The Google I/O developer event kicked of yesterday in San Francisco and as expected the company have decided to join the rapidly expanding tablet PC market, and today we have some hands on first impressions of the Google Nexus 7.
Yesterday Google confirmed the already leaked tablet, and there is a good chance that the Nexus 7 will give the Android tablet platform the kick it needs. As the Android Community are reporting the Nexus 7 will go up against the Amazon Kindle Fire and probably beat it hands down. The new device from Google was found to be pretty impressive after some time was spent with it, and the Nexus 7 will likely compete with all the Android tablets currently available.
It comes with some pretty impressive specifications and to recap the device that begins at £149/$199 is powered by Nvidia’s quad core Tegra 3 processor, and packs 1GB of RAM. There are two storage options with either 8GB or 16GB available and of course comes running the new Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.
The build quality was found to be good but the thickness at 10mm would have been preferred to be a little thinner, but for the price and the fact it makes holding it a little easier it’s not too much of a problem. On the back of the device it has a soft touch matte finish that gives a soft rubbery feel, but the fact that Google decided not to provide a microSD card port is probably the worst part of the device.
Display wise the Nexus 7’s IPS panel was found to be bright and vivid with crisp images, and the viewing angles were also liked. Touch response has been really improved and works great on the tablet, and some of this will be down to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The device has the power button and volume controls on the right that could sometimes be hard to find.
At the bottom is the single microUSB port for charging the device and it is hoped that this will have MHL support as there is no HDMI out port. There is also a 3.5mm jack on the bottom for headphones and a microphone for voice actions. The Nexus 7 may not be the best tablet PC available but for the money it is a worthy contender with initial thoughts being really positive, and the Google Nexus 7 is available now for pre-order with shipping beginning next month. Hit the link above for more images of the device.
Do you like the look of the Google Nexus 7?
