A closer look at the Nexus 7 (2013)

There are plenty of reviews out there that will tell you about the latest and greatest of tech products. The new Nexus 7 is one of those latest and greatest product to come out during the late summer. This new tablet is considered a budget tablet by many and yet it is considered one of the best tablets on the market. So, what makes this tablet so great?

Before we look at that, let's look at the origins of the Nexus 7

The Nexus 7 is a joint project by Google and Asus that first made it's debut in 2012. The original model was short and stubby. It could fit nicely in one hand, and with the dimpled, golf ball like back cover, gave excellent grip. As far as specs goes, it was all good; a Tegra 3 processor that for it's time was perfect and a display that wasn't bad, but was good for what it was. However, what's important about this tablet is that it kick started the Android tablet craze and for the first time; challenged the very existence of the iPad the later released iPad Mini.

The Nexus 7 (2012). I call it "The Golf Ball Tablet"

But a year went by; tablets were becoming more and more powerful and the once strong Tegra 3 processor was now showing it's age (quite badly I should add). Samsung was now producing tablets that had a more shock and awe effect. Clearly, by the beginning of 2013, the Nexus 7 was far behind everyone else in power.

Enter the new Nexus 7. Again, a joint project between Asus and Google.

The new Nexus 7: Beautiful, non?

The new Nexus 7 is slightly taller than it's predecessor (by just a fraction of a centimeter) and yet still has the size to make it a portable tablet. Like it's older brother, it can fit in your pocket quite nicely, though it still is awkward when you attempt to crouch down to put on your shoes. Personally though, I prefer to keep my tablet along side my Chromebook in my net book bag.

The new device packs significant changes in hardware, yet has a similar design to it's older brother. Though the golf ball like back is gone, there still is a rubbery-plastic back that makes the device easy to grip. The device also is lighter than many 7 inch tablets; increasing it's portability. It kinda reminds me of the back of a Kindle Fire, though to say that this device is like the Kindle Fire is kinda putting it down. The Nexus 7 has more bite and sass than Kindle's budget tablet.

With a 1920x1200 display at 343 ppi, the Nexus 7 has the best display of any 7 inch tablet. Everything is crisp and clear; images are bright and colourful, videos are sharp and text is print perfect. With that kind of display, you can expect that this device was created for one real purpose: Entertainment. A statement that is further proven by the hardware.

A Quadcomm Snapdragon S4 processor at 1.5 GHz, Adreno 320 Graphics Chip and 2 Gigs of RAM power the new tablet. One may say that the processor is a year old but unlike the Tegra 3, this chip has aged nicely and can still hold out on it's own against the newer Snapdragon 800 series. You get a real sense that just by how responsive the device really is once you start using it. Like the previous generation, you can expect your Nexus 7 to do what you want it to do, without having fear that it will bug out on you.

What this translates to, is that you are getting a very powerful entertainment platform. Gaming is definitely the highlight as it's smooth and responsive. Playing games such as GTA Vice City and Minecraft PE was an enjoyable experience on the Nexus 7; everything was smooth, even at the highest quality settings for both games. The dual band Wi-Fi also delivers nicely with videos and live streaming media. Youtube was a treat on the Nexus 7, as watching videos in full 1080p HD was glorious. Seriously, it was fantastic!

A 3950 mAh battery powers the device, and though it is smaller than the battery found on the original Nexus 7, it does not fail to deliver. Google claims that you can get 9 hours for watching HD content, and so far; this is pretty accurate. Watching the entire Let's Play Minecraft playlist from Rooster Teeth brought the battery down to just under 50%. Gaming however, is where the battery shows it's cards though. Playing Vice City drained my battery to 50% in under 3 hours. It's not optimized like the Nvidia Shield is, but it should be good enough for casual and hardcore gamers alike.

An interesting addition to the tablet is the 5 MP rear facing camera. It certainly isn't suppose to be a selling point by all means, but then again; you're getting a decent camera to use. You get all the camera features found on the Nexus 4, so yes; Photosphere is apart of that bundle. I'm not a fan of taking photo's on a tablet but then again I'm not complaining. You also get the same 1.2 MP front facing camera from before, which is good for your Hangouts, Skype using, and the occasional self photo.

Another addition is the inclusion of dual stereo speakers with a sort of surround sound built in. It certainly isn't home theater style surround sound and one shouldn't expect it to be. However, the sound is still rich and high in quality. I still prefer headphones and I can say with great pride that listening to music is a great treat!

There are plenty of other neat stuff that makes it to the Nexus 7; a notification light, SlimPort compatibility and the movement of the headphone jack to the top of the device to name a few. These minor additions still add up to make the Nexus 7 a great treat.

Like all Nexus devices, the new Nexus 7 runs stock Android; that means no bloatware and no secondary software upgrades. It's basically a blank slate for you to modify to your own personal enjoyment. The new tablet runs Android 4.3 and though the new update doesn't come with many fantastic improvements, it does bring along a few unique features, such as the inclusion of restricted profiling. Other than that, many Nexus 7 users will be awaiting the arrival of Android 4.4, which comes out mid-October.

So with all this power, it raises a question; does the new Nexus 7 beat out the iPad and iPad Mini? Benchmarks show that the iPad 4 does have a higher score than the Nexus 7, but keep in mind that Apple's way of speeding things up is reducing the quality of apps and media to fit the low specs of their products. The iPad Mini on the other hand is totally overshadowed by the Nexus 7's display, specs and design. I don't dig the structural integrity of the Mini and it just feels like it will break apart from one drop. That feeling doesn't exist with my Nexus 7. It feels sturdy and can take some punishment, though I wouldn't honestly trust it to survive falling a meter onto concrete. Then again, most devices wouldn't survive a fall like that anyways.

The Nexus 7 comes in three flavors; 16 Gigs, 32 Gigs and 32 Gigs with LTE. Now LTE does not mean that the Nexus 7 is a phone; it simply gives the user access to the internet without the need of Wi-Fi. Now in my opinion if you live in a big city such as Toronto or New York, Wi-Fi isn't an issue, though I can see an LTE version having some use in a rural area.

As far as price goes, you can expect to be forking over $224 to $344, depending on what model you go with. For a "budget tablet" this is a good price, yet you feel like you payed more for it once you start using it. It's a nice feeling, especially when you didn't pay for a $600 mediocre tablet such as the iPad Mini.

Now, if and when Apple releases their newest line of iPad products and if they will be better than the Nexus 7 is currently unknown, but if they go with the same route as they did with the iPhone 5S, Android users have will have nothing to worry about.

Altogether the Nexus 7 is already shaping itself to become one of the best 7 inch tablets in the market and is definitely a great successor to the original model. It's small enough to follow you where ever you go and it has the power to get anything and everything done when you want it done. I definitely recommend the Nexus 7 to anyone looking to get their loved ones or themselves a powerful device for the upcoming holiday season!