Google's Nexus 7

[c4llum]

It looks like Google have done a good job on their new Tablet. Of course it's still early days and impossible to make a good judgement but it's the first time that I've been impressed by a tablet since the iPad.

Some tech specs:
quad-core CPU (w00t)
1280x800 HD screen
9 hours of HD video battery life (believe that when I see it)
340 grams
Jellybean 4.1
200 dollars

Google's announcement presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVqKVNtQ7Yg
The Guardian's review: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology...ablet-hands-on

So far so good. It can do just about everything the iPad can do, but whether it will work just as smoothly is another question. Also, it is much smaller. I'm not sure I like that yet. I've always felt the iPad was just a little too big for my comfort and the nexus 7 might be too small (always the size.....:P).

So, what do you think?

[Cuddles]

Originally Posted by c4llum

It can do just about everything the iPad can do

Most tablets can do just about everything the iPad can do. As with most Apple products it's a perfectly decent bit of kit, but in no way anywhere near as unique or innovative as they claim.

That said, the Nexus 7 isn't actually competing with the iPad at all. There's already plenty of competition at the expensive end of things, so Google are aiming at the low end instead. While there are plenty of budget tablets around, most of them are pretty sucky so they're only really up against the Kindle Fire. It's a smart move. There are plenty of people who wouldn't mind having a tablet handy, but aren't willing to cough up £400+ for one. A decent tablet that isn't crippled in processing power and won't fall apart if looked at funny going for well under half the price of an iPad has potential to do pretty well.

As for the size, it's a tricky one. Steve Jobs apparently thought 10 inches was the absolute minimum anyone could possibly want but most people seem to think it's more like the maximum (note the lack of any tablets bigger than that), and already getting a bit big to actually hold for a long time rather than lying it on a table. I have an old Archos 7 inch media player which I find OK for watching films and such. Having a bigger screen might be nice, but it would make it a lot less convenient to carry around.

[c4llum]

Originally Posted by Cuddles

Most tablets can do just about everything the iPad can do. As with most Apple products it's a perfectly decent bit of kit, but in no way anywhere near as unique or innovative as they claim.

Many people tend to hold this opinion but I think Apple's products do tend to have an edge over other products. Oh boy...here we go

Quote:

That said, the Nexus 7 isn't actually competing with the iPad at all. There's already plenty of competition at the expensive end of things, so Google are aiming at the low end instead.

yes, perhaps they're not competing on price, but they are competing on product. I would certainly consider buying a Nexus over an iPad or vice versa.
I absolutely agree with the rest of what you said.

[Ethan Thane Athen]

Originally Posted by Cuddles

Most tablets can do just about everything the iPad can do. As with most Apple products it's a perfectly decent bit of kit, but in no way anywhere near as unique or innovative as they claim.

That said, the Nexus 7 isn't actually competing with the iPad at all. There's already plenty of competition at the expensive end of things, so Google are aiming at the low end instead. While there are plenty of budget tablets around, most of them are pretty sucky so they're only really up against the Kindle Fire. It's a smart move. There are plenty of people who wouldn't mind having a tablet handy, but aren't willing to cough up £400+ for one. A decent tablet that isn't crippled in processing power and won't fall apart if looked at funny going for well under half the price of an iPad has potential to do pretty well.

As for the size, it's a tricky one. Steve Jobs apparently thought 10 inches was the absolute minimum anyone could possibly want but most people seem to think it's more like the maximum (note the lack of any tablets bigger than that), and already getting a bit big to actually hold for a long time rather than lying it on a table. I have an old Archos 7 inch media player which I find OK for watching films and such. Having a bigger screen might be nice, but it would make it a lot less convenient to carry around.

Read the reviews of the A1CS Fusion (approx £150) and be blown away. I was so impressed I bought one (would only consider a tablet for near 'throwaway' money as I don't really need one - already have 4 PCs in the house!) and so far the reviews are spot on. It really is difficult to understand why anyone would buy an ipad when you can do everything it does at a fraction of the price. Only advantage the ipad has (apart from snob / Apple fanboy appeal ) is if you're already committed to the church of Apple then it's easy to sync all your stuff together - but then if that's the case you're already a lost cause anyway.

