I had the same issue. I tried a stereo audio test video from YouTube, and it seemed one of the pair of speakers had already blown on/before arrival, whilst the other was fine.
Well said. It really is a shame. The Nexus 7 is such a fantastic tablet to use. If not for these minor flaws (the speaker, lack of hdmi, lack of expandable memory) this would be a perfect product. It would have taken the gold editor's award easily.
But having said that, I can't complain about the $199 price tag and I suppose you get what you pay for.
But being the first ever tablet Google has made, I think things in the 7 inch market looks very promising. Other manufacturers (Apple, Amazon, Samsung) will have no choice but to make an even better tablet for the same price in order to take market share in the 7 inch category.
I'm disappointed that micro SD slots seem to be disappearing from high profile Android devices and frustrating reviewers seem to skip over it. I can see why manufacturers want to take micro SD slots off devices but losing the slot is no benefit to consumers and being able to add lots of cheap memory to a device with an HD screen prime for video and games is useful.
Seeing how quickly my son's 8GB iPod touch filled up, I think they could have really used more memory. Web browsing and streaming is OK, but you won't be able to install very many games, or put a full music library on it. It can't be that much more expensive to add another 16 GB.
Maybe Google saw the gobs of cash Apple make from crazy high markups on storage once you lock your userbase out of choice in the matter.
I'm glad Android has internal competition in the smartphone area for this reason. Time will tell if my decision to opt for 8gb is a bad one, but really since it has no camera I'll only ever run out of space when copying something onto it which puts me firmly in control and I'm fine with that.
Applaud mentioning that Google is charging $50 for $4 of NAND. Wondering why Apple is not reviewed with such analytic words.
Brian's and Anand's writing are the only knowledgeable content on this site, with the rest being filler material. That said, still not lowering my ad-block on Anandtech, since Anand drools praise on Apple products, throwing money at a 117b dollar rich company which is: monopolistic (in behavior if not absolute terms), dictatorial (imposing business-driven restrictions on technology), and unimaginative (riding wave of state of the art tech manufacturing, always at the cusp of killing established business models with many players for its sole profit)
IMO Anand is single minded and is narrow in his views. Yes, he appreciates "the best" tech, but is eager to distance himself from less obvious virtues and legacy concerns. It's also apparent he feels no responsibility and vision towards diversity, choice, and the underdogs in the industry, preferring the elite wherever possible, Intel over AMD, Apple over the rest. By being "objective" and focused on what he deems palatable and suitable, he is no different from Monsanto: technology in a vacuum, umbilical cord as leash.
And once he is happily on Apple's leash, you can see how his values get whipped around.
I have not had to pay for cloud storage. The N7 is a play store front-end for media streaming. Google is heavily pushing streaming services over local storage.
The USB port on this thing is compliant to MHL specs and future software should be able to enable HDMI adapters, but the software is not allowing full functionality yet. The USB port is also hardware compliant with USB OTG, it is just not enabled in software.
What is there for a reviewer to talk about besides simply stating it doesn't have one? Which they all do. It doesn't have one, this you know already, you're either ok with it, or it's not for you. They know what they did and they still chose to do it. Get over it?
As I read that, he says they don't have a microSD slot because it would make settings up things harder ("where does the camera save pictures, where should that app be installed?"). I am glad that I only have android devices with microSD slots. I don't agree with the dumbing down of options he wants. If I wanted that, I'd go with iOS. :-) Looks like I won't get any Nexus device any time soon.
Yeah, I don't think they've omitted the expandable storage slots for any one particular reason but more a combination of them... Usability + cost cutting + working out some technical aspects. Still, it's a compromise and he admits as much.
I think the best compromise is what HTC did with the EVO LTE and what I believe Samsung did with the SGS3: internal storage is all MTP so apps, media, and the OS can share the space without strict partitions and you don't need to unmount from theOS to sync content, and the external storage is still good old UMS so you can work around MTP sync issues and/or have expandable storage for media.
It's still a compromise tho, what Morrill states is true, not all apps are built to scan external storage or handle the disconnect of it elegantly. The OS handles it just fine in the case of music/photos IMO (since there's a media scanner) but other stuff can be hit or miss.
All my music lives in Spotify and I stream the vast majority of the movies/tv shows I watch. Plus, 90% of my tablet time is spent reading or browsing anyways.
Expandable storage is nice, but it certainly is not a blocking issue for my usage.
Agree. I think the Retina Macbook is the poster boy for this though. Not having upgradeable ram on a £2500 laptop is pretty inexcusable. What if I need more than 16GB to run virtual machines etc? It's the only thing which keeps me from buying one.
well, I have a pretty good set up at home for streaming most media to tablets and media devices. The extra 50 bucks for 16 gig was not worth it to me since I will not be traveling with it. I can watch all my movies, listen to all the songs in my library and read books. There are some decent apps - stock ticker, netflix, skype to mention a few. For 200 bucks it is a good deal if you can do without the extra storage or a sd card which I can...
Root it, install Stickmount, use any removable media with a USB OTG cable. If there was a better 7" alternative for $50 more or even $100 more that comment might make more sense... But as it is, the Nexus 7 is still a fantastic device and unless you're very tech averse the lack of expandable storage out of the box really isn't a big deal...
I'd even take a gamble that most people who'd balk at rooting the thing will probably never store enough media or games on it to really have an issue with 16GB, the 8GB model will be tight if you start to download big games left and right tho.
Boy you have no clue on the public and general end users. Let me help. They are utterly clueless, and when faced with storage constraints, they have no idea what to do, and deleting for space is above their user skills. That's the vast majority of purchasers.
A large portion of Android users are above the norm and believe in using their devices for more than Steve Jobs every believed you should get away with.
That article talks about the lack of SD cards, and honestly it makes sense to me. Also, keep in mind that they do have a 16 GB Nexus 7 available for purchase. Although, I think it's currently sold out.
My Kindle is fulled with books and audio books and I need more space. I am seriously thinking about purchasing the Nexus 7 as a replacement simply because XDA has provided a way to add more storage space via a dongle. Still, my eyes are shouting for a 10" reader as I know the 7" Kindle is always stressing as it is.
I would imagine it is the beginnings of an anti piracy drive as that is such a hot topic on Android and a key reason why some app just aren't available for it. Which is a great shame as having a Micro SD slot is emminently useful and cheaper than paying for manufacturer added storage.
iphone collection packs are readily available on newsgroups and websites. No more piracy on android than ios. That's a fallacy perpetuated by apple lovers. Nothing sneaky about leaving off a micro sd slot. Dead trigger was given away because of one of two things: The game sucks an reviews show it, or they just are apple lovers who ported it to give it away to hurt android. Why would you give your game away due to any piracy? No amount would make a sane person give away their work for good. There are NO honest people on android?...LOL. Sounds like a scam to me. How does angry birds make money then? OK, a 3rd option; they saw sales sucked so went with whichever had better sales and publicity stunt for the other platform (in this case android). I'd venture to guess sales still suck on IOS too... :) No amount of publicity crap will fix reviews in the 40's. Rovio isn't complaining about android sales.
Does your ipad3 come with micro sd? Must be because of all that piracy huh? Sounds like BS both ways eh? For $200-250 what did you expect to get? They blew away the kindle fire, asking much more is asking for the impossible at this price.
Make a better game that people enjoy (and isn't just a gpu fest) and it will sell. End users don't crack games, professional groups do and they do it just as well on ANY platform (including the PS3 now). Heck you can buy an xbox360 pre modded and ready to happily play your copies. Yet, for some reason people spew comments about PC's being so easy to pirate on...LOL. PC games have craploads of patches, thus needing more skilled users to update and crack said updates. I'd say it's tougher on a pc, where any monkey can buy a pre-modded console and boot a burned game from release groups.
As someone already said, most users can't even copy/delete files. Witness the number of people in forums etc asking why their pirated PC game doesn't work. "the game says insert disc etc, where's the crack?"...Umm, gee, did you check the \crack folder? Bother to read the nfo file?...ROFL. Followed by the inevitable "how do you open a .nfo file?" and it goes on an on. Worse, some just can't get past "how do you open a rar file, or .001, or .part1.rar"...At some point someone says RTFM or "google it" :)
The fact of the matter is that there is little incentive to jailbreak an iDevice anymore because Apple has added most of what was missing previously. You also lose alot like when Apple release a new iOS and you have to wait for it to be jailbroken.
