{"id":3069,"date":"2013-08-01T10:00:07","date_gmt":"2013-08-01T14:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=3069"},"modified":"2013-08-01T10:00:07","modified_gmt":"2013-08-01T14:00:07","slug":"cheaper-than-most-better-than-all-the-2013-nexus-7-reviewed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2013\/08\/01\/cheaper-than-most-better-than-all-the-2013-nexus-7-reviewed\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheaper than most, better than all: the 2013 Nexus 7 reviewed"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Just over a year ago, Google released its first Nexus tablet. The 2012 Nexus 7 wasn’t perfect by a long shot, but it was the kick in the pants that the Android tablet ecosystem needed at the time. Up until that point, the best Android tablets (and we use that term loosely) were trying to pretend like they weren’t even Android tablets. Among the Galaxy Tabs and Motorola Xooms of the world, no one tablet really did well enough to merit the attention of developers or users. The Nexus 7 also redefined what people could expect to get for $200\u2014an entirely usable (if not cutting-edge) general-purpose tablet without performance-sucking third-party skins or OEM-exclusive app stores.
\nSince then, the seven-to-eight-inch tablet category has gotten much more competitive thanks to lower prices from Amazon and a new, smaller iPad from Apple. Since it launched, praise for the original Nexus 7 has also gotten more muted, as storage-related performance degradation has set in and made the tablet feel slower than it did at first. With this follow-up, Google and Asus don’t just have to provide a decisive answer to the iPad mini\u2014they also have to quell doubts about their tablet’s longevity. Luckily for us, they’ve managed to do both.
\nBody and build
\nEverything you need to know about the new Nexus 7 in 90 seconds.
\nSpecs at a glance: 2013 Nexus 7
\nScreen 1920\u00d71200 7.02″ (323 PPI) IPS LCD
\nOS Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
\nCPU Quad-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro
\nRAM 2GB
\nGPU Qualcomm Adreno 320
\nStorage 16GB or 32GB (non-upgradeable)
\nNetworking 802.11a\/b\/g\/n, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, optional LTE (700\/750\/850\/1700\/1900\/2100MHz), HSPA+ (850\/900\/1900\/2100MHz\/AWS), GSM (850\/900\/1800\/1900MHz)
\nPorts Micro-USB, headphones
\nCamera 5MP rear camera, 1.2MP front camera
\nSize 7.87″ \u00d7 4.49″ \u00d7 0.34″ (200 x 114 x 8.65 mm)
\nWeight 10.23 oz. (290 g)
\nBattery 3950 mAh
\nStarting price $229
\nPrice as reviewed $269
\nThe short version: The 2013 Nexus 7 is more compact and, overall, feels a little better put together than last year’s model. This is plastic done right. Adjustments to the tablet’s weight and measurements make it easier to hold in both portrait and landscape modes.
\nThe long version: The 2013 Nexus 7 is an all-black, mostly plastic slab with a 7-inch 1920\u00d71200 display on the front. There’s also a 1.2MP front-facing camera set slightly right-of-center above the screen, a 5MP camera with no LED flash on the back, and stereo speaker grilles on the back of the tablet at its top and bottom. A new notification LED will slowly pulse at you from the bezel below the screen, but the tablet still lacks any sort of vibrator motor for notifications (or haptic feedback). The Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 both support this feature, so its continued omission from the Nexus 7 is a little puzzling, even if it isn’t in any way deal-breaking.
\nOther new features include built-in support for the Qi wireless charging standard, HDMI output through the micro USB port via the SlimPort standard (adapter sold separately), wireless display support via the Miracast standard, and 4G LTE support on Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile in the US (as long as you buy the LTE-equipped model, which is slated to go on sale in the coming weeks). Many of these features made an appearance in the Nexus 4 when it was launched late last year, and they’re all welcome (if mostly niche) additions to the Nexus 7.
\nThe new Nexus 7 sports both reduced thickness (0.34 inches, compared to 0.42 for the last Nexus 7 and 0.28 for the iPad mini) and weight (10.23 ounces, compared to 12 for the last Nexus 7 and 10.88 for the iPad mini) relative to last year’s model. These measurements make the tablet feel better in your hand, but the best part is that Asus was able to shrink these measurements while also upping its build quality game. There’s none of the creaking or flexing you might associate with an all-plastic tablet at this price point. The old Nexus 7 merely felt good for the price; the new one feels just plain good, though the aluminum construction of the ($100 more expensive) iPad mini still edges it out by just a bit.
\nIt’s the subtle changes that really show how Asus has improved the design. For instance: in the year or so that I’ve owned it, my 2012 Nexus 7 has made two trips to the ground. It survived both falls, but each time the silver trim that surrounds the display has separated slightly from the back of the tablet. It snapped back into place without issue in both cases, but it’s a fit-and-finish deficiency that’s not present in the more expensive Nexus 10 or either iPad.<\/p>\n

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Full Story Cheaper than most, better than all: the 2013 Nexus 7 reviewed | Ars Technica<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just over a year ago, Google released its first Nexus tablet. The 2012 Nexus 7 wasn’t perfect by a long […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[748],"class_list":["post-3069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hardware","category-technology","tag-nexus-7"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-Nv","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6912,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/11\/20\/the-nexus-10-lollipop-and-the-problem-with-big-android-tablets\/","url_meta":{"origin":3069,"position":0},"title":"The Nexus 10, Lollipop, and the problem with big Android tablets","author":"NCCT","date":"November 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I've never been tempted to buy a large widescreen tablet. They're good at certain things, but they're too wide for everything onscreen to be reachable if you're holding it with both hands. They're too tall for portrait mode to be comfortable for long stretches. One-handed use is generally tolerable at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hardware"","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/img_0493-980x612.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/img_0493-980x612.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/img_0493-980x612.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/img_0493-980x612.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6667,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/10\/17\/nexus-6-image-leaks-said-to-be-launching-tomorrow-alongside-399-nexus-9\/","url_meta":{"origin":3069,"position":1},"title":"Nexus 6 image leaks, said to be launching tomorrow alongside $399 Nexus 9","author":"NCCT","date":"October 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Rumors have been swirling for some time that Google has been planning to launch two new Nexus devices: a Nexus 9 tablet manufactured by HTC and a Nexus 6 handset built by Motorola. The Nexus 6 was revealed earlier today as serial leakster @evleaks briefly emerged from retirement to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hardware"","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3187,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2013\/08\/13\/acer-will-have-a-tough-time-using-chrome-os-and-android-to-offset-sliding-pc-sales\/","url_meta":{"origin":3069,"position":2},"title":"Acer will have a tough time using Chrome OS and Android to offset sliding PC sales","author":"NCCT","date":"August 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In response to a surprise second quarter loss of NT$343 million (US$11.4 million), Acer CEO JT Wang said in a conference call with investors on Thursday that the company is going to increase its range of Android and Chrome OS products, while offering fewer Windows-powered products. The loss was caused\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hardware"","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/acer-w3-640x476.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/acer-w3-640x476.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/acer-w3-640x476.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8617,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/09\/11\/the-first-monthly-android-security-updates-start-rolling-out-for-nexus-devices\/","url_meta":{"origin":3069,"position":3},"title":"The first monthly Android security updates start rolling out for Nexus devices","author":"NCCT","date":"September 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Google has delivered on its promise to release monthly security updates today, with the first of said updates now rolling out to nearly all Nexus devices released in the past three years. 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