
An iPad Lover’s Take On The Nexus 7 - answerly
http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/15/omg-he-likes-it-he-really-likes-it/
======
georgemcbay
I actually think that post-ICS and especially with Jelly Bean that Android is
a superior tablet OS to iOS, at least for me. There's basically no feature on
iOS that I miss when I'm on Android, but a few (eg. custom keyboards, the
overall intent system, etc) that I miss when I'm on iOS.

iOS still kills Android for app availability though (especially when it comes
to "tablet optimized" apps) and between that and iOS ecosystem lock-in,
Android/Google still has some catching up to do to make tablets a true two-
horse race.

~~~
vibrunazo
> iOS still kills Android for app availability though (especially when it
> comes to "tablet optimized" apps)

I keep hearing that. But never seen it backed up. Based on exactly what does
people say this? There's no efficient way to "count" Android tablet optimized
apps. So how do you compare? Is it because there are some major apps that
still works bad on Android tablets? If so, which ones?

I remember when Honeycomb just came out. It was terrible, most apps I'd
download looked terrible, and I furiously uninstalled many of them. It was so
frustrating. But it has been a long time since I don't feel like that anymore.
Today, every app I use on my phone is nicely optimized for my tablet as well.
I literally cannot think of a single example of one app I'm missing tablet
support for. Yet, the "Android still doesn't have tablet optimized apps" meme
didn't stop.

But maybe I'm just living under a rock and haven't been using the same apps as
others. So I humbly ask, could anyone please give me an objective argument for
this point to understand if there's actually still any merit to it?

~~~
ximeng
I use skritter.com for practising Chinese. They recently released an iOS app
after several months work. There is currently no plan to produce an Android
app, partly because there is a partial web / flash solution available on
Android, but I assume also that the numbers didn't add up for putting the work
in to porting the iPhone app.

This is a must-have application for learning to write Chinese in my opinion,
to the extent that people would buy an iOS device just to use it. There is no
equivalent for Android. I carry around an iPhone as a work phone, and pretty
much only use it for this.

So learning Chinese is a little niche, but I'm sure there are other niches
where people rely on a particular app, this app is not available on Android,
and so they wouldn't switch for this reason.

~~~
arpit
>There is no equivalent for Android.

Have you tried MonkeyWrite? <http://www.monkeywriteapp.com/>

(Android only)

~~~
ximeng
Just tried it, nice enough, but not really on the same level. I'm up to 1,500+
characters on Skritter after hundreds of hours, I think that whole app with
all the add-ons would take about 30 minutes to get through for me. Doesn't
look to have spaced recognition like Skritter does either.

------
cageface
I have to give Siegler credit for actually posting an objective review of an
Android device.

No matter which side you favor in the tablet wars I think you have to agree
that we're better off as hackers and consumers in a market with real
competition. Rather than picking sides we should be happy that Apple and
Google are pushing each other to improve their hardware and software at a rate
we rarely see in consumer electronics.

~~~
lloeki
> we're better off as hackers and consumers in a market with real competition

On the tablet market, the competition was decimated by the iPad, which was,
objectively, overall better than any contender, and by a comfortable margin.
Yes Android could potentially do stuff better than iOS, yes hardware could be
non-crap, but what was going out of the door was not even in the same league
at all. The only one that had real potential at some point was the WebOS based
one†.

Until now.

The trouble was that if you had the balls to tell this fact you were
irrevocably dismissed as an Apple fanatic.

I long for this tablet to be available outside North America.

†The Kindle Fire is completely under-specced in terms of quality. The Nexus 7
and iPad are both way better.

~~~
drzaiusapelord
>Until now.

Now was 6+ months ago. You could get a nice fast Tegra3 tablet for a while now
at a competitive price. The Nexus is really just an Asus TF201/TF300 shrunk
down to 7 inches and with a hefty reduction in price.

>The trouble was that if you had the balls to tell this fact you were
irrevocably dismissed as an Apple fanatic.

Or unaware of the last 2 Asus Transformer models (three now as the new one
just launched) or even the budget Acer tegra3 tablet. Galaxy tablet isn't bad
either, just slow to updates.

I've owned both the TF101 and the TF300 and really feel no need or want for an
ipad. The Fire/Nook aren't tablets, they're appliances. If someone wants an
android tablet, there are at least 2 or 3 very nice models for sale and 4 or 5
mainstream lower tier cheaper ones.

