POLL: Will you get the Nexus 7 $0/$199/$249 version

[Eug]

It would have not been hard for them to put 32 GB in it, but I'm sure it was a cost and don't-piss-off-the-OEMs issue.

 

[ew915]

Google learning apple traits, 8gb of storage for $50

 

[Eug]

The original ports:

Micro-USB - microSD - Micro-HDMI

 

[ponyo]

Google learning apple traits, 8gb of storage for $50

It does suck. That's why I ordered 8gb version. It's bad enough you have to pay shipping and sales tax. $13 for 2 day shipping on an item that won't ship for 2 weeks. No option for ground or free shipping. If I'm waiting 2-3 weeks, I can wait 2-3 days extra for cheaper ground. And ground should be free.

 

[BUTCH1]

It does suck. That's why I ordered 8gb version. It's bad enough you have to pay shipping and sales tax. $13 for 2 day shipping on an item that won't ship for 2 weeks. No option for ground or free shipping. If I'm waiting 2-3 weeks, I can wait 2-3 days extra for cheaper ground. And ground should be free.

Fuck it, I'd rather wait until a Chinese maker puts a tegra3 tablet out with an SD slot AND HDMI, idioitic to have a machine that could look good on a larger screen and not be able to hook it up...

 

[Eug]

I'd rather wait until a Chinese maker puts a tegra3 tablet out with an SD slot AND HDMI, idioitic to have a machine that could look good on a larger screen and not be able to hook it up...

Acer Iconia Tab A110

It has 8 GB flash, 1 GB RAM, Tegra 3, Micro-USB, microSD, HDMI, and a 1024-600 screen. Unfortunately, the viewing angles reportedly aren't the greatest and for those of you who care, it's 1024x600 not 1280x800. I'm guessing it will support NTFS, because its big brother the A510 supports NTFS.

I suspect this will sell for $199, but I'd pay $249 if it had a better screen, or else $299 with a better screen and more internal storage.

EDIT:

Unfortunately, the battery is also significantly smaller, despite the ~30 gram heavier weight. 🙁

Height - 7.6 inches
Width - 4.98 inches
Thickness - 0.45 inches
Weight - 0.82 pounds
Color - Black
Screen size - 7 inches, 1024x600
Touchscreen type - Capacitive, Multitouch
Launch OS version - 4.0 <-- I wonder if Acer might change that to Jelly Bean before release.
CPU - NVIDIA Tegra 3
Clock speed - 1.2 GHz
RAM - 1 GB DDR3
Storage - 8 GB
Wi-Fi support - 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b
GPS - Yes
Bluetooth - Yes, version 3.0
Camera - Front camera, 2 megapixels, no rear camera
Video out - Yes
Data connections - Micro USB, HDMI
Sensors - Ambient Light, Gyroscope, Compass / Magnetometer, Accelerometer
Battery Capacity - 3420 mAh

 

[akugami]

While I crave expandable storage and consider it an essential feature myself, and quite a few others in this thread agree with me. But, it is amusing to see those same people stating in iPad threads that the iPad lacking expandable storage is perfectly fine. 😛 Ooh-ray double standards.

Because every Android proponent who has condemned Apple for lack of an integrated SD slot or HDMI port is boycotting or saying negative things about the Nexus 7 right?


Probably the only negative on this device is the lack of an SD slot. But as others have pointed out, there are adapters. I will not be playing games. Or at least nothing demanding so the lack of an SD slot affects me less than others.

Don't care about HDMI. Not applicable for my uses. Nice to have. Just don't think I will use it.

Just an observation, but the Nexus 7's design choices seems to cater more to the Apple crowd than the Android crowd...

Also, I chose the 16GB version in the poll but I might get the 8GB version instead. Just looking at my iPad and iPhone, the overwhelming part of the storage is taken by educational apps for my kids. Ebooks, even PDF's (lots of white papers and tech documents to read), are relatively small. I'm not a big music listener when I'm on the go. Nor do I watch a ton of movies on the go.

That $25 credit would be good to get Quickoffice HD. I got $5 left to spend. Probably pick up Aldiko or something. Need a good ebook reader.

 

[ponyo]

Fuck it, I'd rather wait until a Chinese maker puts a tegra3 tablet out with an SD slot AND HDMI, idioitic to have a machine that could look good on a larger screen and not be able to hook it up...

If I can help it, I won't buy anything other than Nexus on the Android side. OEMs can make hundreds of different models with bigger and better features but if it doesn't say Nexus, I probably won't buy. I have been using Android since 1.5 Donut. I learned my lesson with slow manufacturer updates and buggy and incomplete custom Roms due to missing or unavailable drivers source. Hardware is only 1/2 of the equation. The other 1/2 is software and only the Nexus line is guaranteed prompt official updates and fully open drivers and source. The source for the drivers are the key. It's why pretty much everything works on custom Roms and hacks for the Nexus vs incomplete and buggy Roms on all other Android devices.

