls and texts gives a monthly charge of $85 and a $199 (plus tax) charge for the phone. EE charges £41/$65 per month and £109/$174 (no tax) for the iPhone, and doesn’t have an activation fee either.

For all tariffs above the 1GB plan, EE will provide either 19 live streaming TV channels, a music streaming service or two free game downloads each month, plus on all tariffs, there will be a free film download each week until February next year too.

Finally, EE offers a SIM-only plan that starts at £21 per month, and gives Orange and T-Mobile subscribers the chance to swap their 3G phone for its 4G equivalent, and move to a 4G plan, all for £99.

EE will turn on its 4G LTE network on October 30, when it will be available in Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Liverpool, Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Glasgow and Sheffield.