However, for most Android users who do not own first party Google devices (at least the ones that still get updates...!). you need to root your phone to install updates in a timely manner. On most FAQS about rooting your phone there is inevitably a section discussing pirated apps. The availability and proliferation of pirate apps for Google is certainly nothing new, perhaps you have been willfully ignoring it. The stats on it from most of the developers who mention it are absolutely shocking.
This is the downside of having more technically adept users I suppose, but to pretend that it either doesn't exist or even more crazily that iOS developers release thei product on Android free to hurt the platform (hmm...) is paranoid delusional.
The fact is that Angry Birds on Android is free and *ad-supported*. It is not free. Rovio is at least canny enough to realise that the target market aren't prepared to even pay 1.99 for their hard work, and even those playing ad-supported games still complain about the in-game ads and use ad-blocking software so that still doesn't solve the problem. The 360 and also PS3 do ban users that they detect using pirated software online (everyone seems to play multiplayer these days) so no it is not just as easy to pirate on console to how easy it is on the PC.
I think it should be "winning a higher level accolade" instead of "winning a higher level allocade". It's always baffling to see pro tech editors not using a simple spell-check to finalize their articles. BTW, a nice article (as usual on AnandTech).
Pro or Moe ? Arrogant and ignorant. Imagine the heady region in where they dwell. If they need a spellchecker, they must be stupid. It's fear and low self esteem.
I'm curious now if a better flash memory controller is part of what gave iPads the fluidity lead up until this tablet, how do they fare in NAND performance?
You don't actually lose Amazon's video service. You can view Amazon Prime videos in any standard browser, I've got a shortcut on my Nexus 7 which just goes straight to Amazon's Video Service. What you do lose is access to the Lending Library.
Except that Flash isn't supported on Jelly Bean... I know, mine arrived yesterday and I tried that. Amazon either needs to release an Android app or move to HTML5.
But, I've already cancelled the auto-renewal on my Prime account due to their use of Flash DRM which requires a workaround to install the deprecated HAL package under Gentoo so it's not like I'm married to them. Google actually seems to be the only one that supports both Linux and Android, so I'll just start purchasing my video content from them.
The primary advantage of the Nexus 7 is price. If a tablet is so small you need to zoom, the sweet spot is the Galaxy Note. It's half the weight of the 7, fits in your shirt pocket, and combines the features of a phone, a camera, and a small tablet in one unit with the possibility of adding an additional 32 Gb of storage. The Note 2 will be even faster.
My netbook will be replaced by a Windows 8 hybrid eventually for full computing power. This and the Galaxy Note are all I will need to do everything mobile.
I think it depends on what you're using it for. I bought the Nexus 7 so that I can leave my phone docked up to my stereo and then look up recipes, check email, etc. while I'm in the kitchen cooking. The speakers are a bit weak, but it will probably also see some duty playing movies, again, while I'm cooking or perhaps when I'm on my treadmill. The missing storage hasn't been a problem for me with the way I use my phone and I always have my iPod available for music duty. Besides, for whatever reason, I've always had trouble with the micro SDs and corruption when copying large amounts of data onto them - so I'm actually relieved that Google Play means I no longer have to deal with that.
An unlocked Galaxy Note is over twice as expensive as the Nexus 7. It's only fair to compare unsubsidized vs unsubsidized pricing. Everyone's needs and wants are different, but the 'if you're going to zoom anyway' point is valid if one were going to get a subsidized phone anyway and can deal with the size of the Note as a phone.
Great stuff on the NAND performance, as well as the commentary on the screen configuration. Your reviews are consistently the most detailed and technically accurate I see.
One thing that would be interesting to do is NAND performance comparisons with the 16GB model. I believe this uses a different NAND controller, so you should see some different interesting behavior. And since the 16GB model is likely more popular than the 8GB one, this would be relevant to many people.
I would like to see similar tests (flash throughput) done also with smartphones. There has been rumors that there are some significant difference between some (e.g. iPhone and some Androids) and it would be interesting to know also for new WP devices.
Great product for those who don't mind reading on a 7" screen, but for me even the 10" gets tiring after a while, though considerably less so than a 7".
I am amazed at those who are able to read the tiny texts on a 7" for a prolonged period of time. Tried that with a 10" and couldn't last more than 1hr. Uh.
Tell that to the girls who are reading on iPhone with 3.5", I can barely see the tiny texts on their screen. Going from 3.5" to 7" will 4x their reading area, will make a heavenly difference for them.
Sorry to bring girls into the topic. I'm only saying that because I see a lot of girls in NYC subways with iPhone 4/4S. Most guys I saw in NYC subways are with bigger phones. Just reporting my observation.
And the point of the topic is that if people can read on 3.5", then reading on 7" will be a dramatic(4x) improvement.
Every buy a paperback with uncomfortably small lettering? Or even a hardcover that tries to look artsy by using an inconvenient font?
All (worthwhile) e-readers and e-reader apps allow for margin size, text size, and font style changes.
Argument is invalid; You can read a book on a 4" screen as optically comfortably as on a 10" screen, you'll just wear out your fingers flipping resized pages.
It's not invalid; I'd rather not have to enlarge everything and scroll a whole bunch just to read one 8" x 11" webpage.
Yes I can actually see the texts all shrunken on a 7", but I have no intention to torture myself in doing so. Rather spend that time on something more productive.
Besides I *did* say it's a great device didn't I?
And not all e-readers are stuck in 7". The Amazon DX is 10" which I also have, so.
Webpages, you're 100% right. I don't own a 10" tablet and even in landscape mode on a 7" many webpages can get uncomfortably small. Plus the scrolling.
Still, if the nook/kindle app is uncomfortable to read books with it's one's own fault for not making it comfortable with the many combinations of size options.
It's never comfortable as the screen needs to be closer so the eye fry syndrome overtakes any blurry eyed goon who can't read small text. I suspect a far sighted elderly person with bifocals can hold it at arms length and "telescope" in to the text, but then, have never seen that.
Next we'll have a flurry of articles analyzing peeps with facial skin cancer then we'll have the scare articles that quote the hidden study.
In the mean time the tiny teens and teeny texts can increase corporate visine profit margins.
Yes, because before e-readers/tablets all the books I purchased were 10" + in physical size, and I had to hold mass market paperbacks 5" away from my face to read the tiny words. You're a feisty one Cogburn.
First off, this is my first article response, though I've been lurking since 2004.
A nitpick to start things off: I know this site tests a ton of mobile hardware so why are some models shown for some tests in an article and not others -in the same article- as comparisons? For instance, my Droid Razr Maxx is in a few comparisons (not this article) but not all. Should maybe be a database cataloguing them all, ala the gfx card benches section? (Or if there is I'm too dense to see it...)
Otherwise, excellent article as always. Especially interested in how the flash storage is the main bottleneck now. Tegra 3 could be a beast at multitasking if all its cores are accounted for, but would then get strangled by IO as soon as it is told to multitask- something a multi-core cpu should be amazing at.
You keep putting Windows RT together with Windows 8, as if they are the same thing and will be just as successful (or will fail just as much). But in what way is a Windows RT tablet, especially one that is twice as expensive, or at least as expensive as an iPad, better than an Android tablet? Is there an advantage at all that they hold over Android tablets? Because I see none, and I'm not sure why you keep up-playing Windows RT while downplaying Android tablet throughout your article.
Agreed....a hybrid x86 Win8 device might appeal to some people, but a WinRT ARM tablet is not inherently better than Android. I would actually argue Android is better because its app ecosystem is more mature and all the Google services apps are a given. Metro is completely unproven.
WinRT will have the limited desktop with a simplified set of Office apps, that's it. I don't care about that at all, along with many other people I'm sure.
Office RT is the only clear advantage out of the gate, if they actually provide a featured desktop conversion that just happens to run on ARM... If all they put out is a Metro stepchild then that goes out the window. (no pun intended) It's a big selling point tho, but only if Win RT tablets are price competitive with iPads and Android tablets.
Personally I'm still not sold on this holy grail of device convergence either way. 12" or smaller laptops are too cramped for serious work, and tablets just aren't as comfortable for use around the house at that size either. 7" or 8.9" is ideal IMO, specially as an addition to a 13"-14" laptop which is probably the most common scenario.
I say that despite having enjoyed using a 10" ASUS Transformer for over a year now. Currently I have that and a 3 year old netbook and I'm really yearning for a larger laptop replacement for the latter and a smaller tablet in the long run (the TF + dock has been a nice replacement for the netbook when traveling without work duties tho).
Why will Win8 Tablets cannibalize Android tablets?