[mikeyx]

Originally Posted by Cuddles

Most tablets can do just about everything the iPad can do. As with most Apple products it's a perfectly decent bit of kit, but in no way anywhere near as unique or innovative as they claim.

That said, the Nexus 7 isn't actually competing with the iPad at all. There's already plenty of competition at the expensive end of things, so Google are aiming at the low end instead. While there are plenty of budget tablets around, most of them are pretty sucky so they're only really up against the Kindle Fire. It's a smart move. There are plenty of people who wouldn't mind having a tablet handy, but aren't willing to cough up £400+ for one. A decent tablet that isn't crippled in processing power and won't fall apart if looked at funny going for well under half the price of an iPad has potential to do pretty well.

As for the size, it's a tricky one. Steve Jobs apparently thought 10 inches was the absolute minimum anyone could possibly want but most people seem to think it's more like the maximum (note the lack of any tablets bigger than that), and already getting a bit big to actually hold for a long time rather than lying it on a table. I have an old Archos 7 inch media player which I find OK for watching films and such. Having a bigger screen might be nice, but it would make it a lot less convenient to carry around.

video cable adapters to the back of a large screen tv

[elgarak]

Originally Posted by Ethan Thane Athen

Read the reviews of the A1CS Fusion (approx £150) and be blown away. I was so impressed I bought one (would only consider a tablet for near 'throwaway' money as I don't really need one - already have 4 PCs in the house!) and so far the reviews are spot on. It really is difficult to understand why anyone would buy an ipad when you can do everything it does at a fraction of the price. Only advantage the ipad has (apart from snob / Apple fanboy appeal ) is if you're already committed to the church of Apple then it's easy to sync all your stuff together - but then if that's the case you're already a lost cause anyway.

And yet, IPads are flying off the shelves, while other tablets just generate some "meh". Obviously, you are missing something.

Hint: iPad buyers are not brainwashed Kool-Aid followers of the church of Jobs.

[paiute]

Originally Posted by elgarak

And yet, IPads are flying off the shelves, while other tablets just generate some "meh". Obviously, you are missing something.

Hint: iPad buyers are not brainwashed Kool-Aid followers of the church of Jobs.

I have noticed that high-tech headhunters do not spend much time on this board searching for candidates to fill CEO positions.

[Eddie Dane]

Originally Posted by c4llum

Many people tend to hold this opinion but I think Apple's products do tend to have an edge over other products. Oh boy...here we go

Oh, another fanboi.

Stop drinking the coo-aid of the cult of Jobs, man.
You've been brainwashed into thinking.....

.....*slaps own face*........sorry, I'll get my coat.

[TheL8Elvis]

Hmmm..
https://play.google.com/store/device...id=nexus_7_8gb

no 3g/4g
no removable battery
no SD card slot
Only 8 or 16 GB sizes, with 8->16 costing $50 (US)
no hdmi out
no rear camera

So it's like an iPad, only cheaper and fewer features.

Give the kindle fire a few weeks, I bet it's down to $149.

I wish Amazon released their sales info, then we could have a good idea how well 7" tablets are actually selling.

[Lamuella]

it looks interesting, and it's cheap, but I won't be getting one. I find it most interesting as a proof of concept like the other Nexus products.

[Babbylonian]

Respect to Google for putting the device out there but as has been said it's not an iPad competitor. Where it could kill against the Fire is that it's an open Android device that, presumably, will receive as much support in terms of keeping the OS updated as any other Tegra 3 device (meaning it should get updates until they decide Tegra 3 is obsolete). Amazon will almost have to reduce the Fire's price since they make their services available on every Android tablet and phone with the appropriate specs.

