First Impressions: The Nexus 7

[Joelist]

Well I had a surprise waiting at my doorstep today - fresh from Google it is the Nexus 7!

The Nexus 7 is a 7 inch tablet manufactured by ASUS and sporting Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). It seems to be aimed at competing with the Kindle Fire in that it also sports a VASTLY upgraded version of the Android Market (now called Google Play). In addition, buying the Nexus 7 gives you a $25 credit in that Google Play store as well as some free magazines and movies (for example Transformers Dark of the Moon).

Hardware

Physically, the Nexus 7 is impressive. The construction is very solid and has the usual glass (Corning Gorilla Glass) front with a back covered in a rubberized grip coating. It feels good to hold in your hand and the weight is light - about that of a paperback book. The build is tight, with no squeaks or creaks.

The hardware is awesome to be honest. The screen is Hi Def with a ppi level that puts it in Apple's "retina" category. Colors are excellent and full. Powering this high end display is NVidia's Tegra 3 quad core chipset. This is far more than needed to push the display up to very high fps (which is needed because Jelly Bean has Project Butter on board which boosts the fps (frames per second) of the entire Android OS). Battery life is pretty good at a touch over 10 hours. You also get Bluetooth 4.0, N class wireless, GPS, accelerometer and the other goodies.

Hardware is also where the only real chink in the Nexus 7 armor appears - it does not have expandable memory. The tablet comes in either 8 or 16GB and after that you need a wireless solution (like the Kensington Wi-Drive) to have more storage when not in Wi-Fi range of the internet.

Software

The Nexus 7 bring Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) to the game. And being a Nexus there is no "skin" or carrier software - it is pure. Jelly Bean is similar to Ice Cream Sandwich visually but under the hood it is the first OS to benefit from Project Butter - Google's initiative to FINALLY fix the choppiness that has plagued Android since the beginning. And fix it it does! So far I have had no lag, chop or and stuttering in anything I have done in Jelly Bean - it really is smooth as butter so far.

Here are some screenshots so show the "look" of the Nexus 7:



This one is a home screen I built. It shows that unlike the Kindle Fire this is a real, fully functional tablet and not customized to just Google content consumption.



This is the Google Play widget. It comes with the widget enabled but like all widgets if you don't want it just trash it with a swipe of the finger.

 

[Joelist]

I have more screenshots but I got a low memory error from the forums. So let's try some more:



This is a shot of the new built in Google Search. You can summon it pretty easily, it is fully voice enabled and in all honesty I am finding it useful (unlike Siri). It has "cards" on the screen that over time as you use it display thumbnails for things you frequently search for. This one surprised me, I expected it to be fluff but it turned out to be useful.

Overall, this is a superb tablet and well worth the price (it blows away even the New iPad for hardware but you could buy three Nexus 7's for the cost of 1 New iPad).

 

[Bluce Ree]

How is the scrolling in the Netflix app? It's the one app that is consistently choppy when scrolling the movie carousel on all Android platforms I've tried.

 

[Joelist]

Feels good so far.

I should mention that this tablet has pretty strong audio also.

 

[Joelist]

Here's another screenshot:



This is a GPS diagnostic app showing that the GPS is not only working but has strong signal - I was indoors when I did this.

I would still say this is a killer tablet. Some things to remember though:

1) As listed above it has no SD slot, so the internal memory is it. For additional storage, using the Cloud when in WiFi of the internet works very well and when out of range the best of breed solution (and a superb piece of tech in its own right) is the Kensington Wi-Drive.

2) As it is a Nexus, it may not have all the software you need out of the box. For example, I need Office style productivity software. My application suite of choice has been Documents to Go, which loaded up perfectly.

The beauty of it is that due to Android's architecture that lets apps interoperate freely, the exact productivity scenarios that in iOs were agonizing are a snap in Jelly Bean.

 

[Overmind One]

Here's another screenshot:

View attachment 7399

This is a GPS diagnostic app showing that the GPS is not only working but has strong signal - I was indoors when I did this.

I would still say this is a killer tablet. Some things to remember though:

1) As listed above it has no SD slot, so the internal memory is it. For additional storage, using the Cloud when in WiFi of the internet works very well and when out of range the best of breed solution (and a superb piece of tech in its own right) is the Kensington Wi-Drive.

2) As it is a Nexus, it may not have all the software you need out of the box. For example, I need Office style productivity software. My application suite of choice has been Documents to Go, which loaded up perfectly.

The beauty of it is that due to Android's architecture that lets apps interoperate freely, the exact productivity scenarios that in iOs were agonizing are a snap in Jelly Bean.

Im loving this review of that tablet. Im curious though, will the Nexus be made on a larger platform like a 10" or bigger tablet? When the Samsung Galaxy Note comes to Sprint, I will be getting it and it has a 5" screen. My current tablet is a 10.1" Acer Iconia so I am not certain 7" will fit my needs. Having said that, smoothness and usability are huge with me too. Like you, I need Office style productivity. I prefer Polaris Office to Documents 2 Go, but both are great. The non-expandable memory is a problem for me too. But like you said, it can be offset by cloud storage. Did you have a tablet before this purchase? If so, which one?

