
Nexus: The best of Google, now in three sizes - cleverjake
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/nexus-best-of-google-now-in-three-sizes.html
======
fr0sty
And someone finally implements the killer-feature for the "Family Tablet":
Multi-Account Support:

> But what makes Nexus 10 unique is that it's the first truly shareable
> tablet. With Android 4.2, you can add multiple users and switch between them
> instantly right from the lockscreen. We believe that everyone should have
> quick and easy access to their own stuff -- email, apps, bookmarks, and
> more. That way, everyone can have their own home screens, their own music,
> and even their own high scores.

~~~
StavrosK
Will phones get this? Or other-size tablets?

Does anyone know when the 4.2 update will go out?

~~~
wyclif
I, for one, never want to use someone else's poop phone...even a friend's.

------
klausa
Flagship Android device, unlocked, without contract, for $299.

Impressive.

From the marketing video it looks like Android 4.2 gained Swype-like keyboard.

It seems that they're no longer using tablet UI, even on Nexus 10 (i.e. it has
status bar on top, navigation buttons are in the middle of the screen). That's
weird, and I definitely don't like it, but it might not be that big of a
problem.

~~~
dude_abides
Very impressive pricing!

On the other hand, it doesn't support LTE. When will Google realize that basic
things like fast network speed are more important than fancy things like face
unlock and NFC.

~~~
tomjen3
Honestly why do you want LTE?

You are going to burn through your data alotment very, very fast.

~~~
mortenjorck
That's what I thought would happen before I got an LTE phone, but in practice,
I'm not burning through it that much faster – I'm mostly just following the
same usage patterns I had with 3G, just spending less time waiting.

~~~
drivebyacct2
I'm in the same boat. I don't consume media on my phone, like, ever though,
except Subsonic and even then I relisten to my favorite music of the month
enough that it gets cached quickly.

------
rryan
Here's a video by the verge which provides a lot more detail, hands on
demonstrations, and interviews with the Android team.
[http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3570034/inside-android-
bu...](http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3570034/inside-android-building-the-
nexus-4-nexus-10-android-4-2/in/3335719)
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=66-4uMQqerA)

------
pooriaazimi
Full details are available here:
<https://play.google.com/store/devices?feature=microsite>

\----

4":
[https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_4_16g...](https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_4_16gb)

7":
[https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_16g...](https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_16gb)

10":
[https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_10_16...](https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_10_16gb)

~~~
ableal
_"Sorry! Devices on Google Play is not available in your country yet."_

Yeah, but I'd like to window shop and know what the neighbours are paying,
perhaps ask someone over there to buy me one.

I really dislike this automatic geolocation enforcement that Google spreads
liberally over all its stuff. At least Apple lets you look at, or even get
things from, other country stores with minimal fuss.

(I know, proxies, bleargh.)

P.S. <http://www.google.com/nexus/> now has info and pictures viewable
anywhere. (Link found in melvinram's comment, thank you.)

------
bitcartel
It won't be long before the usual suspects start claiming

\- screen resolution isn't important

\- multi-user accounts are overly complex

\- low prices mean the devices are cheap and nasty

~~~
illumin8
It sure wasn't long before the Google apologists started clamoring that you
don't really need LTE anyway.

~~~
ChrisClark
But I've never thought LTE was necessary, even in the iPhone. Not something I
want/need.

~~~
hornetblack
That's what I've always thought. A tiny 3-4 inch device with a dual core ARMv7
CPU and 8-64 GB of storage. Why does it need faster internet than what I can
get at my house through a Broadband router (ADSL2 here)

------
ericdykstra
No LTE is a deal-breaker for me on the Nexus 4. I would pre-order one right
now if it was included. I think I'll wait for the next great Android phone
that has LTE. The Nexus S is a pretty good phone, so without an upgrade in
internet speed I don't see any reason to upgrade.

As for the Nexus 10, I hope that it gets enough sales to start pushing
developers to make tablet apps for Android, and for Google to make the split
between phone/tablet sized apps better in the Play Store.

~~~
w1ntermute
> No LTE is a deal-breaker for me on the Nexus 4. I would pre-order one right
> now if it was included. I think I'll wait for the next great Android phone
> that has LTE.

There's a good explanation of the LTE situation by _The Verge_ [0]. If Google
wants to release timely upgrades, they need to break free of carrier control.
And since Verizon and Sprint devices require carrier approval, this will never
happen. As for AT&T, their LTE coverage is so limited and the frequencies
unique, so it doesn't make economic sense.

> The Nexus S is a pretty good phone, so without an upgrade in internet speed
> I don't see any reason to upgrade.

With AT&T, there _will_ be an upgrade in speed from the Nexus S to the Nexus 4
(or to the Galaxy Nexus, for that matter). The Nexus S doesn't support HSPA+
(what AT&T is falsely claiming in its TV ads to be 4G - it's actually more
like 3.5G), whereas the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 do.

0: [http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3569688/why-
nexus-4-does-...](http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3569688/why-nexus-4-does-
not-have-4g-lte/in/3335719)

