I have been an iOS user for quite some time. When the Nexus 4 came out I decided to give it a shot and I loved it. I started using my iPad less and less because I enjoyed Android so much. Getting an Android tablet was next on my list, but I really wanted to wait for the 2013 Nexus 7 before trying it out. Once the Nexus 7 was announced, I quickly ordered one on Best Buy.
Today my Nexus 7 was delivered and I thought I would post my first impressions and mini review of it.
The very first thing I noticed when taking it out of the box was its weight, or lack of. This thing is amazingly light and amazingly thin. Of course, the whole "lighter and thinner" quote is often said by Apple, but it can be easily applied to the new Nexus 7.
Of course, the screen is another great thing about it. The 323 ppi is just 3 ppi short of the retina display on the iPhone. And for a device that will typically be held further away than a 4" screen, this display is fantastic. It can be extremely bright and colors look fairly good so far. Viewing angles are pretty good. But my biggest complaint about the screen is how glossy it is. I would love to see more manufacturers start to implement the same kind of anti-glare glass that was put on the RMBP. Of course, this is dependent on Gorilla Glass, but hopefully they will start trying to decrease glare. Also, fingerprints get pretty obvious after a fair amount of use. But that is to be expected. The back of the device also seems to enjoy fingerprints. But this doesn't bother me on the back. And the back of the device has a nice finish to it making it comfortable to hold.
The weight, size, and resolution of the Nexus 7 makes it a fantastic eReader. However, when it comes to web browsing the screen does feel small. This makes me wish it was a Nexus 8 instead of a Nexus 7, but I guess that could have increased the price. This is one area where I think Apple did a great job. Just a 1" difference really does a lot to improve overall user experience when browsing the web. Sure, you can argue resolution, ppi, and throw all sorts of small numbers at the iPad Mini to make it look awful in comparison. But the screen size and aspect ratio really make it a great device for browsing the web and reading.
When it comes to movies, the Nexus 7 is great. Although the 16:10 aspect ratio means you will still see black bars on the top and bottom on nearly every movie you watch. But the sound coming from the Nexus 7 is amazing. Google and Asus did a great job with dual speakers. However, in landscape mode the speakers are right where you are going to put your hands. So you may end up muffling the sound a little bit. The front bezels would have made a much better spot to put the speakers. Then they would have at least had some sort of excuse for the Texas-sized bezels. In fact, I watched a review online and the new Nexus 7 is taller than the old one. Meaning the top and bottom bezels are slightly bigger than last year!
The simulated surround sound is a nice addition. And music sounds great. With movies, I have them all on Plex. So I am not sure how the Nexus 7 handles audio playback through Plex when watching a movie. And I know this may never happen, but it would be great if Google could do what they did with Google Music to personal movie collections. Obviously they would be worried about pirated movies. But I have a lot of DVDs that I got on my computer using HandBrake. And having that kind of functionality would be great. But I'm not holding my breath.
The cameras seem to be decent. I have not tested them extensively yet, but for a tablet all you really need cameras for are for video chatting. And every video chat service will have to decrease the quality for streaming anyways.
Wireless charging is a cool addition. It seems to work with my Nexus 4 wireless charger. However, I am still not a fan of Qi charging. Calling it wireless is just deceptive. Are wires still involved? Yes. Thus, not wireless. Plus using it on a wireless charger makes it much more difficult to use while the device is charging. If I have my Nexus 7 plugged into the cable, I can still play games that use the accelerometer. Can't easily do that with a wireless charger. Plus wireless chargers take longer to completely charge the device.
Battery life is hard to determine at the moment since I just got it. I will need to update this section when I have more time with the device.
Now that I have used it a full day, battery life isn't as good as I had hoped. Not even close really. I will post screen shots.
The 2GB RAM and S4 Pro help the Nexus 7 feel speedy. However, it is still not perfectly smooth. Some parts of the UI will encounter some hiccups every now and then. Specifically dealing with the recent apps button and in some cases the home button freezing for a second or two. Nothing major, but this device still encounters minor lag.
