Nexus 7 Hands-On: Size, Speed and the Quirks of an Early Unit

Specifications

Display	7-inch, 1280x800 HD, 216 ppi
Glass	Scratch-resistant Corning glass (not Gorilla)
Front camera	1.2 MP
Battery	4325 mAh, up to 8 hours of active use
Weight	340 g
Software	Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, quickly updated to 4.1.1

First setup

The reviewer bought the tablet and had time only to put it on charge and start setting it up before a long drive of about five hours each way. The connection was too slow to download everything needed, so a few files went over from a phone using Bluetooth, since some files cannot be sent by beaming. After setup the tablet did not pull in installed apps automatically, which the reviewer suspected was because it had never been used with that account.

Outside

• Weight. At 340 g it was much lighter than the reviewer’s older Asus Eee Pad, even with a smaller screen. It fits the hand comfortably.
• Charging. It charges over microUSB. The reviewer saw this as an obvious choice, since one charger for a phone and a tablet is a real convenience on trips.
• Speaker. A single mono speaker, which was noticeable, but loud enough to use as an office music speaker.
• Cut corners. No rear camera and no SD card slot. The reviewer barely missed either, though a USB adapter might be needed for extra storage.

Inside

The software behaves almost exactly like Jelly Bean on a Galaxy Nexus. That was a mixed point: it is consistent, but the reviewer felt it made the tablet seem like a larger phone, much as people say about the iPad. Phone apps without a tablet layout, such as the SwiftKey keyboard, worked well on it.

The home screen grid is 5x6 against 4x4 on the phone. The notification shade did not cover the full width of the screen or reach the bottom, which looked like phone design stretched to a tablet.

What the reviewer liked

• Excellent size.
• NFC, though finding the right spot took a little trial.
• Battery life.
• Performance with no lag and fast app loading.
• Free copies of Transformers and Bourne Legacy plus $25 of Play Store credit.

What gave the reviewer pause

• Build. One edge of the screen felt soft, as if the adhesive had not set, and the glass sat about a millimetre above the bezel on that side.
• Touch. A light touch on the bezel sometimes registered. In Angry Birds a release on the sling occasionally counted as a second touch, and in Fruit Ninja a swipe sometimes read as several taps. It did not happen all the time.
• Wear. After one road trip in a car door holder, the paint on the side showed marks.