Nexus 7 (2012) is a Google centric tablet developed with the help of Taiwanese computer maker Asus. The android tablet market is flooded with tablets from manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, HCL, etc and over a diverse price range. However there are only a handful that actually offer true value for money. Nexus 7 (2012 edition) is one such tablet which in true sense offers the best money can buy. Without further delay lets get on with Nexus 7 2012 review.
Ergonomics – Form Factor
Tablets can be awkward design language. Though there’s no perfect size established for tablets as of now but Nexus 7 aims to do so. Nexus 7 can be held easily and comfortably with one hand, although you’d still have to use other hand for operating it but carrying it isn’t a pain in a**. It’s maker, Asus could have squeezed in relatively large bezel around the display but even in it’s current form it is pretty easy to hold it in one hand.
The Gorilla glass display is IPS panel with 7″ inch screen (800 x 1280 pixels) 216 ppi. Don’t expect the brightest of display and certainly not analogous to Samsung’s saturated display. But nevertheless, it is still pretty good when compared to others in same price range. As with Google Nexus lineup, there’s no capacitive touch buttons on the front rather it carries on screen keys. Thus making the front entirely buttonless!
Hardware Specifications
Google Nexus 7 packs some laudable hardware specs. A quad core Tegra 3 processor powering the device, with 1 GB RAM sufficient enough for playing games, videos and other mundane tasks. In terms of storage, the device comes with 8 GB and 16 GB variants. Unfortunately there’s no SD Card slot making you restricted to managing only limited amount of data on device. Cloud storage being an alternative way out.
Another absenteeism in features group is HDMI slot for video output onto the TV screen, but considering the price factor Google has maintained (and slashed recently) it would be really hard to complain.
Battery Capacity
The more the better. You can really never be satiated with “juice” available for your device. Nexus 7 tries hard to offer the best battery life with 4325 mAh of available battery. In my usage of Nexus 7 with 4 Gmail accounts in sync, Viber running in background, around 1.5 hours of video playback, Wi-Fi powered on, couple of minutes of music playback, casual web browsing, the device lasted for approximately 15 hours. In sum, the 4325 mAh battery is quite generous compared to its competitors.
Camera
Now, this maybe a let down for some people. Google has ditched the rear facing camera on this device, opting for a solitary 1.2 MP camera on the front for video calling. Though it might have been a good idea to throw in a mediocre 3 MP rear camera but that would have gained criticism rather than traction. Moreover I feel tablet is a portable media, web surfing device rather than image shooter to say the least.
Software Advantage
It’s a Nexus device and thus users will always be updated with latest Android iteration as and when it is released much like iOS release cycle by Apple. Add to this unlike other manufacturers who ditch their devices in terms of software update, Google Nexus users can expect Google to push at-least next iteration, if not more. As of now Google Nexus 7 (2012) runs Android 4.3 which even the latest and greatest LG G2 doesn’t have. So you know what I am trying to convey here.
In terms of general apps, in plain simple terms Nexus 7 and other Nexus devices are intended as a portal to the online world of Google products. You’ll see a foray of Google apps pre-installed viz. Play Store, Google Play Music, Movies, Google+, Hangouts, etc. It’s all Google in here!
Summing Up
It’s hard to imagine a tablet packing more hardware and priced so competitively than Nexus 7. The battery life, processor, screen size, RAM all combined together offer a great portable computing experience. If you’re looking to buy a cheap tablet market offering value for money then look no further, Nexus 7 is the device for you. It is currently available in India for a price of Rs, 8,999 (8 GB variant).
Nexus 7 (2012) Image Gallery
True. Nexus 7 would have been a great value for money had 3G been affordable. However despite this it is still a great buy!
Yes …3G too costly ….:( …and the 16GB variant is not much enough for storage…!!!
Oh yes. You have to rely on cloud storage but with Indian telecoms charging exorbitant rates for 3G even cloud isn’t viable.
worst feature no extended memory!! 🙁