 

[Joelist]

Hi!

I should have mentioned earlier that Jelly Bean has Chrome built in as the standard browser instead of the Android stock browser. Here's a look at it:



It is fast and smooth. Also it has a goodly large amount of setting you can use, including the whole Chrome trick of synchronizing bookmarks with other instances of Chrome. Even better, there is a little checkbox you can choose for any site called "Request Desktop Site". If you check it Chrome reports itself as a desktop computer for that site in future until you uncheck it.

As to the future of Nexus tablets I am not sure if a Nexus 10 is coming - it would be cool if it did. Jelly Bean is mature and with the Butter enhancements I see no need for OEM skinning or apps to flesh it out. Now with Honeycomb and even Ice Cream Sandwich there was such a need as the performance was erratic. However, when considering a potential Nexus 10 we need to remember that the Nexus 7 is also the big launch of Google as a content provider. That is why you get a $25 credit in Google Play when you activate your Nexus 7 and even why it is only $199. Google is basically selling these units at cost to gain exposure for their digital books, magazines, games and movies/TV.

With all that in mind, would a Nexus 10 have the kind of top end components (screen and chipset) the 7 does? And at what price? This tablet is highway robbery at $199.

And on the question of prior tablet - I had a New iPad so I know the experience there - got rid of it after concluding that iOS architecture was making my productivity tasks a major pain to do on the tablet.

 

[Overmind One]

Hi!

I should have mentioned earlier that Jelly Bean has Chrome built in as the standard browser instead of the Android stock browser. Here's a look at it:

View attachment 7400

It is fast and smooth. Also it has a goodly large amount of setting you can use, including the whole Chrome trick of synchronizing bookmarks with other instances of Chrome. Even better, there is a little checkbox you can choose for any site called "Request Desktop Site". If you check it Chrome reports itself as a desktop computer for that site in future until you uncheck it.

As to the future of Nexus tablets I am not sure if a Nexus 10 is coming - it would be cool if it did. Jelly Bean is mature and with the Butter enhancements I see no need for OEM skinning or apps to flesh it out. Now with Honeycomb and even Ice Cream Sandwich there was such a need as the performance was erratic. However, when considering a potential Nexus 10 we need to remember that the Nexus 7 is also the big launch of Google as a content provider. That is why you get a $25 credit in Google Play when you activate your Nexus 7 and even why it is only $199. Google is basically selling these units at cost to gain exposure for their digital books, magazines, games and movies/TV.

With all that in mind, would a Nexus 10 have the kind of top end components (screen and chipset) the 7 does? And at what price? This tablet is highway robbery at $199.

And on the question of prior tablet - I had a New iPad so I know the experience there - got rid of it after concluding that iOS architecture was making my productivity tasks a major pain to do on the tablet.

I am getting that one a LOT. Businesses love the iPhone. Many are using it as their standard issue business phone (smaller businesses). But those same businesses are steering clear of the iPad for a variety of reasons, with Office style productivity being at the very top of the list. I had a chance to play around with the Nexus phone today while at Sprint. But they don't have the Nexus 7 tablet yet.

As far as the Nexus 7 tablet, I think it is the size it is and the price it is because of the Kindle Fire which has that particular niche locked down in that price and quality range. The Nexus 7 could completely shut them out of it if they market it right. People have been rooting the Kindle Fire and putting full Android on it for some time now.

 

[Joelist]

I would qualify the statement that businesses love the iPhone. It's small companies that don't have critical security concerns that are cool with it. Larger corporate IT groups get very upset about the iPhone because they see it as a major security risk and also have zero interest in deploying iTunes in the enterprise. Android actually has something of the same issue in that it is actually too "open" for corporate security.

However, of the two Android can at least be configured to make it more secure (disable side loading, remove the Market and so forth). iOS cannot. And also as I mentioned the overly siloed nature of iOS makes routine productivity tasks like performing an appendectomy on yourself without anesthesia.

 

[Joelist]

As to wider Nexus 7 availability, I am not sure you'll be seeing it at Sprint or other cell carrier stores. I know Staples is slated to get it and Best Buy also - not sure after that. Strategy wise I agree it is aimed at the Kindle Fire - the price point is the same but the hardware is totally superior and you get fully functioned Android not a crippled version designed to do nothing but push Amazon's digital goods.

 

[Overmind One]

I would qualify the statement that businesses love the iPhone. It's small companies that don't have critical security concerns that are cool with it. Larger corporate IT groups get very upset about the iPhone because they see it as a major security risk and also have zero interest in deploying iTunes in the enterprise. Android actually has something of the same issue in that it is actually too "open" for corporate security.