[TheL8Elvis]

Originally Posted by Babbylonian

Respect to Google for putting the device out there but as has been said it's not an iPad competitor. Where it could kill against the Fire is that it's an open Android device that, presumably, will receive as much support in terms of keeping the OS updated as any other Tegra 3 device (meaning it should get updates until they decide Tegra 3 is obsolete). Amazon will almost have to reduce the Fire's price since they make their services available on every Android tablet and phone with the appropriate specs.

http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/Pages/Amazon-Kindle-Fire-Costs-$201-70-to-Manufacture.aspx

Amazon Kindle Fire Costs $201.70 to Manufacture ...

Amazon can lower the price and hope to make up in content sales....

I am not sure how this nexus 7 is benefiting google. Especially when they don't have a good retail channel. And don't even offer free shipping.

[Babbylonian]

Originally Posted by TheL8Elvis

http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/Pages/Amazon-Kindle-Fire-Costs-$201-70-to-Manufacture.aspx

Amazon Kindle Fire Costs $201.70 to Manufacture ...

Amazon can lower the price and hope to make up in content sales....

I am not sure how this nexus 7 is benefiting google. Especially when they don't have a good retail channel. And don't even offer free shipping.

Same as Amazon with the Fire. You're aware that Google sells books, music, apps, and movies via their [rebranded] Google Play store, right?

In fact, the proliferation of closed devices like the Fire and the Nook Tablet is that much more reason for Google to get their own device out there.

[Lamuella]

Without knowing much about their sales strategy, is this intended to be a big selling retail device, or a proof of concept? Other "nexus" devices, as far as I can see, existed more to show what the latest schmanciest version of Android could do than as a serious sales competitor.

[Babbylonian]

Originally Posted by Lamuella

Without knowing much about their sales strategy, is this intended to be a big selling retail device, or a proof of concept? Other "nexus" devices, as far as I can see, existed more to show what the latest schmanciest version of Android could do than as a serious sales competitor.

Again, I think they're selling it for the same reason Barnes & Noble and Amazon sell their tablets at losses: They want people to use Google Play and buy software/media from them. Depending on how much loss they'd be taking on each device, they could make up the difference pretty quickly...assuming users don't just install the B&N/Amazon/etc. apps and buy from them.

[TheL8Elvis]

Originally Posted by Babbylonian

Again, I think they're selling it for the same reason Barnes & Noble and Amazon sell their tablets at losses: They want people to use Google Play and buy software/media from them. Depending on how much loss they'd be taking on each device, they could make up the difference pretty quickly...assuming users don't just install the B&N/Amazon/etc. apps and buy from them.

Does google release any numbers on their play store ?

I have to agree with Lamuella, it's a bit of a black box what google is doing.

This is a asus tablet - i doubt asus is selling it to google at a loss, so there is already a mark up there ?

I always thought of the nexus phone as a reference device, and had some thought maybe this is supposed to be the same thing ?

[c4llum]

A few people have said the nexus isn't competing with the iPad but really? not competing with it at all? I know it's much cheaper and it's a little smaller but hey, it's a tablet and it can do pretty much everything the iPad can do, but for less money. Isn't that kinda the definition of competition?

[Babbylonian]

Originally Posted by TheL8Elvis

Does google release any numbers on their play store ?

I have to agree with Lamuella, it's a bit of a black box what google is doing.

This is a asus tablet - i doubt asus is selling it to google at a loss, so there is already a mark up there ?

I always thought of the nexus phone as a reference device, and had some thought maybe this is supposed to be the same thing ?

AFAIK, the Nexus phone wasn't sold at a loss.

As for numbers on their store, why does that matter? They have a store, they want to sell things via that store, other retailers are selling tablets locked into their own stores, so they sell a tablet that accesses their own store by default. We aren't talking rocket science here.

[TheL8Elvis]

Originally Posted by Babbylonian

AFAIK, the Nexus phone wasn't sold at a loss.

No, it sold for the same price as equivalent smart phones. This tablet seems to be priced rather low, as opposed to the phone.

Originally Posted by Babbylonian

As for numbers on their store, why does that matter? They have a store, they want to sell things via that store, other retailers are selling tablets locked into their own stores, so they sell a tablet that accesses their own store by default. We aren't talking rocket science here.

