Sunday 18 November 2012

Review: Google Nexus 7


Finally, the Nexus 7 is here in Malaysia, albeit at a higher price that is out of everyone's expectation, but for sub-RM1,000, you can land your hands on a 7” tablet from Google that is manufactured by Asus with pretty good specs – Android Jelly Bean and all the latest offerings from Google, Tegra 3 processor for a snappy performance to make the tablet fast enough for your most demanding games or all your work related apps, 1GB of RAM, a front camera for all your camwhoring and video conferencing needs, and 16GB of internal memory that may seem little but hey, without a rear camera, I'm sure you'll use a lot less space compared to your phone.
I have to admit, this is my first time handling a 7” tablet device and boy do I like it. It's small enough for you to use comfortably – you can hold on to it with one hand and even fit into the big pocket of your pair of cargo pants, heck, it even fits into the rear pocket of Chapree's jeans – and it's not too heavy to handle like a typical 10.1” tablet. I don't know how the 7.9” iPad mini is “better” according to some, while it may be thinner and lighter than the Nexus 7, I don't think it'll fit as nicely, into my palms at least. Of course, I'll need to get my hands on one to be sure but for now, I think I've fallen in love with the Nexus 7.
  
Check out our preview of the tablet and hit the break for more.
Just to touch a little more on the design before moving on, in the Apple iPad mini presentation earlier this week, it was mentioned that the iPad mini is lighter and thinner than the Nexus 7 but I love the design on the Nexus 7. With a rubbery material at the back, it actually feels more rugged and less fragile. Its thickness of 10.45mm is very good to hold on to, plus, you get a good grip which is very important for me – I like to play games and read on the bed next to my sleeping toddler and it's not fun how my phones tend to slip out of my hand and land on him.
  
You've seen an introduction to the Nexus 7, so what's the next best thing to do with this 7” tablet from Google and Asus? Put the Nvidia Tegra 3 processor to a test of course and thanks to the pre-installed TegraZone, you can download the apps that makes the best out of your Nexus 7. Playing games like Dead Trigger and even Bad Piggies is so smooth though, I think I need to work on my skills a little bit when trying to kill zombies using on-screen buttons.
  
Watching HD videos on the Nexus 7 is a bliss as well thanks to the processor and topped up with the HD display and a very good battery life, who needs a big and bulky 10” device when you can get all your entertainment needs in a 7” frame? That said, the speakers could be a little louder for a more immersive effect though of course, if you want to be completely into your game or video, using a headphone would be a better option.
  
In case you did not click into the previous post, here are the benchmark scores.

So to wrap this up, did we like it? Yes of course we did, everything from the design to what's inside of it. Unfortunately though since this is supposed to be an affordable tablet, it lacks in some way like how it doesn't have 3G connectivity (please Google, surprise us that way on your event on the 29th of this month), no rear camera, though, it isn't that big of a problem for me because I cannot comprehend the idea of taking pictures with a tablet and I have a phone camera for that, and finally it could do with more storage space so you can fully enjoy its capability – install all the apps you can find and load all your favorite HD videos in.
We just got our hands on the 7” Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 at the time of writing and yes, I can conclude that I love what Asus has done with the design to give the Nexus 7 a thinner frame, the rubber material at the back along with a much thinner panel around the display to make it look much, much nicer.
Will I get it? Well, yes, but of course, this will all depend on what Google has up its sleeves for its upcoming event.
The Google Nexus 7 is available immediately at a recommended retail price of RM999, check out our very ownstorekini to get one for yourself today.
We've also updated it to Android 4.1.2 that features some bug fixes as well as the ability to use the device in landscape mode on the home screen. It may not be a major haul over, but it does make the tablet a lot more friendly to use, for me at least. Plus, you can use the device in any orientation you want.
  

- Huei (lowyat.net)

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