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An iPad Lover’s Take On The Nexus 7

231 points by answerly 14y ago

cageface 14y ago
I have to give Siegler credit for actually posting an objective review of an Android device. No matter which side you favor in the tablet wars I think you have to agree that we're better off as hackers and consumers in a market with real competition. Rather than picking sides we should be happy that Apple and Google are pushing each other to improve their hardware and software at a rate we rarely see in consumer electronics.
- simonh 14y ago
  I always wonder when I read a comment like this. Is 'objective' a proxy for 'positive'? Is the implication that his negative reviews of previous Android tablets were not objective? Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. Sorry for picking on you particularly but the word Objective is a very loaded one.
  - Resident_Geek 14y ago
    I think the fact that it's a positive review from MG Siegler means it's objective - since he's known to dislike Android devices. A negative review wouldn't necessarily be not objective, but a positive review must be objective.
    - madrona 14y ago
      It certainly does drive pageviews.
    - abcd_f 14y ago
      Keep in mind that all bought reviews are positive.
  - redthrowaway 14y ago
    Objective, to me, means 'not based upon personal tastes, opinions, and biases'. So this review is completely subjective, as it's based entirely upon what he likes. Regardless, it is nice to see him set the homer hat aside and write an article that wasn't either heaping praise on Apple or scorn on Google. MG Siegler is as subjective as any reviewer, but that's not what matters. What matters is that you can usually tell what he's going to say before you even read the article, as his views are generally that predictable. He seldom has anything negative to say about Apple, or positive to say about Google. So the pleasant surprise here comes from seeing him break that trend and say something that couldn't have been written by Apple's PR dept.
    - taligent 14y ago
      Right so your definition of objective is "agrees with what I think". And if he doesn't then he works for Apple PR.
      - cageface 14y ago
        And if he doesn't then he works for Apple PR. Siegler's previous pieces very strongly give this impression.
        davidlumley 14y ago
        Do they though? As a frequent reader of his blog, and related blogs I have always thought they read as someone who values the time Apple spends designing their product, which is why when Google release a product that is similarly well designed he values it too.
      - entropy_ 14y ago
        Wait, what? The initial post and the GP are from different people. Also, the one you're replying to clearly states: "So this review is completely subjective". How do you go from that to 'your definition of objective is "agrees with what I think"'? He said it's a pleasant surprise, he did not say that was his definition of objective. He clearly states his definition of objective and that this article does not meet it.
  - notatoad 14y ago
    I can't speak for the parent but I would definitely say that much of Seigler's previous coverage of android has not been objective. He has long been an unapologetic apple fanboy, looking for negatives about android to pick on and ignoring obvious flaws in apple products.
- tjogin 14y ago
  An objective review is an oxymoron. All opinions are subjective by their very nature.
  - lloeki 14y ago
    John Siracusa's reviews of Mac OS X are the kind of reviews I would consider the closer to "objective". The amount of technical and factual data he gives leaves much less room to subjectivity than say, this review.
    - tjogin 14y ago
      I love John Siracusa's OS X reviews, but they too are subjective, like all reviews are. Saying a person's opinion is subjective is like saying he or she has a perspective. Everybody has a perspective, you can't escape yours. A review cannot be more or less subjective, it can only be good or bad, which in turn, is also subjective. So consider that: the next time you call someone's review subjective, you are making a subjective review of that person's subjective review. But that's much better than calling someone's review "objective", because at least you're making sense.
  - berntb 14y ago
    That is like saying: Since we can't cool something to absolute 0 Kelvin, all termometers are valueless. You have to look at how wrong things are, too.. If I wrote a review of a game in my favorite sport where my home team played, it would not be objective. And another review by me of a sport I don't care about, between teams I don't know, might not be objective either (if women play, one team might be better looking. Or whatever.). But those reviews would not be EQUALLY subjective... For another example, consider evolutional biology. Some people have a deep and emotional connection to the scientific model -- while some other people have emotional connections to political ideologies... Sorry, but you pressed one of my buttons.
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- ch0wn 14y ago
  It really depends on what you perceive as objective. I'm not sure I would call it objective, but I would certainly call it a bad review. Every other sentence contains an Apple reference. While this is to be expected when Siegler writes a review, this is a way too narrow view for a good review. His conclusion is basically, that there is room for an iPad Mini and Jelly Bean is faster and not much about the Nexus7 itself.
