Google's Promoting the Nexus 7 Like Never Before

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Google's (GOOG) homepage has stood the test of time, with its classic ad free layout and clean look. Today, that all changes, with the search giant advertising its Nexus 7 tablet underneath the search bar.

Google is showing off its $199 tablet, which recently went on sale in Germany, France, and Spain. The device became available in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia in July. The link below the search box takes consumers to a page listing all the features and specs of the tablet, as Google tries to compete with the Apple (AAPL) iPad for market share.

It's worth noting that Google explicitly mentions that the Nexus 7 is a 7-inch tablet, amid speculation that Apple will release an iPad Mini in October. Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs famously avoided the 7-inch tablet market, though recent internal documents made public during the Apple-Samsung trial showed that the company had warmed to the idea.

With Google advertising the Nexus 7 and increasingly advertising its own products, such as Google Chrome, on the homepage, it begs the question whether Google's classic ad-free look will be around much longer. Will Google, which makes the majority of its money from ad sales, start promoting its own products more frequently?

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--Written by Chris Ciaccia in New York

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