I guess it only matters from the perspective of my curiosity. I think Google has a music/movie/app store ... but I think it has a teeny tiny percentage of the market. I doubt they are making up for tablet loss by trying to get people to use their 'play store' ecosystem. But I could be wrong, that's why I would be interested in seeing some numbers.

[Darat]

According to one site I read there is no profit on the Nexus 7 itself for Google at the current prices.

[Babbylonian]

Originally Posted by TheL8Elvis

I guess it only matters from the perspective of my curiosity. I think Google has a music/movie/app store ... but I think it has a teeny tiny percentage of the market. I doubt they are making up for tablet loss by trying to get people to use their 'play store' ecosystem. But I could be wrong, that's why I would be interested in seeing some numbers.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's true that they have a relatively small percentage of the music/movie/app store market. Again, that would explain why they would want to get devices in people's hands that could grow that market share. It's worked for both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, so it makes perfect sense for Google to do the same, especially since those other tablets prove that the Android OS is capable for that purpose.

[The Dark Lord]

At that price, I'll have to get one, but...

Would it have killed them to put an SD card slot on it? 8-16GB is a little limiting. It would cost practically nothing. I'm guessing they are doing this because they want people to use the Google Play Store for content rather than loading up a bunch of stuff.

Also, it uses the phone UI rather than the tablet UI. Android runs the same OS on both phones and tablets but the UI is different based on whether it is a phone or a tablet. The UI on the Nexus 7 is the phone UI. I dunno, I guess they decided that 7 inches is too small to to use the tablet UI. First thing I'll do is hack it so it is running as a tablet.

[Cuddles]

Originally Posted by c4llum

A few people have said the nexus isn't competing with the iPad but really? not competing with it at all? I know it's much cheaper and it's a little smaller but hey, it's a tablet and it can do pretty much everything the iPad can do, but for less money. Isn't that kinda the definition of competition?

Not really. It's the same with PCs, phones, and various other things. While they all do generally the same stuff, in practice there are people who just want a basic model and aren't willing to pay much for it, and there are people who want the best money can buy and are willing to pay out much more. So while they're still both PCs, a £300 one from PC World isn't really competing with a £3000 gaming rig. They can mostly do the same stuff, but the more expensive one will do some things a lot better. Similarly, things like the iPad and Samsung Galaxy have much more processing power, higher resolution screens, and so on, than a £100 tablet. Sure, it's still a tablet and can do most of the same things, but it won't always do them as quickly or look as good when it does.

The big difference between phones and tablets is that a cheap phone is still a phone, and the person buying it probably doesn't care that it's not as good at playing games and such. But a tablet is just a tablet and doesn't have any base function, so if it's not much good at doing tablety things, there's just not much point in buying one at all. That's part of the reason the iPad is popular in the first place. It was nowhere near the first tablet to exist, but it came out at about the time when you could finally fit enough processing power and a decent screen into a tablet-sized device. Until now, it was still expensive to do so so the cheaper tablets tended to be rather on the crap side, but we may just about be reaching the point where you can make a decent tablet that can't match the more expensive ones for power but could still be worth having as a tablet. They're not trying to take market share from the iPad, they're hoping to get a share in a newly open market that's only just come into existence.

Originally Posted by The Dark Lord

Would it have killed them to put an SD card slot on it? 8-16GB is a little limiting. It would cost practically nothing. I'm guessing they are doing this because they want people to use the Google Play Store for content rather than loading up a bunch of stuff.

I dunno, for some reason a lot of manufacturers just seem to hate SD cards these days. It's weird. 16GB was barely enough a decade or so ago in my old mp3 player, so I really don't understand how anyone thinks 8GB is enough for a tablet now.

[kajata]

Originally Posted by Cuddles

I dunno, for some reason a lot of manufacturers just seem to hate SD cards these days. It's weird. 16GB was barely enough a decade or so ago in my old mp3 player, so I really don't understand how anyone thinks 8GB is enough for a tablet now.

It's a good way to get people to use your cloud-based services.

[c4llum]

Originally Posted by Cuddles

Sure, it's still a tablet and can do most of the same things, but it won't always do them as quickly or look as good when it does.