- epsylon 14y ago
  I don't understand why people praise a journalist for doing his job (that is, not being a total Apple fanboy). I guess I have different standards towards (tech) journalism.
- lloeki 14y ago
  > we're better off as hackers and consumers in a market with real competition On the tablet market, the competition was decimated by the iPad, which was, objectively, overall better than any contender, and by a comfortable margin. Yes Android could potentially do stuff better than iOS, yes hardware could be non-crap, but what was going out of the door was not even in the same league at all. The only one that had real potential at some point was the WebOS based one†. Until now. The trouble was that if you had the balls to tell this fact you were irrevocably dismissed as an Apple fanatic. I long for this tablet to be available outside North America. †The Kindle Fire is completely under-specced in terms of quality. The Nexus 7 and iPad are both way better.
  - cageface 14y ago
    The trouble was that if you had the balls to tell this fact you were irrevocably dismissed as an Apple fanatic. Trashing Android tablets hardly qualifies as an act of critical bravery. "There is only an iPad market" has been the mantra of opinion piece on the subject for as long as I've been reading them. The truth is that we've had non-crap Android tablets for a while now but none good enough to seriously challenge the iPad.
  - nicholassmith 14y ago
    If you mean the Nexus 7, then it is outside NA. You can buy one in the UK for delivery in August.
  - drzaiusapelord 14y ago
    >Until now. Now was 6+ months ago. You could get a nice fast Tegra3 tablet for a while now at a competitive price. The Nexus is really just an Asus TF201/TF300 shrunk down to 7 inches and with a hefty reduction in price. >The trouble was that if you had the balls to tell this fact you were irrevocably dismissed as an Apple fanatic. Or unaware of the last 2 Asus Transformer models (three now as the new one just launched) or even the budget Acer tegra3 tablet. Galaxy tablet isn't bad either, just slow to updates. I've owned both the TF101 and the TF300 and really feel no need or want for an ipad. The Fire/Nook aren't tablets, they're appliances. If someone wants an android tablet, there are at least 2 or 3 very nice models for sale and 4 or 5 mainstream lower tier cheaper ones. The Nexus is just a big price cut. Its the same hardware we've been using for some time. That's partly why its so cheap. The Tegra3 chipset is ancient by SoC standards (November 9, 2011.). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegra#Tegra_3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegra#Tegra_3
- idspispopd 14y ago
  It's nice to see real discussion about good products, rather than hearing the opinions of thinly veiled loyalists. As a person who is often mistaken for being an apple fan because I'd rather people discussed each platform factually rather than sharing false information that smells of a loyalists agenda, I'm pleased to see TC putting out a balanced review.
georgemcbay 14y ago
I actually think that post-ICS and especially with Jelly Bean that Android is a superior tablet OS to iOS, at least for me. There's basically no feature on iOS that I miss when I'm on Android, but a few (eg. custom keyboards, the overall intent system, etc) that I miss when I'm on iOS. iOS still kills Android for app availability though (especially when it comes to "tablet optimized" apps) and between that and iOS ecosystem lock-in, Android/Google still has some catching up to do to make tablets a true two-horse race.
- glimcat 14y ago
  Jelly Bean added a bunch of stuff that I'm very happy to see as a developer. But it will take a long while for that to trickle down to the user level, even for people who get on Jelly Bean quickly. On the other hand, this translates into bucketloads of low-hanging fruit if you're an Android developer.
  - tonfa 14y ago
    > But it will take a long while for that to trickle down to the user level If the Nexus 7 has the same success as the Kindle Fire (or better) then a large proportion of tablet users would be on JB.
    - gurkendoktor 14y ago
      …in the US (and maybe UK).
      - tonfa 14y ago
        And France, and Germany, and ...
        gurkendoktor 14y ago
        Scheduled for 'September', according to a Facebook post by Asus Italia that everyone is referring to: https://www.facebook.com/ASUS.Italia/posts/180844915379890 https://www.facebook.com/ASUS.Italia/posts/180844915379890 I hadn't heard about that, and it still seems like a half-assed international release to me :(
jpxxx 14y ago
Awesome! Now if Google can just distribute it beyond the initial five launch nations, create meaningful product support, rework a half million third-party applications, and answer growing malware concerns they'll have a sweet two-month sales window all to themselves before you-know-who barges into their market. I want one anyway.
- jbarham 14y ago
  > Now if Google can just distribute it beyond the initial five launch nations... That's still much better than the Amazon Fire which AFAIK isn't even sold outside of the US. See also this article from The Verge: http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/28/3122716/nexus-7-international-price http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/28/3122716/nexus-7-internatio... ("The Nexus 7's most important price is £159, not $199").
