Google Nexus 7- Why This Droid is a Serious ipad Competitor
Google unsurprisingly released a tablet this week called the Nexus 7 (for 7 inches) under their own brand and running their latest Android OS version, Jellybean.
The tablet itself looks fantastic for the price of only $200. It’s the same price range as Amazon’s kindle fire, and Barnes and Noble’s Nook Tablet, but the hardware is far superior which should make it the leading Android tablet.
While the screen is only 7 inches with a resolution about the equivalent of 720P HD (still superior in look to the fire and nook), what makes this tablet truly unique is its’ hardware and price. Past Android tablets such as the fire and nook have been slow and not nearly as smooth as Apple’s ipad and IOS due to underpowered hardware and a faulty operating system that prioritized the wrong operations making the OS look particularly slow. With Jellybean which is Android’s latest iteration, Google has repaired much of these operating flaws in the software to create a more “buttery smooth” look. In addition, Google’s tablet is stuffed with more RAM than you could need (1 GB), a zippy quad core proccessor, and a few other things that put this Android tablet far in the lead of any other Android tablets. To put things in perspective, I’m considering purchasing this tablet as my sole Android device.
For $200 you can’t expect a perfect tablet, and while this tablet is fantastic in most areas, it does lack in a few areas. Don’t think of this as a camera. Unlike most of its’ competitors, the Nexus 7 features no back camera, and a poor quality VGA camera in front. In short, this camera is for videochatting and nothing more. When comparing to the ipad, one must remember that the screen, while certainly a fine screen, is nowhere near in the league of beauty in Apple’s Retina display ipad, and the screen is much smaller.
It still does have some upsides beyond what I mentioned. The Nexus 7 weighs a petite .74 pounds. This makes it far easier to travel with versus an ipad or computer. In addition, the build is sturdy and comfortable.
While the ipad is still a far better device, the Nexus 7 definitely has all that it needs to easily capture much of the Android market and quite a few budget conscious people whose only previous option was the ipad. I’m impressed with Google’s new offering, and I definitely may buy one, although I do question how this will affect Google’s relationship with hardware makers who will lose a lot of business.