The Nexus is just a big price cut. Its the same hardware we've been using for
some time. That's partly why its so cheap. The Tegra3 chipset is ancient by
SoC standards (November 9, 2011.).

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegra#Tegra_3>

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jpxxx
Awesome! Now if Google can just distribute it beyond the initial five launch
nations, create meaningful product support, rework a half million third-party
applications, and answer growing malware concerns they'll have a sweet two-
month sales window all to themselves before you-know-who barges into their
market.

I want one anyway.

~~~
jbarham
> Now if Google can just distribute it beyond the initial five launch
> nations...

That's still much better than the Amazon Fire which AFAIK isn't even sold
outside of the US.

See also this article from The Verge:
[http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/28/3122716/nexus-7-internatio...](http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/28/3122716/nexus-7-international-
price) ("The Nexus 7's most important price is £159, not $199").

~~~
taligent
Amazon Fire is available in Australia I know that much.

And why compare yourself against Amazon when Apple is rumored to be launching
an iPad Mini which will be sold in 30+ countries almost immediately after
launch.

~~~
fpgeek
There's available and "available". I have do doubt there are at least a few
importers who buy Kindle Fires in the US and are selling them in Australia,
but that's not the same as the Kindle Fire truly being available in Australia
(the way the Nexus 7 is). Unlike other Kindles, Amazon will refuse to ship a
Kindle Fire to Australia. I think that's a pretty clear statement from Amazon
on Australian availability.

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bane
As much as a I love the idea of a 7 inch tablet, there's just one thing that I
really _really_ use my tablet for and that's reading PDFs and old scanned
comic books (guilty pleasure). The size of a ~10" tablet is more or less
perfect for this despite the difficulties in handling the size of the device
while in bed vs. a 7".

~~~
eLobato
I have to disagree on this. 7 inches are so much better when you want to read
on the crowded NYC subway. I already tried with an iPad and it's a whole lot
more inconvenient.

~~~
r00fus
PDFs with images - ie, technical manuals or papers - still don't see it for a
7" screen. Reflow don't help much here.

~~~
ShellfishMeme
The Nexus 7 has the same resolution that most 10" tablets have now, so why
would you need reflow? Shouldn't everything look the same as on the current
10" tablets, just sharper?

It might be because my eyes are still young, but I prefer smaller screens with
a high pixel density to larger screens with a lower pixel density.

~~~
hollerith
>It might be because my eyes are still young

It is because your eyes are still young.

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donniezazen
Author talks about some mysterious elements of force in iPad that Android
doesn't have. I am not sure what he means.

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wangweij
What I read from this article is: "Apple should release a 7" iPad and I will
buy it at once. I am sad I have to use a Google product now but this 7" form
factor is really irresistible".

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chj
A fair review. It is really a good move that Google offers a device to him.

~~~
sidcool
The saying goes, keeps your friends close, enemies closer :)

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dr_
Let's hold on a sec and put things in perspective. Although MG is regarded by
some as an Apple fan boy, this is not the first time he has been enthusiastic
about a non-Apple tablet. <http://m.techcrunch.com/2011/09/02/amazon-kindle-
tablet/> and we aren't still aren't sure what the prospects are for the Fire.
This is important to note because although Amazon has a strong commerce
offering and can provide music and videos, it's own tablet lacks in apps. The
Nexus offers plenty of apps, in my opinion, but the music and video offerings
are pretty weak right now. The iOS ecosystem still offers it all, with a
strong retail presence to boot, and if Apple introduces a 7ish" tablet at a
good price point, I'm not sure how this will stack up then.

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mtgx
Why would you want to hold your tablet with two hands, other than perhaps
gaming? But I figure it should be easier to play them if it's smaller. You're
using the iPad with 2 hands, because you don't usually have a choice.

I do think Google needs to make the next version 7.7"-8", though. I think 7"
is a little too small. Basically they should make one that is as large as
possible (but up to 8"), which you can still hold easily with just one hand.
From what I've noticed I think Samsung's 7.7" tablet qualifies for that.

~~~
taligent
The same reason everyone doesn't read books with one hand.

It's more comfortable to hold it with two.

~~~
jff
Don't be silly. I read books with one hand all the time--small books,
paperbacks, thin hard-bound books. Enormous 700-page O'Reilly books? No.