  - gamble 14y ago
    Amazon's media stores are all but nonexistent outside the US, and the Fire is sold at cost with the expectation they'll recoup on media sales, so it's not surprising they haven't released it elsewhere. Google's non-US media stores are pretty bad too.
  - taligent 14y ago
    Amazon Fire is available in Australia I know that much. And why compare yourself against Amazon when Apple is rumored to be launching an iPad Mini which will be sold in 30+ countries almost immediately after launch.
    - fpgeek 14y ago
      There's available and "available". I have do doubt there are at least a few importers who buy Kindle Fires in the US and are selling them in Australia, but that's not the same as the Kindle Fire truly being available in Australia (the way the Nexus 7 is). Unlike other Kindles, Amazon will refuse to ship a Kindle Fire to Australia. I think that's a pretty clear statement from Amazon on Australian availability.
chj 14y ago
A fair review. It is really a good move that Google offers a device to him.
- sidcool 14y ago
  The saying goes, keeps your friends close, enemies closer :)
wavephorm 14y ago
Why after a few years is noone able to build a 10 inch tablet? I honestly don't care how good an Android tablet is, I'm just so accustomed to the iPad form factor that I won't give it up. To get me interested, an Android manufacturer needs to come up with a bezel-less 9" or 10" tablet with more screen real estate than the iPad.
- gringomorcego 14y ago
  Never fight on the enemy's ground.
- w1ntermute 14y ago
  I've had a Transformer Prime for several months and have been enjoying the supposedly unobtainable Android tablet experience that everyone is waiting for. It runs stock ICS and has a 10.1" screen, and I actually wish it had a bit more of a bezel. I really don't understand why people are ignoring the Transformer Prime. And the Transformer Infinity is coming out tomorrow, with a 1920x1200 screen, fixes to the Transformer Prime's GPS/Wifi issues (which I have not personally seen), and a micro SD slot & HDMI out (two of the things missing from the Nexus 7). Ignoring good products seems to be a big issue with Android - with phones, people are complaining about skinning and lack of updates when the Galaxy Nexus is just sitting there waiting for buyers (I've already got Jelly Bean running on my GN).
  - shinratdr 14y ago
    > Ignoring good products seems to be a big issue with Android - with phones, people are complaining about skinning and lack of updates when the Galaxy Nexus is just sitting there waiting for buyers (I've already got Jelly Bean running on my GN). One of the main selling points of the Android ecosystem is "Look at all the device choice you have". It's hardly surprising that if you sell people on that then turn around and say "Of course if you want an experience that doesn't suck, here is a list of about three devices that will provide that experience" they don't exactly heed that advice. Pinning the issue on consumers just doing what they're told both misses the point and passes the buck. The market shouldn't be flooded with shitty Android devices that are quickly abandoned by carriers and have no reason to exist. Having HTC or Motorola written on the back doesn't mean anything. Google should be holding their hardware partners to a certain standard and they aren't. That isn't the consumer's fault, that blame lies squarely on Google. They have the power to enforce this via their Google services contracts and they choose not to. It shouldn't be a choice between getting the device you want and getting one of the good ones.
tuananh 14y ago
read the title and i know it's gonna be Siegler.
- Achshar 14y ago
  Well that's because it's his "line" of review posts. He has done many of these before.
bane 14y ago
As much as a I love the idea of a 7 inch tablet, there's just one thing that I really really use my tablet for and that's reading PDFs and old scanned comic books (guilty pleasure). The size of a ~10" tablet is more or less perfect for this despite the difficulties in handling the size of the device while in bed vs. a 7".
- eLobato 14y ago
  I have to disagree on this. 7 inches are so much better when you want to read on the crowded NYC subway. I already tried with an iPad and it's a whole lot more inconvenient.
  - bane 14y ago
    I'm just concerned that the size of the text will simply be too small (regardless of DPI). 7" is definitely a good size for tossing in a courier bag/coat pocket though.
    - donniezazen 14y ago
      7" is damn portable. I need dedicated pocket in my bag to hold 10.1" tablet. I can put 7" tablet in any outer pocket or jacket pocket.
  - r00fus 14y ago
    PDFs with images - ie, technical manuals or papers - still don't see it for a 7" screen. Reflow don't help much here.
    - natrius 14y ago
      I have a Galaxy Tab 2 7" (which is a mouthful) and read a couple of Hyperink PDFs on it. It was not comfortable. Kindle books work great, and I presume the Hyperink ePub files do too.
    - ShellfishMeme 14y ago
      The Nexus 7 has the same resolution that most 10" tablets have now, so why would you need reflow? Shouldn't everything look the same as on the current 10" tablets, just sharper? It might be because my eyes are still young, but I prefer smaller screens with a high pixel density to larger screens with a lower pixel density.