Well, that's the thing. Nobody really knows what it's like yet but it will have a quad core processor (for multi tasking presumably) and the screen has a good resolution too. Also, a lot of people like jellybean (though I'm unfamiliar with it). So maybe it will do things as quickly and as good..

Quote:

They're not trying to take market share from the iPad, they're hoping to get a share in a newly open market that's only just come into existence.

So are you saying the tablet market is being split up into a high-end and low-end market?

[The Dark Lord]

Originally Posted by c4llum

Also, a lot of people like jellybean (though I'm unfamiliar with it).

Well of course you're unfamiliar with Jellybean! It hasn't even been officially released yet; they just announced it a couple days ago. Although there are leaked Jellybean ROMs for the Galaxy Nexus at XDA already. I will install it on mine sometime soon.

I dunno if you've ever used Ice Cream Sandwich, but Jellybean seems like a relatively minor update to it. Some added features and performance enhancements.

[mikeyx]

Originally Posted by Eddie Dane

Oh, another fanboi.

Stop drinking the coo-aid of the cult of Jobs, man.
You've been brainwashed into thinking.....

.....*slaps own face*........sorry, I'll get my coat.

overpriced, hardware lockin, the brainwashing seems to be free. I didnt buy that style over sustance argument in the 90's and I as hell don't now. Apple sucks.

[mikeyx]

Originally Posted by Babbylonian

Same as Amazon with the Fire. You're aware that Google sells books, music, apps, and movies via their [rebranded] Google Play store, right?

In fact, the proliferation of closed devices like the Fire and the Nook Tablet is that much more reason for Google to get their own device out there.

one thing the Nexus has on the fire is the camera and gps. I like my fire, but a camera would have been very nice also.

[TheL8Elvis]

Originally Posted by mikeyx

one thing the Nexus has on the fire is the camera and gps. I like my fire, but a camera would have been very nice also.

That's two things.

Also bluetooth, memory , processor speed, resolution....

[DavidJames]

Originally Posted by TheL8Elvis

That's two things.

Also bluetooth, memory , processor speed, resolution....

This device is going after the Kindle Fire, not the iPad. It's trying to exploit the same business model as the Fire as well. The money, they hope, will be a regular stream as users buy books, magazines, music and movies.

I would expect the Fire to leapfrog it feature wise in the next 6 months.

I, for one, like the competition. I also am beginning to regret buying an Ainol Aurora last month. But alas, waiting for the perfect technology product will just mean you'll never get anything. I think I can justify the next generation of Fire when it comes out.

[BowlOfRed]

Originally Posted by The Dark Lord

At that price, I'll have to get one, but...

Would it have killed them to put an SD card slot on it? 8-16GB is a little limiting. It would cost practically nothing. I'm guessing they are doing this because they want people to use the Google Play Store for content rather than loading up a bunch of stuff.

Bothers me as well. But while it won't look as good, I've been told that a USB flash drive should be usable for media.

I'm talking myself into the fact that I could use it at home with just the internal, and if I need to pull up a movie for the kids in the car I could plug in a drive.

[The Dark Lord]

Originally Posted by BowlOfRed

Bothers me as well. But while it won't look as good, I've been told that a USB flash drive should be usable for media.

I'm talking myself into the fact that I could use it at home with just the internal, and if I need to pull up a movie for the kids in the car I could plug in a drive.

Yeah but it doesn't have a full USB port so you would have to get a male micro USB to female USB adapter. Cheap, but even more of a hassle.

[Darat]

Originally Posted by DavidJames

This device is going after the Kindle Fire, not the iPad. It's trying to exploit the same business model as the Fire as well. The money, they hope, will be a regular stream as users buy books, magazines, music and movies.

...snip...

And for Google I would suspect that even more importantly they can serve you their adverts.

[Duffy Moon]

Just ordered mine.

[ronin688]

Ordered two of the 16gb versions as ereaders for myself and my mom. I've been following the genesis of this tab since it was unveiled as the Asus Memo at CES.

