Googles Nexus 7 tablet discussion, reviews

[contadino]

If thats true and my points are wrong as a result, then I find it curious. Mostly because there has been no shortage of cynicism about the cloud and streaming, at least on this forum. We often tend to suggest that users are not quite as far along this cloud revolution as the likes of Google pretend, and indeed that a whole class of users are quite proud to stick to the 'old fashioned' way of doing things. And it wasnt very long ago that we were pointing at Google being surprised by the level of 16GB Nexus 7 sales as evidence that we were right and that much of Googles strategy and marketing of their services is out of whack with how a lot of people still want to use these devices. And for years we had the oft-repeated suggestion that the lack of removable storage on iOS devices was a limitation many were not prepared to live with. Now suddenly this reality has been turned on its head and I'm supposed to accept without raising an eyebrow the idea that an android tablet with the same storage limitations as an ipad is more than good enough, that 16GB is a vast amount of space that wont be filled by many. Well Im prepared to accept this, with a chuckle, if its true, but I'm fascinated as to how its suddenly come to this point when for so many years there was so much resistance to reaching this destination. I suspect there is more going on to enable people to reach this point - maybe its the price of the device, or its size making it less resemble something we expect to be laptop-equivalent. Or people have slowly been training themselves to this way of thinking after owning a smartphone for years, and with cloud services gradually getting better or people thinking about adding NAS to their home network if they dont like the cloud much.

Dont get me wrong, I have no objection if we have reached that point. And it makes sense given that the 7 inch tablet seems well suited to carrying in the users mind the expectation that the device is really 'the internet in their hand without squinting too much'. But if the response to the storage 'bug' story really is a demonstration that we've reached this point, I think its worthy of drawing attention to the fact.

Hmmm...not sure if you are playing Devil's advocate here or not...

Google neglected to add a card slot, which was stupid. That's quite different from Apple, who have gone out of their way to try and close their platform to non-channelled content.

As for everyone bigging up cloud services, don't we as consumers have the option to ignore what we're told by companies, and just use a device how we best see fit?

 

[editor]

Google neglected to add a card slot, which was stupid.

I'd say it was more about keeping costs and complexity to a bare minimum.

 

[contadino]

I'd say it was more about keeping costs and complexity to a bare minimum.

I'd say that you are being naïve/ generous/ optimistic.

 

[editor]

I'd say that you are being naïve/ generous/ optimistic.

Be sure to correct this Android engineer at Google then.

We got tired of seeing OEMs include many GB of internal storage for music, while users were still running out of space for apps and data. This approach lets us merge everything on one volume, which is way better.
-- Dan Morrill, Android engineer at Google

Does Google want you to use Google Play and its cloud services? Of course it does. But there is no secret evil cabal in Mountain View that held back the SD card slot to force it on you. In fact, you're still free to use other cloud solutions like Amazon, Dropbox, or even a shared drive on your desktop PC. Nobody has to like the fact that Nexus devices ship with no SD card slot, but let's stop looking for conspiracies when we already know the answer.

http://www.androidcentral.com/why-nexus-devices-have-no-sd-card

 

[souljacker]

Be sure to correct this Android engineer at Google then.



http://www.androidcentral.com/why-nexus-devices-have-no-sd-card

So nothing to do with cost then.

 

[elbows]

Hmmm...not sure if you are playing Devil's advocate here or not...

Google neglected to add a card slot, which was stupid. That's quite different from Apple, who have gone out of their way to try and close their platform to non-channelled content.

As for everyone bigging up cloud services, don't we as consumers have the option to ignore what we're told by companies, and just use a device how we best see fit?

I wasnt meaning to be a devils advocate or to suggest that consumers dont or shouldnt have the options you mention.

All I was doing really was waffling on because these are areas where computing and mobile devices and various attitudes are evolving but there is still a lot of variation. People here have thrown all sorts of different usage patterns out there as being 'normal' over the years, and have varying degrees of cynicism about how quickly that will change. And I thought that the Nexus 7 might be showing some signs of playing a notable part in this evolution of attitudes, based on the last page or so and the response to the 16GB memory issue, and perhaps influenced by the price and form of this tablet.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

You'll have a job filling it up without a decent amount of bandwidth at your disposal, dumbass.

Funnily enough I have that at home. Where I don't want to use a mobile device. Or there is an old fashioned thing called USB.

 

[editor]

So nothing to do with cost then.

You seem to have forgotten the words I posted up already! Incredible!

 

[kabbes]

I use my mobile device when I am travelling. I almost inevitably have no access to WiFi or 3G whilst I am travelling. Thus I need to transfer my downloaded films and TV programmes from my home computer onto my mobile device's storage before I set off.

I don't see what's so "dumbass" about that state of affairs.

 

[contadino]

I use my mobile device when I am travelling. I almost inevitably have no access to WiFi or 3G whilst I am travelling. Thus I need to transfer my downloaded films and TV programmes from my home computer onto my mobile device's storage before I set off.

I don't see what's so "dumbass" about that state of affairs.

 

[kabbes]

Yeah, good answer.

Good that you know how people should use their own electronic gizmos too. Nice one.

