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Googles Nexus 7 tablet discussion, reviews

It looks even simpler than what I thought:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1794852

They send a returns label out with the replacement.

http://support.google.com/googleplay/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2462890

SNP_2562671_en_v3
 
I'm glad I didn't rush to buy this now. Will wait a few more weeks to allow for all the faulty ones to be "flushed" out of the system.
 
Not as smooth as Amazon's return process. You phone them up, send out a new one and then you send the old one back. :)

I'm on my 4th Kindle, but have paid for two of them. :oops:
 
thriller said:
I'm glad I didn't rush to buy this now. Will wait a few more weeks to allow for all the faulty ones to be "flushed" out of the system.
Click to expand...

I doubt it's as bad as that, there's always faulty units in any product line especially a new line. Anything up to 5% failure or duff rate is nothing to worry about. I'd say if you want a new small tablet then you can't go wrong at the moment with the nexus 7.
 
My case that I bought at the same time as my N7 finally turned up today - about ten days after I received the tablet it's self.

This is the reseller on Amazon, they're called Laptop Kit and are shite - even ignored my emails asking where the fuck my case is. P&P was about £4 too for first class but it was sent 2nd class. Tossers.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008H5T0Y2/ref=wms_ohs_product

Avoid!

Case isn't bad however but I'd buy it from someone else.
 
I have a stupid logic that I may as well pay for next day delivery if I spend more than £25. So I often buy more stuff to push myself over the £25 limit I have set myself :oops:
 
Fraser Spiers, who has spent some time with the iPad and education in schools, writes a review of the Nexus 7: http://speirs.org/blog/2012/8/2/thoughts-on-the-google-nexus-7.html I think he's pretty fair about it, but even though he's fine with the basic design and the browser, he sees 7" as too small for serious tablet type apps and the software on Android as too limited. But worth reading the whole thing, it's not long.

After a morning's fiddling around I had basically turned my Nexus 7 into a smaller read-only version of my iPad. In some ways, that is quite attractive in itself: a smaller cheaper interface to some of your cloud services and the web. If you think of the Nexus 7 as a Kindle that can run Evernote, Pocket and Chrome for £160, that's not bad.
Click to expand...

I feel like I can't help damning the Nexus 7 with faint praise. It's a nicely built tablet, that's fast enough and has a workable OS. It has a good browser and some good built-in first-party apps. As a general-purpose device it's hobbled by a small keyboard. It lacks a cellular networking option and a rear camera. As a reading device - possibly its strongest suit - it's let down by poor font rendering and a sub-retina display.

People need different things from computing devices and I can't say that my needs and wants are the same as everyone's. If you only need the things that the Nexus 7 can do then I'm happy that you can get something to satisfy your needs. Even for me, the device almost justifies itself as a "Kindle that can run Evernote and Chrome".

I just find the Nexus 7 a weird mix. A device oriented towards portability that doesn't have cellular networking. A device that works well for watching video that has a small amount of internal storage. A device that seems good for reading, yet doesn't render text well. Not as portable as a smartphone yet nowhere near as powerful as an iPad.
Click to expand...

TBH I am also a bit confused as to what a 7" screen is good for, apart from content browsing. It's hard enough to use a software keyboard on an iPad twice the size.
 
FridgeMagnet said:
TBH I am also a bit confused as to what a 7" screen is good for, apart from content browsing. It's hard enough to use a software keyboard on an iPad twice the size.
Click to expand...
It's great for doing just about everything an iPad does, except it's much lighter (so easier to hold) and is a lot less obtrusive. It's great for watching TV in bed too.

As several reviewers have pointed out, it's actually easier to type on a smaller screen because it fits in the hand better for thumb typing.

The Nexus may not be for Fraser Spiers (whoever he is) but look around the web and you'll find no shortage of people finding plenty of uses for their Nexus 7.
 
It lacks a cellular networking option and a rear camera.
Click to expand...

As I have said before, the lack of 3/4G is not a problem for me. All the places I am likely to get it out, like cafes, pubs, trains etc. all have wifi these days.