~~~
lnanek2
Definitely not my experience. I'm sitting miles away from Walnut Creek, a town
i the East Bay, and I have LTE on AT&T. I certainly have it anywhere closer to
civilization, like SF itself or NYC. I wouldn't call AT&T coverage limited at
all.

~~~
w1ntermute
Well, your anecdotal data doesn't line up with the facts. There's a _Verge_
article from a month ago[0] that contains LTE coverage information for
Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint. There's simply no comparison - Verizon is leaps and
bounds ahead of AT&T. Just because you have AT&T LTE in your neck of the woods
doesn't mean that the vast majority of Americans do.

0: [http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/21/3367602/iphone-5-lte-
marke...](http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/21/3367602/iphone-5-lte-markets-
cities)

~~~
JumpCrisscross
The valid metric to observe in asserting AT&T's LTE coverage's uselessness is
not relative standing. We should measure the _number of people_ who can be
reasonably expected to have LTE coverage a reasonable percent of the time.

------
netcan
This is a test period for the post Jobs Apple.

Apple has a loyal mac user base willing to pay an Apple premium. A business
that won't just disappear overnight. They had a good head start on iphones.
Combined with the obscure phone prices on plans, Apple can easily get their
premium here. The tablet market they pretty much had to themselves.

Now Android really is mature. Great devices at great prices that compete with
iOS devices on features and not just on price.

Lets see if they can keep up their margins.

~~~
jawngee
Android still has a long way to go. I have the Nexus 7 (I should divulge I am
an iOS/Cocoa developer) and I kind of like it, but it still has a cheap
usability feel to it. The parallax is pretty obvious which translates into
issues like laggy typing and occasional awkward pauses. The select/copy/paste
is just bizarre. Video playback is crappy.

Android is to Toyota what Apple is to Mercedes. They both essentially do the
same thing, will get you to the same places, but it's a different kind of
ride. Some people like Toyotas, and that's OK.

I also don't think the kind of people that buy Android devices are the same
people that buy iOS devices. Not mention the homogeny of the whole Apple
experience and how much smoother that gets with each iteration of OSX and iOS.
I can pick up one device where I left off on another one. Because Google
doesn't own that kind of end to end experience, it will be hard for them to
compete on a whole.

~~~
ajross
The qualitative arguments are valid enough, and I won't try to dispute them
except to point out that most of what you argue is lets-just-say-controversial
and not uniformly agreed upon.

But the car analogy is just bad. Mercedes sells cars into different markets
with _different feature sets_ than Toyota. People don't buy a Camry expecting
it to accelerate like a E350. And the "polish" features are things like
Leather Seats and climate control, which are objectively measurable.

Compare the Nexus 10, which by basically all objective measures is a better
piece of hardware than the retina iPad. All that Apple has on it is brand and
opinion.

Even Mercedes can't sell cars on brand and opinion alone.

~~~
netcan
I agree that the analogy is wrong: Apple & Google are competing head-2-head,
Toyota & Mercedes generally don't.

But it's interesting to think about why. It's typical that as market
categories mature, we get segmentation. Start with the model T, eventually you
have luxury SUVs, sportscars, minivans, large sedans, smarcars....

------
JVIDEL
I don't know what's more insane: the N10's 2560 x 1600 screen or how hard is
to find a laptop with a measly 1080p screen for twice the price of that
tablet.

The N4 is bonkers too. Sure there are other phones with HD screens now, but
with a quad Krait? the only other I know is the Mi2, and good luck getting one
at launch.

The N7 with cellular is really tempting since with a little hack you could
have a tablet+phone hybrid (using a Bt headset). Too bad it still uses the
Tegra3, a SoC that couldn't keep up with the _dual_ Krait.

But overall I think Google just brought a gun to knife fight...

------
monkeyfacebag
Hopefully this starts the ball rolling on Android tablet apps. I really love
my Nexus 7, but the app selection is definitely inferior to what's available
for iOS.

~~~
levesque
What kind of app do you find yourself wishing for? The apps I use the most are
the default apps, i.e. Calendar, Mail, Chrome, Reader (google version) and
Google+/Facebook/Twitter.

~~~
dubya
I'd be interested to know if there's something like Papers or BibDesk for
Android. Something where you can browse ArXiv, save PDFs for later, and then
read and optionally mark up what you've saved. Integration with bibtex would
be nice as well.

