Google is getting ready for the release of a 32GB version of its Nexus 7 tablet and it could go on sale as early as October 24, helping the company maintain its position in the 7-inch tablet market.

Rumors of the new device have been appearing online for some weeks now. These include sreenshots of retailers' inventory pages claiming that a new tablet was on its way. The rumor gained some credibility when a Japanese Twitter user ordered a 16 GB Nexus 7 and got one with 32 GB of storage space instead.

The Nexus 7 was met with praise upon its US launch in July but users have been critical of its limited capacity and its lack of an SD memory slot for expansion. The tablet is currently only available with 8GB or 16GB of storage because Google wants everyone to move to the cloud for storage.

The competition in the seven-inch tablet category is heating up, with Amazon's Kindle Fire HD (16GB plus cloud storage) and Barnes & Noble's Nook HD range (up to 64GB of capacity via SD memory expansion slots) to prove popular, and Apple to be also set to unveil a seven-inch iPad next week. Zagg is already offering a an "Apple iPad Mini Screen Protector" for pre-order and the Wall Street Journal says Apple will have 10 million iPad Minis manufactured in Q4.