I'm all for more competition, and MS is definitely bringing it, but are you implying it'll overtake Android right away? MS has a long way to go before that. Even their specs seems underpar, except for the intel powered one, which comes in at ultrabook pricing...
If that... I seriously don't see how Intel powered tablet hybrids will come in at ultrabook pricing all the while sporting better displays and near identical hardware all around (with a more complex builds). Something's gotta give, or the build quality of ultrabooks has inflated prices a ton...
Windows 8 RT is DOA. No apps, no way to compete, and it's too late in the game to start a new third party base. Windows 8 pro tablets are GREAT, except that they won't be price anywhere close to being competitive, so those are kind of DOA too in a different way. Very few people would pay $800-1000 for a tablet.
Thanks for the video review, I started missing them already! :D
If the Nexus had an SD slot and more storage out of the box without a 50USD increase in cost, I'd probably already have one. As it stands now, I'm content with my Chinese tablet (Cube U30GT). It has issues, but for the price (260€) it is pretty great. And I'm 100% with you, paying too much for tablets right now is not a smart move, considering the rapidity of the hardware development.
You do realize this pricing is actually super generous on Google's behalf (they're selling it at a loss), yet you want them to include a MicroSD, and have more storage without the $50 bump. I'm all for a MicroSD but you're getting a wee bit too greedy here. There's a reason it's out of stock almost everywhere.
Hey, I think the biggest differences between the devices is in their aspect ratio and he HDMI output. Please check this link to hear my 50 cents on it... http://bit.ly/OezNK7
He didn't test functionality once rooted tho, just speculated on it... Stickmount has since been proven to work and rooting Nexus devices is fairly easy, so this is an alternative for expandable storage for all but the most timid users.
Google has known about this issue and fails to correct it for 2 years now. Really painful. I own this item and cannot recommend it to anyone beacause it simply can't logon in many places I'd like to use it including airports, hospitals, etc etc
Troll much? If you need iTunes, then get AirSync and Doubletwist. It has been around for a quite a while. It works. Or get an Apple product. They have iTunes.
Both of those as well as iSyncr and Kies are awful,amateurish and buggy and make you yearn for an iDevice. I sold my Galaxy 3 because it's support for actually playing music and even getting it on the phone in the first place seemed to bring me back to 2001 before I got my first iPod. No triple tap to rewind on remote, no easy way to get to the music controls when the phone display is off (like double tapping home), dragging and dropping locking the phone during transfer made something which was previously so extraordinarily basic and straighforward the bane of my life. The couple of people in my team that still have Android devices I asked about it just said that they also carried iPods with them for music. At this point I got fed up and sold it, then went back to the iPhone 4S which might not have a big screen and such a 'modern' customisable OS, but beats it in every other meaningful way including syncing everything I need between multiple iDevices and my Desktops-easily and actually having the apps which I want available.
I question the implicit suggestion that an ios device provides a perfectly smooth ui experience. Forgetting the universal stutter of navigating to the search screen, the system will certainly slow down/stutter under load. IOS is the best out there currently but it could be improved as illustrated above.
One more thing: the lag that happened when there was high io suggests that android isn't properly using the softirq for io that the preempt kernel provides. As for the cheap nand, I don't see why the oems couldn't use raw nand and then use a file system like nilfs or one of the others to let the kernel properly handle the io.
Interestingly, the Trinity kernel seems to improve IO throughput when used in conjunction with a certain script (TKT app runs the script when opened, I believe.)
Yeah, I never got why it could be mostly smooth but going to a that blank search screen always lagged. Also similar to this if an app is writing to NAND it can take a while to get back to the home screen.
To be fair the Kindle still has one other advantage as an e-Reader, you get to borrow a free book per month if you're a Prime member, in addition to the free video streaming support. So here it's really Amazon's ecosystem that's the Kindle's big feature-if you've bought into their ecosystem it'll give you quite a bit more content and they have a $39 per year student Prime (that you get after the expired Student trial) that does let you access videos/books.
Of course if you're into the Amazon ecosystem I'd suspect that you're waiting on the Fire 2.
I think Gabe Newells comments regarding Apples controlling access is applicable to this device and Google. Google wants us on their cloud to sell us content.....its one of their business models. Amazon does the same.....but you can be smart and buy the CD. I think the more we talk about these issues the better......as knowledge is power. For me....this device doesn't work because of the lack of memory....and the known lack of sound quality.
I feel you're ignoring the Playbook comparison a bit too much in this review. I've just bought a new Playbook 32GB for $175. Same 7" screen size (lower res though), OMAP4, bigger battery, better cam (front & back), .... Playbook OS is very usable since version 2.0. I use mine strictly professionally and at that, it's probably better than iOS en Android. Version 2.1 is around the corner and 3.0 around new years. Maybe not the best option if you're an app addict but the amazing multitasking combined with what most call the best mobile browsing experience, made this a no brainer for me. The 'Print to Go' feature is very handy.
I have a Playbook too (earned it for porting an Android app). Playbook as muchhhhh better speakers.
Nexus 7 is what I grab for if I'm reading, etc. It's lighter than the Kindle and Nook so it's a lot more comfortable to hold for extended periods of time. And no comparison to any 10" tablet...not sure what he reviewer is thinking...the 7" ones have a perfect use case for reading and playing games. The 10" ones might be better for web surfing for a little while until you get tired of holding it...
One of my frustrations with the Fire (one of many) is the WiFi reconnect when you wake the device. It would frequently take 20-30 seconds, and that's a ton of time for a casual use device. On the other hand the iPad just seems to be always on the Internet. Pick it up, launch the browser, the Internet is on. I know that can't actually be the case, as it would decimate battery life, but the iPad somehow manages the WiFi connection almost perfectly.
So, I am wondering how the Nexus 7 performs in this regard.
If it's anything like ASUS' other tablets (minus the Prime & it's signal strength issues) then it should be pretty seamless. I've rarely ever been held back while waiting for my original Transformer to connect, and I actually have it set to go into airplane mode when the screen is off, for maximum battery life... So it's doing a cold reconnect every time and it's usually good to go before I tap the browser icon.
I'm pretty sure it reconnects faster than my Krait phone, tho the handover from 3G to Wifi is probably never given priority.
FWIW, the TF loses about half a percentage of battery life like that when sleeping. You can set it to always remain connected if you wanna receive live notifications or whatever but it'll obviously chew threw battery life much faster (probably twice as fast while idle, so you'd need to charge it every night or every other night at best).
My Chinese tablet and my SGS2 have Wifi set to always on and there is nearly no battery drainage. My SGS2 has standby time of over 5 days with Wifi on and occasional talks. My tablet has standby for over 2 days and I have never gotten it from 100% to <5% battery in a single day so far. Wifi is quite tame these days, I don't see any reason to not have it on all the time.
I like to use uncompressed MKV. One of the things I would love if Anantech looked at was ability for the tablet to decode various vidoeos. For example, I've had some trouble playing h264 1080p .MOV files smoothly (it was pretty bad, actually), but I haven't messed with it much yet. I'm confident that a good codec for 1080p content should scale the Nexus 7 display properly and still provide fluid playback.
Since the SoC is strong enough to play back anything I throw at it from my normal TV media station, why I should I have to re-encode it for storage sake when storage is about the cheapest thing in the BOM of any tablet? Yes, I can do that, but I gain nothing from it except spend time when a few dollars worth of NAND could have gotten better results. And 700mb for 720p lasts you about 20 to 40 minutes, depending on how many audio streams you have and how much quality you want.
Hi, nice review, as always, but a couple of reviews back you had a plot about device efficiency (a quotient of battery life and battery size).
It would be nice to have a repository article following the evolution of power efficiency with OS updates and the influence of the different CPU architectures.
how can the nexus 7 handle a shared device (i.e. multiple family members or guests) who don't want their gmail to necessarily be viewable by all? thank you
Why only bronze? I say if you are looking to buy a tablet without data, the Nexus 7 is at the best price point . Anandtech used to be about price/performance. I'm dissapointed.
An excellent review very thorough in important areas not covered by other reviewers, and with good insights comparing N7 with alternatives.
However I think your verdict should list more negatives than limited unexpandable storage. To my mind another serious limitation of the hardware is lack of HDMI out. I seek a small tablet (with enough memory to hold a reasonable selection of films) I can take around the home and plug into any TV to view, or likewise watch the films at a friends home. I want a tablet to be more multifunction, so when at the bedside it can be both both monitor CCTV and be used as an Alarm Clock Radio as it almost certainly has a FM radio in the same Broadcom chip for the WiFi & BT. Adding HDMI Out, be it via discrete HDMI socket, or cheap USB/MHL solution, and making available the embedded FM Radio, adds neglible cost to the product and makes it more widely useful.