The camera isn't something I would use, I have never used the one on my iPad. I am not about to pout semi-naked in a bathroom mirror with something as big as a tablet in my hands, as is the way with so many instagram users. Would be handy for QT codes but again that is something I don't really use as most QT codes seem to be plastered on a billboard or advert for something I'd have no interest in buying anyway.

My biggest grumbles are the keyboard, it is faffy for typing anything more than a paragraph or two. The other is the mono-speaker. The screen size and aspect ratio is something you get used to very quickly, (maybe because I have been using computer screens since they were B&W TVs) and although it does not have the sharpness of a retina display, what do you expect for less than £200? It is still more than sharp enough to display 720p HD.

IMO, most people don't like to admit that for the money it is as good - if not better than the iPad that they paid so much money for. Which is understandable, I am annoyed at myself for buying an iPad - had I known the N7 was going to be as good as it is I'd have stayed clear of the iPad.

Google Play I prefer to the Apple Store, the apps could do with some work but it is still early days.

Oh and no Google Wallet to utilise the NFC is a bugger.
 
editor said:
As several reviewers have pointed out, it's actually easier to type on a smaller screen because it fits in the hand better for thumb typing.
Click to expand...
I don't believe this. It may be better for thumb typing than a smaller screen - depends on how long your thumbs are I imagine - but thumb typing is way slower than proper two-handed typing, just like hunt-and-peck is slower on a real keyboard. I can get 60wpm, accurately, on a 10" screen without trying. And if the keyboard only allows a tiny amount of text to appear above it, that makes content creation much less practical as well.

It sounds "big phone" rather than tablet.
 
FridgeMagnet said:
I don't believe this. It may be better for thumb typing than a smaller screen - depends on how long your thumbs are I imagine - but thumb typing is way slower than proper two-handed typing, just like hunt-and-peck is slower on a real keyboard. I can get 60wpm, accurately, on a 10" screen without trying. And if the keyboard only allows a tiny amount of text to appear above it, that makes content creation much less practical as well.

It sounds "big phone" rather than tablet.
Click to expand...
Works for me and for this reviewer too:
However, the Google tablet has the edge [over the iPad] when it comes to portability. You can hold it with one hand, it's easier to type on and feels almost as solid which is still an achievement considering it costs less than £200
http://www.itpro.co.uk/641896/apple-ipad-3-vs-google-nexus-7-head-to-head-review/5
Click to expand...
If anything, typing is easier in landscape mode with Nexus 7 than with iPad, simply because the reach between thumbs is less wide than with the current 10” iPad.
http://cameronmoll.tumblr.com/post/27482190749/nexus7
Click to expand...
 
"If anything, typing is easier in landscape mode with Nexus 7 than with iPad, simply because the reach between thumbs is less wide than with the current 10” iPad."

Typing on the iPad in landscape mode with your thumbs :D :D :D "Hello I don't know how to use an iPad". Note that he also says "Typing really isn’t any better than iPad" - and that's a serious issue if typing is no better than using an iPad incorrectly.
 
Even firky, who seems to like his Nexus 7, says typing on it is faffy and not good for more than a paragraph or two. This is about my limit on the iPhone before I go "aaaaaarrrrrfuckyou" and throw it across the room. It takes a lot longer to hit that point on the iPad.
 
FridgeMagnet said:
Even firky, who seems to like his Nexus 7, says typing on it is faffy and not good for more than a paragraph or two. This is about my limit on the iPhone before I go "aaaaaarrrrrfuckyou" and throw it across the room. It takes a lot longer to hit that point on the iPad.
Click to expand...
Have you tried typing on a Nexus yet? I know which I prefer after trying both.
 
editor said:
It's great for doing just about everything an iPad does
Click to expand...

I really wouldnt put it like that. The nexus 7 is really great and it does have a lot of uses, and there is significant overlap with many iPad uses. But to say it does just about everything an iPad does is to miss out a significant chunk of what larger tablets are all about. Its a chunk that wont matter to some/lots of people at all, which is why I'd rather think of 7" tablets like the nexus as a different class of device to 10ish inch tablets, and not make them fight to the death.

The smaller ones are a class that has significant advantages on some fronts, but also some limitations, mostly ones that will only show up with certain sorts of software. And to be honest I cannot test this theory to its limits right now due to android lacking quite a lot of the apps that work well on larger tablets. There are exceptions, eg at least adobe have done their bit for android larger tablet apps, but not enough range to do a thorough fair comparison or make me seriously consider a larger android tablet at this point.

