The Nexus 7 by Asus is a smart
seven-incher perfect for gaming, movies and getting online. It won’t hurt your
wallet either, as it’s cheaper than almost every other Android tablet on the
market
EVER since we first heard whisperings of a
Google tablet, we’ve been cyber-stalking the search giants relentlessly, in
hope of a sneak peek. After all, the creators of Android were bound to conjure
up something special after impressing the world with the excellent Nexus S
smartphone co-developed with Samsung.
The
Nexus 7 - The greatest Android of all time
When you then consider that Asus helped
produce the hardware for this first ‘pure Google’ tablet -the same Asus that
built the epic Transformer Prime tablet - it’s hard not to be thrilled. It’s
been a lengthy wait, but the Nexus 7 tablet is here and we’ve fallen in
helpless, drooling love -and the moment we saw the price, we almost exploded
with joy. Yep, this isn’t a typo: $241 will bag you a quad-core tablet with a
crisp and colorful screen, plus access to over half a million apps and games.
The two tablets
This has been a fantastic month for Android
tablets, as we’ve been blessed with two excellent wallet-friendly seven-inch
devices. First came Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2, boasting a sleek all-black look.
The Nexus 7 by Asus has a similar design,
with a thick black border surrounding the screen. At 340g it won’t ache your
arms either, making it comfortable to wield. That glossy front might collect
fingerprints like Michael Phelps collects gold medals, but flip the Nexus 7
over and you’ll find a textured rear that’s soft to the touch and easy to grip.
It’s not a super-slender tab like the Toshiba AT200, but it’s not particularly
chunky either.
While the Galaxy Tab 2 sported Android Ice
Cream Sandwich 4.0, the Nexus 7 comes with the very latest version of Google’s
OS (nicknamed Android Jelly Bean 4.1). It’s the same slick interface, giving
you five desktops to populate with your apps and widgets, plus a shortcut bar
at the bottom for your favorite programs.
However, Jelly Bean has a number of tweaks
that trump Ice Cream Sandwich. Most impressive is the smooth transitions
between desktops and menus, which finally make Android feel as slick as iOS.
Add in full customization - you can personalize the Nexus 7 with whatever
wallpaper or widgets your heart desires - and this is the best mobile OS to
date.
This
has been a fantastic month for Android tablets, as we’ve been blessed with two
excellent wallet-friendly seven-inch devices
Tough display
The seven-inch display is a great size if
you plan on taking this tablet further afield than your couch. Don’t worry
about the screen getting scratched up either, as it’s made from mega-tough
Corning Gorilla Glass. We’d happily watch entire movies on the Nexus 7, which
look fantastically crisp thanks to the sharp I280x800-pixel resolution. When
the camera zooms into someone’s face, you can see every pore and blemish -
truly terrifying during home movies. Full HD video streams perfectly over a
decent Wi-Fi network, but if you can’t find a hotspot you’ll have to stay
offline, as there’s no 3G support.
Don’t
worry about the screen getting scratched up either, as it’s made from
mega-tough Corning Gorilla Glass.
You can always carry films or TV shows on
the built-in 8GB drive (boosted to 16GB in the $320 model) if you find yourself
web-less, a generous amount of storage given the price, although there’s no
microSD card slot to upgrade it. Don’t worry about the battery dying mid-trip, as
we managed to stream video for almost nine straight hours before the Nexus 7
died on us.
Bulging quads
Unbelievably for the price, Google has
crammed a quad-core Tegra 3 processor inside the Nexus 7. If you’re not
familiar with mobile processors, this makes the Nexus 7 one of the most
powerful tablets around, able to run all kinds of apps simultaneously without
issue. We tested some of the latest 3D games and they played perfectly as
expected, with silky smooth frame rates. Gamers get serious future-proofing, so
should be able to play the most intensive titles for the foreseeable future. Of
course, all that power would be pointless if the touch-screen was unresponsive,
as you’d end up being pummeled into mush in every game you played.
Thankfully the display responds instantly
to every swipe, which is especially noticeable during fast paced games and when
browsing through complex websites. Google’s own Chrome browser comes
preinstalled on Nexus 7 and is a speedy way of surfing the web as you can open
multiple tabs to do several things at once.
Google Chrome on the Nexus 7 isn’t perfect,
however. Webpages take a moment to update when zooming in and out, and we
couldn’t play videos over BBC iPlayer because of a lack of Flash support.
Considering the puny price tag, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Nexus 7
comes with barebones features. We can happily report that you’d also be wrong.
Not only does Google’s tablet come with
built-in GPS, which helps with localized searches and navigation in Google
Maps, but it also has full NFC support.
Google has cut a corner with the cameras,
as you only get a front-facing lens for Skype calls - there’s no rear-facing
camera for taking random snaps on the go. We’re not too sad about this
omission, as wielding a tablet to take photos has always seemed strange to us.
The front-facer is typically low
resolution, but works fine for video chats with friends and family.
Thankfully
the display responds instantly to every swipe, which is especially noticeable
during fast paced games and when browsing through complex websites
The verdict
If you’re after an Android tablet,
especially one that’s portable enough to carry around with you, there’s little
reason to look elsewhere. The Nexus 7 by Asus is a well-built seven-incher
rocking a powerful quad-core processor and sharp, vibrant screen, and costs less
than almost all of its rivals.
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The Nexus 7
by Asus
·
Size: 198.5x120x10.45mm
·
Weight: 340g
·
Display: 7 inches
·
Resolution: 1280x800 pixels
·
Camera: No
·
Front camera: 1.2 megapixels
·
Video: Yes, 720p
·
Processor: 1.3GHz quad-core
·
RAM: 1GB
·
Storage: 8GB/16GB
·
Internet: Wi-Fi
·
GPS: Yes
·
Browser: Android
·
Email: Yes, push
·
Music player: MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA
·
Video player: MP4/H.264
·
Standby: 300 hours
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