~~~
MikeKusold
If you are looking for a PDF annotator, I really like EZPDF (
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=udk.android.re...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=udk.android.reader&hl=en)
)

~~~
dubya
A good PDF reader is the minimal requirement, but the organization is more
important than the annotation for me. Possibly something like Zotero online
would work, but I'd definitely want to see a review or find a store where I
could play with one for a while.

------
achompas
The "iPad mini vs. other 7" tablet" battle has been going on for a week, but
if nothing else I hope these new Nexus tablets force Apple to move away from
$100 jumps for memory and $130 jumps for radio.

The ~$450 I paid for a 32GB iPad mini would net me two base Nexus 7s.
Alternatively, for $100 less I can get an equivalent Nexus 7...with cell
radio. Those jumps add up!

~~~
mtgx
Just being available in the market at those prices will not force Apple to
lower theirs. Only if you vote with your wallet and stop buying Apple products
for those prices, they'll start to listen.

------
pooriaazimi
The screen for 10.1" model is great: 2560x1600 (300ppi) - iPad (3 and 4) are
2048x1536 (264ppi). Which means it has 30% more pixels (409600 vs. 3145728).

~~~
Xuzz
However, the screen is "PenTile"
(<http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PenTile_matrix_family>), which means that
each pixel is only 2/3 of what we'd usually think of a pixel. And it really
does look like crap, even at high densities (such as on the Galaxy Nexus).

If you calculate out the number of subpixels (what actually shows colors on
the screen, the important number), the 2048x1536 display on the iPad is still
significantly ahead:
<https://www.google.com/search?q=2560*1600*2/3+-+2048*1536>

~~~
silasb
Confirmed that PenTile is crap. I came from a OG Droid to Galaxy Nexus and was
horrible not impressed by the PenTile screen. It is really noticeable when
using low brightness.

~~~
andybak
Not all pentiles are equal. I have no real complaints about the Galaxy S II
screen. (OK - a bit more maximum brightness and a slightly more natural
default colour calibration...)

~~~
mendocino
The Galaxy S II has a proper RGB matrix. Galaxy S and Galaxy S3 are pentile
though.

------
slewis
The phone comes with wireless charging built in. Looks like that's a first.
Does it come with a charging pad as well?

I think I'd buy a phone just for this feature.

~~~
jonny_eh
I don't know what you mean by "a first", but the HP Touchpad had built-in
inductive charging.

~~~
vvhn
also the HP/Palm Pre3. Neither Nokia or Google/LG are first with inductive
charging.

~~~
camiller
I think even the Pre+ came with inductive charging built-in. Only the original
Pre required the purchase of the replacement back.

------
stcredzero
With regards to tablets, one of the next major battlegrounds is going to be in
the enterprise, with Apple, Google, and Microsoft duke-ing it out. From that
perspective, Surface makes a whole lot more sense. If they can perfect
Surface, they will be in a fierce position to defend their enterprise
territory.

With regards to the emerging enterprise tablet market, Google is playing
serious catch-up. If Microsoft can come late to the game, but demonstrate the
tenacity they have in the past, they might pull another "IE over Netscape" on
Apple.

~~~
Derbasti
I sincerely hope that with regards to tablets, the next major battleground
will be the desktop. I _want_ a tablet that acts as a tablet on the go, but
plugs into my mouse/keyboard/monitor at home and just replaces my desktop.

Performance is not quite there yet, but it's getting close. OSes are not quite
there yet, but progress is being made there, too. I think it is only a matter
of time and it might get there faster than we think.

~~~
codeulike
> faster than we think

Surface Pro, hopefully.

~~~
sigzero
Surface Pro will not compete in the same space. Pricing alone will push it out
of that space.

~~~
codeulike
OK, but if you're looking for tablets that can be proper desktop replacements
(as parent comment says), its not going to be cheap

------
melvinram
Someone forgot to tell their marketing team: <http://www.google.com/nexus/>

Edit: Basically the website still has old info about old devices.

~~~
jonknee
Maybe they're evacuated--these devices were supposed to debut at an event in
NYC that was cancelled because of Hurricane Sandy.

~~~
hyperbovine
But but... why use reason when you can make a facile, snarky observation
instead?

------
mikeevans
>Nexus 4 comes with wireless charging capability built right in. Just place
your Nexus 4 on a compatible wireless charging mat to charge -- and retire the
wire for good.

One's not included in the box though. I wonder how much they plan to charge
for that accessory.

------
Aardwolf
Now all we need is 3 SIM cards for the same mobile contract, so you can use
all three devices without swapping SIM cards all the time and without paying
for 3 separate contracts.