I find it odd that there is no vibrator motor in the Nexus 7. Sure, it may not be a priority, but adding one couldn't cost too much.
Now that I have gone over the hardware, time to touch on the software. Android 4.3 is a minor update, and maybe it should have just been 4.2.3.
Tablet app selection is still far inferior to iPads. Although, the Nexus 7 feels less like a tablet and more like a large phone. I'm not really sure how to explain this part, but is just doesn't feel like a tablet. Of course, 7" is considered the smallest size screen a tablet can be, so I guess that makes sense. But when you have 5" phones, 10" tablets, and then a device with a 7" screen, the screen size is closer to phones than tablets.
Most apps work fine and are the exact same as the phone app, just scaled up. Some of the default Google Apps, like People and Calendar, are slightly different. But they feel squeezed, especially People.
When it comes to third party apps, most function fine. However, Evernote keeps crashing on me. It will not open at all. Same with Slice. Whether or not this is due to Android 4.3 or the device itself, I don't know. Maybe someone can shed some light on this?
Also, I am starting to find apps that are incompatible with the Nexus 7. I have never had this problem before with the Nexus 4. But one game I play quite often, Blitz Brigade, is not compatible. What's weird is that the Nexus 7 has the same CPU and RAM as the Nexus 4! Why it is incompatible I have no idea. But this is very frustrating.
Ultimately, the best things about the Nexus 7 are its price, screen, and speakers. Android is a great phone OS, but it just doesn't feel as good on a tablet. The Android tablet experience definitely feels lacking in certain ways. But I expect this to improve as the OS matures.
One thing in particular I do not like about the tablet experience is the lack of synchronized notifications. For example, I just got a notification from the default calendar app about an event coming up. I got the notification on both my Nexus 7 and Nexus 4. And I have the same Google Calendar synced on both devices. Yet if I dismiss the notification on one device, I am still required to dismiss it on the other device. Synchronized notifications is something that is sorely needed in Android.
The Nexus 7 is a great and affordable way to get a foot in the Android tablet arena. If you are on the fence about it, you should definitely buy it and give it at least a week and see how you like it.
Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will do my best to answer them.
Edits in italics.
Today my Nexus 7 was delivered and I thought I would post my first impressions and mini review of it.
The very first thing I noticed when taking it out of the box was its weight, or lack of. This thing is amazingly light and amazingly thin. Of course, the whole "lighter and thinner" quote is often said by Apple, but it can be easily applied to the new Nexus 7.
Of course, the screen is another great thing about it. The 323 ppi is just 3 ppi short of the retina display on the iPhone. And for a device that will typically be held further away than a 4" screen, this display is fantastic. It can be extremely bright and colors look fairly good so far. Viewing angles are pretty good. But my biggest complaint about the screen is how glossy it is. I would love to see more manufacturers start to implement the same kind of anti-glare glass that was put on the RMBP. Of course, this is dependent on Gorilla Glass, but hopefully they will start trying to decrease glare. Also, fingerprints get pretty obvious after a fair amount of use. But that is to be expected. The back of the device also seems to enjoy fingerprints. But this doesn't bother me on the back. And the back of the device has a nice finish to it making it comfortable to hold.
The weight, size, and resolution of the Nexus 7 makes it a fantastic eReader. However, when it comes to web browsing the screen does feel small. This makes me wish it was a Nexus 8 instead of a Nexus 7, but I guess that could have increased the price. This is one area where I think Apple did a great job. Just a 1" difference really does a lot to improve overall user experience when browsing the web. Sure, you can argue resolution, ppi, and throw all sorts of small numbers at the iPad Mini to make it look awful in comparison. But the screen size and aspect ratio really make it a great device for browsing the web and reading.
