The Nexus 7 from Google has been a real breath of fresh air to the tablet market. Not only does it offer a solid performance on Android Jelly Bean, but its low price has lured in many consumers into grabbing a device they perhaps wouldn't have been able to afford. Google outdid itself by dropping the price of the popular device earlier this week, and while this will no doubt increase general consumer interest and subsequent sales, it has left those who paid the original prices feeling a little underhanded.
We've finally gotten our hands on the new iPad mini from Apple, and our resident vlogger Steven Chi has complied a new video in which the new smaller tablet unboxed, and compared with several other key devices in the mobile game.
Any new device worth talking about is, as a matter of protocol, subject to numerous public tests, with the drop test being by far the most popular. As well as enjoying the perverse pleasure that is watching a brand-new device sustain serious damage, viewing such a test does have its practical benefits, since if a gadget performs particularly poorly, perhaps we'll think twice before parting with our cash.
The success and popularity of the Nexus 7 Android tablet has never really been in question, but recent announcements during ASUS's third-quarter earnings call give us a little insight into just how popular the mid-range tablet really is. As part of the earnings announcement, ASUS Chief Financial Office, David Chang has announced that sales of the tablet have been rising on a monthly basis since launch and have now hit approximately one million units each calendar month.
If you thought that the Nexus 7 was old news, then we probably wouldn't blame you. Google's tablet has been around for a few months now, and has been met with reaction ranging from those that love it, to those that downright hate it. Today, Google gave the Nexus 7 something of a refresh, adding new options to the lineup in the process.
One of the (many) reasons why you may want to go for a $199 16GB Nexus 7 over the $329 16GB iPad mini is the former’s ability to be radically customized in ways Apple devices just can’t be.
Linux is, believe it or not, at the core of our digital world, and many everyday products feature some form of Linux kernel. At desktop level, there are many variations, but the most commonly utilized as an operating system is Ubuntu. Renowned for its ease of use, it has become popular for those who like something a little bit more "bare bones" than the likes of OS X and Windows, and now, those in ownership of Google's Nexus 7 tablet can also join the party.
Some of the largest players in the game are all holding scheduled press events over the course of the next seven days in an attempt to get their products and services noticed by the tech hungry public. Apple will be taking to the stage first on October 23rd to introduce us to the new miniature iPad, followed closely by Microsoft on October 25th to refresh our memories on Windows 8 and the Surface tablet. To end the month, Google will be holding their own Android event in New York that looks likely to bring some very interesting announcements, on the same day, Microsoft is holding a Windows Phone 8 launch event too.
With a mighty quad-core processor, crisp high-def display and a svelte design and form-factor, the Nexus 7 is seen as a remarkable device for its low price point, but far from perfect, consumers looking to spend small on a tablet had skimp on a few perhaps desirable features.
One of the biggest advantages of buying a Nexus smartphone / tablet is direct support from Google so you can get major updates for Android faster than other Android devices on the market. While the Motorola Photon 4G with its dual core processor and 1GB of RAM from mid 2011 isn’t even going to be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, even the 18+ month old underpowered Nexus S recently received the update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