mycodebreaks 14y ago
How does the screen of Nexus 7 compare to Retina display iPad offers?
- chrisbroadfoot 14y ago
  In terms of density, it's between iPad 2 and iPad 3.
  - telcodud 14y ago
    iPad 2 has a dpi of 132, Nexus 7 213, and iPad 3 264. Nexus 7, while not "retina", is closer to iPad 3 than iPad 2.
    - pooriaazimi 14y ago
      No. You usually hold a 7" tablet closer to your eyes than a 10" one. So, for its pixels to appear the same to your poor eyes as pixels on an 246 ppi iPad 3, it must have a pixel density of 290 or so.
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      - pooriaazimi 14y ago
        I think what I said is true. I can't understand why it's been downvoted...
        codeka 14y ago
        I didn't down vote, but how did you come up with 290 as a value?
        14y ago
adventureful 14y ago
Am I the only one that thinks Asus isn't getting enough credit for the Nexus 7?
- officemonkey 14y ago
  Actually, most reviews I've seen specifically mention Asus. Seems like they're in a winning situation: they're just about the only people making a profit on the Nexus 7.
- bluthru 14y ago
  Does their logo appear anywhere on the device?
  - hugs 14y ago
    If you look closely at the bottom of this photo, yes. http://www.google.com/nexus/a-images/tablet-n7-features-ushome-family.png http://www.google.com/nexus/a-images/tablet-n7-features-usho...
  - gingerjoos 14y ago
    It does appear prominently at the back [1] [1] http://images.anandtech.com/doci/6054/GoogleIO2012-2261.jpg http://images.anandtech.com/doci/6054/GoogleIO2012-2261.jpg via http://www.anandtech.com/show/6054/google-nexus-7-mini-review/ http://www.anandtech.com/show/6054/google-nexus-7-mini-revie...
mtgx 14y ago
Why would you want to hold your tablet with two hands, other than perhaps gaming? But I figure it should be easier to play them if it's smaller. You're using the iPad with 2 hands, because you don't usually have a choice. I do think Google needs to make the next version 7.7"-8", though. I think 7" is a little too small. Basically they should make one that is as large as possible (but up to 8"), which you can still hold easily with just one hand. From what I've noticed I think Samsung's 7.7" tablet qualifies for that.
- gurkendoktor 14y ago
  > Why would you want to hold your tablet with two hands, other than perhaps gaming? Only slightly related, but: Is there any data on how people use tablets? I feel we're just making guesses based on smartphones all the time. Example: My iPad spends the whole breakfast standing (in a case) on the table with me only turning eBook pages. Then it spends the evening somehow tucked into the bed as a movie machine. When I read in bed after that, I always read sideways and I'm happy that the iPad is so wide. I could never connect with the Kindle ads because it wouldn't occur to me to hold the iPad (or a magazine or thick book) freely to read. Other people may be obsessed with BT keyboards or other gadgets even.
- taligent 14y ago
  The same reason everyone doesn't read books with one hand. It's more comfortable to hold it with two.
  - jff 14y ago
    Don't be silly. I read books with one hand all the time--small books, paperbacks, thin hard-bound books. Enormous 700-page O'Reilly books? No.
sigkill 14y ago
In his review he says that he accidentally has pressed the software buttons while playing games. I don't know about Jelly Bean but on my TF101 ICS there's an explicit option to enable locking/unlocking of the soft buttons if you check the advanced page on the system settings. Once that's enabled, a small "slide to lock" padlock is constantly visibly in the middle of the status bar screen. So the next time when you want to play or something, just slide to lock the soft-buttons.
- rdtsc 14y ago
  That is an ASUS only thing it seems. I have not seen it on other tablets yet. And it is very useful, especially if you let your kids use the tablet.
donniezazen 14y ago
Author talks about some mysterious elements of force in iPad that Android doesn't have. I am not sure what he means.
wangweij 14y ago
What I read from this article is: "Apple should release a 7" iPad and I will buy it at once. I am sad I have to use a Google product now but this 7" form factor is really irresistible".
mikecane 14y ago
Wow. Someone not only discovers that a 7" inch tablet is smaller than an iPad, but that a smaller tablet is also a thing unto itself with special use cases. Welcome to 2010.
dr_ 14y ago
Let's hold on a sec and put things in perspective. Although MG is regarded by some as an Apple fan boy, this is not the first time he has been enthusiastic about a non-Apple tablet. http://m.techcrunch.com/2011/09/02/amazon-kindle-tablet/ http://m.techcrunch.com/2011/09/02/amazon-kindle-tablet/ and we aren't still aren't sure what the prospects are for the Fire. This is important to note because although Amazon has a strong commerce offering and can provide music and videos, it's own tablet lacks in apps. The Nexus offers plenty of apps, in my opinion, but the music and video offerings are pretty weak right now. The iOS ecosystem still offers it all, with a strong retail presence to boot, and if Apple introduces a 7ish" tablet at a good price point, I'm not sure how this will stack up then.
grecy 14y ago
I hope the experience using it is nothing like the unboxing... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=32DD4DF7Qpo http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3...

