Tablets Any iPad owners considering the Nexus 7?

[digiphantom]

I'm an iPhone 4 and iPad 3 owner with a Macbook Air. I think the Nexus 7 looks great a preordered the 16 GB one. Android is starting to shape up and I had a chance to check out a friend's Galaxy Nexus.

My iPad will still be my main tablet. The Nexus 7 is for me to play with Android and load with videos when on the treadmill. Originally I was considering a new Android phone if the iPhone 5 specs don't pan out, but I think I kind of locked myself in Apple's ecosystem...

It would have been sweet if the Nexus 7 had a SIM slot for me to put my iPad's data SIM in for a 7 in. navigation.

 

[PPFee]

Yes you can, but with an adapter. I saw a video of this with a Galaxy Note. They guy connected his pendrive to the phone with an adapter and used a file explorer to play videos and watch PDFS.

No,actually you can not, this has been confirmed, it does not support MHL so no video out and although it supports some uses of USB OTG its 100 percent confirmed it does not work with External Storage regardless of what adapter you use and regardless of what you saw with the galaxy note. No offense but its ignorant and uncalled for to mislead people which is what you did by assuming this to be a fact because of something else you saw. Im not trying to flame you ive just seen many ppl stressing over this exact issue and its being exacerbated by ppl throwing out their faulty assumptions. This is not a galaxy note, what the galaxy note can and cant do has no bearing on the hardware capabilities of a ASUS product.

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

It IS a serious tablet, since it can do MORE than the iPad: file system, manage every file type (zip, rar, etc), no need for video conversion, download stuff from the web, widgets, change ROMS to add more functionality, bluetooth (REAL bluetooth), NFC, better Google Maps and Gmail and YouTube, voice search and offline voice typing, Google Now, better notifications, quad core, etc.

And he says its not a serious contender.............. Sure dude. Sure...



It can do MORE.

Oh, I also forgot... real USB and not Apples proprietary pin.

I bolded the important part of your post. It CAN do MORE, but it won't. It will barely be a footnote in 8-12 months. It won't have any serious impact on the marketplace, nor will it hold even 1/20th the market share of even the iPad 1. Its not a serious device. Its a gadget, its got some cool hardware features that will never be exploited, nor leveraged, nor amount to anything worthwhile. As a media consumption device for $200, its a neat toy. Get it for that reason and that reason only because otherwise, its just "another Android device" that will clutter up the Android hardware scene. Nothing special.

We develop software for both Android and iOS devices. Just like every Android device that came before it, and every Android device that will come after it, its not a serious contender for serious software developers and, as such, all the hardware improvements in the world won't save it.

Having a standard USB cable means nothing if it doesn't run the cutting edge software that you want it to. Software makes the hardware, not better specs. Anyone who is more than your passing gadget fan would understand this. Thus my comment that it's not a serious platform.

And trust me.....I'm far from alone in feeling this way. Hardly anyone is developing for the Android platform as their OS of choice. The news is filled with dev houses just like mine. I may occupy a "niche" app, but its useless developing for a single Android device and the entire OS platform is so bloody fragmented as to put any hardcore developer into a situation of having to code for the least common denominator (which means old Android versions), so what you are left with is a cool hardware device with lots of cool features that will be absolutely ignored by 99.99% of the software devs left programming for the device.

Like I said...I'll buy one to PLAY with. That's all you'll be doing with it as well. Nothing wrong with that, but serious apps and serious developers will stick with iOS if they want to succeed.

This is what developing for Android looks like.

And to further prove my point, after almost a year, ICS is only running on about 10% of the installed base of Android devices.

Anyone that invests serious time and energy into thinking that Android will ever threaten the iPad for tablet dominance is a fool.

 

[calvol]

I tried two 7" Android tablets and didn't like them-- Lenovo A1 with Android 2.2, and Samsung Tab with Android 3.0. The A1 was a dog, Skype images were inverted. The Tab was better with dual-core, but sometimes nothing happened when an icon was pushed. Neither O/S seemed as intuitive as iOS. I'm waiting till this fall to choose between the next iPad and the MS Surface, probably will be an iPad since I have an Air.

 

[number84]

It would have been sweet if the Nexus 7 had a SIM slot for me to put my iPad's data SIM in for a 7 in. navigation.

You don't necessarily need a data SIM for navigation. Isn't google rolling out offline maps for navigation? Otherwise you can buy a 3rd party splution with downloadable maps. It definitely has a GPS chip in it as per the specs.