~~~
cbhl
I've seen "family plans" where minutes and data (!) come from a shared pool
like this, although I forget where.

~~~
chaz
AT&T and Verizon both offer shared plans.

~~~
cdash
Except that you still do end up paying a monthly fee for each device you add
to the shared pool.

------
aviraldg
I'm pretty sure they'd written this beforehand and scheduled it to be posted
but forgot all about it when they cancelled their event.

~~~
notJim
Yeah, it's really quite sad to see just a lame blog post and very little press
at all around what should be a huge launch.

I suspect part of the reason they launched is that basically all of the
information has been out there for a few weeks now anyway, so better to kill
off the rumor mill.

~~~
bryanlarsen
Their press event was cancelled because of a hurricane. Cut them some slack.

------
mbesto
And soon enters the paradox of choice. Do I bring my smartphone, mini-tablet,
tablet and/or my laptop in my bag? Wait, why did I buy all of these again?

~~~
TillE
Smartphone everywhere, mini-tablet if you're carrying a bag, Kindle if you
have time to do some reading, laptop if you need to get work done. Larger
tablet always stays at home.

That about covers it for me, anyway. The 10" tablet now feels like the least
desirable device, unless you have a relatively rare use case like reading a
lot of big PDFs.

~~~
mahyarm
Mini-tablet replaced the kindle for me. I never had the paper book and e-ink
reading requirements that many have. e-ink is just too slow for me.

------
neovive
I've been very happy with Galaxy Nexus so far. The specs on the Nexus 4 look
impressive. Anyone going to upgrade their Galaxy Nexus for the 4?

~~~
stanleydrew
I won't, but I think my girlfriend will upgrade her Nexus S. She's not
thrilled by the increasing screen sizes though. And I agree that a smaller
option would be nice. I refuse to consider anything other than a Nexus device
though so I guess I'm stuck.

~~~
sjmulder
I have the same issue. I’m on a Nexus S as well and it’s starting to show its
age with the latest operating system and apps. But the form factor is great,
and all these newer flagship phones are huge.

~~~
kiallmacinnes
I have the Nexus One, and it's _really_ starting to show it's age!

I'll be getting the Nexus 4 once it's out, but like both of you, the screen
size is the biggest drawback for me.

I really hope Google realizes that bigger is not always better!

~~~
SnaKeZ
I have the Nexus One and i think to buy a Galaxy Nexus..just for the good
price!

------
yumraj
In the era of beautiful Surface and iPads why oh why did the Nexus 10 have to
be so ugly, when Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 are pretty. The specs on Nexus 10 make me
want to buy it, but the shape is just not helping me make that decision.

~~~
james4k
I don't find it that ugly, but I can't help but think they were just trying to
differentiate themselves from the iPad.

~~~
fudged71
The 10" would be far better with the studded back texture of the 7"

------
computerbob
I just bought the nexus 7, but I might be buying the nexus 10. Finally being
able to have different accounts on one tablet is awesome.

~~~
StavrosK
I'm guessing it'll also be available on the Nexus 7.

------
codeulike
What, no 3 hour long livestreamed press event?

edit: oh, they had one planned in NY, cancelled due to the hurricane

~~~
MattSayar
I honestly prefer this format. I got all the critical details within 10
minutes, the press will be able to salivate over it for the next week, and I'm
still just as hyped about the devices.

~~~
codeulike
I think this is the most stuff I've ever seen launched in one blog post.

------
arrrg
Arrrgh! That Nexus 4 looks delicious, absolutely awesome. But why does it have
to be such a monster! With their flagship product, can't they shoot for a
happy middle ground and not for monster sizes?

~~~
bryanlarsen
With their new naming convention, it seems to me that there's a very nice slot
for a "Nexus 3". Hopefully such a device wouldn't feature inferior specs like
the s3 mini.

~~~
arrrg
I don't necessarily want a really small phone. Just a bit smaller, that would
be nice.

I really do not want a non-Nexus phone, and it just annoys me a bit when
Google is able to pick all the right trade-offs for me, except that one.

~~~
codeulike
Stick CyanogenMod on <whatever android phone is the right size>

~~~
bryanlarsen
Sure, but are there any "flagship" Android phones with a screen smaller than
4.6 inches? Even with Cyanogen you're still making compromises at the smaller
sizes.

------
Raphael_Amiard
Thank you Google, for making the Nexus 7 16gb 199$ 1 week after i bought mine
.. I love this tablet, but the one thing i really wish is i had the 16gb
version, but couldn't afford it at the time.

