Google Nexus 7
Google’s Asus-manufactured Nexus 7 is still
the benchmark for Inexpensive 7in tablets. It runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and
has a 7in (1280x800) screen. It’s relatively thin and light at 10.9mm and 336g.
Google
Nexus 7
Designed to be predominantly used in
portrait mode, we found one-handed use in either orientation comfortable.
Buttons and ports are kept to a minimum: micro USB and headphone jacks are on
the bottom edge and a four-pin side dock can be used for accessories.
The Nexus 7 is a well-made, premium tablet.
We saw some rippling at the top and bottom edges of the screen when pressed
hard, but most tablets suffer the same problem. The IPS panel provides
excellent contrast, brightness and viewing angles. It’s great for web surfing
and playing games, but even more so for watching films.
A quad-core processor and a healthy 1GB of
RAM are great to see at this price. The Nexus scored well in Geekbench, with
1,452 points. It also managed 20fps in the demanding Egypt HD graphics test.
The 16GB Nexus 7 costs just $252.8 but,
since you can’t add to this capacity, it makes more sense to opt for this new
32GB version for $63.6 more. And for a further $63.6 you can add cellular
connectivity.
Bluetooth, GPS and near-field
communications (NFC) are included, but there’s no rear-facing camera for quick
snaps. A 1.2Mp front-facing camera is adequate for video chats.
Android 4.1 looks much the same as Ice
Cream Sandwich, but Google has improved the OS’ performance and responsiveness.
Jelly Bean is slick, and closes the gap between Android and iOS.
Web surfing with the default Chrome browser
is smooth; pages load quickly, while zooming and scrolling are similarly
speedy. Notifications now show more information about each alert and let you
carry out tasks without launching the associated app.
A recent update allows the Home screen to
display in landscape mode. Dictation works offline, and you get Google Now.
Note the lack of Flash support in Android 4.1, though.
Battery life is seriously impressive: our
video looped for a whopping 9 hours and 40 minutes.
Info
Price: $300
Contact: www.play.google.com
Verdict
The Nexus 7 remains one of the best choices for
those who don’t want or need a 10ln tablet. If your budget isn’t limited, the
IPad mini is a very tempting alternative.
Build: 4/5
Features: 3.5/5
Performance: 4/5
Value: 4.5/5
Overall: 4/5
How we test
We fully charge each tablet and loop an MP4
movie to test and compare battery life. The volume is set to 50 percent and
brightness to 100 percent. Wi-Fi is turned on, but Bluetooth and GPS (where
applicable) are disabled. This test also allows us to assess the quality of the
screen and speakers.
We use the SunSpider JavaScript test to
compare each tablet’s web-browsing speed (a lower score is better here), and
Geekbench for general system performance (a higher score is better). Finally,
GLBenchmark’s Egypt HD test allows us to assess the graphics.
We also note the responsiveness and
accuracy of the touchscreen with general typing and navigation, especially with
text-heavy sites that require more precision when selecting options and
clicking links.
In terms of screen quality we inspect the
brightness, contrast, colour accuracy, clarity and viewing angles, and make
comments in response to our subjective assessment within each review.
We also test each device’s camera(s) by
taking pictures and videos in a range of environments, both indoor and outdoor,
examining the speed and fidelity of the focus, colour, and audio quality.
Conclusion
Content is king when it comes to tablets.
You can have the greatest hardware In the world, but if you can’t download your
favourite apps, watch films using your Netflix subscription or buy the e-books
you want to read, you will feel frustrated.
The Kindle Fire HD and Nook HD are more
limited than Google’s Nexus 7, since they’re unable to access the Google Play
app store. The Nook has the least choice of UK content - for now, at least.
The Nexus 7 Isn’t perfect, and we’d like it
to have a microSD slot, for example, but it gives you all the flexibility of a
high-end Android tablet. A cellular version with 32GB of storage is now
available, too. The Nexus 7 is well-deserving of our Recommended award.
Like the Nook HD, the nabi 2 has lots of
potential. If you’re looking for a kids’ tablet, it’s the best around. It’s in
desperate need of anglicising, though, which should happen over the next few
months.
If you’ve got more cash to spend, the IPad
mini is an obvious choice. However, the relatively low-resolution screen is a
niggle, and we wouldn’t be surprised if Apple launches a Retina version with a
faster processor in 2013, so it could be worth waiting.