 

[Eug]

Probably the only negative on this device is the lack of an SD slot. But as others have pointed out, there are adapters. I will not be playing games. Or at least nothing demanding so the lack of an SD slot affects me less than others.

Google has confirmed that external storage is NOT supported via USB on the Nexus 7. USB On-The-Go is supported, but only for stuff like keyboards, etc.

This was the final nail-in-the-coffin for me.

If I can help it, I won't buy anything other than Nexus on the Android side. OEMs can make hundreds of different models with bigger and better features but if it doesn't say Nexus, I probably won't buy. I have been using Android since 1.5 Donut. I learned my lesson with slow manufacturer updates and buggy and incomplete custom Roms due to missing or unavailable drivers source. Hardware is only 1/2 of the equation. The other 1/2 is software and only the Nexus line is guaranteed prompt official updates and fully open drivers and source. The source for the drivers are the key. It's why pretty much everything works on custom Roms and hacks for the Nexus vs incomplete and buggy Roms on all other Android devices.

I'd much prefer to buy a Nexus than a non-Nexus product for the reasons you cite, but I want to buy something, and unfortunately the Nexus 7 does not meet my needs.

 

[akugami]

Damn, so we'll need a hacked ROM for that? The one time I could see needing a card reader was pulling images off my DSLR for quick previews and edits.

 

[Eug]

Damn, so we'll need a hacked ROM for that? The one time I could see needing a card reader was pulling images off my DSLR for quick previews and edits.

It's already been posted, but here is AnandTech's Nexus 7 Mini Review again:

"Update 2: I've asked for further clarification about what USB-OTG functionality is supported. Using a mouse and keyboard will be supported, and I saw Google using an ethernet to USB adapter over USB-OTG as well. Unfortunately I found out that mounting USB storage will not be supported natively. In addition MHL is not supported."

---

EDIT: See ponyo's post. /EDIT

 

[ponyo]

Damn, so we'll need a hacked ROM for that? The one time I could see needing a card reader was pulling images off my DSLR for quick previews and edits.

You wont need full custom rom. Probably only Root and then free app like StickMount. I have full faith someone will figure out an easy way. It's the same on my Galaxy Nexus. It doesn't support OTG USB storage out of the box natively. But with Root which takes less than 5 minutes and download of the free StickMount app from the Google Play Store, I now have permanent OTG USB storage capability. I have the $1 OTG USB Host adapter and my 8 and 16gb thumb drives work perfectly and I can play movies off of it.

 

[ponyo]

Confirmation OTG storage works via root and Stickmount app. Just as I thought. However he couldn't get the files to play directly off of usb storage. He had to transfer the file directly to the tablet in order to play/use it. But it's good sign.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1743052&page=3

 

[BUTCH1]

You wont need full custom rom. Probably only Root and then free app like StickMount. I have full faith someone will figure out an easy way. It's the same on my Galaxy Nexus. It doesn't support OTG USB storage out of the box natively. But with Root which takes less than 5 minutes and download of the free StickMount app from the Google Play Store, I now have permanent OTG USB storage capability. I have the $1 OTG USB Host adapter and my 8 and 16gb thumb drives work perfectly and I can play movies off of it.

You actually watch an entire movie on a phone screen?, I couldn't do it..

 

[BUTCH1]

If I can help it, I won't buy anything other than Nexus on the Android side. OEMs can make hundreds of different models with bigger and better features but if it doesn't say Nexus, I probably won't buy. I have been using Android since 1.5 Donut. I learned my lesson with slow manufacturer updates and buggy and incomplete custom Roms due to missing or unavailable drivers source. Hardware is only 1/2 of the equation. The other 1/2 is software and only the Nexus line is guaranteed prompt official updates and fully open drivers and source. The source for the drivers are the key. It's why pretty much everything works on custom Roms and hacks for the Nexus vs incomplete and buggy Roms on all other Android devices.

I kind of agree, with Google behind it Nexus will have the support and quickly released firmware updates. It does suck to have your tablet abandoned but with so many devices coming out from so many mfg'rs it's gonna happen. I'm putting up with a buggy ROM on my Novo7A now but I keep it because it added bluetooth..

 

[Anubis]

You actually watch an entire movie on a phone screen?, I couldn't do it..

works well on a plane
not much different vs watching it on a small laptop

 

[Red Storm]

You actually watch an entire movie on a phone screen?, I couldn't do it..