 

[Eddie Bombay]

I'm a sucker for new gadgets. Love my iPad, love my Samsung Galaxy S3 and I'm sure I'm going to love my preordered Nexus 7 when it comes in stock.

Only thing that sucks is they're Wi-Fi only.

 

[BrerSam]

Im thinking of getting the iPad 3 soon but the price tag and small size is making me consider the Nexus, I'm not sure the size will be too small for me though to enjoy.

Also does anybody know the differences between the two's front camera as I'm looking to use it for Skype a lot?

 

[nishishei]

I bolded the important part of your post. It CAN do MORE, but it won't. It will barely be a footnote in 8-12 months. It won't have any serious impact on the marketplace, nor will it hold even 1/20th the market share of even the iPad 1. Its not a serious device. Its a gadget, its got some cool hardware features that will never be exploited, nor leveraged, nor amount to anything worthwhile. As a media consumption device for $200, its a neat toy. Get it for that reason and that reason only because otherwise, its just "another Android device" that will clutter up the Android hardware scene. Nothing special.

Anyone that invests serious time and energy into thinking that Android will ever threaten the iPad for tablet dominance is a fool.

Dude, calm down. It's okay, it's a big world out there. And most consumers use their iPads as media consumption toys as well.

I'm a physician, the iPad doesn't fit in my white coat, so we have to carry a strap-bag with it. PITA to be honest. But a 7" and 60% of the weight would easily fit and be perfect. Get it? There's plenty of demand for non-iPads out there.

 

[Peanut207]

Not having 4G LTE is a big omission IMO. Yes it's very portable (even more so than the iPad) but not being able to be connected outside the house seems to kind of defeat the purpose, and for the house i would rather use my larger iPad display. Yes a lot of places have wifi available but most places don't. Just seems to me that 4G LTE should have been a given for such a portable device.

 

[Piggie]

Not having 4G LTE is a big omission IMO. Yes it's very portable (even more so than the iPad) but not being able to be connected outside the house seems to kind of defeat the purpose, and for the house i would rather use my larger iPad display. Yes a lot of places have wifi available but most places don't. Just seems to me that 4G LTE should have been a given for such a portable device.

And how much extra do you think Google should charge for a 4G Nexus7 ?

Remember, Apple will charge you an unbelievable $130 dollars just for it.

Seeing as the whole device is only $199, you think they should charge the same as Apple?

 

[Peanut207]

And how much extra do you think Google should charge for a 4G Nexus7 ?

Remember, Apple will charge you an unbelievable $130 dollars just for it.

Seeing as the whole device is only $199, you think they should charge the same as Apple?

The great thing with the iPad is that you have a choice if you want to pay extra for 4G LTE capabilities. I chose to buy the 4G iPad (which is lightning fast on AT&T) and I love the fact that I can take it anywhere with me and be connected when need be. I think their are plenty of people willing to pay the extra cost to have 4G especially if it is going to be their portable device.*

 

[Buildbright]

Yes it does rotate to landscape.

Image

Thats with a thirdparty hack with an app called Ultimate rotation. I have not used it so I am not sure how to effects the device as a whole. Google wants you to use it mostly in protrait view. Funny how people say Android is so open and flexible comparied to iOS.

How will you have WiFi in the car?

You plan on tethering it to something for data? Also I think it's aGPS so it may not be too accurate without data to assist the built-in gps.

If I need to I will tether to my phone but the GPS is not aGPS. I have a friend who uses a old droid for navigation. He uses wifi at his house or where he is at to get the directions off google maps and then drives off. It still works "offline"

 

[APlotdevice]

You plan on tethering it to something for data? Also I think it's aGPS so it may not be too accurate without data to assist the built-in gps.

It is a common misconception that aGPS is less accurate than "regular" GPS. The "a" stands for "assisted", and refers to the use of cellular towers to more quickly achieve the initial lock on with the GPS satellites. Without this feature it can take more than 30 seconds, and in some cases several minutes, for GPS to figure out where it is. After lock on has been achieved either system is just as accurate.

 

[PrayForDeath]

I might consider it if I didn't have a new iPad already. It's a great deal for $199.

 

[Benson11]

I want to buy it. The 16gb thing I have not problem with. I doubt Im going to use it all up. The reviews have been looking good too.

 

[doboy]

If I need to I will tether to my phone but the GPS is not aGPS. I have a friend who uses a old droid for navigation. He uses wifi at his house or where he is at to get the directions off google maps and then drives off. It still works "offline"

I'm certain that it is aGPS, but it can be quite accurate with use with WiFi. I assume his "old droid" is a phone so even if it's no longer active, you can still use the cellular antenna to assist the aGPS for accuracy. However, afaik you can't use google maps offline mode for navigation. You'll still see the map, but no turn by turn without cellular data.