I would be tempted to buy this but the lack of decent speakers on a tablet like this is one of the deal killers for me. The other one is the lack of an SD card slot. Sure, it's up to preference, but the way I see it is more and more ISPs are moving to tiered services, so to do everything across the cloud will cost more.
Moore's law is in full effect in the tablet world. Given the recent technological progress in components and the slew of new hardware about to hit the streets, I think the differences in the actual devices will become narrow to the point of being insignificant (excluding Windows RT/8, primary computing tablets for now). The key differentiation, in my opinion, lays in the various ecosystems. iTunes vs. Amazon vs. Google Play is where the battle will be won or lost. Sustainable competitive advantage on hardware will be short lived to non existent.
While I agree for the larger portion of the market, I think the enthusiast market cannot be ignored. There will always be those who want the absolute best hardware and will just load up AOSP/AOKP. I think the enthusiast market will find a way to bring multi-platform support to their device.
Anyone that thinks Windows 8 Tablets will be competitive at all are fooling themselves. People use Windows devices because they have to, not because they want to. i5/i7-based designs don't offer the kind of battery life and form factor needed for what people have come to expect in the storage space and Tegra 3/ARM based windows 8 tablets offer nothing more hardware wise than current tablets.
That leaves only the GUI and OS as the differentiating factor between Windows Tablets and Current Tablets. Do people really think that Windows 8 will offer anything near the experience of current android and iOS tablets? Everyone using the RC (including me) is underwhelmed. This is the same Microsoft that produced tablet laptop's for years that nobody bought. Thanks but no thanks, Windows 8 will be a laughingstock just like windows phone.
Another troll.. all you provide are your opinions and you think they're a reflection of the majority.
"People use Windows devices because they have to.." plenty of other OS out there if you don't like windows. And guess what? a lot of people do like it.
"Do people really think that Windows 8 will offer anything near the experience of current android and iOS tablets?" Euh yeah it will, how about proper compatibility and seamless transition between your pc and your tablet for a start? I'm a New Ipad owner, and i find the OS very limiting. Awaiting a windows tablet.
"Everyone using the RC (including me) is underwhelmed.." have you used it in a tablet environment? thought so.
"Thanks but no thanks, Windows 8 will be a laughingstock just like windows phone". Of course, you'd know that already.
but the samsung tab 7.0 (p1000) i use has 3G, has micro SD slot.
7inch is perfect size for on the go, emergency phone in a pinch, read comics, books, films.
Nexus, much better hardware specs all round, but critically crippled for what you actually want to use it for. Shame really. Samsung sucks with OS upgrades, you have to root it just to get ICS, nevermind jellybean!
" In every sense outside of portability, a 10-inch display is much nicer to look at than a 7-inch one in my opinion. There's less zooming in you need to do on web pages or magazines. Text in general is just easier to read and perhaps I'm getting too old, but there's something nice about everything being comfortably bigger. Read more at http://www.anandtech.com/show/6073/the-google-nexu... "
really, anand, really? would you say the 17 inch notebook is much nicer to look at than 12 inch one?
my company laptop is a pain in the ass 17 inch dream color elitebook, but i find myself using 12 inch thinpad x unless i absolutely have to do use the company laptop. it is not always the bigger the better.
with that said, i have both ipad 3 and nexus 7, and my experience has been entirely different from yours. the ipad3 is way to heavy as a tablet, and if i have to use a dedicate carrying device, i find myself using 12 inch laptop most of time. the nexus 7, however, is so light (which you should really focus more in the review IMHO) and allow you to use to use it like a tablet. it also magically fit in all my pants and as someone who travels 70% of time, this is a god send.
apple is making a big mistake not to release the mini ipad, and now the market is taken.
Nobody, not a single reviewer, mentioned that you can't turn the N7 sideways and get a landscape view in the OS itself or the google play book reader and nook apps. Supposedly video works on landscape by default and apps CAN theoretically change the view but just don't.
I have finally found how to enable rotation. Drag from the top downwards and there is a button there to unlock rotation. Rereading the threads (and since then some coverage), its only the home screen which has auto rotate disabled.
Hey Anand! Great job for the video review! I often get bored while reading loong tech articles.... But ur video review was refreshingly nice! Keep up the great work by providing readers with many options!
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trajik78 - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
my buddy at work just got his Nex7. it's great, but the speaker is REALLY REALLY bad. distorts even at low volume.rfdparker - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
I had the same issue. I tried a stereo audio test video from YouTube, and it seemed one of the pair of speakers had already blown on/before arrival, whilst the other was fine.So I'm getting it swapped today.
ImSpartacus - Saturday, July 28, 2012 - link
If Google had to skimp somewhere, I'm glad they skimped on the speakers.klmccaughey - Wednesday, August 8, 2012 - link
You still need *useable* speakers. If they are so bad you can't hear a thing then that rather detracts from the whole experience.lordsaytor - Friday, September 14, 2012 - link
Well said. It really is a shame. The Nexus 7 is such a fantastic tablet to use. If not for these minor flaws (the speaker, lack of hdmi, lack of expandable memory) this would be a perfect product. It would have taken the gold editor's award easily.But having said that, I can't complain about the $199 price tag and I suppose you get what you pay for.
But being the first ever tablet Google has made, I think things in the 7 inch market looks very promising. Other manufacturers (Apple, Amazon, Samsung) will have no choice but to make an even better tablet for the same price in order to take market share in the 7 inch category.
Johnmcl7 - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
I'm disappointed that micro SD slots seem to be disappearing from high profile Android devices and frustrating reviewers seem to skip over it. I can see why manufacturers want to take micro SD slots off devices but losing the slot is no benefit to consumers and being able to add lots of cheap memory to a device with an HD screen prime for video and games is useful.John
Wiggy McShades - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
I'd imagine google wants to try and sell people cloud storage rather than let them go and buy a micro sd card.mcnabney - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Which makes no sense on a WiFi-only device.NoNeedForMonkeys - Saturday, August 4, 2012 - link
My N7 is wifi tethered to my phone when I am mobile.kmmatney - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Seeing how quickly my son's 8GB iPod touch filled up, I think they could have really used more memory. Web browsing and streaming is OK, but you won't be able to install very many games, or put a full music library on it. It can't be that much more expensive to add another 16 GB.bennyg - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
Maybe Google saw the gobs of cash Apple make from crazy high markups on storage once you lock your userbase out of choice in the matter.I'm glad Android has internal competition in the smartphone area for this reason. Time will tell if my decision to opt for 8gb is a bad one, but really since it has no camera I'll only ever run out of space when copying something onto it which puts me firmly in control and I'm fine with that.
fmcjw - Thursday, August 2, 2012 - link
Applaud mentioning that Google is charging $50 for $4 of NAND. Wondering why Apple is not reviewed with such analytic words.Brian's and Anand's writing are the only knowledgeable content on this site, with the rest being filler material. That said, still not lowering my ad-block on Anandtech, since Anand drools praise on Apple products, throwing money at a 117b dollar rich company which is:
monopolistic (in behavior if not absolute terms),
dictatorial (imposing business-driven restrictions on technology), and
unimaginative (riding wave of state of the art tech manufacturing, always at the cusp of killing established business models with many players for its sole profit)
IMO Anand is single minded and is narrow in his views. Yes, he appreciates "the best" tech, but is eager to distance himself from less obvious virtues and legacy concerns. It's also apparent he feels no responsibility and vision towards diversity, choice, and the underdogs in the industry, preferring the elite wherever possible, Intel over AMD, Apple over the rest. By being "objective" and focused on what he deems palatable and suitable, he is no different from Monsanto: technology in a vacuum, umbilical cord as leash.
And once he is happily on Apple's leash, you can see how his values get whipped around.
NoNeedForMonkeys - Saturday, August 4, 2012 - link
I have not had to pay for cloud storage. The N7 is a play store front-end for media streaming. Google is heavily pushing streaming services over local storage.The USB port on this thing is compliant to MHL specs and future software should be able to enable HDMI adapters, but the software is not allowing full functionality yet. The USB port is also hardware compliant with USB OTG, it is just not enabled in software.
EnzoFX - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
What is there for a reviewer to talk about besides simply stating it doesn't have one? Which they all do. It doesn't have one, this you know already, you're either ok with it, or it's not for you. They know what they did and they still chose to do it. Get over it?Sined - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
To be honest, it's a bit unfair to knock on any Android Device for the lack of MicroSD card storage.Dan Morrill of Google's Android Team explains why:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/11/18/impromptu-...
