[Discuss] Google's Nexus 7

[tmetro+blu at gmail.com (Tom Metro)]

Anyone planning to buy the Google's Nexus 7 tablet?

The reviewers all seem quite impressed. Most benchmarks in the same
realm as the iPad (2, 3) (though a smaller screen with fewer pixels to
move around). Battery life as good as an iPad. Less weight than a Kindle
Fire. Well polished UI (JellyBean).

Complaints include seeing ghost images on the display when it is cold,
and a so-so webcam. A reviewer also noted that viewing magazine pages
doesn't work as well on a 7" screen as on a 10" screen. And because the
7" screen is just a bit bigger than the largest phones (5"), it is more
likely that app developers won't bother creating apps optimized for the
7" screen. If this device sells in high volumes, that'll change.

All that for $200. Google has confirmed they're only breaking even on
it. (Like Amazon, hoping to get revenue by selling apps, books, music,
and renting movies.)

Nothing comes close to its performance in that price range.

If you're a power user, you'll likely want the 16 GB model for $250, as
it lacks an SD card slot. (Stupidly Google has made SD cards read-only
on tablets, so even if it had an SD card slot, it would be of limited
usefulness.)

A video review:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/29/3125034/google-nexus-7-review

A quite lengthly (5 pages) review:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/07/divine-intervention-googles-nexus-7-is-a-fantastic-200-tablet/

Available now for pre-order from Google, or it'll be in stores, like
Staples, in a few weeks. (It looked like Staples was only offering the
16 GB model, but that'll probably get updated.)

 -Tom

-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
"Enterprise solutions through open source."
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/