231 points by answerly 14y ago

I have to give Siegler credit for actually posting an objective review of an Android device. No matter which side you favor in the tablet wars I think you have to agree that we're better off as hackers and consumers in a market with real competition. Rather than picking sides we should be happy that Apple and Google are pushing each other to improve their hardware and software at a rate we rarely see in consumer electronics.

simonh 14y ago
I always wonder when I read a comment like this. Is 'objective' a proxy for 'positive'? Is the implication that his negative reviews of previous Android tablets were not objective? Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. Sorry for picking on you particularly but the word Objective is a very loaded one.
- Resident_Geek 14y ago
  I think the fact that it's a positive review from MG Siegler means it's objective - since he's known to dislike Android devices. A negative review wouldn't necessarily be not objective, but a positive review must be objective.
  - madrona 14y ago
    It certainly does drive pageviews.
  - abcd_f 14y ago
    Keep in mind that all bought reviews are positive.
- redthrowaway 14y ago
  Objective, to me, means 'not based upon personal tastes, opinions, and biases'. So this review is completely subjective, as it's based entirely upon what he likes. Regardless, it is nice to see him set the homer hat aside and write an article that wasn't either heaping praise on Apple or scorn on Google. MG Siegler is as subjective as any reviewer, but that's not what matters. What matters is that you can usually tell what he's going to say before you even read the article, as his views are generally that predictable. He seldom has anything negative to say about Apple, or positive to say about Google. So the pleasant surprise here comes from seeing him break that trend and say something that couldn't have been written by Apple's PR dept.
  - taligent 14y ago
    Right so your definition of objective is "agrees with what I think". And if he doesn't then he works for Apple PR.
    - cageface 14y ago
      And if he doesn't then he works for Apple PR. Siegler's previous pieces very strongly give this impression.
      - davidlumley 14y ago
        Do they though? As a frequent reader of his blog, and related blogs I have always thought they read as someone who values the time Apple spends designing their product, which is why when Google release a product that is similarly well designed he values it too.
    - entropy_ 14y ago
      Wait, what? The initial post and the GP are from different people. Also, the one you're replying to clearly states: "So this review is completely subjective". How do you go from that to 'your definition of objective is "agrees with what I think"'? He said it's a pleasant surprise, he did not say that was his definition of objective. He clearly states his definition of objective and that this article does not meet it.
- notatoad 14y ago
  I can't speak for the parent but I would definitely say that much of Seigler's previous coverage of android has not been objective. He has long been an unapologetic apple fanboy, looking for negatives about android to pick on and ignoring obvious flaws in apple products.
tjogin 14y ago
An objective review is an oxymoron. All opinions are subjective by their very nature.
- lloeki 14y ago
  John Siracusa's reviews of Mac OS X are the kind of reviews I would consider the closer to "objective". The amount of technical and factual data he gives leaves much less room to subjectivity than say, this review.
  - tjogin 14y ago
    I love John Siracusa's OS X reviews, but they too are subjective, like all reviews are. Saying a person's opinion is subjective is like saying he or she has a perspective. Everybody has a perspective, you can't escape yours. A review cannot be more or less subjective, it can only be good or bad, which in turn, is also subjective. So consider that: the next time you call someone's review subjective, you are making a subjective review of that person's subjective review. But that's much better than calling someone's review "objective", because at least you're making sense.
- berntb 14y ago
  That is like saying: Since we can't cool something to absolute 0 Kelvin, all termometers are valueless. You have to look at how wrong things are, too.. If I wrote a review of a game in my favorite sport where my home team played, it would not be objective. And another review by me of a sport I don't care about, between teams I don't know, might not be objective either (if women play, one team might be better looking. Or whatever.). But those reviews would not be EQUALLY subjective... For another example, consider evolutional biology. Some people have a deep and emotional connection to the scientific model -- while some other people have emotional connections to political ideologies... Sorry, but you pressed one of my buttons.
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ch0wn 14y ago
It really depends on what you perceive as objective. I'm not sure I would call it objective, but I would certainly call it a bad review. Every other sentence contains an Apple reference. While this is to be expected when Siegler writes a review, this is a way too narrow view for a good review. His conclusion is basically, that there is room for an iPad Mini and Jelly Bean is faster and not much about the Nexus7 itself.
epsylon 14y ago
I don't understand why people praise a journalist for doing his job (that is, not being a total Apple fanboy). I guess I have different standards towards (tech) journalism.
lloeki 14y ago
> we're better off as hackers and consumers in a market with real competition On the tablet market, the competition was decimated by the iPad, which was, objectively, overall better than any contender, and by a comfortable margin. Yes Android could potentially do stuff better than iOS, yes hardware could be non-crap, but what was going out of the door was not even in the same league at all. The only one that had real potential at some point was the WebOS based one†. Until now. The trouble was that if you had the balls to tell this fact you were irrevocably dismissed as an Apple fanatic. I long for this tablet to be available outside North America. †The Kindle Fire is completely under-specced in terms of quality. The Nexus 7 and iPad are both way better.
- cageface 14y ago
  The trouble was that if you had the balls to tell this fact you were irrevocably dismissed as an Apple fanatic. Trashing Android tablets hardly qualifies as an act of critical bravery. "There is only an iPad market" has been the mantra of opinion piece on the subject for as long as I've been reading them. The truth is that we've had non-crap Android tablets for a while now but none good enough to seriously challenge the iPad.
- nicholassmith 14y ago
  If you mean the Nexus 7, then it is outside NA. You can buy one in the UK for delivery in August.
- drzaiusapelord 14y ago
  >Until now. Now was 6+ months ago. You could get a nice fast Tegra3 tablet for a while now at a competitive price. The Nexus is really just an Asus TF201/TF300 shrunk down to 7 inches and with a hefty reduction in price. >The trouble was that if you had the balls to tell this fact you were irrevocably dismissed as an Apple fanatic. Or unaware of the last 2 Asus Transformer models (three now as the new one just launched) or even the budget Acer tegra3 tablet. Galaxy tablet isn't bad either, just slow to updates. I've owned both the TF101 and the TF300 and really feel no need or want for an ipad. The Fire/Nook aren't tablets, they're appliances. If someone wants an android tablet, there are at least 2 or 3 very nice models for sale and 4 or 5 mainstream lower tier cheaper ones. The Nexus is just a big price cut. Its the same hardware we've been using for some time. That's partly why its so cheap. The Tegra3 chipset is ancient by SoC standards (November 9, 2011.). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegra#Tegra_3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegra#Tegra_3
idspispopd 14y ago
It's nice to see real discussion about good products, rather than hearing the opinions of thinly veiled loyalists. As a person who is often mistaken for being an apple fan because I'd rather people discussed each platform factually rather than sharing false information that smells of a loyalists agenda, I'm pleased to see TC putting out a balanced review.