~~~
achompas
Not sure if you're in the US, but if so you have 15 days to return it:

[http://support.google.com/googleplay/bin/answer.py?hl=en&...](http://support.google.com/googleplay/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2411741#US)

Go get a bigger tablet!

~~~
Raphael_Amiard
Heh, thanks :) But i'm not :/ Anyway, it was already a good deal in the first
place, i'm not gonna complain.

------
fumar
I have Galaxy Nexus. I was thinking of upgrading to the Nexus 4, for better
battery life. But, LTE is missing from the device. On the other hand, the
price is great. I wish Google used some muscle to make carriers bend towards
Google's needs. I am grandfathered into a Verizon unlimited plan, and would
love to stay.

I am excited to see the screen on the Nexus 4.

------
nachteilig
I've been an iOS device guy since the beginning, but these low pricepoints on
a flagship Google device make it very, very tempting to at least give Android
a try. Well done, Google!

------
codeulike
By launching three flagship devices with three different manufacturers (LG,
Asus and Samsung), do you think they are trying to say something about Android
and hardware?

~~~
revelation
That hardware (manufacturing) is a commodity? I think they already know,
judging from the inane modified android UIs they put on their handsets.

I think it would be more important to break the "you are just a dumb pipe"
news to the mobile carriers. They still have illusions.

~~~
codeulike
Our mobile carriers in the UK seem to be getting the message, fortunately.

~~~
stanley
Mind elaborating on that?

------
suprgeek
The Pricing on the Phone for the Given specs is very impressive. Howvwer I
would wait for the reviews for the Nexus 4 to come in and wait for a few
months. This phone is made by LG and every person I know who has bought any LG
telecom product (Phone/Tablet) has had Quality issues with...

~~~
theintern
That's the only thing I'm worried about, hopefully the close ties with Google
have made sure that the quality and reliability is up to scratch.

------
neya
Finally, they nailed it! Well done Google. Samsung displays are one of the
best there ever is (apart from LG). For $299 I think its a killer deal!

------
radiosnob
Geez, I hate Google localisation. It NEVER works. It is always off.

I'm sitting in Germany, all my Chrome settings are set to English. Go to the
main Nexus blogspot website and its in English. Great. (despite being
blogspot.de)

Click on Nexus 10. Its in german. Understandable as I'm Germany. But please
respect the browser settings.

Go back and click on Nexus 7, and its in English.

Go back and click on Nexus 4, and its in _FRENCH_!! Why?!

Click on the expanded memory option on the French page and it goes to the
English version of the Nexus 4 page.

This infuriates me no end. This is the single reason why I will not use Google
Play. I know that if I buy a book or a movie, the chances of it being in the
language I set for the device will be slim. I have no desire to through money
away like that.

~~~
david927
I'm in France and I'm getting pages in a mix of English, French, and...
German! On the same page. (With no way of changing it.)

------
hack_edu
Have detailed specs of the Nexus 4's components been released yet? One of the
most surprising features of the Nexus S was the superb Wolfson DAC audio,
which is almost unheard of in a phone. If the Nexus 4's compares I'll preorder
today.

------
programminggeek
Ok, um, did anyone else notice that 4.2 is called Jelly Bean, like 4.1 was
called Jelly Bean?

Up until now it was Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream
Sandwich, and Jelly Bean. Did they run out of tasty treats already?

~~~
bryanlarsen
2.0 & 2.1 were both eclair, and 3.0 & 3.1 were both honeycomb.

The fact that they didn't change the product name indicates that this is a
fairly minor update.

~~~
dschep
There was also a 3.2 Honeycomb release.

------
anonymouz
I like the wireless charging feature. It's the kind of thing that, viewed
pragmatically, isn't really all that important, but it has a slick futuristic
ScFi vibe to it that makes me want to have it.

~~~
bengillies
It's cool and all but, if it's not included in the box it's not a feature.
It's an optional extra.

------
vasco
Is there anything country specific on the phone? Seriously thinking about
crossing the border to buy one. Would I have problems with the store or
anything?

~~~
marquis
The specs say "NETWORK Unlocked GSM/UMTS/HSPA+ GSM/EDGE/GPRS (850, 900, 1800,
1900 MHz) 3G (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz) HSPA+ 21". So I'm also assuming
this means you can use it worldwide with any SIM, I've used my older LG
android all over the world (AT&T or T-Mobile in the US).

------
manishsharan
Can someone please comment on how PDF and ebooks from Manning's programming
books render on Nexus 7 vs. mini-IPAD ? That, for me, is the deciding factor.

~~~
mahyarm
PDFs render pretty well on the Nexus 7 with Adobe's reader app. I'd guess
better since there is more resolution?

~~~
yohui
Agreed. I would add that really big (large textbook size) PDFs occasionally
hang Adobe Reader. ezPDF tends to handle those better.

------
georgemcbay
Those look like some very nice devices at very compelling prices.