At least screen size speaks for itself, so people should be able to figure out what size tablet will work for their needs without having to rely on marketing, random opinions like ours, geek waffle etc.
 
As for the typing, I havent done enough of it on either device to have a thorough opinion on it, I try to avoid it because I can type so quick on a proper keyboard that everything else feels like running through treacle. But so far to me it seems like with the nexus I feel perilously close to hitting the wrong keys, but nearly always get away with it and the typing feels like slightly less of an effort than it does with the ipad because Im not having to move or stretch my fingers or thumbs so much. However I wouldnt even attempt to use the nexus 7 in the 'resting the tablet on something and typing with all fingers' which can be done with the iPad to pretty good effect, and would be my preference if I had to type something longer and no proper physical keyboard was available.

This stuff plays into my prior post, seeing these different sizes of tablets as a different class of device, since when it comes to typing the nexus 7 is really just like having an oversized smartphone, which is a good thing and a bad thing. If Im just typing a word or two to search for then I guess Im more likely to do it on the nexus 7 than the iPad.
 
elbows said:
I really wouldnt put it like that. The nexus 7 is really great and it does have a lot of uses, and there is significant overlap with many iPad uses. But to say it does just about everything an iPad does is to miss out a significant chunk of what larger tablets are all about.
Click to expand...
It does for me. It's a great size for films, TV, it's easier to type on than a larger tablet, its pocketable, it's fast, I can stream music off it, the screen res is good for web browsing, it's fine for the odd game - and that's all I want from a tablet, whatever the size.
 
Indeed, and thre should be millions more like you. But there are other scenarios, as demonstrated by your toying with the idea of getting a larger tablet with keyboard to act as an alternative to a laptop. For that scenario I've concluded that the best bet is to wait a while, its so close but yet so far, and it is probably a good idea to see how the windows 8 tablets turn out.

Meanwhile in my personal android development zone I have now figured out how to use preferences in my app, as well as OpenGL shaders for post-processing effects. Smell my fragment shaders. After 20 years of only vaguely dabbling with programming, things have finally clicked, and maybe I can now call myself a developer without feeling like I'm stretching the truth. However such is the nature of development that Im still 'a few days' away from having something ready for testing.
 
Comparing the N7 to an iPad just seems ridiculous, they're not rivals at all as far as I can see.

I'd actually like to own both, the N7 for home browsing/email and an iPad for my work.
 
uk benzo said:
Is it really worth rooting my N7? What will I gain if I root (apart from permissions etc etc)?
Click to expand...

Its only worth doing if you have some specific purpose, eg an app that requires the device be rooted to enable certain functionality, or you want to access some usb storage using a special cable, or use a certain game controller.

I havent felt the need to bother myself.
 
beesonthewhatnow said:
Comparing the N7 to an iPad just seems ridiculous, they're not rivals at all as far as I can see.

I'd actually like to own both, the N7 for home browsing/email and an iPad for my work.
Click to expand...

It's more than a little idiotic to compare them, they are in different leagues in almost every way that makes either worth getting.
 
beesonthewhatnow said:
Comparing the N7 to an iPad just seems ridiculous, they're not rivals at all as far as I can see.

I'd actually like to own both, the N7 for home browsing/email and an iPad for my work.
Click to expand...
I don't think they're 'rivals' either but I could see how some people may be deciding to buy one or the other. For most of the core everyday functions, there's not that much difference at all apart from the screen size. And the price tag, of course. :)
 
I like my N7 and I could not really give a toss if it is better or worse than the iPad. For £189 it is a bar gain that I was happy to pay for and have so far I am more than impressed with it.

Only recently started using Google Now and it is amazing. Had an appointment at hospital yesterday, told me what the weather was like there, what bus or train I'd need to catch and how to walk to the stations. It told me how to get there in the car, how long it would take and also told me cheapest places to get some petrol on the way back.
 
I bought the cheapo carbon fibre case and like the way it makes the tablet look like a notepad.

Love the auto on/off flap too.
 
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