I received my Nexus 7 while at Google I/O in June, so I’ve had a few weeks to use it. If you don’t want to read yet another Nexus 7 review, the tl;dr is this device is awesome. If you’re considering a tablet, the only reason not to pick the Nexus 7 is if you need something larger.
When the original iPad came out, I thought it was a neat toy, but I didn’t see how it would fit in with the way I use my devices. As various Android tablets came out, we saw a bit of variation on the tablet form factor, but it wasn’t until I saw the Asus Transformer that I saw a device worth buying. The main reason I switch from my phone to another device is because I need to type something. Whether it’s a blog post, book chapter, or just a long email, having a physical keyboard is a major benefit. Plus, the Transformer’s keyboard dock came with its own battery, boosting battery life well beyond other tablets.
Is that a Nexus 7 in your pocket?
As seven-inch tablets came out, I just didn’t see the point. Sure, it looked a bit more portable, but it was just a big phone. The Kindle Fire came out in late 2011 and the general sentiment was that the hardware cut a lot of corners to hit the $200 price point but it was a good device and a reasonable next step for the Kindle line of devices. But I already had a e-ink based Kindle that I loved and I had my Transformer, so I had little interest in the Kindle Fire other than the excitement of a sudden jump in competition, which is always great for consumers. I ended up paying it little attention despite that it sold well.
I assumed that the seven inch tablet that Google would be unveiling at I/O was going to be given to attendees, but I didn’t care much. I figured I’d play with it for a little bit and then give it to a friend. So I played with it a little bit. Then I played with it a little more. And then I started to love it.
Despite that the first video I started to watch on it was the absolutely horrendously bad Transformers Dark of the Moon movie (Google gave it out for free, don’t look at me like that), it was clear that the display was excellent. Colors were vibrant, but not overly so (unlike many of the phones I have used recently which are AMOLEDs). The density was good (roughly the equivalent of the new MacBook Pro 15″ with Retina display) and the pixel count meant that 720p movies could be displayed using almost the entire screen and no scaling.
But clearly it couldn’t have just been seeing the vomit-inducing Transformers movie on that nice screen that excited me. No, it was everything about the device. Jelly Bean uses a bit of “lazy” triple buffering that allows the CPU to start on the next frame before the GPU has finished the previous. What this means to real users is that the OS is smooth. Combine that with the Tegra 3, which can handle far more pixels than on the Nexus 7, and you have a very quick user experience. And games look incredible.
Shadowgun THD on the Nexus 7
Galaxy on Fire 2 THD on the Nexus 7
Not only does the device have a great display and SoC, it doesn’t skimp out on the other features like the gyroscope (and believe me, games controlled with a gyroscope feel so much better on a 7″ tablet than a 10″ one) and even GPS (which some tablets more than twice this price don’t have). That’s one of the many indicators that this is a great tablet, not just a $200 value tablet.
Riptide GP on the Nexus 7
The seven inch form factor has a lot of advantages, but the Nexus 7 doesn’t just lean on those to find its place. It has excellent build quality, terrific hardware, and an incredible price. If you’re considering getting it, quit considering and buy one.