Google Nexus 7 tablet first look – five top features [Video]
What is the Google Nexus 7 tablet?
A 7-inch tablet made by Asus, the Google Nexus 7 gets its name from the fact it is the first tablet to run the latest version of the Android operating system – Jelly Bean.
This is the first Google branded tablet ever, but rather than focusing on competing with the iPad Google has focused on the cheaper end of the market and set it against models like the – currently US only – Amazon Kindle Fire.
Watch our video below to find our more about the Nexus 7 tablet.
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Read our what’s new in Android Jelly Bean for more information about the new operating system.
5 things we like about the Google Nexus 7 tablet
- Its price
Costing £159 for the 8GB version and £199 for the 16GB model, the Nexus 7 is very affordable and is a lot cheaper than an iPad. Plus, this includes a £15 voucher to use in the Google Play store - It’s a commuter friendly size
As well as a 7-inch screen the Nexus 7 only weighs 340g meaning holding it with one hand on a train or bus won’t leave your arm aching for the rest of the day - New operating system
The Nexus 7 is the first product to feature Jelly Bean, the latest version of the Android operating system. This includes improved touchscreen performance and better search. For more information read our post on what’s new in Jelly Bean - Good hardware
Despite being an affordable tablet the Nexus 7 still has some impressive hardware including a tegra 3 – quad-core processor and 12-core graphics processor. This means apps should work very fast and it will be able to play the latest games - Large battery
Google claim the 4,325mAh battery provides 9 hours of video playback and 300 hours of stand-by time. We won’t be able to confirm this until we test the tablet in our labs, but it sounds impressive
Tim’s impressions of the Nexus 7
There’s no way of talking about the Nexus 7 without mentioning the cost, and for less than £200, it could fundamentally change the tablet market. Despite the price it has the features to compete with tablets that cost twice as much, and that’s just the 16GB version, let alone the 8GB edition.
And it doesn’t look like a £200 tablet – it looks classy and feels well-made. There are some compromises – the screen is surrounded by a large bezel so it looks a little small, and the back panel has a rubbery finish so it doesn’t feel as premium as the iPad or Asus Transformer Prime – but they’re easy to forgive.
The 7-inch screen means the tablet is small enough to use with one hand and theoretically fit into a jacket pocket – a pretty big jacket, at least. Weighing just 340g also means that, while it doesn’t feel cheap and breakable, it’s light enough to wield one-handed without getting achy arms.
On first inspection it’s fast and the interface feels very smooth – whether this is down to the quad-core processor or the Project Butter feature from Android Jelly Bean it is hard to tell, but it makes for a nice experience.
The new search function of Jelly Bean also looks good, and Google Now served up relevant cards for the location – although without a search history to rely on we aren’t able to see how well this will work after everyday use.
A rear-facing camera, 3G functionality and a microSD slot have all been sacrificed in the name of cost cutting – although the only one of these that are likely to make a difference to most users is the lack of microSD. This means you will be stuck with the fairly modest 8GB or 16GB of internal memory – so you may have to do a bit of juggling to fit what you need on the tablet every now and again.
Overall, I found it a very decent tablet and would still have been fairly impressed if Google was asking £300 for it. It’s not quite up to competing with the iPad, but at this price point it’s hard to imagine finding anything better.
- Nexus 7 full review – see what our full test revealed
- Best iPad alternatives – the best non-Apple tablets
- How we test tablets - see what it takes to become a Best Buy
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Andy
looks interesting; what’s it like as an e-reader?
Tim Gee
Hi Andy,
I tried out the ebook reader feature and it looks good. The screen looks sharp (with a resolution of 1280×800) and the page turning animations feel very smooth and add to the experience rather than getting in the way.
I’m not sure how well it will deal with direct sunlight, although Asus were keen to point out that the glass in the display was thinner than average allowing more light to penetrate the screen (up to 400 nits) and improving outdoor performance.
Personally I would always plump for an e-ink screen as my eyes already spend far too much time staring at LCD screens, but that’s personal taste.
George
Andy, Funny nobody’s mentioned the screen resolution or anything to do with the screen’s display ability. Anyway if you want an eReader stick with a Kindle, at least you can read it outdoors in bright sunlight. Don’t think this or any tablet fares too well in bright light but if you want to read in the dark then it might be fine!
Duncan Booth
Interesting review, but it could have done with some proof reading. Please lose the spurious apostrophes in “It’s price” and “It’s commuter friendly size”. Also was “a pretty big tablet, at least” meant to read “a pretty big pocket”?
George, Andy. The screen resolution is 1280×800. It will be interesting though to see how legible it is in daylight. I use a Galaxy Tab as an e-reader, it’s only 1024×600 but still ample so the Nexus 7 should be significantly better. Daylight may still be a problem though.
TGC
As a Kindle user, I like it for the clean ink-on-paper appearance of its screen, BUT that also makes it poor for books and magazines with a lot of colour content. As I do most of my reading indoors, the advantages of the Kindle’s screen don’t come into it.
In fact, using my Kindle in low light is a strain. I tend to use the Kindle app on my Android phone for my daytime reading, and keep the Kindle at my bedside, where I can be assured of good lighting.
I was interested in Amazon’s Fire tablet, but it’s not available in the UK. Now that Google have released the Nexus 7, and at such a competitive price, it’s really a no-brainer… I’ve pre-ordered the 16GB version. The lack of 3G isn’t a problem, since I can make my phone act as a WiFi access point.
The absence of a rear-facing camera doesn’t bother me (I can usemy phone). The only thing I would have liked is a microSD slot, but 16GB should make that less of an issue.
Paired with a Bluetooth speaker system, this could also be a great way to control and listen to music.
Finally, as an existing Android user, I like the fact that this device will be updated with new versions of the OS when they become available.
Terry Farrell
If you own a 7″ (or larger) Tablet, you’ll quickly find out how unwieldy it is to try to take photographs using a rear-facing camera however good that camera may be. So really that isn’t a feature to be missed!
I don’t think that the lack of 3G is going to be a problem either. Once again a large tablet just doesn’t make it as a phone – though it is good for SMSing as the keyboard is better than a standard-sized mobile. It still works as a good Satnav replacement too as long as you remember to pre-load maps whilst you have a WiFi connection!
It’s just a pity that there isn’t a memory card expansion slot.
Ken Church
You say it has a 7″ screen, how big is it overall please? (length x width)
M
Ultimately, e-readers deliver the content significantly differently to be considered separately in my opinion.
If you want a feature rich device that can passably deliver books to the light/average user, the Nexus 7 is as good as anything you will find at this price… I got one, and I love it – more than my Asus Transformer Prime; which cost more than double what the Nexus 7 did.