Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Google Nexus 7 Tablet First play review

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Google Nexus 7 Tablet First play review

    Google Nexus 7 Tablet

    First impressions –

    The tablet is light and feels very comfortable to hold
    Rear of the tablet is a rubber style material, providing grip with a light touch
    Screen is very crisp, bright and clear, higher res is clearly noticeable
    Two physical buttons on the right hand side ‘Power’ at the top and ‘Volume up down’


    So, I received my Google Nexus tablet this morning much to my surprise as I wasn’t expecting it to be released until next Thursday.
    Upon turning the unit on for the first time you are greeted with the Nexus ‘X’ splash screen while it boots, I didn’t time it but it booted up faster than my Asus TF101 does.
    The initial setup was one of the shortest I think I have ever done, pretty much select a wifi source, log in to your Gmail account and do you want to join Google+. That was it. Very refreshing considering every other Android device I have had usually had 5 minutes worth faffing!
    Once this is done you get two emails from Google, the first welcoming you to your new device and the second explaining where your ?15 credit is.

    The home screen is very different compared to ICS, as I am sure most of you will have read.
    You have your Google Now bar at the top (which I believe is Google’s answer to Siri – although I think it is supposed to have more offline support).
    Then, underneath you have links to your free goodies – Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Frankenstein (ebook) and Wonderful Stories for Children (ebook). You also have a copy of a Nexus 7 Guide book.
    Below this you have a quick launch bar for Google+, Chrome, Gbooks, Apps, Films, Music and finally Google Play.

    Personally, I dived straight into Google Play to update the apps already on the device (maps etc) and try to download Sim City to test out. Unfortunately it is not supported on this device though, frustratingly enough as it doesn’t work on my Asus Transformer anymore either. It looks like some work needs to be on some older apps to ensure they work with Jellybean. (Hopefully EA pull their god damn finger out and actually release an update for Sim City!!...Ahem..).
    Within 2 minutes of being on the device, I was advised there was an update available for it, so I duly downloaded it – no major changes noticed immediately once it reboot.

    It is noticeably faster than my old 7” Galaxy Tab, as you would expect and the screen is a joy to use. As mentioned above, it is very crisp and fingers glide across it with no resistance at all. Whilst you can see fingerprints on it if you look hard enough it is not as noticeable as my other tablets. Sound seems to be above on par with my other devices, though I am unable to test this fully as I am supposed to be working….
    I can see myself being able to hold this in one hand comfortably for extended periods of time without a problem.

    Just started downloading Dark Meadow as it is currently free, but I doubt I will get a chance to see it in action properly until I get home.

    Anything you chaps want to ask about the device, feel free and I will do my best to answer it. Will take some photos later if wanted.

    (Apologies for any glaring spelling mistakes or grammatical errors, I am writing this whilst attempting to do some work!!)
    Last edited by Insom; 13-07-2012, 11:23.

    #2
    Thanks for the writeup, really tempted now

    Can it output to TV?

    Comment


      #3
      Nope, no HDMI output or Micro SD card slot either. The lack of these didn't really bother me as I rarely have a large amounts of data stored on my device.

      Forgot to mention it charges using a standard micro USB (thank god - no proprietary connection for a change) and the headphone socket is on the bottom right of the unit.

      Comment


        #4
        I pre ordered an 8gb from google store so hoping mine comes soon. I traded in my galaxy 8.9 last week and was hoping the nexus would show this week. Did you get a free Bourne book too?

        Comment


          #5
          No Bourne book that I can see so far, but I also recall reading somewhere that it should come with one. Will check later!

          Comment


            #6
            I think the Bourne book was for the septic tanks mate, not us Brits

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by bash View Post
              I think the Bourne book was for the septic tanks mate, not us Brits
              They get Bourne and we get Wonderful Stories For Children?!. Great to be British

              Comment


                #8
                Good write up Insom. Cheers for that. Post pix plz!

                Originally posted by PeteJ View Post
                Thanks for the writeup, really tempted now

                Can it output to TV?
                Can't you get a micro USB to HDMI converter?
                Last edited by NW2013; 13-07-2012, 20:57.

                Comment


                  #9
                  USB 2 does 480Mbits/sec max. 720 HDMI specs require 10.2Gbits/sec. So, no :-)

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I imagine it does DLNA (?) so that's possible...just need a compatable device which is bigger than my phone!

                    Comment


                      #11
                      My wife has had hers for a couple of days now and loves it. The size and weight are much more manageable than the 10" tablets / iPad.

                      Had a play with it myself yesterday and physically it feels lovely, so much better than the ~?120 Ainol Aurora II, for example.

                      As Insom said, the UI responds perfectly, no lag when downloading apps, looking up rooting information in the browser and mucking about with apps all that the same time.

                      It's not going to change anyone's life, but well done to Asus/Google for making a tablet that you don't have to faff with for not much more than those you do have to faff with.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I got mine yesterday evening and literally had it up and running in 5 minutes. Logged into my gmail account and downloaded all of my apps from the Google Play store in one go.

                        The tablet runs like a dream and I'm loving the size and weight. I commute around 4 hours a day and found the iPad to be a bit too big (and heavy) to schlep around everyday. This is much more manageable.

                        I'm mainly reading comics and watching movies and TV shows so it was amazing to just dump them onto the internal memory instead of having to go through the nightmare of iTunes and sync everything up

                        Really happy with my purchase so far. Got a nice leather cover off eBay for ?8 so I'm all set
                        Last edited by Supernova; 20-07-2012, 09:49.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Got mine the other day. Been playing around for a couple of days now and its a very nice device but with a few minor issues.
                          The default movie player won't play non Google play film files in landscape mode. This is very odd but can be got around by installing MX player and using that instead. Also no flash support in chrome is very disappointing. Again can be resolved by using another browser from the play store but both these issues remove some of the seamlessness from the experience for me.
                          I am also disappointed with the performance of tegra 3. I bought Amazing Spiderman using some of the free credit and its very jerky compared to iPad version with some bad clipping. GTA also seems to stutter a lot.
                          On the plus side the chrome browser is fantastic and it has a lovely screen and form factor. I got a cheap case from Amazon and it's a really pocketable device. Also USB charging is a bonus. Means I can Plug it into work PC and charge during day without worrying about lugging plug. Just wish I had plumped for 16gb version cos mine is full already :-)

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Got one of these from Tescos yesterday and so far I am very impressed.

                            The device came with the 15 pounds credit once linked to my gmail account, the transformers movie and for some reason a Jeffrey Archer book.

                            Interface is nice and quick and the voice search is surprisingly very, very good.

                            Only thing missing for me is a HDMI port.
                            Last edited by AlonzoUK; 21-07-2012, 08:47.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              No standard Android Camera app? Really?

                              Sexy beast otherwise. Off to poke some more.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X