georgemcbay 14y ago

I actually think that post-ICS and especially with Jelly Bean that Android is a superior tablet OS to iOS, at least for me. There's basically no feature on iOS that I miss when I'm on Android, but a few (eg. custom keyboards, the overall intent system, etc) that I miss when I'm on iOS. iOS still kills Android for app availability though (especially when it comes to "tablet optimized" apps) and between that and iOS ecosystem lock-in, Android/Google still has some catching up to do to make tablets a true two-horse race.

glimcat 14y ago
Jelly Bean added a bunch of stuff that I'm very happy to see as a developer. But it will take a long while for that to trickle down to the user level, even for people who get on Jelly Bean quickly. On the other hand, this translates into bucketloads of low-hanging fruit if you're an Android developer.
- tonfa 14y ago
  > But it will take a long while for that to trickle down to the user level If the Nexus 7 has the same success as the Kindle Fire (or better) then a large proportion of tablet users would be on JB.
  - gurkendoktor 14y ago
    …in the US (and maybe UK).
    - tonfa 14y ago
      And France, and Germany, and ...
      - gurkendoktor 14y ago
        Scheduled for 'September', according to a Facebook post by Asus Italia that everyone is referring to: https://www.facebook.com/ASUS.Italia/posts/180844915379890 https://www.facebook.com/ASUS.Italia/posts/180844915379890 I hadn't heard about that, and it still seems like a half-assed international release to me :(

jpxxx 14y ago

Awesome! Now if Google can just distribute it beyond the initial five launch nations, create meaningful product support, rework a half million third-party applications, and answer growing malware concerns they'll have a sweet two-month sales window all to themselves before you-know-who barges into their market. I want one anyway.

jbarham 14y ago
> Now if Google can just distribute it beyond the initial five launch nations... That's still much better than the Amazon Fire which AFAIK isn't even sold outside of the US. See also this article from The Verge: http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/28/3122716/nexus-7-international-price http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/28/3122716/nexus-7-internatio... ("The Nexus 7's most important price is £159, not $199").
- gamble 14y ago
  Amazon's media stores are all but nonexistent outside the US, and the Fire is sold at cost with the expectation they'll recoup on media sales, so it's not surprising they haven't released it elsewhere. Google's non-US media stores are pretty bad too.
- taligent 14y ago
  Amazon Fire is available in Australia I know that much. And why compare yourself against Amazon when Apple is rumored to be launching an iPad Mini which will be sold in 30+ countries almost immediately after launch.
  - fpgeek 14y ago
    There's available and "available". I have do doubt there are at least a few importers who buy Kindle Fires in the US and are selling them in Australia, but that's not the same as the Kindle Fire truly being available in Australia (the way the Nexus 7 is). Unlike other Kindles, Amazon will refuse to ship a Kindle Fire to Australia. I think that's a pretty clear statement from Amazon on Australian availability.