I'm still a bit disappointed though. I've been waiting/hoping for a Nexus
hybrid (ala the ASUS Transformer). I'm really sold on that form factor and
hope they do something with it on a "Nexus" device. The continued lack of this
makes me wonder if they just haven't gotten around to it yet or if they are
avoiding it due to Chrome OS related strategy tax.

------
saturdaysaint
I've been a happy iPhone customer since the first model, but I think a good
low-price competitor is going to be a real challenge for Apple - an affordable
and desirable unlocked phone strikes me as a big breakthrough. Whether Google
is going to make a push to spell out the saving to contract-happy U.S. (and
risk alienating carriers and competing handset makers) is the real question.

~~~
astrodust
Apple's not in any significant danger yet. The margin built into their
products is usually high, so should push come to shove, they can always cut
that.

Normally demand is high enough that even at the premium price the product is
sold out until it's replaced by a more sophisticated model and the "old"
product can be manufactured more cheaply.

Other vendors should be thankful that Apple doesn't sell things at cost. This
leaves significant opportunities for other vendors to fit in and compete.

~~~
seunosewa
They are not in danger of outright failure, but they are in danger of
significantly reduced earnings and stock price, which is always a big deal for
a publicly traded corporation.

------
blrgeek
Finally Android tablets have caught up to (and even surpassed on some things)
the iPad. [Of course iOS vs Android is a big choice.] It's taken just 4 years!

Nexus 10 - clearly better than the iPad on price, display (resolution, size,
aspect ratio), sound, Wifi, RAM, GPS. Battery life is unknown though, GPU
likely to be worse.

Nexus 7 - beats the iPad Mini on price and resolution, matches on most other
things.

------
metalsahu
This is a new phase of the tablet wars. During phase 1, an iPad was not only
more polished (both hardware and software) but also much cheaper than the
competition. In 2009, no other tablet maker could match iPad on cost for
equivalent specs because Apple had completely optimized the supply chain. Non-
iPads mostly sucked!

Fast forward 3years, tablets are no longer a novelty and users have figured
out that the product is more function based rather than status driven - unlike
Phones where brand plays a part in the purchase esp because majority of the
usage happens in front of other people.

One sign of this change in consumer behavior was signaled by the launch of
iPad 4 within 6months of the iPad 3. Felt like Apple saw a glitch in the
matrix and had to make sudden changes. Q3 earnings confirmed that iPad sales
were down.

What now? Well, the door is wide open. People will pick based on personal
preferences as there is no clear "objective best": iPads, Kindles and Nexuses
are all interchangeable.

------
beggi
Ok so, 4th generation of Nexus phones is called Nexus 4 and the tablets with
7" and 10" screens are called Nexus 7 and Nexus 10? What..? Also, this greets
me when going to the product page (not trying to buy the phone, just trying to
look at the phone): <http://cl.ly/image/2t2R0L1L0H0F>

~~~
wmf
Maybe they rounded 4.7" down to 4.

~~~
Aissen
More like truncated at this point.

------
chm
I wonder why they chose not to add a full-size HDMI port. A lot of people have
HDMI cables/TVs at home, but I guess most of them do not have micro-HDMI
cables. The device doesn't ship with one, either.

From the viewpoint of the customer, this feels awkward. I guess the business
people and engineers see it otherwise...

~~~
Jach
[http://www.amazon.com/Fosmon-HDMI-Micro-Cable-
Feet/dp/B003UH...](http://www.amazon.com/Fosmon-HDMI-Micro-Cable-
Feet/dp/B003UH0Z9Q) HDMI size problem solved, I don't think that alone would
turn away any customers though it would be an annoyance. At least the Nexus 4
and Nexus 10 _have_ HDMI output, the lack of that is still my biggest
complaint about the Nexus 7 and has so far been the deal-breaker keeping me
from getting one. (Lack of SD card support is also annoying, but I can live
with USB-expanded storage.)

------
dholowiski
As expected, very little support for other countries (specifically Canada
where I am). Movie purchases, and HSPA, but no magazines or TV shows, no
google music. Nexus 4 not available in Canada.

[edit]Correction - magazines now available in Canada (Woohoo!) they just
didn't say so. Now, can we please have google music?

~~~
tonfa
Surprisingly Google Music "match" (similar to itunes and amazon) will first be
available in Europe.

~~~
icebraining
In (a small subset of) Europe. Smaller, poorer countries like mine get
shafted.

~~~
tonfa
Some richer countries are also not included (Switzerland).

