The Nexus 7 Review: Google's First Tablet Gets Benchmarked

[InvalidError]

[citation][nom]PTNLemay[/nom]I just have to hope mine doesn't come with a faulty screen.[/citation]
The "separation" problem is not too much of a big deal. Slightly distracting but does not appear to hinder the LCD. I noticed some screen springiness within hours of unboxing my N7 but a week later it still has not gotten to the point that I can poke a fingernail in the gap so I'll be waiting for something worse to come up before bothering with an RMA.

At this point in time, I am personally far more annoyed with the software system keys and various UI design failures than any physical problems with the device.

 

[scannall]

[citation][nom]SFC-RET[/nom]It's not google that is bad at updates it's your tablet's manufacturer. As the article stated. Each one modifies the Android operating system to fit their hardware design better. So, if you do not get updates complain to the maker of your tablet they are the ones not giving you the update.[/citation]

It doesn't matter where the problem is with someone getting an update. It's a common problem in the Android eco-system. All it does is point at someone to yell at in futility, while still not getting updated.

 

[amdwilliam1985]

[citation][nom]compuservant[/nom]Sorry, all ya Apple Haters but just like the Kindle Fire was the "it" device for about a month until the iPad 3 was launched, when the iPad mini is anounced this device will fall by the wayside. It (the iPad mini) will likely list at $250 have hundreds of thousands of apps available at launch, better quality (a Retina display and much better cameras) and far better quality control. Other tidbits. Android JellyBean is a subpar OS compared to the iOS (especially 6.0 which will work on all the iDevices back to the 3GS and the first iPad. That is unless you are a hacker then you love any Android flavor. If you are a techie that still uses DOS commands, Ubuntu or Linux, you probably love Android. The other 95% of us just want an OS that works without hours of training or hiccups. Google (Asus) is selling this product at a loss to reclaim Android from the Kindle and the product is really you or that is your information to add to all the other information Google collects about you. How well is the device going to run when you have to put anti-virus software on it? A 1.2 megapixel front facing camera. Are you kidding? No sd slot. (Yes the iPhone and iPad have one, it is a $10-15 adapter), I just downloaded 600 photos (full sized) from my Nikon dSLR to iPhoto app ($10 on the app store). Try doing that on you Nexus or even your $500 cheapo laptop. Consider this, the iPad 3 accounted for 22% of all computer sold in the world last year. no wonder Dell and HP are getting out of the PC business (this and the whole Win8 debacle that is coming)To Sonic, I have a a very fast modded HP dv7t quad, W7 Pro with a Kingston SSD (7.8 on the WEI) and I still grab my iPad half the time. That is when I can get it out of my 10 year old son's hands. There is the face of the future of computing. The millenials. In 10 years they will all be using a wearable device that utilizes a head's up display and voice recognition, but I digress.... I could go on but why don't you just "Google" Forbes, "Why An IPad Mini will crush Google's Nexus 7." As a very well respected business magazine, I think they understand thinks a bit better than anyone who wastes enough time to write this long of a post[/citation]

iPad can never do the following 3 steps.

1) Plus N7 to your usb, drag and drop movies and music.
2) unplug usb.
3) start playing mkv, avi, mp4, rm, rmvb and etc format on your N7.
TATA, it just works with Android

Take that stupid iPad that only plays mp4 and requires iTunes* to sync.

*iTunes is the worst piece of junk in the history of junk. Do I need a ph D. to make iTunes work? Already got BS and MS in Computer Science and still can't figure it out.

 

[compuservant]

So the N7 greatest attribute is that it can play pirated movie files? I can use DVDFab and rip, ahem, backup my BluRay movies I bought (yeah right) and send them to all my iDevices through the cloud with three mouse clicks and watch them at such high resolution you can't even see a pixel
Notice how after about 1 week the websites including this one are all back to talking about what the iPad mini or the new iPhone will look like. The N7 is already yesterdays news.

 

[InvalidError]

[citation][nom]compuservant[/nom]So the N7 greatest attribute is that it can play pirated movie files?[/citation]
The N7's greatest attributes for PC users is that it does not require Apple crapware to work with Windows.

For apps developers, it also has the advantage of not requiring an Apple-branded PC running OSX (or a hackintosh) to build projects, nor does it require Apple's blessing for distribution.

 

[compuservant]

Pretty thin arguments.
The N7 is like a this weeks next, so-called, blockbuster movie, say like last years' "Green Lantern" that has big sales its first weekend out in the theaters then falls to practically no tickets sales afterwards after people find out what a waste of time and money it is. See how many 16 GB N7's have been delivered, very few. Try finding total units delivered numbers anywhere.
If anything, Apple should thank Google, now people will add the new iPad mini to their must have list.

 

[Guest]

I like mine for the simple reason that its a secondary device for me. So I also agree spending $500 plus on a iPad is dumb if my primary is still a notebook. The Nexus 7 fills that void of a portable yet capable tablet that is much easier to throw in a bag or carry with you then a iPad. I've owned iPads before and that was my biggest problem with them. To heavy to hold a long time and to big.

 

[Guest]

People complain about no SD card slot? But the iPad has never had one? It seems to do just fine without one. The only reason for a card slot is to root Android. So I imagine its why some whine about it not being there. Much of the Nexus 7 is based on you using cloud storage and Google's Play store. For $200 I can see why Google choose its hardware very carefully. I think they did a excellent job of crafting a quality piece of hardware for $200.

 

[jhefren]

For InvalidErro:
surely there will be a program that creates these keys it might help in android. perhaps as a resident program in memory

 

[Guest]

7" screen is just too small to display to web pages. It would be better if the screen resolution were bigger. With this resolution it is ridiculously low. iPad kills it left handed. I am sorry but there is no use for products like these. If you want to have tablet use something with screen size between 9"-11". For anything smaller your mobile phone is good enough.

