Google Nexus 7 2 Update Release Date: OTA Download Fixes GPS Issues, Too

The update first known to fix the touchscreen issues on the Google Nexus 7 2 has been confirmed as a patch for the GPS issue as well.  

The new Google Nexus 7, commonly called the Google Nexus 7 2, has been receiving an update over-the-air (OTA) that was first seen as fixing one of two major problems which the 2^nd Generation 2013 Nexus 7 has been experiencing: the touchscreen registering "phantom" fingers. Now the other major problem, a GPS auto-shutdown problem, has been confirmed to be fixed by the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update.

The specific update version, JSS15Q, was rolled out last week, after weeks of Google's Product forums filling with cries of Nexus 7 2 owners who couldn't get their GPS to stay locked on and running (along with the concurrent wails of Nexus 7 2 users whose tablets kept becoming paralyzed by registering multitouches that weren't there). Both problems are long gone, according to Paulw, the Google representative who has been responding to the forums for weeks.

You should have already received the OTA update, but some Google Nexus 7 2 users who rooted their devices are reportedly experiencing problems downloading the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update, according to Android Police.

The Google Nexus 7 2 WiFi edition is slated for a release in Japan this week, but there's no word yet on the Google Nexus 7 2 LTE, which is what Nexus tablet fans in the U.S. and elsewhere are probably waiting on, now that the WiFi variant has been available for more than a month. The Nexus 7 2 has a 7-inch display with 1920 x 1200 resolution, powered by a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, with 2GB of RAM. The WiFi-only variant comes in a 16GB and 32GB internal storage versions, while the LTE version will only have a 32GB internal storage capacity. The Google device comes right out of the box with Android 4.3 installed.