However, of the two Android can at least be configured to make it more secure (disable side loading, remove the Market and so forth). iOS cannot. And also as I mentioned the overly siloed nature of iOS makes routine productivity tasks like performing an appendectomy on yourself without anesthesia.

I did qualify it. It's even in parentheses. That is the EXACT reason, its security or lack thereof. Federal offices and Federal contractors and subcontractors are not allowed to use iPhones for business, even when they are a BYOD company (bring your own device). Surprisingly, Blackberry had that part of the market locked down. Android can be made more secure than iOS to be sure, but it looks like the Windows 7 phone passes muster. I dunno about Windows 8. Im not that excited about it after downloading the Beta.

But Android tablets may make a surprising level of penetration in businesses. The ability to root them and load custom roms might be a feature which becomes indispensable to businesses. You can completely encrypt information using roms like MIUI. Ice Cream Sandwich introduced native Android encryption and that is moving forward into the later releases. You should already have that ability with your new Nexus.

 

[Joelist]

Oh, one more thing to show:



This is the Chrome browser in Nexus 7 in Landscape - wanted to show how things look in landscape. Pretty good actually.

 

[Joelist]

Hi!

I just ran Quadrant if anyone is interested in synthetic benchmarks. Once I figure out how to get the numbers transferred over I will post another screenshot. Basically, however, the only Tablet to beat the Nexus 7 was the ASUS TF201 Transformer Prime (beat the Nexus 7 by about 10%). And that stands to reason as the TF201 uses the same chipset but clocked 200Mhz higher. Over all devices in Quadrant the only one to beat it was the HTC One X using Krait.

Honestly I don't know if these types of synthetic benchmarks matter at all - stability and smoothness are more important at least to me than theoretical speed. And the Nexus 7 has those in spades courtesy of the big under the hood improvements in Jelly Bean. Also none of the benchmark suites have been updated yet to account for the new OS kernel so there is no way to know if the numbers are accurate. nonetheless there it is.

 

[Bluce Ree]

Remember when Jelly Bean and Ice Cream Sandwich were snacks? Mmmmmmmmm!

 

[Overmind One]

Hi!

I just ran Quadrant if anyone is interested in synthetic benchmarks. Once I figure out how to get the numbers transferred over I will post another screenshot. Basically, however, the only Tablet to beat the Nexus 7 was the ASUS TF201 Transformer Prime (beat the Nexus 7 by about 10%). And that stands to reason as the TF201 uses the same chipset but clocked 200Mhz higher. Over all devices in Quadrant the only one to beat it was the HTC One X using Krait.

Honestly I don't know if these types of synthetic benchmarks matter at all - stability and smoothness are more important at least to me than theoretical speed. And the Nexus 7 has those in spades courtesy of the big under the hood improvements in Jelly Bean. Also none of the benchmark suites have been updated yet to account for the new OS kernel so there is no way to know if the numbers are accurate. nonetheless there it is.

Sprint finally updated the Touch to Ice Cream Sandwich, but I want Jelly Beans! My tablet has been my development device since my laptop is still my primary mobile business computer. So, I think I will flash it with a Jelly Bean build. Are there lots of changes?

 

[Joelist]

Sprint finally updated the Touch to Ice Cream Sandwich, but I want Jelly Beans! My tablet has been my development device since my laptop is still my primary mobile business computer. So, I think I will flash it with a Jelly Bean build. Are there lots of changes?

Well, as the screenshots show the look is a bit different but mostly the changes are under the hood - the OS is a lot better behaved. Were I you I would see about finding a pure vanilla Jelly Bean ROM (one where the developer did not add anything at all). That way you can experience it the way it is meant to be.

 

[Overmind One]

Well, as the screenshots show the look is a bit different but mostly the changes are under the hood - the OS is a lot better behaved. Were I you I would see about finding a pure vanilla Jelly Bean ROM (one where the developer did not add anything at all). That way you can experience it the way it is meant to be.

Well, I sure love the way ICS works on a phone! I have been running it on my tablet for a while, but I never saw the dialer or the voicemail, and no way to compare it to Gingerbread until the update. BIG changes! Gotta admit though, I hate the colors they use in the stock default theme. I installed GoLauncherEX to get my favorite theme which is the Plate theme from GoLauncher.

 

[Joelist]

Just remember that running a launcher on top of Jelly Bean may cause you to lose some of the benefits of Project Butter as the launcher probably has not been rewritten to take advantage of them.

 

[Overmind One]

Just remember that running a launcher on top of Jelly Bean may cause you to lose some of the benefits of Project Butter as the launcher probably has not been rewritten to take advantage of them.

Yeah, I just have such a thing about my working screens. They cannot look like a crazy quilt with tons of different colors and icons without uniformity. The Plate theme puts a "frame" around each icon and makes everything very neat and clean.

 

[Joelist]

I would get a totally stock ROM of Jelly Bean first. The whole thing is very uniform in its thematic approach.