When it comes to technology, we've been trained to expect more for less.
Devices get more powerful each year, as prices stay the same or drop.
With the new Nexus 7tablet, Google hopes we're willing to pay more for
more.
The new tablet comes with a $30 price increase over last
year's model. At $229 for the base model, it is still a bargain - and 30
per cent cheaper than Apple's $329 iPad Mini. The display is sharper
and the sound is richer than the old model. There's now a rear camera
for taking snapshots. The new Nexus 7 is the first device to ship with
Android 4.3, which lets you create profiles to limit what your curious
and nosy kids can do on your tablet when you're not around.
Amazon.com's
$199 Kindle Fire HD is cheaper, but it doesn't give you full access to
the growing library of Android apps for playing games, checking the
weather, tracking flights, reading the news, getting coupons from your
favorite stores and more. The Nexus 7 does.
It's a fine
complement to your smartphone if it's running Google's Android, the
dominant operating system on phones these days - even as Apple commands
the market for tablet computers with its full-size iPad and iPad Mini.
Unless you tell it not to, apps you use on the phone will automatically
appear on the Nexus 7, so you can switch from device to device
seamlessly. When you are signed in, bookmarks will also transfer over
Google's Chrome Web browser, as will favorite places on Google Maps.
If you were already eyeing last year's Nexus 7 model, then go ahead and pay $30 more for the latest.
Although
screen dimensions are identical, the new Nexus 7 has a higher pixel
density, at 323 pixels per inch compared with 216 on the old model.
Trees and other objects in the movie "Life of Pi" look sharper, as do
the movie title and credits on the screen.
Sound is much better
with speakers on the left and the right side of the tablet, held
horizontally. Although they are technically back facing, the speakers
are placed along a curved edge in such a way that sound seems to project
outward and not away from you. On the old Nexus 7, I can't even tell
where the speakers are.
The new Nexus 7 also feels more
comfortable in my hands. It's 17 per cent thinner and 5 per cent
narrower when held like a portrait. The old model was a tad too wide to
grip comfortably in the palm of my hands. The new device is also 15 per
cent lighter, at 10.2 ounces. And the rubbery back feels smoother on the
new tablet.
The new Nexus ships with a camera app, something
last year's model didn't really need because it had only a front-facing
camera, for videoconferencing. With the new rear, 5-megapixel camera,
you can take photos and video of what's in front of you. Expect to be
ridiculed, though, if I see you doing that. Still, it's not as bad as
blocking someone's view with a full-size tablet.
As for the
restricted profiles that come with Android 4.3, it's a good idea, though
it still has kinks. When you set up a profile for your kid, you pick
which apps to enable. Don't want your kid to be surfing the Web
unrestricted? Then keep the Chrome browser disabled. Don't want him or
her on Facebook? Keep that app disabled, too. The app store is also
disabled, so Junior can't go on a download spree. If you do allow access
to a particular app, though, then it's full access. There's no
filtering to block porn and other questionable material, for instance.
I
found that some apps won't work with restricted profiles at all,
including those for Gmail and other email accounts. If you want your
kids to have access to email, then you have to give them full access or
enable the browser to check email over the Web. You can't turn on just
the email app.
And although the new tablet is the first to ship
with Android 4.3, it's available to download on other devices, including
last year's Nexus 7.
What the new tablet does offer is the
promise of a longer battery life - up to 10 hours for Web surfing and
nine hours for video streaming. Last year's model was rated at eight
hours.
There's no question the new model is better and worth the price increase.
Choosing between the new Nexus 7 and the iPad Mini is tougher.
If
you already have an iPhone, the iPad Mini will be a nice complement.
You won't have to buy music, video and apps twice, for instance. You
might want to wait until this fall, though, to see whether Apple comes
out with a new model.
It's a tougher call if you have an Android phone.
By
volume, the two systems have a comparable number of apps. But I've
found that many larger app developers have made versions only for the
iPhone and the iPad. The American Museum of Natural History in New York
has six that work on iPads but only one on Android devices. An app to
watch full episodes of CBS television shows is for Apple and Windows
devices only, not Android. Meanwhile, the iDonatedIt app for tracking
tax deductions has more features for Apple devices, while features that
are supposed to work on Android often don't.
Android is good in
that many apps designed for a phone's smaller screen are automatically
adapted to take advantage of a tablet's larger screen. On the iPad, apps
that aren't optimized for it are squeezed into a smaller window the
size of an iPhone. Blow it up to full screen, and it looks distorted.
But that's not as glaring on the Mini as it is on the full-size iPad.
And having apps automatically change their layout isn't the same as
designing them for the tablet from scratch, as is the case with the
hundreds of thousands of apps optimized for the iPad.
The Nexus
7's screen is much sharper than that on the iPad Mini, which has the
non-HD display technology of the iPad 2 from 2011 - ancient in the world
of mobile gadgets. The Nexus 7 is also a tad lighter, by 6 per cent.
That
said, the iPad Mini has a larger screen, measuring 7.9 inches
diagonally compared with 7 inches on the Nexus. And the iPad Mini has
had a rear camera from the start. The iPad Mini also has Siri, a voice
assistant that is feistier than Google Now on the Nexus. If you prefer
Google Now for its ability to give you information you need to know
without even asking, you can download it on the Mini. You can't get Siri
on the Nexus.
If you do get the Nexus 7, it supports wireless
charging, so you can get rid of the messy wiring. The device comes only
with a standard microUSB charger to plug in, so you'll have to buy a
Qi-compatible wireless charger yourself.
The $229 base model
comes with 16 gigabytes of storage. For $40 more, or $269, you get twice
the storage. Both will go on sale in the US next Tuesday. A 32-gigabyte
model with 4G cellular capability will cost $349. By contrast, the iPad
Mini starts at $329. A 32-gigabyte version with 4G costs $559.
Even
with the price increase, Google has Apple beaten on price. The Nexus 7
may lack the cachet and many of the apps that the iPad Mini has, but
you'll be able to do a lot with it. I hope technology companies won't
make price hikes a habit, but this one is made palatable by the device's
richer display, sound and camera.