Back in 2010, Apple's late CEO Steve Jobs suggested that no one
wanted a 7" tablet - Apple's iPad has a 10" (9.7" to be precise)
screen. His reasoning - 7" was too large to fit in a pocket like a
mobile phone but too small for more data-rich tablet apps.
And none of that first generation of non-iPad tablets sold
particularly well.
Google's 7" Nexus 7 tablet
Google wants to prove Jobs wrong. Its new Nexus 7 tablet,
manufactured for Google by ASUS and powered by Google's new Jelly Bean
Android 4.1 mobile operating system, has a 7" display and an attractive
price: Can$209 with 8 GB of storage, Can$259 for a 16 GB
model.
The low prices don't equal low-end specifications.
Apps open quickly, screens display smoothly, and links and special
effects run without a hitch - which was not the case on other Android
tablets I've tested. Google claims a goal developing Jelly Bean was to
make Android feel "buttery". It has succeeded. It's only useful,
though, if there are apps for it. Apple boasts a huge library of
tablet-optimized apps, while relatively few Android apps have been
designed for tablet use.
But the 7" screen of the Nexus works to its advantage in this case:
Android apps designed for mobile phone screens work just fine.
The 7" screen is easier to type on than phone screens, but not as
touch typing-friendly as the larger iPad. I type with all my fingers on
an iPad; here it's back to two fingers.
The smaller size works well for ebooks - perhaps better than the
larger iPad. You can hold it in one hand and fit it into a large
pocket. Battery life is at least the equal of the iPad, about 10 hours.
Like Android mobile phones, the Nexus 7 is integrated into
Google's collection of online services. You can use it without being
plugged into Gmail and the like, and it supports businesslike Microsoft
Exchange servers.
Some negatives: Like an iPad, there is no option to increase storage
with a memory card. The much more expensive iPads offer between 16 and
64 GB of storage compared with a choice of just 8 GB and 16 GB for
the Nexus 7. iPads have WiFi only and WiFi plus mobile wireless
options; the Nexus 7 is WiFi only. There's no back-mounted camera, just
a low-resolution front camera for video. A big minus for some users -
no video output connection, so no easy way to display a
presentation.
Like the iPad, there's no Flash support.
But overall, I like it a lot. I've been using it regularly for
email, social networking, and web browsing, and it makes going back to
my laptop feel like driving a truck - something that's useful for the
heavy hauling.
My iPad now feels like the family sedan. But most of the time I'd
rather use the affordable Nexus 7, which feels more like driving a
peppy sports car for most of my city driving.
First published in Business in Vancouver's High Tech Office column
on August 28, 2012.