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It is a common misconception that aGPS is less accurate than "regular" GPS. The "a" stands for "assisted", and refers to the use of cellular towers to more quickly achieve the initial lock on with the GPS satellites. Without this feature it can take more than 30 seconds, and in some cases several minutes, for GPS to figure out where it is. After lock on has been achieved either system is just as accurate.

From my experience, it takes too long and not as accurate. YMMV.

 

[Buildbright]

I'm certain that it is aGPS, but it can be quite accurate with use with WiFi. I assume his "old droid" is a phone so even if it's no longer active, you can still use the cellular antenna to assist the aGPS for accuracy. However, afaik you can't use google maps offline mode for navigation. You'll still see the map, but no turn by turn without cellular data.

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.

If you you see all the links the GPS is not assisted to is a "true gps"

Scroll to step 16 and you will see the model number.
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus-7-Teardown/9623/1

Gps model specs.
http://www.broadcom.com/products/GPS/GPS-Silicon-Solutions/BCM4751

Current Models
http://www.broadcom.com/products/GPS/GPS-Silicon-Solutions

 

[Eadfrith]

Not such a good deal for those in the UK

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...-without-film-purchases-or-music-service.html

Google has confirmed its new tablet, the Nexus 7, will be introduced in Britain without access to music and magazines and will only offer movie film rentals rather than purchases.

 

[Piggie]

.

We develop software for both Android and iOS devices. Just like every Android device that came before it, and every Android device that will come after it, its not a serious contender for serious software developers and, as such, all the hardware improvements in the world won't save it.

I'm interested, what are your companies plans for Windows8 tablets with the new Metro U ?

Are you planning on having a big push to develop for this upcoming platform due to the obvious massive username not only for the tablet but also laptop and desktop under the Metro interface.

Given ths is. Only a few months away now, are you going to be wanting to offer your current apps on this new platform as soon as possible to give you a presence on this new system with Microsoft behind it?

 

[Puevlo]

What happened to 1 through 6?

 

[Night Spring]

What happened to 1 through 6?

The 7 refers to the size, 7 inches, not that it comes after 1-6.

 

[Piggie]

What happened to 1 through 6?

Go on think about it for a second..................................

They did not make a 1" or a 2" or a 3" etc tablet.

It's a 7" tablet, so it's called the Nexus 7

See simple really

 

[Rodster]

So next years version should be called the Nexus 7 2

 

[ougum]

Wirelessly posted (iPod Touch)

I guess many people tend to assume that most will naturally have their mobile phone with them all the time anyway, and, like with the iPad, the WiFi model is the most popular.
Firstly due to the ridiculous mark up Apple put on the 3G addition which cannot ever be justified, and that you can just use your mobile you have with you anyway for the odd occasion you need it.

Of course, some do need 3G in their tablet but only the minority

Not every carrier offers tethering options on their smartphone plans, or they price it so high that a separate data plan for your tablet is actually more economical. And what odd occasion? I use cellular data on my iPad almost every time I leave my house. Also, currently I have an iPhone because my employer is paying the phone bill. If not, I would just get a dumb phone and just have my iPad. And then there's the matter of battery -- I haven't tethered myself, but I've seen reports of people saying tethering drains their smartphone battery rather fast. In that case people might not want to depend on their smartphone to supply the data connection for their tablet.

I tether to my iPhone 4s quite a bit and it doesn't drain my battery very much. My iPad 2 was 3g but data plan was too expensive compared to tethering. I also use my iPhone to tether to my laptop with the same low battery drain results.

 

[PPFee]

I'm certain that it is aGPS, but it can be quite accurate with use with WiFi. I assume his "old droid" is a phone so even if it's no longer active, you can still use the cellular antenna to assist the aGPS for accuracy. However, afaik you can't use google maps offline mode for navigation. You'll still see the map, but no turn by turn without cellular data.

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From my experience, it takes too long and not as accurate. YMMV.

In what sense are you certain and of what definition of aGPS do you refer? Im not challenging you here just making clarifications. It doesnt require any use of wifi and is just as accurate, the time it takes to get a fix can be slightly longer but is only really noticable for instance if theres a heavy cloud cover or other obstruction. You have to have a proper GPS to take advantage of the GPS functionality, Google maps doesnt do offline maps, at least in its current release version although they did announce that they are rolling that out soon. The point is yes it not only works but it is just as accurate.