Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt announced on Tuesday, Sept. 25, that the company's popular Nexus 7 tablet is ready to hit Japan, stepping up competition with Sony Corp.

Japanese hardware maker Sony is among Google's key competitors in the country, selling tablets that run on the search giant's Android operating system. Widening its presence in the tablet arena will help Google ensure that its online services remain on top of consumers' preferences, as tablets are now popular gateways to the Web and Web-based content such as music and movies.

The 16GB Nexus 7 tablet retails for 19,800 yen ($250) and is available to order online starting Tuesday, Sept. 25, on the Google Play Web site. The tablet will reach retail stores on Oct. 2.

Japan is the first country in Asia to sell the Nexus 7. According to the Google Play page, the tablet is already available in France, Germany, Spain, Canada, the UK, and the United States. Speaking at an even in the capital, Schmidt noted that the stellar growth if the Android platform will help Google's Nexus 7 take on Japan.

"Android has grown so fast it's hard to keep up," said Schmidt. "There are now more than 500 million Android users around the world."

According to him, a Google survey found that 75 percent of smartphone owners in Japan use their devices for shopping.

"That points to us the next enormous growth business in Japan," Schmidt explained, pointing to "a new wealth that can be created around the Japanese shopping experience."

"Japan is perpetually poised at the leading edge" of technology, added the Google Chairman.

More than 500 million consumers now use Google's Android operating system on smartphones and other devices, added Schmidt, noting that he expects that growth in the smartphone market to lead to a surge in new startups around shopping in Japan.

"It is the defining platform and the defining battle in our industry," he said at the briefing in Tokyo.

Apple still dominates the tablet market with its high-end iPads, which accounted for roughly 70 percent of global sales in the second quarter. Other notable players in the tablet arena include Amazon's Kindle line, Barnes & Noble's Nook, and Samsung's Galaxy Tab.