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Google Nexus 7


Tipex
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Anyone got any info/opinions/reviews of the Google Nexus 7?

I've just ordered one as it was cheap enough that I know I can get at least my money back if it's rubbish.

All it'll really be used for is Tipex Jnr playing Angry Birds Star Wars on, watching Super Mario videos on YouTube, and watching his DVDs assuming I can work out how to transfer them.

Myself and Mrs Tipex might possibly use it for Facebook and net browsing occasionally, but I'll probably be buying something else for us to use with a bigger screen.

It apparently has Android Jellybean whatever that means, I've never been a big fan of Android, but thought I might as well give it a go at that price.

Anyone else got one?

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My son has one and about 4 people in work have one. Apart from the size of the screen I don't think there is anything to dislike about them! They just work, the screen is excellent quality, the apps just work.

A nexus 10 is obviously bigger and is better (spec) but is twice the price and heavier.

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Cheers, I've read a few online reviews (which perhaps I should have read before buying one, but I was put on the spot) and it seems it's regarded as being one of the better (if not the best) small form tablets that isn't an iPad.

Obviously the screen size is entirely subjective and largely depends on what you are doing with it, but i'm sure Tipex Jnr will be more than happy with it.

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I'm no Android fan (can't fecking stand it to be honest) but I picked up a Nexus 7 for work to do some testing and have been pleasantly surprised. It's quite a nice bit of kit, works well and battery life is pretty good. I do find the battery takes an ice age to charge up though.

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Yeah I've been playing about with it last night, and Android seems to be as I expected, not a great experience, but it works well enough for what we'll use it for, hasn't crashed yet and seems quite snappy, no lag or anything.

The screen is excellent, not sure what resolution it is or anything, or if it compares to Retina, but it seems very good, crystal clear and sharp.

The device itself seems well put together but as you say, charging is a bit slow but battery life seems good.

My only real gripe is the length of the USB charging cable, it's ridiculously short, meaning if it's plugged in directly next to the sofa, it's still not long enough to hold it without leaning over the edge of the sofa, which is annoying.

One of my mates who's an Android fanboy was telling me about how he'd had an iPad for a week, but didn't like it, he said he found it 'really boring' which I though was an odd comment, surely any tablet is only as boring as the apps you are using on it?

Edited by Tipex
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One of my mates who's an Android fanboy was telling me about how he'd had an iPad for a week, but didn't like it, he said he found it 'really boring' which I though was an odd comment, surely any tablet is only as boring as the apps you are using on it?

Unfortunately a lot of an Android fraternity seem to think it's hilarious and cool to bash iOS and Apple stuff in general. It seems that most people who use iOS will be of the opinion that it's all down to personal preference but a lot of Android fans don't seem to be quite so accepting. It's really fecking boring to be honest.

But yes, if you have crap apps on the tablet then the user experience will be that it is crap.

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You nailed it Tipex.

Just like in the good ol', bad ol' days of Mac vs. PC - the former was more polished, consistent and in some ways more restrictive due to the hardware and software integration, but the latter ran so much stuff on so much stuff!!!

Today, substitute iOS for Mac and Android for PC and we're watching consumer IT history repeat itself.

My perfect mix at the moment is an iPad mini (wifi 64GB) at home and 2x HTC 1x+ phones... I really do prefer the HTC to my older iPhone 4 and the subsequent Apple handsets.

The hardware specs for the phones leave the mini in the dust - Quad core CPU, GPU, 1GB RAM, 64GB Flash, etc...

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If I can offer one word of advice - don't let the battery drain completely. Top it up whenever you get the chance and before it goes to <30%. It's as if the OS corrupts when the battery gets low, or when it thinks the battery is low.

I have two of them and the kids use them quite a lot. Despite my instructions, it seems no one bothers to charge them but me and they're frequently being run until they die. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to reset them because they've gone snafu. I did some research and there are reports of it being linked to drained batteries and charge detection.

Edited by Sponge
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Right, so that's something I'll probably be having to do regularly then, as much like you, no one ever bothers to charge anything except me!

Things I need so far, a case, a longer USB lead, and to work out how to get DVD's onto it.

Any ideas?

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The last time I looked into it I read there was supposed to be a fix coming out, but I'm yet to see one.

I'm not sure about transferring content to the 7 directly as I've never tried connecting my 7s to my PC, but if you get one of these cables (others are available) and install an app (I can't remember what it's called, but it's cheap) you can read media directly from an external storage device.

Cases can be found from £ to £££ on ebay, Amazon, etc. The one we have is leather-look with a flap that has the required magnets to wake the 7 up and send it to sleep when you open/close it. It was less than a fiver.

My 20 month old now knows how to turn it on, go to the apps page and pick the apps she wants; amongst her current favourites are Annoying Orange and Star Wars Angry Birds. I don't know whether to be proud or worried. ;)

Edited by Sponge
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There's no shortage of cases on eBay, I grabbed one for about £6 that has a folding lid that turns into a stand plus the magnet to wake the Nexus when I open it. As for USB cables, eBay is probably the best place, you should be able to get a longer cable for a couple of quid.

For DVDs, I haven't actually tried but I expect it'd be similar to what I do for my iPad. Grab a copy of Handbrake (handbrake.fr I think) and use that, there should be some presets for Android which will take care of all the settings. Then plug the Nexus into your PC with the USB cable and it should appear as a drive in 'My Computer' and you should be able to copy the file over.

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Ok, I've got a case for about £6 on Ebay, leather (says leather but I'll bet my left arm it's fake leather) which doubles as a stand, it has magnets to keep it shut but not sure about wake/sleep, we will see.

I've ordered one of those OTG cables for £1.39 from ebay, and I'm going to pick up a tiny usb/Micro SD card reader tomorrow and see if it works, It should apparently, but I think I might need to download an app to access the files?

I'll have a look at Handbrake too.

Thanks for all the help, much appreciated! +++

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