------
jebblue
Nexus 4 looks interesting but a bigger screen would be nice and I could go to
the Nexus 7 now that they have one with a phone option and MicroUSB for
connectivity! Ah, it has no camera well a 1.2 MP front facing one but that's
it. Maybe the Nexus 10, big, would take some getting use to to replace a phone
with it and it has an 8MP rear facing camera, but no phone option. :-(

When I can get a 7 with phone and at least 32 Gigs or preferably expandable
storage like my Nexus One which I've had 32 Gigs on now for a year or two and
an 8MP real rear camera and a front facing camera and MicroUSB then I'll
upgrade from Nexus One to Nexus 7 or if the 10 gets a phone I might go to
that.

The 10 would be a strong option for me now if it had at least 4 Gigs RAM, 64
Gigs storage or expandable and a phone as well as rear and front facing
cameras.

------
mfringel
Since I see a lot of "Hey, doesn't X do that too?" remarks, I just wanted to
say:

Execution counts.

It's not enough to say "Hey, X does that, too." There has to be a qualifier on
_how_ well/poorly/etc. it does it. Otherwise, we're meaningless comparing
feature checklists, which could be done by a small perl script.

------
mladenkovacevic
Miracast support. I hope more devices (TVs and set-top players) really jump on
board with this protocol.

------
Inufu
Now I have to decide between the Nexus 4 and the Droid Razr Maxx HD :-/

~~~
StavrosK
I have no idea about the device, but that name is embarrassing.

~~~
Macha
Could be worse. Could be the "Samsung Galaxy SII Epic 4G Touch".

Although that said, it seems to be worse in the US. Your carriers take the
manufacturer name and replace it with their own (Desire HD -> Inspire 4G) or
tack it on at the end (Galaxy S2 -> Galaxy SII Epic 4G Touch)

------
shimon_e
FYI, the Nexus 4 is quad core. However, the Nexus 10 is only dual! I've tried
switching to a tablet at the beginning of the year but web browsing
performance wasn't good enough for me. Hope the dual core downgrade won't make
that much of a difference.

edit: I was under the impression they both were Samsung Exynos arm processors.
Turns out the Nexus 4 is using the Snapdragon S4 Pro and the Nexus 10 is using
a A15 Samsung Exynos.

~~~
Symmetry
I was surprised by that too. An A15 ought to be individually faster than the
Krait cores in the S4, but not by that much.

~~~
jordanthoms
They are using the exynos 5 because it's the only SOC out right now that can
support a screen with that resolution. The A15 cores should run very well, I
suspect it'll be faster than the nexus 4 for most tasks.

------
Alcedes
I guess google is going after budget conscious. No LTE is ridiculous and their
excuse that they don't want carrier interference is lame. Does Apple have to
deal with carriers interfering with deploying LTE? Please, the real reason why
they don't support LTE is the Nexus is not a big seller. So it makes little
sense to create multiple sku's. Gotta love that Google spin.

~~~
codeulike
I'm guessing its more like battery and target-cost limitations

edit: and the carrier thing as discussed in The Verge

~~~
drivebyacct2
Anyone who's been paying any attention knows this is no conspiracy, Google is
not happy with Verizon AT ALL. Wallet/ISIS is only a small component of that.

Painting this is something else is just inaccurate.

~~~
onetwothreefour
You are utterly delusional my friend. This is laziness.

~~~
drivebyacct2
Wow thanks for that cool analysis. It's not like their feuds with Verizon and
Wallet are well known and documented. Surely you're baseless accusations of...
what exactly... are right on.

~~~
onetwothreefour
I wasn't accusing anyone of anything. Unless calling you delusional is an
accusation.

So let me get this straight. Google's _entire_ reason for not supplying LTE is
global availability, and yet, one barely used feature on one carrier is
apparently what stopped them from shipping it? Oooookay. Verizon and Wallet
have _nothing_ to do this with decision. Zero. Verizon doesn't exist outside
the US, just so you know.

For any Android fanboy to not decry the lack of LTE is hypocritical at best.
The wholesale cost difference between a HSDPA part and a LTE part is
negligible at best. There's zero downside to providing a LTE part because it's
also a superset of 3G/HSDPA/etc.

There's maybe a technical reason for not including it, and instead of the BS
justification that Google are trying to sell us, I'd love to hear it. It'd be
far more believable than the current "you don't really need it" reasoning
being thrown about.

So yes, you're delusional. You're attempting to justify why LTE isn't included
in a flagship phone in Oct 2012. Good luck with that.

~~~
cageface
Read the article on the Verge. They left out LTE to stay out from under the
thumb of Verizon and their track record of delaying updates to the previous
Nexus Phone.