When it comes to movies, the Nexus 7 is great. Although the 16:10 aspect ratio means you will still see black bars on the top and bottom on nearly every movie you watch. But the sound coming from the Nexus 7 is amazing. Google and Asus did a great job with dual speakers. However, in landscape mode the speakers are right where you are going to put your hands. So you may end up muffling the sound a little bit. The front bezels would have made a much better spot to put the speakers. Then they would have at least had some sort of excuse for the Texas-sized bezels. In fact, I watched a review online and the new Nexus 7 is taller than the old one. Meaning the top and bottom bezels are slightly bigger than last year!
The simulated surround sound is a nice addition. And music sounds great. With movies, I have them all on Plex. So I am not sure how the Nexus 7 handles audio playback through Plex when watching a movie. And I know this may never happen, but it would be great if Google could do what they did with Google Music to personal movie collections. Obviously they would be worried about pirated movies. But I have a lot of DVDs that I got on my computer using HandBrake. And having that kind of functionality would be great. But I'm not holding my breath.
The cameras seem to be decent. I have not tested them extensively yet, but for a tablet all you really need cameras for are for video chatting. And every video chat service will have to decrease the quality for streaming anyways.
Wireless charging is a cool addition. It seems to work with my Nexus 4 wireless charger. However, I am still not a fan of Qi charging. Calling it wireless is just deceptive. Are wires still involved? Yes. Thus, not wireless. Plus using it on a wireless charger makes it much more difficult to use while the device is charging. If I have my Nexus 7 plugged into the cable, I can still play games that use the accelerometer. Can't easily do that with a wireless charger. Plus wireless chargers take longer to completely charge the device.
Battery life is hard to determine at the moment since I just got it. I will need to update this section when I have more time with the device.
Now that I have used it a full day, battery life isn't as good as I had hoped. Not even close really. I will post screen shots.
The 2GB RAM and S4 Pro help the Nexus 7 feel speedy. However, it is still not perfectly smooth. Some parts of the UI will encounter some hiccups every now and then. Specifically dealing with the recent apps button and in some cases the home button freezing for a second or two. Nothing major, but this device still encounters minor lag.
I find it odd that there is no vibrator motor in the Nexus 7. Sure, it may not be a priority, but adding one couldn't cost too much.
Now that I have gone over the hardware, time to touch on the software. Android 4.3 is a minor update, and maybe it should have just been 4.2.3.
Tablet app selection is still far inferior to iPads. Although, the Nexus 7 feels less like a tablet and more like a large phone. I'm not really sure how to explain this part, but is just doesn't feel like a tablet. Of course, 7" is considered the smallest size screen a tablet can be, so I guess that makes sense. But when you have 5" phones, 10" tablets, and then a device with a 7" screen, the screen size is closer to phones than tablets.
Most apps work fine and are the exact same as the phone app, just scaled up. Some of the default Google Apps, like People and Calendar, are slightly different. But they feel squeezed, especially People.
When it comes to third party apps, most function fine. However, Evernote keeps crashing on me. It will not open at all. Same with Slice. Whether or not this is due to Android 4.3 or the device itself, I don't know. Maybe someone can shed some light on this?
Also, I am starting to find apps that are incompatible with the Nexus 7. I have never had this problem before with the Nexus 4. But one game I play quite often, Blitz Brigade, is not compatible. What's weird is that the Nexus 7 has the same CPU and RAM as the Nexus 4! Why it is incompatible I have no idea. But this is very frustrating.
Ultimately, the best things about the Nexus 7 are its price, screen, and speakers. Android is a great phone OS, but it just doesn't feel as good on a tablet. The Android tablet experience definitely feels lacking in certain ways. But I expect this to improve as the OS matures.
One thing in particular I do not like about the tablet experience is the lack of synchronized notifications. For example, I just got a notification from the default calendar app about an event coming up. I got the notification on both my Nexus 7 and Nexus 4. And I have the same Google Calendar synced on both devices. Yet if I dismiss the notification on one device, I am still required to dismiss it on the other device. Synchronized notifications is something that is sorely needed in Android.
The Nexus 7 is a great and affordable way to get a foot in the Android tablet arena. If you are on the fence about it, you should definitely buy it and give it at least a week and see how you like it.
Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will do my best to answer them.
Edits in italics.
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