Nexus 7 Tablet Review

By Akshay Moza

Google has unveiled its very own branded Nexus 7 tablet. It is the first tablet with Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean". Priced at around $199 for 8GB and $250 for 16GB. It basically renders every 7 inch tablet priced at more than $300 in the market. So if you are looking to buy a small tablet to surf internet and play games, this is the one to buy.                                                                                                                                                  

     

Physical Features and Internet:

Kudos go to the Taiwan based hardware manufacturer Asus. Nexus 7 looks well built which is classy for $200 tablet. A Glass screen dominates the front of the tablet, and around the back there's a slightly grippy, stippled black rubber panel. The display is bright enough to see indoors and out, on par with the Kindle Fire, although it's more reflective and less saturated than the high-end AMOLED screens used by the far more expensive tablets like the Toshiba Excite 7.7 ($499.99) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7. A Wi-Fi-only device, the Nexus 7 connects to the Internet using 802.11 b/g/n, albeit only on the 2.4GHz band. The tablet supports Bluetooth for audio and NFC to transfer files to other NFC-equipped Android devices. Interestingly, Google Wallet doesn't appear in Google Play on the Nexus 7. So, for now, at least, it doesn't look like you can make NFC credit-card payments here.

Performance and Apps:

The quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 chipset inside is one of the fastest mobile processors around. This unit runs at 1.3GHz in single core mode, and 1.2GHz when two to four cores are active. It's far faster than the Kindle Fire's older dual-core chipset. System wise Nexus 7 is at par with other recent Tegra 3 tablets like Toshiba's Excite 7.7. I have read few reviews on Nexus 7's performance v/s other tablets and it has certainly proved to be a front runner. Graphics performance is rock-solid with a 55.9 fps rating in NenaMark, higher than the Excite 7.7 and the Asus Transformer Pad TF300. Nexus 7 weighs 12 ounces and has a front-facing camera. Battery backup is supposed to last for 4 to 5 hours during normal use.

Nexus is the first Google device to install Chrome as the default browser, and  it's about 30 percent faster than the older stock Android browser. It has a better tab interface and screen transitions are indeed smoother. Also there's no lag with the touch keyboard.

Google has claimed Nexus 7 to be a serious gaming device and with Android 4.1 on the cards ,the user experience might prove to be more polished than previous Android iterations.

Google Nexus 7 highlights

• Size: 198.5 x 120 x 10.45 mm
• Weight: 340 gram
• Wi-Fi b/g/n
• Bluetooth
• Nvidia Tegra 3 processor
• USB
• GPS
• NFC
• 8 or 16 GB internal storage
• 1 GB RAM
• 4325 mAh battery
• 8 hours of active use
• 1.2 megapixel front camera
• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
• Sensors: Accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope

Positives:

Fast, Well-built, Value for money

Concerns:

Limited storage, No HDMI or MHL to connect the tablet to HDTVs.

Bottom Line:

Google and Asus smack it out of the park with the Nexus 7, a terrific small-screen tablet that's an incredible value at $200. Well, I am eagerly waiting for its release in Indian markets to have it in my hands as it's the most bang for the buck you can get in the market right now.

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Now surf internet on TV - Amkette launches EvoTV

Amkette, the IT peripherals maker, has launched a new device called 'EvoTV', which will allow users to surf Internet on their television sets in the same way they do on their computers.

 EvoTV is an Android operating system based digital media device which allows users to access content like videos, games and websites using WiFi and broadband connection. It comes with a remote that acts like a mouse and has a mic to facilitate conversations on VoIP (like Skype). 

Amkette plans to revolutionalise the future of television globally with EvoTV. Instead of confining the Internet experience just to the PCs, the users will be able to access games and content like videos, just like they would on a PC using EvoTV.


The device is powered by twin ARM processors (ARM Cortex A9 and ARM Mali 400)  and comes preloaded with basic applications. Users can also download more apps from the Android application market, Google Play.


EvoTV comes bundled with a motion sensing remote, the ‘Evo Touch’, which adds to the look and feel of  touchscreen. In-built features like ‘Evo Views’ provide one click user interface and ‘Evo Discover’ is an Internet Content Discovery Software.

Google, which operates the Android platform, also plans to launch its set-top box 'Google TV' to allow viewers to use their device both for television viewing as well as accessing the Internet simultaneously without adjusting any cables.


The EvoTV is priced at an MRP of Rs.12,995, while its street price is Rs. 9,995 with Evo Touch Remote.

Specifications:

• Processor:  ARM Cortex A9 + ARM Mali 400 Graphics Processor
• Memory: 4 GB inbuilt Memory.
• Built-in Wi-fi and Ethernet ports
• 4 USB ports
• Fast Processing Speed
• Upto 1080p full HD
• 7.1 Channel Surround Sound Audio output
• Supports 3G Dongle.
• EvoShare connectivity/DLNA
• Connectivity:  HDMI, DLNA, Wi-Fi, 4 USB slots, 1 SD/MMC Card Slot
• Access data file through Samba Share on your TV
• Very low power consumption

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