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KiwiNZ
July 30th, 2012, 08:43 PM
I am considering dumping my iPad 3, why I am sick of Apple. Now the Nexus 7 interests me, has anyone here had real time experience with the Nexus 7 or other 7" Android Tablets?

Roasted
July 30th, 2012, 09:04 PM
I have experience with the iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab (7 and 10 inch), Nook Color, and Kindle Fire. I also currently own the Nexus 7. I've tested these tablets at work on and off as we continually dabble with the big question "could these be usable in our environment?"

Personally, the 7" size is pretty much the definition of perfect. Every tablet I've used so far, iPad included, always had something about it that felt missing. Maybe it was just the inarguably high price tag that tablets come with. Argue the portability all you want, I get it, convenience comes at a price, but I never felt like I was getting a "deal" on any tablet. I would much rather spend my money on a laptop and do significantly more with it.

The Nexus 7 is the first one tablet I feel is worth the price. It's incredibly fast, the price/weight/feel/build quality is perfect, and the cost is hard to sneeze at. Plus, it's a Nexus device, which is hard to discount.

I never thought I'd own a tablet. But... now I do. Food for thought.

thatguruguy
July 30th, 2012, 09:06 PM
I have the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, 7-inch. I'm a fan. It fits neatly into the pocket of my jeans, but it's big enough to be actually useful.

KiwiNZ
July 30th, 2012, 09:15 PM
Thanks guys, as you may know I have a few disabilities, I find my iPad gets uncomfortable quite quickly as I generally have to use one hand only. It is also a heavy tablet an because of its slippery metal back I need to use a cover to hold it thus increasing the weight. Now having that in mind what is the tactile qualities of the 7 " Tablets and how do you think I will get on with them.

Roasted
July 30th, 2012, 09:21 PM
The backing of the Nexus 7 has a texture that is hard to describe. It's not rubber, but it's not slippery. It's "tacky" enough to so when you grab it, you feel somewhat secured with it. I'm sure it could easily slip out of your hand if you were just eating some greasy food, but I suppose the same can be argued about a super tacky rubber back as well.

Overall, the backing of the Nexus 7 is "just right". The weight is very nice as well. Any device you hold for an extended time can feel "heavy", however in comparison to the two devices I would easily give the +1 to the N7.

Fun fact: My future mother in law kept telling me she wanted an iPad. One day when she was at the house I brought home the iPad that I had played with for work. I let her use the Nexus 7 and the iPad side by side. She quickly chose the Nexus 7 as the tablet she wanted.

Lymphocyte
July 30th, 2012, 09:22 PM
I got the kindle fire and its awesome! however it is a bit out of date =( dual core cpu, 512mb ram and android 2.3

papibe
July 30th, 2012, 09:50 PM
I own a Kindle Fire and I am very pleased with it. For me, the size is perfect, as it fits on my cargo shorts :D

One of the main benefits I can think of is that you can hold it with one hand for longer periods of time without straining your wrists (not that good with my sister in law's iPad).

My wife and I were planning to get another Fire because it became more source of fights than 'who has the TV remote' :rolleyes:

Since today Nexux7 >> Fire, and they has the same price, I can't think of a better deal than that.

Regards.

P.S.: The only semi-con worth mentioning is that some websites don't look very good on portrait mode, but if you turn it to landscape, they look fine.

Roasted
July 30th, 2012, 10:27 PM
In regard to Kindle Fire vs Nexus 7 on-the-fence scenarios, a lot of it hangs in the balance of what you want from a tablet. If you're a huge Amazon user who likes that integration, the Kindle Fire is a total win. The Fire, however, is not so much a traditional Android experience, as it's rather locked down with blinders on to keep you in the Kindle experience. That said, if you want a regular Android experience with the Google integration, the Nexus 7 would get the +1 there.

Either way, both devices are different enough to warrant looking at the long term usability goal in an effort to decide which to go for. Not to swing on the bias tree, but considering the Nexus 7's price for a quad core tablet, you're going to find yourself exceptionally hard-pressed to find anything that rivals it performance wise for the price.