chj 14y ago

A fair review. It is really a good move that Google offers a device to him.

sidcool 14y ago
The saying goes, keeps your friends close, enemies closer :)

wavephorm 14y ago

Why after a few years is noone able to build a 10 inch tablet? I honestly don't care how good an Android tablet is, I'm just so accustomed to the iPad form factor that I won't give it up. To get me interested, an Android manufacturer needs to come up with a bezel-less 9" or 10" tablet with more screen real estate than the iPad.

gringomorcego 14y ago
Never fight on the enemy's ground.
w1ntermute 14y ago
I've had a Transformer Prime for several months and have been enjoying the supposedly unobtainable Android tablet experience that everyone is waiting for. It runs stock ICS and has a 10.1" screen, and I actually wish it had a bit more of a bezel. I really don't understand why people are ignoring the Transformer Prime. And the Transformer Infinity is coming out tomorrow, with a 1920x1200 screen, fixes to the Transformer Prime's GPS/Wifi issues (which I have not personally seen), and a micro SD slot & HDMI out (two of the things missing from the Nexus 7). Ignoring good products seems to be a big issue with Android - with phones, people are complaining about skinning and lack of updates when the Galaxy Nexus is just sitting there waiting for buyers (I've already got Jelly Bean running on my GN).
- shinratdr 14y ago
  > Ignoring good products seems to be a big issue with Android - with phones, people are complaining about skinning and lack of updates when the Galaxy Nexus is just sitting there waiting for buyers (I've already got Jelly Bean running on my GN). One of the main selling points of the Android ecosystem is "Look at all the device choice you have". It's hardly surprising that if you sell people on that then turn around and say "Of course if you want an experience that doesn't suck, here is a list of about three devices that will provide that experience" they don't exactly heed that advice. Pinning the issue on consumers just doing what they're told both misses the point and passes the buck. The market shouldn't be flooded with shitty Android devices that are quickly abandoned by carriers and have no reason to exist. Having HTC or Motorola written on the back doesn't mean anything. Google should be holding their hardware partners to a certain standard and they aren't. That isn't the consumer's fault, that blame lies squarely on Google. They have the power to enforce this via their Google services contracts and they choose not to. It shouldn't be a choice between getting the device you want and getting one of the good ones.

tuananh 14y ago

read the title and i know it's gonna be Siegler.

Achshar 14y ago
Well that's because it's his "line" of review posts. He has done many of these before.

bane 14y ago

As much as a I love the idea of a 7 inch tablet, there's just one thing that I really really use my tablet for and that's reading PDFs and old scanned comic books (guilty pleasure). The size of a ~10" tablet is more or less perfect for this despite the difficulties in handling the size of the device while in bed vs. a 7".

eLobato 14y ago
I have to disagree on this. 7 inches are so much better when you want to read on the crowded NYC subway. I already tried with an iPad and it's a whole lot more inconvenient.
- bane 14y ago
  I'm just concerned that the size of the text will simply be too small (regardless of DPI). 7" is definitely a good size for tossing in a courier bag/coat pocket though.
  - donniezazen 14y ago
    7" is damn portable. I need dedicated pocket in my bag to hold 10.1" tablet. I can put 7" tablet in any outer pocket or jacket pocket.
- r00fus 14y ago
  PDFs with images - ie, technical manuals or papers - still don't see it for a 7" screen. Reflow don't help much here.
  - natrius 14y ago
    I have a Galaxy Tab 2 7" (which is a mouthful) and read a couple of Hyperink PDFs on it. It was not comfortable. Kindle books work great, and I presume the Hyperink ePub files do too.
  - ShellfishMeme 14y ago
    The Nexus 7 has the same resolution that most 10" tablets have now, so why would you need reflow? Shouldn't everything look the same as on the current 10" tablets, just sharper? It might be because my eyes are still young, but I prefer smaller screens with a high pixel density to larger screens with a lower pixel density.

mycodebreaks 14y ago

How does the screen of Nexus 7 compare to Retina display iPad offers?

