Google recently announced the Nexus 7 Tablet, which promises to make a huge impact on the world of lower priced Android tablets. Designed by Google, but manufactured by Asus, the tablet features impressive technical specifications including:
- 7 inch 1280×800 IPS HD Display (218 ppi)
- Nvidia Tegra 3 Quad Core CPU with 12 core GPU
- 1 GB of Ram
- 8 or 16 GB of Storage
- 9 Hour Battery Life (Video playback)
- 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth & NFC
- 7.8″ x 4.7″ x 0.4″ and 12 ounces
So what makes this device so special over other Android 7″ tablets, like the Kindle Fire, Nook Color or Samsung Tab 7? A few things really, so let’s go through them one by one:
“Nexus” device by Google: Nexus branded devices traditionally offer the purest form of Android, without any manufacturer skins/limitations. These devices offer the reference hardware for Google, and are most likely to be upgraded to latest versions of Android before any other device is. Since it’s designed by Google, they also have the advantage of being made by the same company who’s making the operating system.
Android 4.1 Jellybean: This minor upgrade to Android focuses mostly on experience improvements, such as a new coding system to boost average framerates of interface movements (such as swiping) up to 60 fps. This will give the impression of a faster and smoother device and is reminiscent of the “polish” that Apple devices are known for. 4.1 also includes offline maps and voice input and various interface tweaks and changes to improve and support Google Play (formerly known as Android Market).
Open Device: The previous champion of the Android 7 inch tablets was the Kindle Fire by Amazon, but it had one serious limitation: closed walls. Kindle Fire was designed by Amazon to be a closed wall device where you would primarily look at content from Amazon’s Music, Video, Book and online offerings. This was great for amazon prime members who got free streaming of video and eBook rental, but not so great for someone who wanted to install an app that was in the regular Android market but not available in Amazon’s App Store. The Nexus, being stock Android, is open to installing anything that will run on it.
Performance: Quad core Tegra 3 from Nvidia is the chip powering this tablet. What makes this chip so amazing is the $199 price tag. This chip has previously been reserved for the top of the line $500+ tablets. You’ll see quick app performance, fluid and fast scrolling and faster load times of media.
So what’s my opinion? Order one now before they are sold out! If you’ve been looking for a cheaper alternative to the Apple iPad or an Android tablet with the most bang for the buck, this is the tablet to buy.
Available for per-order at: http://www.google.com/nexus/#/7 with current estimated ship dates of between 2-3 weeks.
~Tim
Tags: android 4.1, android tablet, google nexus, google nexus 7, google tablet, nexus 7
Thanks for one of the best and most informative quick product reviews that I have seen. Excellent job!
This sounds like what I’ve been waiting for! Thanks!
If I’d known about this Nexus comparison, I might have changed my decision to buy the NOOK tablet, but…. too late! I got 16G NOOK Tablet coupla weeks for $129. But I’d heard that I can download an Android root program into my SC card and insert into my NOOK and turn it into an Android tablet without voiding the warranty. That was my persuasion to buy the NOOK….
The tablet is dark gray and looks fairly plain, with a tablet-wide black strip on the back as the only real distinguishing aesthetic trait. In the middle of the top portion of the bezel sits a 720p Web chat camera with a nearly invisible ambient light sensor sitting to its left