KiwiNZ
July 30th, 2012, 10:43 PM
I own a Kindle Fire and I am very pleased with it. For me, the size is perfect, as it fits on my cargo shorts :D

One of the main benefits I can think of is that you can hold it with one hand for longer periods of time without straining your wrists (not that good with my sister in law's iPad).

My wife and I were planning to get another Fire because it became more source of fights than 'who has the TV remote' :rolleyes:

Since today Nexux7 >> Fire, and they has the same price, I can't think of a better deal than that.

Regards.

P.S.: The only semi-con worth mentioning is that some websites don't look very good on portrait mode, but if you turn it to landscape, they look fine.

How does UF look?

papibe
July 30th, 2012, 11:10 PM
How does UF look?

UF is one of the sites that is best experienced on landscape mode.

Besides that, it looks pretty good.

Regards.

Copper Bezel
July 31st, 2012, 12:46 AM
I got one and spent a day with it, and for me, the 7" screen really is a hangup - it's really not the comfortable reading you get from a 10" screen, and I found myself going back to my netbook for almost everything. I'm actually in the process of trying to return it (meaning a very worrying wait; I haven't heard back from Google yet.) It is a perfect size and weight, it's quite pocketable, and the tacky back is amazingly ergonomic, so it's a device that feels exactly right in my hand; the fact that the browser is Chrome also makes it feel nice and familiar. But I found portrait mode useless for browsing. The screen resolution is enough to display the pages, but the text is just too damned eye-strainingly small, leading to an absurd amount of panning and zooming. Landscape mode feels like holding the upper 1/3 of an iPad, enough to make me really wish I just had the iPad (or an Asus Transformer.) Wikipedia and others that have a mobile version are fairly nice in portrait mode, but that's the exception, not the rule.

But I'm, obviously, the minority opinion on this.

Lightstar
July 31st, 2012, 01:12 AM
I ditched the 10" for 7" tablet (yeah, that one, Nexus 7).

I don't need bigger, I need something quick, efficient, portable.
So far I'm really enjoying the nexus 7, really smooth. Can hold it with one hand and my arm doesn't tire :P

Mostly using it for remote desktop, e-reading and emails. Even though it has that Tegra 3 chip I have yet to play a game on it... maybe later.

I think 7" is perfect. Very comfy.
It's probably best if you try a few at the store to see how they feel for you.

Ah.. edit.. one thing that surprised me from this tablet, and probably other android tablets... is that we can encrypt the whole thing. I found that to be really awesome.
Ah.. edit.. the only downside that deceived me is that there is no SD card slot. This device seems to be really focused on streaming, whether it's data or media. That is the reason I got the 16gb instead of the 8gb. But even 16gb.. I don't think I will fill it up.

KiwiNZ
July 31st, 2012, 02:26 AM
Just looked around the major IT stores here and none have stock they have even sold their store demo units, I was hoping to get a hands on with one. It would seem that new stock wont be here until mid August.

halibaitor
July 31st, 2012, 03:09 AM
I purchased the 8GB model of the Nexus 7. Best $200 I ever spent. I absolutely love the thing. I rooted mine, so the lack of a SD card slot isn't a problem. I can now read an external card. If you are even thinking about a tablet, you should check this one out. I enjoy being able to talk to my machine to do Google searches, etc.

leclerc65
August 1st, 2012, 03:53 AM
Reviewed (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nexus-7-test-jelly-bean,3249.html#xtor=RSS-182)
by Tom's Hardware.

mamamia88
August 1st, 2012, 07:02 AM
I don't have a tablet personally but if i was to get one it would be a 7 incher. I saw the galaxy tab in the store before and it was roughly the size of my kindle keyboard but thicker. The kindle fits in my side pocket if i take it out of it's case. Personally i would kill for a tablet the size of the newer kindle without the keyboard that fits in my pocket more comfortably. Does anyone have both the nexus 7 and that particular kindle that could post a side by side picture or something for me? I'm waiting for the perect tablet right now before i jump in though. What i would describe as perfect would be a pocketable tablet but bigger than my phone with micro sd expansion, and some kind of pay as you go data plan. I would ditch my smartphone in a second for something like that. don't really make many phone calls.

levlaz
August 1st, 2012, 07:10 AM
I got a nexus 7 so far (convert from iPad) I love it so far! I am typing on it now :-).