chrisbroadfoot 14y ago
In terms of density, it's between iPad 2 and iPad 3.
- telcodud 14y ago
  iPad 2 has a dpi of 132, Nexus 7 213, and iPad 3 264. Nexus 7, while not "retina", is closer to iPad 3 than iPad 2.
  - pooriaazimi 14y ago
    No. You usually hold a 7" tablet closer to your eyes than a 10" one. So, for its pixels to appear the same to your poor eyes as pixels on an 246 ppi iPad 3, it must have a pixel density of 290 or so.
    - deleted 14y ago
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    - deleted 14y ago
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    - pooriaazimi 14y ago
      I think what I said is true. I can't understand why it's been downvoted...
      - codeka 14y ago
        I didn't down vote, but how did you come up with 290 as a value?
        14y ago

adventureful 14y ago

Am I the only one that thinks Asus isn't getting enough credit for the Nexus 7?

officemonkey 14y ago
Actually, most reviews I've seen specifically mention Asus. Seems like they're in a winning situation: they're just about the only people making a profit on the Nexus 7.
bluthru 14y ago
Does their logo appear anywhere on the device?
- hugs 14y ago
  If you look closely at the bottom of this photo, yes. http://www.google.com/nexus/a-images/tablet-n7-features-ushome-family.png http://www.google.com/nexus/a-images/tablet-n7-features-usho...
- gingerjoos 14y ago
  It does appear prominently at the back [1] [1] http://images.anandtech.com/doci/6054/GoogleIO2012-2261.jpg http://images.anandtech.com/doci/6054/GoogleIO2012-2261.jpg via http://www.anandtech.com/show/6054/google-nexus-7-mini-review/ http://www.anandtech.com/show/6054/google-nexus-7-mini-revie...

mtgx 14y ago

Why would you want to hold your tablet with two hands, other than perhaps gaming? But I figure it should be easier to play them if it's smaller. You're using the iPad with 2 hands, because you don't usually have a choice. I do think Google needs to make the next version 7.7"-8", though. I think 7" is a little too small. Basically they should make one that is as large as possible (but up to 8"), which you can still hold easily with just one hand. From what I've noticed I think Samsung's 7.7" tablet qualifies for that.

gurkendoktor 14y ago
> Why would you want to hold your tablet with two hands, other than perhaps gaming? Only slightly related, but: Is there any data on how people use tablets? I feel we're just making guesses based on smartphones all the time. Example: My iPad spends the whole breakfast standing (in a case) on the table with me only turning eBook pages. Then it spends the evening somehow tucked into the bed as a movie machine. When I read in bed after that, I always read sideways and I'm happy that the iPad is so wide. I could never connect with the Kindle ads because it wouldn't occur to me to hold the iPad (or a magazine or thick book) freely to read. Other people may be obsessed with BT keyboards or other gadgets even.
taligent 14y ago
The same reason everyone doesn't read books with one hand. It's more comfortable to hold it with two.
- jff 14y ago
  Don't be silly. I read books with one hand all the time--small books, paperbacks, thin hard-bound books. Enormous 700-page O'Reilly books? No.

sigkill 14y ago

In his review he says that he accidentally has pressed the software buttons while playing games. I don't know about Jelly Bean but on my TF101 ICS there's an explicit option to enable locking/unlocking of the soft buttons if you check the advanced page on the system settings. Once that's enabled, a small "slide to lock" padlock is constantly visibly in the middle of the status bar screen. So the next time when you want to play or something, just slide to lock the soft-buttons.

rdtsc 14y ago
That is an ASUS only thing it seems. I have not seen it on other tablets yet. And it is very useful, especially if you let your kids use the tablet.

donniezazen 14y ago

Author talks about some mysterious elements of force in iPad that Android doesn't have. I am not sure what he means.

wangweij 14y ago

What I read from this article is: "Apple should release a 7" iPad and I will buy it at once. I am sad I have to use a Google product now but this 7" form factor is really irresistible".

mikecane 14y ago

Wow. Someone not only discovers that a 7" inch tablet is smaller than an iPad, but that a smaller tablet is also a thing unto itself with special use cases. Welcome to 2010.

dr_ 14y ago

Let's hold on a sec and put things in perspective. Although MG is regarded by some as an Apple fan boy, this is not the first time he has been enthusiastic about a non-Apple tablet. http://m.techcrunch.com/2011/09/02/amazon-kindle-tablet/ http://m.techcrunch.com/2011/09/02/amazon-kindle-tablet/ and we aren't still aren't sure what the prospects are for the Fire. This is important to note because although Amazon has a strong commerce offering and can provide music and videos, it's own tablet lacks in apps. The Nexus offers plenty of apps, in my opinion, but the music and video offerings are pretty weak right now. The iOS ecosystem still offers it all, with a strong retail presence to boot, and if Apple introduces a 7ish" tablet at a good price point, I'm not sure how this will stack up then.

grecy 14y ago

I hope the experience using it is nothing like the unboxing... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=32DD4DF7Qpo http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3...