I couldn't on an iPhone, but I can definitely watch a whole movie on say the Galaxy Nexus.

 

[Eug]

I tried a couple of movies on my iPhone. It got rather tiresome pretty quickly. I haven't done it since. Now I always bring my laptop. I don't use my iPad because of the limited storage and the two programs I've tried aren't very good for MKV. VLC works fine for lower bitrate files. Azul Media seems more optimized, but I get sync delays. But it's moot anyways on the iPad because of the 16 GB storage limit (no SD support), much of which is already filled up with apps and other content.

Having a decent 7" Android tablet with microSD slot would solve those problems.

 

[obidamnkenobi]

Nope. Tried the 7" Nook tablet in the store and found it pretty lame. Websites were annoying to read and didn't seem to format right, and even in the included NatGeo magazine I had to scroll back and forth to read it properly. I have no interest in an ipad, and even less so for one of these 7" things.

 

[ilkhan]

Nope. Tried the 7" Nook tablet in the store and found it pretty lame. Websites were annoying to read and didn't seem to format right, and even in the included NatGeo magazine I had to scroll back and forth to read it properly. I have no interest in an ipad, and even less so for one of these 7" things.

Nook Tablet's interface is nothing like the N7's interface. Chrome for websites, currents and whatever for magazines. The nook is locked down tight, the N7 is designed around the play store and standard android apps.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

So basically we have an awesome tablet but with no card slot for expandability, right? WTF...

I'm getting sick and tired of my iPad. It's a pain to use and I don't enjoy it. I just want to connect it and drag shit over to it and just have it work. But no, I first have to open iTunes and sync the folders, only to find out that it can't play a bunch of file types. And it doesn't have a memory card slot, so I guess the iPad and the N7 are actually equal in this regard, which is still shitty. And everything needs to be done with one goddamn stupid button.

 

[bassoprofundo]

So basically we have an awesome tablet but with no card slot for expandability, right? WTF...

I'm getting sick and tired of my iPad. It's a pain to use and I don't enjoy it. I just want to connect it and drag shit over to it and just have it work. But no, I first have to open iTunes and sync the folders, only to find out that it can't play a bunch of file types. And it doesn't have a memory card slot, so I guess the iPad and the N7 are actually equal in this regard, which is still shitty. And everything needs to be done with one goddamn stupid button.

^^^^This^^^^

I held out forever on an iPhone because I hated the iTunes way of doing things. When I finally caved and got an iP4, I just bit the bullet and jumped headlong into using iTunes for everything. I'd kind of gotten used to it, but after using a Pre3/Touchpad (had CM9 on it too) at home and a Torch 9810/Playbook @ work, I'm so PO'd every time I have to get content on and off the iPad. The single button controls just feel so "last decade" now too. I love the screen on the new one, and I love the app ecosystem, but for God's sake, why can't I just drag and drop? Both of the above device combos make it dead simple to get content onto them, and the gesture-based controls, especially on the Playbook, are outstanding.

Obviously, both of the above setups aren't without their faults, but they don't require me to use any software other than a file manager to get content from or move content to the devices, and in most cases, are actually fun to use.

 

[Bateluer]

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer...ogle's+Nexus+7+tablet+infringes+Nokia+patents

Announced last week, the Asus built Nexus 7 is Google's first own-brand tablet and boasts Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, a quad-core processor and a mere £159 SIM free price tag. However, Nokia has alleged that it is not licensed for certain Nokia patents.

It's believed that the patents in question have to do with the IEEE 802.11 WiFi standard, and Nokia told us that neither Google nor Asus have sought to license the technologies.
A Nokia spokesperson told The INQUIRER, "Nokia has more than 40 licensees, mainly for its standards essential patent portfolio, including most of the mobile device manufacturers. Neither Google nor Asus is licensed under our patent portfolio.

"Companies who are not yet licensed under our standard essential patents should simply approach us and sign up for a license."

However, unlike Apple, it's doubtful that Nokia will seek injunctions against the Google Nexus 7. Instead, Nokia is more likely to request that Google or Asus obtain the proper licenses.

Update
An Asus spokesperson refused to comment on Nokia's claims, saying, "at the moment, Asus will not be providing any response/comment related."

So, the licenses that Asus obviously has because they've been producing WiFi laptops and other devices for several years don't count?

 

[zerogear]

At this point, I'll wait for Windows 8 Laptop/Tablet -- Maybe Surface.

 

[lothar]

None, because I still believe all tablets are toys.

It doesn't matter if it's a Touchpad, Galaxy Tab, Transformer, PlayBook, iPad 3, or the new "Surface" tablets from Microsoft.
The "Nexus 7" is no exception and falls in that same exact category as the others.