It has to do with how USB Mass Storage works and how Apps and Media mingle in the same storage when dealing with internal storage only.
Ideally, ALL Android devices should have SD Cards but Android hasn't matured in that department enough to have them on the Nexus Line.
Death666Angel - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
As I read that, he says they don't have a microSD slot because it would make settings up things harder ("where does the camera save pictures, where should that app be installed?"). I am glad that I only have android devices with microSD slots. I don't agree with the dumbing down of options he wants. If I wanted that, I'd go with iOS. :-) Looks like I won't get any Nexus device any time soon.leexgx - Saturday, July 28, 2012 - link
Samsung seem to do it right, the as the main 16gb mem (for example) is split norm 2gb and 12gb (that shows as an SD card)and ones with an SD card slot are shown as an second SD card slot
robinthakur - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
Yes, a shame that the phone slows down so much when you start filling up the internal memory though, its like it doesn't ring-fence enough for the OS.Impulses - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Yeah, I don't think they've omitted the expandable storage slots for any one particular reason but more a combination of them... Usability + cost cutting + working out some technical aspects. Still, it's a compromise and he admits as much.I think the best compromise is what HTC did with the EVO LTE and what I believe Samsung did with the SGS3: internal storage is all MTP so apps, media, and the OS can share the space without strict partitions and you don't need to unmount from theOS to sync content, and the external storage is still good old UMS so you can work around MTP sync issues and/or have expandable storage for media.
It's still a compromise tho, what Morrill states is true, not all apps are built to scan external storage or handle the disconnect of it elegantly. The OS handles it just fine in the case of music/photos IMO (since there's a media scanner) but other stuff can be hit or miss.
Shadowmaster625 - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Anyone who buys a device like this with no storage option is just a fool. Let it burn.dcollins - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Not everyone is like you.All my music lives in Spotify and I stream the vast majority of the movies/tv shows I watch. Plus, 90% of my tablet time is spent reading or browsing anyways.
Expandable storage is nice, but it certainly is not a blocking issue for my usage.
CeriseCogburn - Sunday, July 29, 2012 - link
I love that how all the screaming for future proof options is out the window.Steve Jobs loves it too.
robinthakur - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
Agree. I think the Retina Macbook is the poster boy for this though. Not having upgradeable ram on a £2500 laptop is pretty inexcusable. What if I need more than 16GB to run virtual machines etc? It's the only thing which keeps me from buying one.dmyster - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
well, I have a pretty good set up at home for streaming most media to tablets and media devices. The extra 50 bucks for 16 gig was not worth it to me since I will not be traveling with it. I can watch all my movies, listen to all the songs in my library and read books. There are some decent apps - stock ticker, netflix, skype to mention a few. For 200 bucks it is a good deal if you can do without the extra storage or a sd card which I can...Impulses - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Root it, install Stickmount, use any removable media with a USB OTG cable. If there was a better 7" alternative for $50 more or even $100 more that comment might make more sense... But as it is, the Nexus 7 is still a fantastic device and unless you're very tech averse the lack of expandable storage out of the box really isn't a big deal...I'd even take a gamble that most people who'd balk at rooting the thing will probably never store enough media or games on it to really have an issue with 16GB, the 8GB model will be tight if you start to download big games left and right tho.
CeriseCogburn - Sunday, July 29, 2012 - link
Boy you have no clue on the public and general end users.Let me help.
They are utterly clueless, and when faced with storage constraints, they have no idea what to do, and deleting for space is above their user skills.
That's the vast majority of purchasers.
TheJian - Wednesday, August 1, 2012 - link
Don't confuse apple users with Android users :)We don't call them SHEEPLE for nothing ;)
A large portion of Android users are above the norm and believe in using their devices for more than Steve Jobs every believed you should get away with.
NoNeedForMonkeys - Saturday, August 4, 2012 - link
Perhaps you should burn every iOS device for not having expandable storage.lunarx3dfx - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
http://www.androidcentral.com/why-nexus-devices-ha...That article talks about the lack of SD cards, and honestly it makes sense to me. Also, keep in mind that they do have a 16 GB Nexus 7 available for purchase. Although, I think it's currently sold out.
CeriseCogburn - Sunday, July 29, 2012 - link
Of course it's sold out.The0ne - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
My Kindle is fulled with books and audio books and I need more space. I am seriously thinking about purchasing the Nexus 7 as a replacement simply because XDA has provided a way to add more storage space via a dongle. Still, my eyes are shouting for a 10" reader as I know the 7" Kindle is always stressing as it is.robinthakur - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
I would imagine it is the beginnings of an anti piracy drive as that is such a hot topic on Android and a key reason why some app just aren't available for it. Which is a great shame as having a Micro SD slot is emminently useful and cheaper than paying for manufacturer added storage.TheJian - Wednesday, August 1, 2012 - link
iphone collection packs are readily available on newsgroups and websites. No more piracy on android than ios. That's a fallacy perpetuated by apple lovers. Nothing sneaky about leaving off a micro sd slot. Dead trigger was given away because of one of two things: The game sucks an reviews show it, or they just are apple lovers who ported it to give it away to hurt android. Why would you give your game away due to any piracy? No amount would make a sane person give away their work for good. There are NO honest people on android?...LOL. Sounds like a scam to me. How does angry birds make money then? OK, a 3rd option; they saw sales sucked so went with whichever had better sales and publicity stunt for the other platform (in this case android). I'd venture to guess sales still suck on IOS too... :) No amount of publicity crap will fix reviews in the 40's. Rovio isn't complaining about android sales.Does your ipad3 come with micro sd? Must be because of all that piracy huh? Sounds like BS both ways eh? For $200-250 what did you expect to get? They blew away the kindle fire, asking much more is asking for the impossible at this price.
Make a better game that people enjoy (and isn't just a gpu fest) and it will sell. End users don't crack games, professional groups do and they do it just as well on ANY platform (including the PS3 now). Heck you can buy an xbox360 pre modded and ready to happily play your copies. Yet, for some reason people spew comments about PC's being so easy to pirate on...LOL. PC games have craploads of patches, thus needing more skilled users to update and crack said updates. I'd say it's tougher on a pc, where any monkey can buy a pre-modded console and boot a burned game from release groups.
As someone already said, most users can't even copy/delete files. Witness the number of people in forums etc asking why their pirated PC game doesn't work. "the game says insert disc etc, where's the crack?"...Umm, gee, did you check the \crack folder? Bother to read the nfo file?...ROFL. Followed by the inevitable "how do you open a .nfo file?" and it goes on an on. Worse, some just can't get past "how do you open a rar file, or .001, or .part1.rar"...At some point someone says RTFM or "google it" :)
robinthakur - Friday, August 31, 2012 - link
The fact of the matter is that there is little incentive to jailbreak an iDevice anymore because Apple has added most of what was missing previously. You also lose alot like when Apple release a new iOS and you have to wait for it to be jailbroken.However, for most Android users who do not own first party Google devices (at least the ones that still get updates...!). you need to root your phone to install updates in a timely manner. On most FAQS about rooting your phone there is inevitably a section discussing pirated apps. The availability and proliferation of pirate apps for Google is certainly nothing new, perhaps you have been willfully ignoring it. The stats on it from most of the developers who mention it are absolutely shocking.
This is the downside of having more technically adept users I suppose, but to pretend that it either doesn't exist or even more crazily that iOS developers release thei product on Android free to hurt the platform (hmm...) is paranoid delusional.
The fact is that Angry Birds on Android is free and *ad-supported*. It is not free. Rovio is at least canny enough to realise that the target market aren't prepared to even pay 1.99 for their hard work, and even those playing ad-supported games still complain about the in-game ads and use ad-blocking software so that still doesn't solve the problem. The 360 and also PS3 do ban users that they detect using pirated software online (everyone seems to play multiplayer these days) so no it is not just as easy to pirate on console to how easy it is on the PC.
GTForce - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
I think it should be "winning a higher level accolade" instead of "winning a higher level allocade". It's always baffling to see pro tech editors not using a simple spell-check to finalize their articles. BTW, a nice article (as usual on AnandTech).CeriseCogburn - Sunday, July 29, 2012 - link
Pro or Moe ?Arrogant and ignorant.
Imagine the heady region in where they dwell.
If they need a spellchecker, they must be stupid.