------
blissofbeing
Do any of these support LTE?

~~~
jug6ernaut
Does not appear to have LTE support out of the box. But the chipset DOES have
an LTE modem, so there is hope.

------
codeulike
Tuesday: I'd say the storm has cost Google a lot of publicity. Guardian Tech
is leading with the Apple management reshuffle, way down the page there's a
small article saying 'google were going to launch something or other but had
to cancel, here are some rumours'.

------
chj
They need to work more on their browser. They are using the same webkit core
as iOS, right? Reality is, every time I used the browser on Nexus 7, I want to
throw it out of window.

------
Achshar
Won't anyone think of us folks in India. I really want a tablet and I would
get nexus 7 if it were available here at that price. Also google music and
play store won't hurt either.

------
nodata
Don't give us Sun-style crazy version numbers please Google! 4.2 should have
got a new name!

~~~
stanleydrew
I remember reading that they considered a new name, but they didn't feel like
the feature updates were strong enough to warrant it. Which is refreshing
actually. The post did call it an update to jellybean.

~~~
klez
Then they should have only bumped minor version.

~~~
kiallmacinnes
Isn't that exactly what they did?

e.g. X.Y.X where:

X = Major, Y = Minor, X = Bugfix/Patch/...

~~~
codeulike
Sometimes a change in Y gets a dessert name, sometimes it doesn't.

------
nodata
Steal my idea, Google: hot-swappable batteries please.

------
pjmlp
SDK site still lists Android 4.1 as latest version. :(

~~~
Raphael
Give them 2 weeks.

~~~
pjmlp
I am curious to see if NDK is still standing still or more freedom is given to
the native developers.

Or if at least more JIT improvements are available.

------
drivebyacct2
This stuff is blowing my mind.

On every single spec, Nexus exceeds the iDevice equivalent. The Nexus 4 has
two NFC radios, a higher res screen, is thinner and lighter and is _less than
half of the price_ of the iPhone 5. (edit: That's unfair, I forget about LTE,
though I understand why Google skipped that)

Similar things hold for the Nexus 10.

Am I the only one really surprised?

(This is of course not to mention the numerous new Android 4.2 features that
everyone except the Verge has ignored)

~~~
onetwothreefour
You're only surprised because you're comparing a spec sheet to another spec
sheet. And it's not thinner and lighter. And you don't know if the screen is
actually going to _look_ better. And it doesn't have LTE (no matter what the
excuse).

Additionally, the Nexus 10 is massive, is ugly as hell, runs Android and thus
has like 10 apps designed for a Android tablet.

I own every Nexus device in existence and every iOS device, so that's where
I'm coming from. The Nexus 7 was a waste of money.

~~~
drivebyacct2
> And it's not thinner and lighter.

The tablet certainly is. You're a troll, what are you stalking me? [edit: it
appears I did misspeak, the tablet is lighter and thinner, the phone is not,
though practically, they're both basically the same-ish dimensions give-or-
take nothing that actually matters)

>runs Android and thus has like 10 apps designed for a Android tablet.

Gimme a break, I'm not wasting my time on you. I don't even believe the last
line of that post.

------
drivebyacct2
Quite frankly, I haven't seen these mentioned anywhere except in a very long
Verge video so I'm making a list of Android 4.2 features:

\- Google Now will now automatically detect packages you are going to receive
and will notify you of their progress. You can now dictate calendar events
(also, in 4.1 they added the ability to say "navigate home").

\- You can take 360 degree panoramas

\- Quick Settings & Multi-user accounts

\- You can swipe the lock screen to reveal informational widgets. (quickly
check your calendar, etc)

\- Swype functionality built into the keyboard. (Even cooler than Swype though
because of where it shows the word and the suggestions)

I've also yet to see anyone mention that the Nexus 4 rests in a capacitive,
magnetic dock.

------
sergiotapia
The idea of owning a tablet by Google creeps me out to no end. I just can't
picture myself using this without the lingering feeling of having Big Brother
tracking me, watching me, keeping tabs on what sites I visit and what content
I post online.

~~~
jonknee
Luckily any tablet you choose will have significant tracking capabilities...

~~~
seiji
Apple isn't in the business of exploiting your private data to advertise
products/services/content from third parties at you though. The incentives are
completely different.

~~~
spdy
Thats why the have built-in facebook and twitter support. They sell you as
well dont believe in fairy tales.

And to be honest im fine with google having my data they have a solid record
for keeping things in line.

~~~
ryanpetrich
Facebook and Twitter support have to be explicitly activated in order to send
any data to those parties. In the case of the optional Facebook contact sync
feature, it even warns that the data in your contacts list will be sent to
Facebook. When submitting a post to either Facebook or Twitter, including the
location is optional and off by default.

~~~
cma
_Making the location visible_ on your post is optional and off by default;
sending the location is not, as far as I understand.

~~~
ryanpetrich
Location Services doesn't start up until the "Add Location" text is tapped.
The best Facebook or Twitter could do would be to geolocate based on the IP
address.

