Monday, July 21
Stepwise Towards Perfection
I resisted getting a tablet for a long time, because, frankly, in the early days they all sucked. Then the Nexus 7 came out in 2012, and it didn't suck (much), and didn't cost a whole lot, and I bought one. And I found I used it constantly.
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I resisted getting a tablet for a long time, because, frankly, in the early days they all sucked. Then the Nexus 7 came out in 2012, and it didn't suck (much), and didn't cost a whole lot, and I bought one. And I found I used it constantly.
I followed that with the purchase of an original retina iPad (i.e. the iPad 3) which is a very nice device that I never use. And a Nexus 10, which is a very nice device that I almost never use. And then the 2013 model of the Nexus 7, which was better than the original in every way and which I used constantly until last week when it died.
Boo.
Double and triple boo, because firstly I'm taking some time off work and have a chance to catch up on my reading, and I used my Nexus 7 for reading, and secondly, Google Australia are completely out of stock and I can't replace it.
I do have the two other tablets and a very very large phone, so I'll survive just fine, but it's quite noticeable how well the Nexus 7 fills its niche when you're looking to replace it with something else. There simply isn't anything, from any provider, for any price, that can fill its role as well.
But we're getting there, slowly.
When the original Nexus 7 came out I made a wishlist of seven points I wanted to see corrected in a newer version:
- 32GB or more of flash storage.
- A micro SD slot.
- Fix the colour levels. (Colours on the original Nexus 7 were not exactly vibrant.)
- Make the screen even sharper - go to 1920x1200.
- Micro-HDMI out.
- Stylus.
- Help Kairosoft get Game Dev Story fixed on Jelly Bean.
The 2013 model fixed 1, 3, 4, and essentially 5; Kairosoft fixed 7. That leaves 2 - micro SD support - and 6 - a stylus - outstanding. And Google have issued a big fuck you to those looking for micro SD support.
I have a 128GB micro SD card in my Xperia Z Ultra, and the difference it makes is amazing. I can just shovel music, audiobooks, and podcasts onto it without worrying about running out of space. But I don't have that in a full-sized tablet... Yet.
Looks like the new Nvidia Shield tablet might be what I've been waiting for. It has a Tegra K1 quad-core 2.2GHz Arm A15 processor, so it's a lot faster than the Nexus 7;* 2GB memory, 32GB flash, a micro SD slot, and LTE. 8" 1920x1200 IPS display, and even a stylus.
The only downside is that it weighs in at 390 grams, against the Nexus 7's 290, making it definitely on the chunky side. But as I've found with the Z Ultra, weight isn't everything; the Z Ultra is only about 210 grams, but owing to its metal and glass construction is less comfortable to use for long periods than the Nexus 7 with its soft-feel plastic back.
We shall see.
* These benchmarks show the K1 outrunning the Nexus 7's Snapdragon S4 Pro by a consistent 2:1.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at
07:18 AM
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This only illustrates how different our requirements are. I want a tablet, which fits in my pockets. Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD were just the right size, but blasted Nexus 7 is too damned long! By just 1.5cm! Whyyyyyyyyy. Nexus 7 superior to Kindles in every other way, but I cannot carry it with me, so I cannot used when I want it. I swear I'm going to pay closer attention to device dimensions next.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Tuesday, July 22 2014 08:45 AM (RqRa5)
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I got the Xperia Z Ultra for that reason - the 6.4" screen is nearly tablet-sized, but the device itself is much smaller and lighter than a 7" tablet. 2cm shorter and narrower and 3mm thinner, and about 80g ligher than the Nexus 7.
So that now serves as a tablet I can carry with me, and I just need a 7-8" tablet at home for reading.
So... I went online and ordered another Nexus 7 this morning.
So that now serves as a tablet I can carry with me, and I just need a 7-8" tablet at home for reading.
So... I went online and ordered another Nexus 7 this morning.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Tuesday, July 22 2014 02:07 PM (2yngH)
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