I like the smaller form factor, the stock android, it runs quick has a beautiful screen and you cant beat the price. I would def recommend it!

sffvba[e0rt
August 1st, 2012, 08:36 AM
*sigh* I was looking at the Nexus 7 yesterday and it really looks like the best tablet to date... the first one I would consider owning in any case.

But I just recently got myself the Galaxy S3 and except for the larger screen there is nothing the tablet can offer me I can't do on my phone so now I can't justify getting it (maybe should have held of on the phone, oh well :p)


404

KiwiNZ
August 2nd, 2012, 04:29 AM
Thanks for the great advice folks, much appreciated. I purchased a Nexus 7 today, I think I got one of the last few left in the Country.

They really are a nice piece of kit.

So that is my iPhone gone, replaced with a Samsung Galaxy S3, my iPad3 gone replaced with the Nexus, next thing to go will be my 27 " iMac. Not sure what to replace that with a pre-built or build my own.

sffvba[e0rt
August 2nd, 2012, 04:39 AM
Thanks for the great advice folks, much appreciated. I purchased a Nexus 7 today, I think I got one of the last few left in the Country.

They really are a nice piece of kit.

So that is my iPhone gone, replaced with a Samsung Galaxy S3, my iPad3 gone replaced with the Nexus, next thing to go will be my 27 " iMac. Not sure what to replace that with a pre-built or build my own.

I am sure you have more than enough computer knowledge to build your own... Will be cheaper and much more powerful (except if you really can't be bothered but there isn't that many off the shelf systems I can think of to rival the specs of your iMac).


404

Copper Bezel
August 2nd, 2012, 04:53 AM
I'm not hearing anything back from Google on returning mine. It's still sitting packed back up in the shipping box, waiting. It's crazy how well-loved this little gadget is. Should I just learn to love it, too?

Very closely relatedly, can anyone recommend a nice physical keyboard? I'd really love something that works as a case, but anything reasonably portable would do.

Mikeb85
August 2nd, 2012, 05:34 AM
Thanks for the great advice folks, much appreciated. I purchased a Nexus 7 today, I think I got one of the last few left in the Country.

They really are a nice piece of kit.

So that is my iPhone gone, replaced with a Samsung Galaxy S3, my iPad3 gone replaced with the Nexus, next thing to go will be my 27 " iMac. Not sure what to replace that with a pre-built or build my own.

Go with building your own. It's all I've ever done, and it's really not that much of a hassle. I'm sure you know the pros/cons already though, but I'm gonna throw in another vote for building your own...

I'm also looking at getting a Nexus 7 for the wife, she gets along well with Ubuntu but I know she'd love something she can use on the couch or the patio...

mamamia88
August 2nd, 2012, 06:02 AM
I'm not hearing anything back from Google on returning mine. It's still sitting packed back up in the shipping box, waiting. It's crazy how well-loved this little gadget is. Should I just learn to love it, too?

Very closely relatedly, can anyone recommend a nice physical keyboard? I'd really love something that works as a case, but anything reasonably portable would do.
the point of a 7 inch tablet is that it's more portable than a 10" tablet. if you are going to carry a keyboard as well it defeats the purpose. you make certain compromises for the portability of a 7 inch tablet.

Copper Bezel
August 2nd, 2012, 06:30 AM
Okay. That makes me more comfortable in thinking that this was just not the device for me, then. I guess I just think of the next step up to the Asus Transformer and end up wondering why I can't just run Linux on it, and there just isn't a spot in my life for Android at all. (I could see the 7" size as ideal with a data plan for quick searches, maps, etc., but relying on WiFi brings into question just how much more "portable" than a netbook it really is.)

