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| Review: Nexus 7 |
| By Thom Holwerda on 2012-08-11 17:22:34 |
| Nobody needs a tablet, but many people still want a tablet. This is still the core differentiator between a 'real' computer and a tablet. At least in The Netherlands, you can't function in society without a desktop or laptop connected to the internet, so people need a computer. A tablet, though? Hence, the most common thing people have told me when they played with my iPad 2 is this: I'd love to have a tablet, but not for hundreds of euros. Enter Google's Nexus 7, the first 'cheap' tablet that doesn't just validate Android as a tablet platform, but also gives the iPad a run for its money. |
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| Comment by Cytor |
| By Cytor on 2012-08-11 17:34:25 |
|
Seems like I have to pick one up :) Where have you been able to buy one in the Netherlands? Or did you import it from the U.S.? |
 - Score: 2 |
| SDCards |
| By bornagainenguin on 2012-08-11 17:40:55 |
|
A tablet (especially one like this intended for media consumption) needs more storage than what the Nexus 7 series offers. The lack of any way to add user-loadable storage just kills this device. Too bad because I was actually pretty excited about it up until I discovered this failing. I understand that some people are fortunate to be somewhere where everyone has fiber optic connections to the Internet and free WiFi is available at all times--but most people do not live in such an environment. Saying that you can get everything from the cloud only works if you can always count on being somewhere with access to that cloud. The cloud is not the answer here. Besides I would think with the Megaupload situation and the prevalence of false DMCA attacks, anyone trusting in storage they can't physically access is being foolish. Did we learn nothing from the shuttering of Google Video? From the Plays for Sure debacle? Nice toy, but even at these low prices I'm still not convinced the Nexus 7 is a buy. Looks like I'm going to be sticking with my Nook Color for a little bit longer after all.... --bornagainpenguin PS: For those who'd like a more iOS like experience on Android, give Espier Launcher a try with the iPad option checked in settings and you may be pleasantly surprised. Personally I'm still holding out hope for a JoyOS port to CM9\10 in the near future.... Edited 2012-08-11 17:47 UTC |
| - Score: 6 |
| Comment by NuxRo |
| By NuxRo on 2012-08-11 18:46:32 |
|
I bought an Astro+ 7" tablet for less than £80; don't understand why I should pay more than double for Google's offering. I don't need the bigger resolution, nor the better GPU. This is a tablet, not a gaming station; nor a multimedia centre: this is for crap like facebook, emails and the like. |
| - Score: -1 |
| Good review |
| By Beta on 2012-08-11 19:00:21 |
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Good review, pretty much matches my thoughts ‐ Chrome is still needing work. I don’t have such a large issue with the swipe to different screens and the ‘drawer’ mode for apps like YouTube, but YMMV. Minor nit, you say ‘lack of a front-facing camera’ when clearly you meant rear‐facing camera :) |
| - Score: 5 |
| Firefox |
| By fretinator on 2012-08-11 19:04:53 |
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I highly recommend the mobile Firefox browser. If you used a previous version (as I did), you probably cringe when you think of Firefox on Android. Well, the latest version is totally redone, and it's lightening fast! It still uses a lot of memory, but it is worth it. I've switch from Opera mobile to Firefox - give it a shot. p.s. - I'm posting this from my Libretto 110CT with 32MB ram, Windows 98 and K-Meleon browser. It seems ironic to post about the latest high-end mobile device from the REAL first netbook! |
| - Score: 5 |
| Using mine more than I thought I would |
| By gan17 on 2012-08-11 19:09:57 |
|
I ordered a 16GB one the moment it became available at the Australian Play Store (I live in Singapore, and Oz is closest). Arrived late July, and I've been using it a heck of a lot more than I thought I would. I disagree with you on the Home button though. The sooner all Android devices get rid of it, the better, in my opinion. Trying out a Galaxy S3 felt so cumbersome compared to my Galaxy Nexus, though half of that might have been a fault of Samsung's TurdPiss Skin as well, I suppose. Also not experiencing any of the slowness you're getting with Chrome. Sure, there is some jerkiness here and there on heavy sites, but it's the same on my partner's iPad2. I wonder why our experiences are so different in that regard. Is there some other online caching element at work here? I'm not a fan of that "fuzzy zooming" you get whenever you re-flow/zoom a page, though. Also, the new (supposedly improved) Roboto typeface looks a tad "off" against bright backdrops on the Nexus 7. Can't really put my finger on it, but I don't seem to have that dislike on my 4.6" Galaxy Nexus running the same version OS, so maybe it's a scaling or ppi issue. Dunno. What I am sure of is that I still dislike Roboto's numerals, especially the number 9. Ugh. Edited 2012-08-11 19:18 UTC |
| - Score: 2 |
| Display |
| By AWdrius on 2012-08-11 19:13:36 |
| Nice review, thanks! Now I've read an article today ( http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/1... ) about all this PPI "cold war" thing and I'd consider that N7 217PPI should be more than enough to be "equal" to iPad3 264PPI. Nevertheless it would be interesting to see both devices side by side to compare them live. |
| - Score: 1 |
| RE: Firefox |
| By Beta on 2012-08-11 19:14:17 |
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> I highly recommend the mobile Firefox browser. Yup, I’ve been helping test Firefox Beta on this beauty, and along with performing slightly better and doing sync to Firefox desktop, it also supports such web technologies as WebGL and decent native HTML5 webm support ;) |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE: SDCards |
| By modmans2ndcoming on 2012-08-11 19:21:22 |
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1) 16 gig is plenty for local storage 2) it is meant for cloud based services more than local media 3) if you are in a situation where you need to have local media, 16 gigs is plenty. |
| - Score: 2 |
| Top/bottom confusion |
| By MechR on 2012-08-11 19:33:16 |
| If the top/bottom confusion gets too annoying, put a sticker on it ;) |
| - Score: 4 |
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