Hi guys, its that time again where the latest and greatest are being given centre stage, in this unplugged review we dive into Google latest flagship the Google Nexus 7….
With only being launched a month or two ago, this bad boy is making headway in the tablet market, #rivals-iPad mini 2 -Amazon kindle fire HDX….we found alot of things to adore with this tablet, from the sleek design to the raw untapped performance
Lets dive in…
Design
The 2013 Google Nexus 7 has changed prior is predecessor, the rubberised rear and faux metal accents have been chucked away, and their place there is now a refined matte black plastic exterior. The Nexus 7 has really got a soft sleeky feeling and i must say it feels great in the hand, the nexus logo, which has a new glossy embossed design on the back which now been changed its orientation from portrait to landscape…..which we must say is the best orientation to use the tablet.
The bezels on the flanks have been shrunk substantially, making the 2013 Nexus 7 much easier to handle with one hand, in portrait orientation. The top and bottom bezels have remained almost unchanged which, according to ASUS and Google, with tablet also loosing 50g from its predecessor, this makes the nexus 7 a really light weight tablet in a heavyweight division….we also loved the rear cloth like matwrial seems to stick other than slide off what ever you place it on….you could say it waa bitten by a spider and now has the newly acquires spidy grip…we trust no one will try through it against the wall and expecting it to stick…
Software
As expected the nexus 7 comes with android jellybean 4.3 . however expext many retail sellers to ship their tablets with androids latest offering, android 4.4 kit kat , probably due to drive more demand for the tablet.
There are improvements such as OpenGL ES 3.0 support for better 3D performance and Bluetooth low-energy compatibility, something that will come in very handy as the much-hyped “smart watch” revolution kicks off. For long-suffering parents there’s the welcome ability to run restricted profiles on the device, which means you can disable in-app purchases in games to avoid having your pesky offspring spend thousands of pounds of digital goods.
The fact that many of Android 4.3’s improvements are hard to see makes it feel very much the same as 4.2. In fact, if you didn’t know you might even assume it was the same version of the OS. However, when you take into account the level of polish that is now applied to Android, it’s hard to grumble – it’s an exceptionally good operating system with excellent stability and customisation.
Android 4.4 Update
Android 4.4 KitKat which is also avaliable for the Nexus 7. KitKat brings with it a brand new UI design, lighter and brighter interface and even bigger icons. Google Now is fully integrated into the launcher for the first time ever which makes Nexus devices a lot better to use. Expect to be asking your tablet a lot more questions very soon. Hangouts has also been reworked, and the KitKat will also run on 512MB of RAM – not that you need to worry about that with the Nexus 7!
Display
The screen remains the same size as it was on the 2012 model and uses the same IPS tech, but the resolution has risen to 1920×1200 pixels, giving a pixel density of 323ppi. That means it’s practically impossible to spot individual pixels, and makes the Nexus 7 perfect for reading eBooks or magazines.
It also helps that the screen’s brightness has been enhanced over the 2012 model, and contrast is noticeably better. This is one of the best tablet screens we’ve ever seen.
Battery, storage and connectivity
The 2013 Nexus 7 may beat its ancestor in almost every regard, but it’s stuck with a lower-capacity battery. The 3950mAh cell offers around the same stamina though, with about 8 hours of solid use possible – Google says this was achieved by tweaks in the Android code.
It also supports wireless charging now – just like the Nexus 4 – which is handy to have, but you’ll need to invest in a Qi charger to make use of it.
The 8GB model from last year has been dumped, making 16GB the entry-level storage option. This should be enough for most people, especially when you take into account cloud services such as Google Drive and Google Music. If not, then there’s always the more expensive 32GB edition.
Like many other devices in the Nexus range, there’s no way to expand the storage space with MicroSD cards, so keep this in mind if you like downloading loads of stuff and are used to the card slots found on other Android products.
Conclusion
It may not be a radical departure from the previous model, but the 2013 version of the Nexus 7 is arguably the best Android slate you can buy right now. It may not be at the cutting edge of tech – its innards are almost the same as those of the soon-to-be-replaced Nexus 4 – but for the price this device offers amazing value for money. It’s also truly portable and much easier to carry around than other tablets.
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Specifications
Price …………………………………..R 3,200.00-R 3,500.00
Length…………………………………200mm
Width ………………………………. 114mm
Thickness ……………………….. 8.65mm
Weight 290g
Screen Size ……………………….. 1920×1200 pixel IPS LCD, 7 inches
Processor …………………………… 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro
Built-in Memory ………………….16GB or 32GB – no microSD
Operating System ……………….Android 4.3
Designer Lens ………………………5 megapixel (rear), 1.2 megapixel (front facing)
Video Resolution …………………..1080p
High-speed Data ………………….. LTE, HSPA+
Connectivity ……………………….. ..WiFi, Bluetooth