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sigkill
In his review he says that he accidentally has pressed the software buttons
while playing games. I don't know about Jelly Bean but on my TF101 ICS there's
an explicit option to enable locking/unlocking of the soft buttons if you
check the advanced page on the system settings. Once that's enabled, a small
"slide to lock" padlock is constantly visibly in the middle of the status bar
screen. So the next time when you want to play or something, just slide to
lock the soft-buttons.

~~~
rdtsc
That is an ASUS only thing it seems. I have not seen it on other tablets yet.
And it is very useful, especially if you let your kids use the tablet.

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mikecane
Wow. Someone not only discovers that a 7" inch tablet is smaller than an iPad,
but that a smaller tablet is also a thing unto itself with special use cases.
Welcome to 2010.

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grecy
I hope the experience using it is nothing like the unboxing...

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=32DD4DF7Qpo)

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mycodebreaks
How does the screen of Nexus 7 compare to Retina display iPad offers?

~~~
chrisbroadfoot
In terms of density, it's between iPad 2 and iPad 3.

~~~
telcodud
iPad 2 has a dpi of 132, Nexus 7 213, and iPad 3 264.

Nexus 7, while not "retina", is closer to iPad 3 than iPad 2.

~~~
pooriaazimi
No. You _usually_ hold a 7" tablet closer to your eyes than a 10" one. So, for
its pixels to appear the same to your poor eyes as pixels on an 246 ppi iPad
3, it must have a pixel density of 290 or so.

~~~
pooriaazimi
I think what I said is true. I can't understand why it's been downvoted...

~~~
dasil003
I didn't downvote you, but I'm skeptical of the claim. They're both hand-held
devices. I don't generally hold my Galaxy Nexus closer to my face than my
iPad.

~~~
pooriaazimi
I personally _do_ hold an smaller tablet closer, but I might be wrong and most
people don't do it. You're the living example :)

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tuananh
read the title and i know it's gonna be Siegler.

~~~
Achshar
Well that's because it's his "line" of review posts. He has done many of these
before.

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adventureful
Am I the only one that thinks Asus isn't getting enough credit for the Nexus
7?

~~~
bluthru
Does their logo appear anywhere on the device?

~~~
gingerjoos
It does appear prominently at the back [1]

[1] <http://images.anandtech.com/doci/6054/GoogleIO2012-2261.jpg> via
[http://www.anandtech.com/show/6054/google-nexus-7-mini-
revie...](http://www.anandtech.com/show/6054/google-nexus-7-mini-review/)

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wavephorm
Why after a few years is noone able to build a 10 inch tablet? I honestly
don't care how good an Android tablet is, I'm just so accustomed to the iPad
form factor that I won't give it up. To get me interested, an Android
manufacturer needs to come up with a bezel-less 9" or 10" tablet with more
screen real estate than the iPad.

~~~
w1ntermute
I've had a Transformer Prime for several months and have been enjoying the
supposedly unobtainable Android tablet experience that everyone is waiting
for. It runs stock ICS and has a 10.1" screen, and I actually wish it had a
bit more of a bezel. I really don't understand why people are ignoring the
Transformer Prime.

And the Transformer Infinity is coming out tomorrow, with a 1920x1200 screen,
fixes to the Transformer Prime's GPS/Wifi issues (which I have not personally
seen), and a micro SD slot & HDMI out (two of the things missing from the
Nexus 7).

Ignoring good products seems to be a big issue with Android - with phones,
people are complaining about skinning and lack of updates when the Galaxy
Nexus is just sitting there waiting for buyers (I've already got Jelly Bean
running on my GN).

~~~
Peaker
I bought a Galaxy Nexus phone for my girlfriend so we wouldn't have to worry
about updates anymore.

It's still stuck on 4.0.1 with no update in sight...

~~~
konstruktor
Jelly Bean is a development preview at the moment. I suppose that, like iOS 6,
you have to enroll into the developer program to get it.

~~~
RobAtticus
No it isn't? OTAs for Jelly Bean have been going on for a few days now.

[http://thedroidguy.com/2012/07/google-releases-jelly-bean-
ot...](http://thedroidguy.com/2012/07/google-releases-jelly-bean-ota-to-hspa-
galaxy-nexus-other-devices-to-come/)

~~~
nuclear_eclipse
That OTA is for the GSM model of the Galaxy Nexus, which is for T-Mobile,
AT&T, (and most of the non-US countries) and gets its updates directly from
Google. The post above is talking about the Verizon model, which does not get
updates directly from Google (because you didn't buy it directly from Google),
and is instead forced to wait for updates from Verizon. The only other option
is to unlock the bootloader and install a community ROM.

