The Google Nexus 7 is a diminutive
device, weighing in at just 340g and coming with a 7-inch IPS screen that packs
1,280 x 800 pixels to give it a sharp HD resolution. Not only that but you can get
your hands on one of these little filibusters for less than $240 for an 8GB
version; an extra $60 bags you 16GB of storage.
Price: $240
Website: http://play.google.com
Ratings: 5/5
Google
Nexus 7
The design of the Nexus 7 is more premium
than you’d expect given the price - it feels oddly solid in the hand from the
moment you pick it up. However, while the initial feeling was strong, we
quickly noticed some creakiness creeping in between the bezel and case.
Voice search is given pride of place within
the Nexus 7, and from Google Now you can search the web and see cards showing
you direct information without ever touching the screen. We searched using
voice for information on dignitaries, the weather and sports scores, and found
a pleasing 80 to 85 per cent accuracy rate when working out what we were after.
The Chrome internet browser offers a more
powerful experience: the only major gripe was the lack of 3G connectivity,
meaning on the go browsing was impossible without a smartphone (and an
understanding data plan) to tether to.
One of the key elements of the Google Nexus
7 is media playback - critical because the tablet is squarely designed to
compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire. There are large widgets that display your
books, music and video files all in one place - which leads us to one big issue
we’ve got with the Nexus 7. There’s no expandable storage, which means space
for music and videos is at a premium. Google combats this through tight
integration with the Play Store, which offers HD movies, books and music (the
latter only in the US).
Credit where it’s due
However, the movie selection is a long way
from full at the moment - only once in 10 attempts did we find a movie we were
searching for. Google is bundling $22.5 of credit for the Play Store with each
Nexus 7, but we actually found it relatively hard to spend it, especially with
no music store on offer.
Video playback is handled through the Play
Movies app, which divides things into films from the Play Store and your
personal videos. It can’t handle many file types, but we installed MX Player
and found the Nexus 7 could play everything from MP4 to DivX files... Why
couldn’t Google manage this out of the box?
The
Google Nexus 7 is a very, very good tablet
The Google Nexus 7 is a very, very good tablet
even before you consider the price - size, weight, screen technology and
functionality under the finger are all top-notch, and the fact you can pick up
the top model for under $300 is stellar.
Some question marks remain over the build
quality and the lack of expandable storage, and 3G connectivity is irksome, but
far from a deal breaker.
For a cutting-edge tablet with a powerful
engine, there’s very little better on the market - and with the low price,
Google has shaken up what users can expect from a tablet in a big way.
Nexus
generation: Google’s tablet is setting the standard
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Pros
·
Excellent value
·
Voice search
·
Super-sharp screen
Cons
·
Lack of expandable storage
·
No 3G
·
Few video file types supported
Dimensions
·
Height: 198.5mm
·
Width: 120mm
·
Depth: 10.45mm
·
Weight: 340g
·
Screen size: 7-inch
Specification
·
Supplier: http://play.google.com
·
OS: Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
·
Processor: Nvidia
Tegra 3 1.3GHz
·
RAM: 1GB
·
Storage: 8GB
·
Expansion: None
·
Rear camera: No
·
Front camera: 1.2MP
·
Screen type: IPS
·
Screen resolution: 1,280x800
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