|
|
Acer
$269
Ratings: 3/5
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Amazon
$239
Ratings: 3.5/5
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Apple
$404
Ratings: 4/5
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Model
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Iconia Tab A110
|
Kindle Fire HD
|
iPad mini
|
|
Product code
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A110
|
X43Z60
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MD531B/A
|
|
Screen
|
7 in (1024x600) capacitive multitouch
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7 in (1280x800) capacitive multitouch
|
7.9 in (1024x768) capacitive multitouch
|
|
OS
|
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
|
Amazon custom (Android 4-based)
|
iOS 6.0.1
|
|
Processor
|
1.3GHz quad-core nVidia Tegra 3
|
1.2GHz dual-core TI Omap 4460
|
1GHz dual-core Apple A5
|
|
Graphics
|
Quad-core ULP GeForce
|
Dual-core PowerVR SGX540
|
Dual-core PowerVR SGX543MP2
|
|
RAM
|
1GB
|
752MB
|
512MB
|
|
Capacity tested
|
8GB
|
16GB
|
16GB
|
|
Expandable memory
|
microSDHC up to 32GB
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
Wi-Fi
|
820.11b/g/n (2.4GHz)
|
820.11b/g/n (dual-band)
|
820.11b/g/n (dual-band)
|
|
Bluetooth
|
Bluetooth 3.0
|
Bluetooth 4.0
|
Bluetooth 4.0
|
|
3G
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Optional
|
|
Camera (front, rear)
|
2Mp, N/A
|
1.3Mp, N/A
|
5Mp, 1.2Mp
|
|
Video recording
|
720p
|
720p
|
1080p/720p
|
|
GPS receiver
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
|
App Store
|
Google Play
|
Amazon Appstore
|
Apple App Store
|
|
Ports
|
Micro USB, micro HDMI, 3.5mm headphone
|
Micro USB, micro HDMI, 3.5mm headphone
|
Lightning connector, 3.5mm headphone
|
|
Dimensions
|
193x127x11.7mm
|
137x193x10.3mm
|
135x200x7.2mm
|
|
Weight
|
385g
|
395g
|
308g
|
|
Warranty
|
1-year return-to-base
|
1-year return-to-base
|
1-year return-to-base
|
|
Battery
|
12.7Wh
|
16.4Wh
|
16.3Wh
|
|
Battery life (mins)
|
5 hours 39 mins
|
7 hours 42 mins
|
7 hours 21 mins
|
|
Geekbench score
|
1,389
|
1,124
|
752
|
|
SunSpider score (ms)
|
1,747
|
1,783
|
1,442
|
|
GLBenchmark 2.5.1
|
16fps
|
8fps
|
24fps
|
|
|
Barnes & Noble
$229
Ratings: 3.5/5
|
Fuhu
$235
Ratings: 3.5/5
|
Google
$300
Ratings: 4/5
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|
Model
|
Nook HD
|
nabi 2
|
Nexus 7
|
|
Product code
|
Nook HD
|
nabi 2
|
Nexus 7
|
|
Screen
|
7 in (1440x900) capacitive multitouch
|
7 in (1024x600) capacitive multitouch
|
7.9 in (1280x800) capacitive multitouch
|
|
OS
|
B&N custom (Android 4-based)
|
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
|
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
|
|
Processor
|
1.3GHz dual-core TI Omap 4470
|
1.3GHz quad-core TI nVidia Tegra 3
|
1.3GHz quad-core TI nVidia Tegra 3
|
|
Graphics
|
Dual-core PowerVR SGX544
|
Quad-core ULP GeForce
|
Quad-core ULP GeForce
|
|
RAM
|
1GB
|
1GB
|
1GB
|
|
Capacity tested
|
8GB
|
8GB
|
32GB
|
|
Expandable memory
|
microSDXC up to 64GB
|
microSDHC up to 32GB
|
N/A
|
|
Wi-Fi
|
820.11b/g/n (2.4GHz)
|
820.11b/g/n (2.4GHz)
|
820.11b/g/n (2.4GHz)
|
|
Bluetooth
|
Bluetooth 3.0
|
Bluetooth 3.0
|
Bluetooth 4.0
|
|
3G
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
Camera (front, rear)
|
N/A
|
2Mp, N/A
|
1.2Mp, N/A
|
|
Video recording
|
N/A
|
720p
|
720p
|
|
GPS receiver
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
App Store
|
Nook store
|
App Zone
|
Google Play
|
|
Ports
|
Proprietary dock connector, 3.5mm
headphone
|
Micro USB, mini HDMI, 3.5mm headphone
|
Micro USB, 3.5mm headphone
|
|
Dimensions
|
127x194x11mm
|
221x154x29mm
|
120x199x10.6mm
|
|
Weight
|
315g
|
600g
|
336g
|
|
Warranty
|
1-year return-to-base
|
1-year return-to-base
|
1-year return-to-base
|
|
Battery
|
4,050mAh
|
3,850mAh
|
16Wh
|
|
Battery life (mins)
|
5 hours 25 mins
|
8 hours 7 mins
|
9 hours 40 mins
|
|
Geekbench score
|
1,199
|
1,551
|
1,452
|
|
SunSpider score (ms)
|
1,248
|
1,678
|
1,665
|
|
GLBenchmark 2.5.1
|
14fps
|
16fps
|
20fps
|
