Between that and Android 4. ASUS has definitely taken the graphics up a notch; we could see an incredible amount of detail in the water, our avatar and our surroundings, and we never encountered any sort of disruption that interfered with the gameplay. Since ASUS has made a considerable effort to slim down the new Nexus, we suppose it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to find that the battery is also smaller: it's been shrunk from 4,mAh to 3, This was worrying at first, especially given the extra pixels that need to be lit up.
In normal use, we discovered that the device could easily last us at least a day and a half, and we could certainly push it longer by being more conscious about preserving battery life. Gaming and multimedia were unfortunately different stories: we drained the battery nearly 30 percent in just one hour of playing graphically intense games like Riptide.
Our video rundown test, which consists of a p movie playing back on an endless loop with the display on 50 percent brightness, yielded a life of seven hours and 15 minutes, which was much poorer than last year's Nexus 7. That tablet lasted nine hours and 49 minutes in the same test. Update: many of our commenters have rightly pointed out that the new Nexus 7 has a much brighter display, which may lead to faster battery drain when it's set at the same percentage instead of a nit-for-nit comparison.
The high-def display isn't the only area where Google and ASUS improved multimedia playback: we also noticed a massive upgrade to the audio quality as well. As we explained earlier, the biggest change is the addition of an extra set of speakers on the top of the device, which means the new device offers stereo quality rather than the mono setup found on the previous version. Without question, the new Nexus is definitely loud enough in nearly every scenario. Our only quibble -- and it's a small one -- is that lower frequencies don't sound as prominent when you're listening through the speakers, so to get more complete bass you'll still want a good set of headphones.
There's no shortage of smaller-screened tablets in the market, but the most talked-about are arguably the Nexus 7 and the iPad mini. Since we've already compared the new Nexus 7 to its older counterpart, let's see how it holds up against its iOS competitor. Granted, the iPad mini's display is an inch larger than the N7, which might affect the cost of the tablet.
That said, how else does it compare? Naturally, the decision between iOS and Android plays a huge role in the decision-making process, and you'll want to weigh the two platforms very carefully. Diehard iOS users, for instance, would likely find it difficult to switch to Google's mobile OS because they'd have a lower number of dedicated tablet apps to choose from; heck, most Android smartphone users probably have the same complaint. This is a problem the iPad mini simply doesn't have, which may inherently give Apple a leg up, higher prices or not; it also gets brownie points for having a better battery.
The display is the best we've seen on a small tablet, the stereo speakers offer amazingly loud audio, the performance stands up to gaming and other intensive tasks, and you get NFC, wireless charging and enough cellular radios to make it compatible with three of the big four US carriers. If ecosystem doesn't play a large factor in your decision, we heartily recommend the new Nexus 7.
Granted, Android is slowly but surely improving its selection, but it still has a long way to go before it catches up. That frustration aside, the new Nexus has a lot to offer, including an incredible display and strong overall performance. As long as you don't mind the selection of tablet-optimized apps in the Play Store, you'd have to be an extreme power user to not enjoy the latest Nexus 7, and you'd most definitely be paying through the nose to land anything better.
Sign up. Buy Now. Latest Reviews. See all articles. Nexus 7 review Molen Sponsored Links. In this article: android , Android4. More Info Nexus 7 hands-on Android 4. Pros Beautiful p display Improved performance Incredibly loud sound Wireless charging. Cons Weirdly proportioned bezels Battery life not as long as the original Nexus 7's.
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Prior to Honeycomb, Android tablet manufacturers had to simply use Android as it was intended for phones. This predictably led to scaling issues, less than ideal UI elements, and other technical gremlins.
Google then chose to unify the phone and tablet platforms with Android 4. But the aforementioned software tweaks meant that the Nexus 7 launched with an OS that was actually optimized for using apps on larger screens. The latter is far more understandable given the focus as a media consumption device, but it did mean that easy QR code scanning was a no-go. A far bigger issue back then for the Nexus 7 was slowdown over time, as Android 4. This feature essentially kept system storage speedy by tweaking the way deleted data was handled.
Nevertheless, the combo of hardware, software, and price resulted in a product that was generally considered a sales hit for Google and Asus. Good Subscriber Account active since Shortcuts. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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Bear in mind that SIM cards from U. Luckily it should be an easy fix in the settings. There have been a few problems reported with the Nexus 7 camera. A lot of people have reported an issue when they turn the Nexus 7 on. A number of Nexus 7 owners have been complaining about a buzzing or static sound that is especially apparent at low volumes. For some people the noise is still there even if they mute the speaker.
A lot of people have encountered issues with the new Nexus 7 randomly restarting. This was a common problem on the old Nexus 7 as well. A few owners have had problems with their new Nexus 7 registering multiple touches on the screen and skipping around erratically. There have also been reports of single taps on the touchscreen keyboard being registered as double or triple taps.
It seems that quite a few Nexus 7 owners are reporting problems with the GPS. A few people have noticed that the screen of their Nexus 7 is prone to flickering. This is particularly noticeable on lower brightness settings. Some owners have reported that their Nexus 7 will not charge up at all when plugged in. Others have found that the battery is discharging much faster than expected. You can move on to page two for some Nexus 7 problems and potential solutions. Updated on by Simon Hill : Tidied up and added stuck on Google logo, new solution for weak Wi-Fi, and speaker buzzing problem.
You are not alone. There are a couple of things you can try to bring it back to life. This problem seems to occur frequently if you allow your Nexus 7 battery to run completely down or leave it idle for long periods.
A lot of Nexus 7 owners reported serious problems after updating the tablet to Android 4. Some people encountered general lag or sluggish performance, others complained of brightness issues for the display, and worst of all, some people encountered random reboots. There was also a bug introduced in the People app that removed the month of December, but Google rolled out an update to fix that bug quickly. Some Nexus 7 tablets shipped with a screen defect which means that the screen lifts slightly away from the plastic bezel, which can create some creaking noises.
If you bought it elsewhere, then you need to contact Asus directly. In both cases you should get a replacement free of charge because this is a known issue. You may find that the Nexus 7 microphone is failing to pick up any sound. This could be because of a fault; it could be because of the placement or the cover; or it could be because something got in there and blocked it.
There have been quite a few reports of people getting no sound at all when they plug in their headphones, or getting crackly intermittent sound.
You should also check that the volume is turned up on the Nexus 7 and not very low or even muted. You may find that your Nexus 7 refuses to connect to your Wi-Fi network or drops it frequently.
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