 

[Proximon]

7" screen is just too small to display to web pages. It would be better if the screen resolution were bigger. With this resolution it is ridiculously low. iPad kills it left handed. I am sorry but there is no use for products like these. If you want to have tablet use something with screen size between 9"-11". For anything smaller your mobile phone is good enough.

Making the resolution "bigger" would make the text even smaller. As an actual N7 user for a few weeks now, I can tell you web surfing is quite easy for a highly mobile device. I can easily look up a recipe or get an answer to a question. Obviously something like forum moderation or other complicated tasks are not going to be practical.

 

[ismailmax]

While I agree with the review that the N7 tablet runs extremely well and is great quality for the price. There is one thing that troubles me regarding the product:

Despite the fact that it is a Nexus-branded product, Google WILL NOT provide hardware support. Instead they are pushing the responsibility off onto Asus. That information comes directly from a Google Play telephone rep and manager. I find that troubling; If I wanted Asus support, I'd have bought an Asus-branded tablet. I expected better from Google, especially with a product bearing their own brand name.

Allow me to draw an analog: If one purchases an iPad and has a hardware issue, Apple provides the support, despite the fact that the iPad is actually made by Foxconn. Same holds true for the Kindle Fire (Amazon support) and the Nook Tablet (Barnes & Noble). These companies take OWNERSHIP in the product, apparently something Google is unwilling to do.

Moreover, Google won't support Nexus 7 tablets purchased from other retail outlets. They push the support back to the retail company it was bought from. C'mon Google.....LAME!

Google fancies itself as a player in the tablet space now, with Apple and the others, but IMHO, they will never be another Apple unless they're willing to step up and take ownership of the whole experience, if they're going to put their brand name on the product.

I own 2 Nexus 7 tablets and, until Google changes their support policy regarding Nexus products, they will be my last Nexus purchases. Thankfully, I purchased both with my AMEX card, and my interactions with AMEX have been stellar.

 

[Guest]

I bought the nexus 7 tablet about 2 weeks and we love it. Being somewhat new to the tablet world this gives us exactly what we were looking for. Google Play is simple to use and has a lot of free apps, which is great for those of use who cycle though them. I am not a technical person so all of the software it runs on and everything is a foreign language to me. But what I do know is that the graphics are really good, it plays movies, music & games perfectly, the speakers are nice & loud, better than my laptop. My only complaint would be it doesn't have a SD port so you can add more space to the device. We are really enjoying it, so much so that I am about to order another one for our family of 4 because everyone wants to use it! It is definitely worth the $200 price tag & shipping was so fast! I couldn't be more happy with my purchase.

 

[rmm200]

Nice review - I appreciate the details!

 

[Guest]

They ought to have made it 21:9 so it would fit in your pocket and show 16:9 with a sidebar or widescreen Videos, not to mention simply having more room for everything and rotatable for long web pages.

 

[Guest]

I seriously doubt these battery life claims. I've had my Nexus 7 for a while now and compared to the iPad 1 it's rubbish. Typically we get a week out of the iPad with light use. With even lighter use the Nexus 7 is lucky to last overnight to day 2. For me this is it's major weakness, 9 times out of 10 I go to pick up the nexus to browse something, but I can't because the battery is dead, again. Not good at all.

 

[Guest]

This thing does NOT get battery life like this, in what alternate reality does a Nexus 7 get 10 hours of video playback?

 

[Proximon]

No, I can see that. You might have to have the video stored on the device and turn off BT and Wi-fi though. I watched a 2 hour movie on Hulu last night with my Nexus 7 and used about a third of the battery.

 

[mas]

This article misses the point just as Apple has really missed the boat.
Who needs another underpowered overpriced tablet that cannot run real apps and which still requires one to carry a cell phone AND a laptop? Yawn...

The solution is in the form of the Note 2 - along with a slightly larger format option available as well...

Just as the iPad mini should have been a converged tablet/iphone (like the Note2) - and if they really wanted to define the category, they would implement secure remote terminal access (eg ssh) tightly integrated at the OS level rather than as an add-on notoriously unstable 3rd party app - allowing secure remote access and 'real' app access on personal or business computers with the ability to push pull data down as needed, thus allowing us to leave the laptop at home and eliminating the security exposure of lugging around a laptop.

The result: a TRULY converged device that would allow phone, browsing & access to real apps and data as needed in a single secure package. The irony: it requires no new technology nor engineering - they simply implement that which has been around for more than a decade. All it takes is a a few moments to think of how the various duplicitous devices now offered are used. And that being the case, I anticipate such an advancement to take another 10-20 years...

And with luck it will only take Samsung half of that time to do it...

 

[Marc999]

Well, I just picked up a Nexus 7 yesterday. Charge from 48% to 99% took 2.5 hours. Perhaps it's not linear from zero. Not sure how long this last percent is going to take.

I tried out a couple very graphically demanding games (Modern War 4, Dead Trigger) and noticed I was losing 10% battery life every 15-20 minutes.

At that rate, the device would drain between 2-3 hours. Would that be considered normal?

At any rate, based on what I've read, I'm not sure if Android 4.2.2 version will achieve your 7.5 hour runtime with full brightness, mp3 music while browsing. That's very impressive.
Not to mention those h.264 movies for ~ 9.5 hrs. That's bonkers and I'm looking forward to putting it to the test.

 

[Mie]

nexus 7 still plague with manufacture defects,their service was slow horrible as I only manage get it after 3 month pending for repair for 2 weeks old item,

Im very loyal to Nexus brand but Asus really disappoint me & I thinking it was sabotaging Nexus brand,

 

[Drazen Klisuric]

I get max 6 hours of battery with half brightness and WLAN on.