Google's Second Generation Nexus 7 Benchmarks 205
MojoKid writes "Google's second gen Nexus 7 tablet is a worthy successor to the original, boasting an improved design both internally and externally. It's thinner and lighter, has a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC, 2GB of RAM, a higher resolution 1920X1200 display and it's running the latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean release. The display alone was a nice upgrade in a 7-inch slate that retails for well under $300. However, it turns out the new Nexus 7 is also one of the fastest tablets out there right now, with benchmark numbers that best some of the top tablets on the market, especially in graphics and gaming. From a price/performance standpoint, Google's second generation Nexus 7 seems to be the tablet to beat right now."
Re:well gosh (Score:5, Informative)
Yeah ... unless you're planning on modding it with AOSP [slashdot.org]
Android 4.3 breaks many Bluetooth keyboards (Score:5, Informative)
My benchmark: WPM cut in half. Reason: I had to switch back to the on-screen keyboard because just as changes to Bluetooth in Android 4.2 broke support for the Wii Remote, changes to Bluetooth in Android 4.3 broke several popular Bluetooth keyboards, including the ZAGGkeys Flex that I happen to own (source [androidcentral.com]).
Amazing device. (Score:4, Informative)
I picked one up when I found them in stock at my local $big_box_electronics_retailer. I already have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, which was a cool device when I picked it up.
This thing, however, is a whole other universe. The UI is snappy and responsive and fast. Fastest I've ever seen on any Android device. No lag, no jitter, no stuttering while scrolling. The display is amazing. Everything is sharp. Colors are well defined and look "deep". It packs as many pixels as my 1080p HDTV in to a 7 inch display. (And people say we're not ready for 4k HDTV. Pfff)
Android 4.3 really ups the game. All of my google services migrated over just by logging in. Most of my apps came too, but some bugged. (I suspect they were not compatible)
I liked my galaxy tab. Nice, small, flexible tablet with lots of geeky stuff to do but I had to root it to get rid of the crapware Samsung shovles on to it. That's what I like most about this new nexus. It's a clean out of box experience loaded with core apps that really have a high quality experience. (You know, the Google apps services you're probably going to use regardless. That's really the big appeal here. Don't fool yourself)
Yeah, it's like an ipad in that regard.
Vote with your wallet (Score:2, Informative)
No open source driver, you can keep your hardware!
In related news (Score:5, Informative)
I was going to buy it... now I won't
Re:If you don't mind a dead battery (Score:5, Informative)
Compared to?
According to TFA, it's "up to 9 hours." The original Nexus 7 had 10 hours, so it's an hour less. But considering it has to drive that Retina-like display, it's pretty darn good.
Battery life as tested in a lab, rather than leaving it up to the manufacturer.
Tablet Battery Life
Nexus 7 (2013) 7:15
Apple iPad mini 12:43 (WiFi)
Apple iPad (late 2012) 11:08 (WiFi)
http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/29/nexus-7-review-2013/ [engadget.com]
Re:If you don't mind a dead battery (Score:4, Informative)
That's the manufacturer's claim. The tests I've seen, using real-world things like more than 50% brightness and wifi put it at about 6-7 hours. Similar tests on iPads Minis regularly get 9-10+ hours.
But brightness is the key power sucking feature. And nobody I know runs any android tablet at full brightness.
You might have to do so outside on a sunny day. but typical living room / office use I have the brightness slider almost to the lowest possible setting. In a bright room I might move it up, but never so far as a quarter of the way.
Disclaimer: not a nexus tablet.
Re:Amazing device. (Score:1, Informative)
In all seriousness: it's the first device I've seen that has almost as responsive a UI as an iPad. I work at a company that is currently porting an iOS app over to Android and after seeing this, I know which device we'll be using for all our demos in the near future!
Re:If you don't mind a dead battery (Score:4, Informative)
from the comments:
"CNET, in their battery test, which plays a video at equal and measured brightness levels across devices, found the following results for the new Nexus 7 :
Video battery life (in hours) : Google Nexus 7 (2013) 11.5, Apple iPad Mini 12, Google Nexus 7 (2012)10.1."
Re:Microsoft holds patents on VFAT and exFAT (Score:5, Informative)
That's a long, complex line of useless excuses.
There are so many simple solutions.
When you stick a card in a phone, just have it pop up a "would you like to format this card for this device?" question.
For compatibility with exFAT, let people buy an app that adds the support.
if formatted by the phone, stick 2 partitions on it, the first a normal FAT that's tiny (or even dos), and stick FS drivers on it.
Or just say, no, you can not put the card in a machine. For example, look at the replaceable hard drives in PS3's. That'd give the maker the ability to use any FS they want, and that would even make it more suitable for expanding the local storage, which would make the whole thing more user friendly / transparent to the user.
Or they could just license it and pay the couple pennies a device (there are already multiple implementations for andoid).
There are other Android devices that include support and are cheaper (ex. Galaxy Tab 2 7.0), so it's also proven possible and feasible.
Former posts are right... they just want the cloud.