It's fear and low self esteem.
tipoo - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
I'm curious now if a better flash memory controller is part of what gave iPads the fluidity lead up until this tablet, how do they fare in NAND performance?wendoman - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
"The video below shows you what can happen on a Transformer Pad Infinity while downloading a bunch of large files in the background:"Where the video?
driscoll42 - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
You don't actually lose Amazon's video service. You can view Amazon Prime videos in any standard browser, I've got a shortcut on my Nexus 7 which just goes straight to Amazon's Video Service. What you do lose is access to the Lending Library.geniekid - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Good point. I use Amazon VoD a lot, which is the best argument for myself in getting a Kindle Fire over this thing.I wonder what the difference between the KF and Nexus 7 is in terms of how long it takes to get from the home screen to actual streaming video.
Sprchkn - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Except that Flash isn't supported on Jelly Bean... I know, mine arrived yesterday and I tried that. Amazon either needs to release an Android app or move to HTML5.But, I've already cancelled the auto-renewal on my Prime account due to their use of Flash DRM which requires a workaround to install the deprecated HAL package under Gentoo so it's not like I'm married to them. Google actually seems to be the only one that supports both Linux and Android, so I'll just start purchasing my video content from them.
Impulses - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Flash works fine on Jelly Bean under Firefox and other browsers, just need to side load it.RamarC - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
will allow usb tthumb drive/sd cards to be used with the Nexus 7.WolvenSpectre - Thursday, November 8, 2012 - link
The problem is that it doesn't give you any write capability.Pino - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
"213 pixels per inch in a 7 inch display is unique for an Android tablet"Lenovo´s S2007 tablet has such a display and was launched way before the Nexus 7:
http://appserver.lenovo.com.cn/Lenovo_lepadSeries_...
[email protected] - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
The primary advantage of the Nexus 7 is price. If a tablet is so small you need to zoom, the sweet spot is the Galaxy Note. It's half the weight of the 7, fits in your shirt pocket, and combines the features of a phone, a camera, and a small tablet in one unit with the possibility of adding an additional 32 Gb of storage. The Note 2 will be even faster.My netbook will be replaced by a Windows 8 hybrid eventually for full computing power. This and the Galaxy Note are all I will need to do everything mobile.
Sprchkn - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
I think it depends on what you're using it for. I bought the Nexus 7 so that I can leave my phone docked up to my stereo and then look up recipes, check email, etc. while I'm in the kitchen cooking. The speakers are a bit weak, but it will probably also see some duty playing movies, again, while I'm cooking or perhaps when I'm on my treadmill. The missing storage hasn't been a problem for me with the way I use my phone and I always have my iPod available for music duty. Besides, for whatever reason, I've always had trouble with the micro SDs and corruption when copying large amounts of data onto them - so I'm actually relieved that Google Play means I no longer have to deal with that.MadMan007 - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
An unlocked Galaxy Note is over twice as expensive as the Nexus 7. It's only fair to compare unsubsidized vs unsubsidized pricing. Everyone's needs and wants are different, but the 'if you're going to zoom anyway' point is valid if one were going to get a subsidized phone anyway and can deal with the size of the Note as a phone.hackbod - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Great stuff on the NAND performance, as well as the commentary on the screen configuration. Your reviews are consistently the most detailed and technically accurate I see.One thing that would be interesting to do is NAND performance comparisons with the 16GB model. I believe this uses a different NAND controller, so you should see some different interesting behavior. And since the 16GB model is likely more popular than the 8GB one, this would be relevant to many people.
risa2000 - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
I would like to see similar tests (flash throughput) done also with smartphones. There has been rumors that there are some significant difference between some (e.g. iPhone and some Androids) and it would be interesting to know also for new WP devices.chrnochime - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Great product for those who don't mind reading on a 7" screen, but for me even the 10" gets tiring after a while, though considerably less so than a 7".I am amazed at those who are able to read the tiny texts on a 7" for a prolonged period of time. Tried that with a 10" and couldn't last more than 1hr. Uh.
amdwilliam1985 - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Tell that to the girls who are reading on iPhone with 3.5", I can barely see the tiny texts on their screen.Going from 3.5" to 7" will 4x their reading area, will make a heavenly difference for them.
jamyryals - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
What does being a girl have to do with it? I read books on my 4s quite often when traveling. Last time I checked I was a man... Yup, still am.amdwilliam1985 - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Sorry to bring girls into the topic.I'm only saying that because I see a lot of girls in NYC subways with iPhone 4/4S. Most guys I saw in NYC subways are with bigger phones. Just reporting my observation.
And the point of the topic is that if people can read on 3.5", then reading on 7" will be a dramatic(4x) improvement.
Akilaehunter - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Every buy a paperback with uncomfortably small lettering? Or even a hardcover that tries to look artsy by using an inconvenient font?All (worthwhile) e-readers and e-reader apps allow for margin size, text size, and font style changes.
Argument is invalid; You can read a book on a 4" screen as optically comfortably as on a 10" screen, you'll just wear out your fingers flipping resized pages.
chrnochime - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
It's not invalid; I'd rather not have to enlarge everything and scroll a whole bunch just to read one 8" x 11" webpage.Yes I can actually see the texts all shrunken on a 7", but I have no intention to torture myself in doing so. Rather spend that time on something more productive.
Besides I *did* say it's a great device didn't I?
And not all e-readers are stuck in 7". The Amazon DX is 10" which I also have, so.
Akilaehunter - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Webpages, you're 100% right. I don't own a 10" tablet and even in landscape mode on a 7" many webpages can get uncomfortably small. Plus the scrolling.Still, if the nook/kindle app is uncomfortable to read books with it's one's own fault for not making it comfortable with the many combinations of size options.
CeriseCogburn - Sunday, July 29, 2012 - link
It's never comfortable as the screen needs to be closer so the eye fry syndrome overtakes any blurry eyed goon who can't read small text.I suspect a far sighted elderly person with bifocals can hold it at arms length and "telescope" in to the text, but then, have never seen that.
Next we'll have a flurry of articles analyzing peeps with facial skin cancer then we'll have the scare articles that quote the hidden study.
In the mean time the tiny teens and teeny texts can increase corporate visine profit margins.
They should call these devices "fryballs!"
Super56K - Monday, July 30, 2012 - link
Yes, because before e-readers/tablets all the books I purchased were 10" + in physical size, and I had to hold mass market paperbacks 5" away from my face to read the tiny words. You're a feisty one Cogburn.Akilaehunter - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
First off, this is my first article response, though I've been lurking since 2004.A nitpick to start things off: I know this site tests a ton of mobile hardware so why are some models shown for some tests in an article and not others -in the same article- as comparisons? For instance, my Droid Razr Maxx is in a few comparisons (not this article) but not all. Should maybe be a database cataloguing them all, ala the gfx card benches section? (Or if there is I'm too dense to see it...)
Otherwise, excellent article as always. Especially interested in how the flash storage is the main bottleneck now. Tegra 3 could be a beast at multitasking if all its cores are accounted for, but would then get strangled by IO as soon as it is told to multitask- something a multi-core cpu should be amazing at.
Lot to think about. :D
Sined - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Hey Anand, great review as usual.I want to point out something about the lack of an SDcard slot.
Dan Morrill from Google Android team explained on Reddit why Google is moving away from SDCard storage on Nexus Devices.
It's a really interesting read on the reasons why.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/11/18/impromptu-...
Lucian Armasu - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
You keep putting Windows RT together with Windows 8, as if they are the same thing and will be just as successful (or will fail just as much). But in what way is a Windows RT tablet, especially one that is twice as expensive, or at least as expensive as an iPad, better than an Android tablet? Is there an advantage at all that they hold over Android tablets? Because I see none, and I'm not sure why you keep up-playing Windows RT while downplaying Android tablet throughout your article.antef - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Agreed....a hybrid x86 Win8 device might appeal to some people, but a WinRT ARM tablet is not inherently better than Android. I would actually argue Android is better because its app ecosystem is more mature and all the Google services apps are a given. Metro is completely unproven.WinRT will have the limited desktop with a simplified set of Office apps, that's it. I don't care about that at all, along with many other people I'm sure.
Impulses - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Office RT is the only clear advantage out of the gate, if they actually provide a featured desktop conversion that just happens to run on ARM... If all they put out is a Metro stepchild then that goes out the window. (no pun intended) It's a big selling point tho, but only if Win RT tablets are price competitive with iPads and Android tablets.Personally I'm still not sold on this holy grail of device convergence either way. 12" or smaller laptops are too cramped for serious work, and tablets just aren't as comfortable for use around the house at that size either. 7" or 8.9" is ideal IMO, specially as an addition to a 13"-14" laptop which is probably the most common scenario.