AllRadioisDead
August 2nd, 2012, 08:38 AM
A housemate of mine has a Blackberry Playbook. It is much smaller than my HP Touchpad.

ugm6hr
August 3rd, 2012, 10:25 PM
Thanks for the great advice folks, much appreciated. I purchased a Nexus 7 today, I think I got one of the last few left in the Country.

They really are a nice piece of kit.

Glad it fits you well - I got mine last week (in UK - Dixons have stock of the 16GB version), and think it's perfect for occasional browsing and reading e-books (PDF journal articles aren't suited to most ebook readers).
I'm sure I'll find more uses for it in due course.

mamamia88
August 4th, 2012, 12:18 AM
Glad it fits you well - I got mine last week (in UK - Dixons have stock of the 16GB version), and think it's perfect for occasional browsing and reading e-books (PDF journal articles aren't suited to most ebook readers).
I'm sure I'll find more uses for it in due course. well if you haven't already i suggest picking up greader pro. great app for rss. way better reading news on that then in google reader on the browser

jedispork
August 4th, 2012, 12:47 AM
My fiancee bought me a ipad that I enjoy. I would rather have a droid tablet but it works for now. I think the size is just right. Internet access on a phone hasn't been worth it for me. I'm not the type of person that needs to have a internet enabled device 24/7. However I do bring the ipad if I'm going to be waiting somewhere for a while and use it on my lunch break. I'm much happier having a data plan on a tablet than a phone. For me it replaces the need for a laptop as well. I prefer a desktop at home.

jim_deadlock
August 4th, 2012, 05:08 PM
I have a 7" Zenithink ZT280 C71 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007VNAEF0/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00)

I'm very impressed with it. It was delivered from China but is high quality and has the proper UK power plug etc. It has an open bootloader so in theory you can install other OS on it, for example KDE Plasma Active (the instructions are rather complicated so I haven't tried it but I'm happy with Android 4 ICS anyway).

In fact, what is known as the Vivaldi Tablet (AKA Spark Tablet) is this exact same model with Plasma Active on it. If all this hasn't convinced you then look at the price - £70 ($110) - you can't go wrong with that.

Copper Bezel
August 7th, 2012, 11:48 PM
Bumping to say that I was wrong. The Nexus really is extraordinarily convenient for all kinds of things that would otherwise be awkward with my Eee. I'm really loving it for reading .pdf documents, for internet radio and video while I'm not sitting at my desk, for passing back and forth with someone in a real-life conversation, and so on. And, of course, there are games for Android. I was never really into gaming, but the new "casual" style of games exactly matches my level of investment, and it's a fun option.

KiwiNZ
August 8th, 2012, 12:07 AM
The Nexus is great, we traveled away over the weekend and it was the only device I took with me, it was brilliant.

I can hold it for a long time in one hand which is what I wanted.

Copper Bezel
August 8th, 2012, 02:34 AM
Yeah, it's the perfect one-hand computer. I'm even getting used to the thumb keyboard (using it now. = ))

Edit: And with this being my first Android device, I'm finding BeyondPod over Banshee as a podcatcher to be worth the price of admission itself. = )

mamamia88
August 8th, 2012, 06:36 AM
Yeah, it's the perfect one-hand computer. I'm even getting used to the thumb keyboard (using it now. = ))

Edit: And with this being my first Android device, I'm finding BeyondPod over Banshee as a podcatcher to be worth the price of admission itself. = )

doggcatcher is better imo. i've gone back to using gpodder on my computer though because i run beta roms on my phone and battery isn't that great either. even though i carry a spare in my wallet. seriously though as a media player banshee is pretty good but for podcatching gpodder blows it out of the water. sure you have to sync it to your device but i just plug in my mp3 player at night and when i wake up i just hit cntrl-s on my keyboard and it copies my podcasts to the podcast folder before i get back from the bathroom. also backs up your subscriptions on an online service for when you reinstall and has so many useful config options. just thought i'd throw that out there