 

[editor]

I use my mobile device when I am travelling. I almost inevitably have no access to WiFi or 3G whilst I am travelling. Thus I need to transfer my downloaded films and TV programmes from my home computer onto my mobile device's storage before I set off.

Why do you need to download content to your computer and then to your mobile when at home?

 

[Ted Striker]

Why do you need to download content to your computer and then to your mobile when at home?

Why not? I don't get it?

If you download videos, then it's largely done via PC and home broadband connection. Then it's moved onto the mobile device.

If-post setting off- you can assume no internet connection, how else does one do it?

 

[editor]

Why not? I don't get it?

How do you know he hasn't got wi-fi at home? You can buy a router for fuck all and it would make things easier, no?

 

[Ted Striker]

But then you don't have it on your PC? I'm probably looking at it from a Ted-centric point of view, but everything comes through my (and is stored on) home PC. I can download shit en masse to that then pick off what I want and (theoretically) stick it on my mobile device.

 

[editor]

If I was downloading TV shows to view on my travels, I probably wouldn't download them on my PC as well. But each to their own!

 

[contadino]

Yeah, good answer.

Good that you know how people should use their own electronic gizmos too. Nice one.

OK, so you're either a dumbass for buying a machine that doesn't suit your needs, or you're a dumbass for not learning how to use your machine, or you're a dumbass for not comprehending simple English.

I've got better things to do with my time than pamper your smug ego.

 

[Crispy]

If I was downloading TV shows to view on my travels, I probably wouldn't download them on my PC as well. But each to their own!

I assume that, like me, he already has a large library of downloaded media. To watch this media on the go, he transfers it to his portable device, using a cable or by WiFi.

 

[editor]

Probably best he speaks for himself rather than us do all the assuming for him, I expect.

That way we can hopefully come up with the best solution.

 

[contadino]

I assume that, like me, he already has a large library of downloaded media. To watch this media on the go, he transfers it to his portable device, using a cable or by WiFi.

So if the 7 or 8 hours of video that you can store internally (on my 8gb) isn't enough, you can use USB sticks. At least with a Nexus you can. No need to root. Just use Nexus Media Importer. It's not rocket science.

 

[Crispy]

So if the 7 or 8 hours of video that you can store internally (on my 8gb) isn't enough, you can use USB sticks. At least with a Nexus you can. No need to root. Just use Nexus Media Importer. It's not rocket science.

Same usage pattern. File on computer -> File on portable medium (be it built-in or removable)

 

[Ted Striker]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Cru...Q8G8/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1347449874&sr=8-8

So you can just stick one of these in and have a 40gb device?

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Why do you need to download content to your computer and then to your mobile when at home?

As I've already downloaded my music collection for instance. Or I want to re-encode something as I don't really need a film as 4gb file to watch on a small screen. Last time I checked there wasn't a bit torrent client available for android either.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Probably best he speaks for himself rather than us do all the assuming for him, I expect.

That way we can hopefully come up with the best solution.

I thought that was kind of self evident and was replying to the point you couldn't fill a whole 16gb without wifi or 3g.

 

[contadino]

As I've already downloaded my music collection for instance. Or I want to re-encode something as I don't really need a film as 4gb file to watch on a small screen. Last time I checked there wasn't a bit torrent client available for android either.

Best check again. There are several.

 

[FaradayCaged]

wasn't a bit torrent client available for android either.

I got BitTorrent on mine.

If I, for instance as I did last night, wanted to watch something on my N7 I would download it(using BitTorrent) on my N7 and then watch.

But I also download stuff on masse, such as albums and huge 720p files of movies (4-8gb for one film), on my laptop and then if at a later date wanted it on my N7 i simply use the USB cable.

 

[magneze]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Cru...Q8G8/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1347449874&sr=8-8

So you can just stick one of these in and have a 40gb device?

It would need to be mini-usb or you need an adaptor.

 

[contadino]

It would need to be mini-usb or you need an adaptor.

You need a USB on the go (OTG) cable. They cost a pound or two from any electrical/computer shop.

 

[scifisam]

I only download stuff at home. It usually takes a while to download, so not really useful if I want to take my mobile device out about with me, and I also don't really want to have a torrent client on more than one machine - they feel like too much of a virus risk. It's OK with an OTG cable andUSB drive onmy daughter's Nexus, but a card slot would be better when travelling because it doesn't stick out to be knocked by passing commuters.

 

[kabbes]

What Ted, Crispy and Sam said, in short. All those points.

To spell it out: my connection is slow. I leave my lapop downloading overnight or whilst I am at work. It also acts as the repository for my media. Meanwhile, my mobile device comes with me on my 3 hour-a-day commute, or wherever else I go.

Every now and then I replace the shows on the mobile device with a fresh load off the computer.

The poibt is this: I do not stream anything onto the mobile device. Mostly I am not within any connection at all whilst using the device. When I am in a Wi-Fi area, it is not fast enough to stream.

I fail t see what is complicated about those concepts.

Contandino said anybody who puts media files onto the device rather than streams on it is a "dumbass". He is suffering from a paucity of imagination as to how people use their devices.