I say that despite having enjoyed using a 10" ASUS Transformer for over a year now. Currently I have that and a 3 year old netbook and I'm really yearning for a larger laptop replacement for the latter and a smaller tablet in the long run (the TF + dock has been a nice replacement for the netbook when traveling without work duties tho).
EnzoFX - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Why will Win8 Tablets cannibalize Android tablets?I'm all for more competition, and MS is definitely bringing it, but are you implying it'll overtake Android right away? MS has a long way to go before that. Even their specs seems underpar, except for the intel powered one, which comes in at ultrabook pricing...
Impulses - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
If that... I seriously don't see how Intel powered tablet hybrids will come in at ultrabook pricing all the while sporting better displays and near identical hardware all around (with a more complex builds). Something's gotta give, or the build quality of ultrabooks has inflated prices a ton...TareX - Friday, August 3, 2012 - link
Windows 8 RT is DOA. No apps, no way to compete, and it's too late in the game to start a new third party base. Windows 8 pro tablets are GREAT, except that they won't be price anywhere close to being competitive, so those are kind of DOA too in a different way. Very few people would pay $800-1000 for a tablet.Death666Angel - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Thanks for the video review, I started missing them already! :DIf the Nexus had an SD slot and more storage out of the box without a 50USD increase in cost, I'd probably already have one. As it stands now, I'm content with my Chinese tablet (Cube U30GT). It has issues, but for the price (260€) it is pretty great. And I'm 100% with you, paying too much for tablets right now is not a smart move, considering the rapidity of the hardware development.
TareX - Friday, August 3, 2012 - link
You do realize this pricing is actually super generous on Google's behalf (they're selling it at a loss), yet you want them to include a MicroSD, and have more storage without the $50 bump. I'm all for a MicroSD but you're getting a wee bit too greedy here. There's a reason it's out of stock almost everywhere.Mr. Context - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Hey, I think the biggest differences between the devices is in their aspect ratio and he HDMI output. Please check this link to hear my 50 cents on it... http://bit.ly/OezNK7designerfx - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
USB OTG is supported - just not in stock. If you root you can indeed get apps to work out USB OTG.secretmanofagent - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
This has actually been talked about previously on Anandtech by one of the authors:http://www.anandtech.com/show/6061/mhl-and-usbotg-...
Impulses - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
He didn't test functionality once rooted tho, just speculated on it... Stickmount has since been proven to work and rooting Nexus devices is fairly easy, so this is an alternative for expandable storage for all but the most timid users.Sunburn74 - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Yeah I bought this thing to use at work. It doesn't work with the open guest wifi. Really disappointing. I'm contemplating selling it off therefore.otherwise its great.
Sunburn74 - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
It will fail with numerous public guest wifi networkshttp://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?can...
Google has known about this issue and fails to correct it for 2 years now. Really painful. I own this item and cannot recommend it to anyone beacause it simply can't logon in many places I'd like to use it including airports, hospitals, etc etc
edwpang - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Thank you for pointing out this issue.HJustin - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
No iTunes, no thanks.ssddaydream - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Troll much?If you need iTunes, then get AirSync and Doubletwist. It has been around for a quite a while. It works.
Or get an Apple product. They have iTunes.
robinthakur - Friday, August 31, 2012 - link
Both of those as well as iSyncr and Kies are awful,amateurish and buggy and make you yearn for an iDevice. I sold my Galaxy 3 because it's support for actually playing music and even getting it on the phone in the first place seemed to bring me back to 2001 before I got my first iPod. No triple tap to rewind on remote, no easy way to get to the music controls when the phone display is off (like double tapping home), dragging and dropping locking the phone during transfer made something which was previously so extraordinarily basic and straighforward the bane of my life. The couple of people in my team that still have Android devices I asked about it just said that they also carried iPods with them for music. At this point I got fed up and sold it, then went back to the iPhone 4S which might not have a big screen and such a 'modern' customisable OS, but beats it in every other meaningful way including syncing everything I need between multiple iDevices and my Desktops-easily and actually having the apps which I want available.tuxRoller - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
I question the implicit suggestion that an ios device provides a perfectly smooth ui experience. Forgetting the universal stutter of navigating to the search screen, the system will certainly slow down/stutter under load. IOS is the best out there currently but it could be improved as illustrated above.tuxRoller - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
One more thing: the lag that happened when there was high io suggests that android isn't properly using the softirq for io that the preempt kernel provides.As for the cheap nand, I don't see why the oems couldn't use raw nand and then use a file system like nilfs or one of the others to let the kernel properly handle the io.
ssddaydream - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Interestingly, the Trinity kernel seems to improve IO throughput when used in conjunction with a certain script (TKT app runs the script when opened, I believe.)tipoo - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Yeah, I never got why it could be mostly smooth but going to a that blank search screen always lagged. Also similar to this if an app is writing to NAND it can take a while to get back to the home screen.TekDemon - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
To be fair the Kindle still has one other advantage as an e-Reader, you get to borrow a free book per month if you're a Prime member, in addition to the free video streaming support. So here it's really Amazon's ecosystem that's the Kindle's big feature-if you've bought into their ecosystem it'll give you quite a bit more content and they have a $39 per year student Prime (that you get after the expired Student trial) that does let you access videos/books.Of course if you're into the Amazon ecosystem I'd suspect that you're waiting on the Fire 2.
SantaAna12 - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
I think Gabe Newells comments regarding Apples controlling access is applicable to this device and Google. Google wants us on their cloud to sell us content.....its one of their business models. Amazon does the same.....but you can be smart and buy the CD. I think the more we talk about these issues the better......as knowledge is power. For me....this device doesn't work because of the lack of memory....and the known lack of sound quality.milli - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
I feel you're ignoring the Playbook comparison a bit too much in this review. I've just bought a new Playbook 32GB for $175. Same 7" screen size (lower res though), OMAP4, bigger battery, better cam (front & back), ....Playbook OS is very usable since version 2.0. I use mine strictly professionally and at that, it's probably better than iOS en Android. Version 2.1 is around the corner and 3.0 around new years.
Maybe not the best option if you're an app addict but the amazing multitasking combined with what most call the best mobile browsing experience, made this a no brainer for me. The 'Print to Go' feature is very handy.
kenyee - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
I have a Playbook too (earned it for porting an Android app).Playbook as muchhhhh better speakers.
Nexus 7 is what I grab for if I'm reading, etc. It's lighter than the Kindle and Nook so it's a lot more comfortable to hold for extended periods of time.
And no comparison to any 10" tablet...not sure what he reviewer is thinking...the 7" ones have a perfect use case for reading and playing games. The 10" ones might be better for web surfing for a little while until you get tired of holding it...
joshv - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
One of my frustrations with the Fire (one of many) is the WiFi reconnect when you wake the device. It would frequently take 20-30 seconds, and that's a ton of time for a casual use device. On the other hand the iPad just seems to be always on the Internet. Pick it up, launch the browser, the Internet is on. I know that can't actually be the case, as it would decimate battery life, but the iPad somehow manages the WiFi connection almost perfectly.So, I am wondering how the Nexus 7 performs in this regard.
Impulses - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
If it's anything like ASUS' other tablets (minus the Prime & it's signal strength issues) then it should be pretty seamless. I've rarely ever been held back while waiting for my original Transformer to connect, and I actually have it set to go into airplane mode when the screen is off, for maximum battery life... So it's doing a cold reconnect every time and it's usually good to go before I tap the browser icon.I'm pretty sure it reconnects faster than my Krait phone, tho the handover from 3G to Wifi is probably never given priority.
FWIW, the TF loses about half a percentage of battery life like that when sleeping. You can set it to always remain connected if you wanna receive live notifications or whatever but it'll obviously chew threw battery life much faster (probably twice as fast while idle, so you'd need to charge it every night or every other night at best).
kenyee - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
It defaults to keeping wifi on even if the screen is off...and no problem w/ the batteriesDeath666Angel - Saturday, July 28, 2012 - link
My Chinese tablet and my SGS2 have Wifi set to always on and there is nearly no battery drainage. My SGS2 has standby time of over 5 days with Wifi on and occasional talks. My tablet has standby for over 2 days and I have never gotten it from 100% to <5% battery in a single day so far.Wifi is quite tame these days, I don't see any reason to not have it on all the time.
sjvarley - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
"the limited NAND capacity prevents the Nexus 7 from being home to more than a single full length movie"Really?