I'd been looking for a good 7" tablet available in Canada for quite a while (No Kindle Fire or Nook Color/Tab sold up here). I bought and returned two of the Acer A100's at xmas time. They were just absolutely worthless as ereaders due to a really poor quality screen with unbelieveably bad viewing angles. (As in, like 5 degrees off center and there was noticeable colour change, 25 degrees off and it was almost like looking at photo negatives.)

The Nexus has a lot of upside for me. I can trust that google will support it well and keep it updated without having to wait for individual vendors to slap their own UI on top of the perfectly good android UI. It's going to be great being on the cutting edge of the android releases for at least a littlle while.

If it turns out they have hardware issues, public pressure will force them to rectify it in the same way that apple has been forced to fix issues after they went public.

The screen is reportedly beautiful, the battery is good, and the tablet isn't underpowered like so many I've tried.

I'm not overjoyed that there is no sd slot, but my music is all on my phone, and books and comics don't take up much space really. It's not a deal breaker for me.

I've been using an LCD touchscreen ereader since the late 90's, and I'm used to having the LCD backlight for low light situations. I'm not a fan of eInk, though I have seen now that they're finally getting around to putting backlights into them. At this point though it seems like the Nexus will be the ereader I've been waiting for at a good price point.

[Darat]

I'm waiting until I can get my hands on one to have a quick go on but I suspect I'll be buying one after that - it's just in that sweet spot of almost impulse gadget (especially the 8Gb version).

[PixyMisa]

That's my feeling too. I'd be much happier if it just had a micro SD slot, but even without it's very enticing.

[OnlyTellsTruths]

Originally Posted by The Dark Lord

Yeah but it doesn't have a full USB port so you would have to get a male micro USB to female USB adapter. Cheap, but even more of a hassle.

Originally Posted by PixyMisa

That's my feeling too. I'd be much happier if it just had a micro SD slot, but even without it's very enticing.

I understand why it would be a hassle or annoying for lots of people, but I'm the type of person that wouldn't care.

I'd stick a .50¢ adapter on a 16gb USB Flash Drive and leave it there. It would only about a 2 to 3 inches long, if that.

I wouldn't even mind using the tablet with it attached, or be seen walking around with it like that.

[kajata]

Review on Gizmodo this morning declares it the best way to spend 200 bucks and that there is no reason to buy a Kindle Fire with the Nexus 7 around.

[Cuddles]

Originally Posted by c4llum

Well, that's the thing. Nobody really knows what it's like yet but it will have a quad core processor

It's apparently a Tegra 3 T30L. Which is actually rather better than I thought. It's not quite top of the range even now, so the next generation of high-end tablets will likely beat it, but for now it's better than the Samsung Galaxy tablets and at least on a par with the iPad (better in raw power but the A5X wins on some graphics benchmarks).

Quote:

and the screen has a good resolution too.

This bit actually surprised me as well. It's much worse than the iPad, but actually the same as the Galaxy which I thought had a better screen.

Quote:

So are you saying the tablet market is being split up into a high-end and low-end market?

The market has been split like that ever since the market existed, just as has been the case with phones, PCs, and most other gadgets. That's still the case here. It's a very decent tablet in terms of raw power, but there have been plenty of corners cut elsewhere to keep the cost down - little storage, no USB storage possible, no output to TV, no 3G, no Gorilla glass (check the Gizmodo review, they broke their review model in the short time they had it), poor speaker, etc.. It looks very good for the price, but it's hardly competing even with the current generation of high-end tablets.

Originally Posted by Darat

I'm waiting until I can get my hands on one to have a quick go on but I suspect I'll be buying one after that - it's just in that sweet spot of almost impulse gadget (especially the 8Gb version).

I'm tempted, but the lack of storage and connectivity will likely stop me. I have a PC and TV at home so it's not going to see a lot of use there, but it doesn't have enough storage to carry everything around with me and doesn't have 3G if I want to stream things instead. I could see it being handy if you're in a big city with free wi-fi everywhere, but it's almost completely crippled in terms of how I'd want to use it.

Originally Posted by OnlyTellsTruths

I'd stick a .50¢ adapter on a 16gb USB Flash Drive and leave it there.

No you wouldn't.