If you need 8GB to store a full length movie on a tablet, then you're using the wrong codec.
tipoo - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Yeah, on a 7" screen a 700MB rip should look fine.ssddaydream - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
I like to use uncompressed MKV.One of the things I would love if Anantech looked at was ability for the tablet to decode various vidoeos.
For example, I've had some trouble playing h264 1080p .MOV files smoothly (it was pretty bad, actually), but I haven't messed with it much yet. I'm confident that a good codec for 1080p content should scale the Nexus 7 display properly and still provide fluid playback.
Death666Angel - Saturday, July 28, 2012 - link
Since the SoC is strong enough to play back anything I throw at it from my normal TV media station, why I should I have to re-encode it for storage sake when storage is about the cheapest thing in the BOM of any tablet? Yes, I can do that, but I gain nothing from it except spend time when a few dollars worth of NAND could have gotten better results.And 700mb for 720p lasts you about 20 to 40 minutes, depending on how many audio streams you have and how much quality you want.
Torrijos - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Hi,nice review, as always, but a couple of reviews back you had a plot about device efficiency (a quotient of battery life and battery size).
It would be nice to have a repository article following the evolution of power efficiency with OS updates and the influence of the different CPU architectures.
tukkas - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
how can the nexus 7 handle a shared device (i.e. multiple family members or guests) who don't want their gmail to necessarily be viewable by all? thank youHacp - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Why only bronze? I say if you are looking to buy a tablet without data, the Nexus 7 is at the best price point . Anandtech used to be about price/performance. I'm dissapointed.will2 - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
An excellent review very thorough in important areas not covered by other reviewers, and with good insights comparing N7 with alternatives.However I think your verdict should list more negatives than limited unexpandable storage. To my mind another serious limitation of the hardware is lack of HDMI out.
I seek a small tablet (with enough memory to hold a reasonable selection of films) I can take around the home and plug into any TV to view, or likewise watch the films at a friends home. I want a tablet to be more multifunction, so when at the bedside it can be both both monitor CCTV and be used as an Alarm Clock Radio as it almost certainly has a FM radio in the same Broadcom chip for the WiFi & BT. Adding HDMI Out, be it via discrete HDMI socket, or cheap USB/MHL solution, and making available the embedded FM Radio, adds neglible cost to the product and makes it more widely useful.
TareX - Friday, August 3, 2012 - link
Then you don't want a $199 tablet.ericore - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Assuming the price is 299 for the entry 16 GB version of Nexus 10, I will only buy it under the following conditions:-storage option
-2GB Ram
-Preloaded with Ubuntu (duel boot)
-Option to load other distros in its place
Linux complements Android very well and fills a lot of the gaps.
It would be a smart move on Google's part.
It would be my move.
richough3 - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
I would be tempted to buy this but the lack of decent speakers on a tablet like this is one of the deal killers for me. The other one is the lack of an SD card slot. Sure, it's up to preference, but the way I see it is more and more ISPs are moving to tiered services, so to do everything across the cloud will cost more.Chesher - Friday, July 27, 2012 - link
Nexus 7 has bluetooth - Kindle Fire does not.So, I can use Google Play with my bluetooth speakers with my Nexus 7.
Just wanted to mention this - because this is a big deal.
tssynergy - Saturday, July 28, 2012 - link
Moore's law is in full effect in the tablet world. Given the recent technological progress in components and the slew of new hardware about to hit the streets, I think the differences in the actual devices will become narrow to the point of being insignificant (excluding Windows RT/8, primary computing tablets for now). The key differentiation, in my opinion, lays in the various ecosystems. iTunes vs. Amazon vs. Google Play is where the battle will be won or lost. Sustainable competitive advantage on hardware will be short lived to non existent.ssddaydream - Sunday, July 29, 2012 - link
While I agree for the larger portion of the market, I think the enthusiast market cannot be ignored. There will always be those who want the absolute best hardware and will just load up AOSP/AOKP. I think the enthusiast market will find a way to bring multi-platform support to their device.Diogenes5 - Sunday, July 29, 2012 - link
Anyone that thinks Windows 8 Tablets will be competitive at all are fooling themselves. People use Windows devices because they have to, not because they want to. i5/i7-based designs don't offer the kind of battery life and form factor needed for what people have come to expect in the storage space and Tegra 3/ARM based windows 8 tablets offer nothing more hardware wise than current tablets.That leaves only the GUI and OS as the differentiating factor between Windows Tablets and Current Tablets. Do people really think that Windows 8 will offer anything near the experience of current android and iOS tablets? Everyone using the RC (including me) is underwhelmed. This is the same Microsoft that produced tablet laptop's for years that nobody bought. Thanks but no thanks, Windows 8 will be a laughingstock just like windows phone.
maximumGPU - Monday, July 30, 2012 - link
Another troll..all you provide are your opinions and you think they're a reflection of the majority.
"People use Windows devices because they have to.." plenty of other OS out there if you don't like windows. And guess what? a lot of people do like it.
"Do people really think that Windows 8 will offer anything near the experience of current android and iOS tablets?" Euh yeah it will, how about proper compatibility and seamless transition between your pc and your tablet for a start?
I'm a New Ipad owner, and i find the OS very limiting. Awaiting a windows tablet.
"Everyone using the RC (including me) is underwhelmed.." have you used it in a tablet environment? thought so.
"Thanks but no thanks, Windows 8 will be a laughingstock just like windows phone". Of course, you'd know that already.
shaolin95 - Sunday, July 29, 2012 - link
I was very happy when I saw this tablet first until I read about not SD card options...totally killed it for me...very lame.bertiebond - Monday, July 30, 2012 - link
but the samsung tab 7.0 (p1000) i use has 3G, has micro SD slot.7inch is perfect size for on the go, emergency phone in a pinch, read comics, books, films.
Nexus, much better hardware specs all round, but critically crippled for what you actually want to use it for.
Shame really. Samsung sucks with OS upgrades, you have to root it just to get ICS, nevermind jellybean!
seanleeforever - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
" In every sense outside of portability, a 10-inch display is much nicer to look at than a 7-inch one in my opinion. There's less zooming in you need to do on web pages or magazines. Text in general is just easier to read and perhaps I'm getting too old, but there's something nice about everything being comfortably bigger.Read more at http://www.anandtech.com/show/6073/the-google-nexu...
"
really, anand, really?
would you say the 17 inch notebook is much nicer to look at than 12 inch one?
my company laptop is a pain in the ass 17 inch dream color elitebook, but i find myself using 12 inch thinpad x unless i absolutely have to do use the company laptop. it is not always the bigger the better.
with that said, i have both ipad 3 and nexus 7, and my experience has been entirely different from yours. the ipad3 is way to heavy as a tablet, and if i have to use a dedicate carrying device, i find myself using 12 inch laptop most of time. the nexus 7, however, is so light (which you should really focus more in the review IMHO) and allow you to use to use it like a tablet. it also magically fit in all my pants and as someone who travels 70% of time, this is a god send.
apple is making a big mistake not to release the mini ipad, and now the market is taken.
taltamir - Wednesday, August 1, 2012 - link
Nobody, not a single reviewer, mentioned that you can't turn the N7 sideways and get a landscape view in the OS itself or the google play book reader and nook apps. Supposedly video works on landscape by default and apps CAN theoretically change the view but just don't.taltamir - Wednesday, August 1, 2012 - link
I have finally found how to enable rotation. Drag from the top downwards and there is a button there to unlock rotation.Rereading the threads (and since then some coverage), its only the home screen which has auto rotate disabled.
Anonymous1a - Thursday, August 2, 2012 - link
In the article, they say that Tegra 3 is, perhaps, the second best chip in the market. Which is the best, then?Also, how does the A5x compare with the Tegra 3?
shriganesh - Thursday, August 2, 2012 - link
Hey Anand! Great job for the video review! I often get bored while reading loong tech articles.... But ur video review was refreshingly nice! Keep up the great work by providing readers with many options!robertj298 - Thursday, August 16, 2012 - link
All the reviews look good but I've read a lot of reports of various quality control problems on a lot of the units Maybe you do get what you pay for.yeehi - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
You showed a nice image here:http://images.anandtech.com/doci/6073/2012-07-26%2...
yeehi - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
You had a good image here:http://images.anandtech.com/doci/6073/2012-07-26%2...
What software did you use to get the data?
mehrauli - Wednesday, November 14, 2012 - link
Rumers are 32G nexus7 model uses faster flash is it true? could you compare 16G with 32G Nusux 7 and let us know which one is faster?thanks