Google's Nexus 7

I ordered one yesterday. I've been looking for an Android tablet to mess around with and possibly try to develop apps for(said the same thing of my iPad 3 years ago and haven't done it :o) and it seemed like a reasonable entry point. Any of you old hands have any tips or favorite apps?

Customer service is definitely odd. No e-mailed acknowledgement of my order? And now it's listed as shipped and still no e-mail even though the order status page says they sent one and list my correct e-mail address. I'm on gmail so it's not like it's going to go into spam. Weird.
 
I use:

MediaHouse - for accessing media on the home network - works on my cell phone too
MX Player - for playing the media, handles more formats - works on my cell phone too
Our Groceries - for a grocery list that syncs with Mrs. Timbo's - works on my cell phone too
Kindle - I also use it to read pdf files. Adobe Reader doesn't work very well
Amazon's Appstore
TiVo
FileManager HD
Kingsoft Office
 
Triple Town is utterly addictive.

If you are in need of such a thing, the tvguide.co.uk app is great. Well, I only have the iOS version, but it's the best TV Guide app I've seen, and I can't imagine the Android version will be significantly different.
 
Cuddles said:
Most tablets can do just about everything the iPad can do. As with most Apple products it's a perfectly decent bit of kit, but in no way anywhere near as unique or innovative as they claim.

That said, the Nexus 7 isn't actually competing with the iPad at all. There's already plenty of competition at the expensive end of things, so Google are aiming at the low end instead. While there are plenty of budget tablets around, most of them are pretty sucky so they're only really up against the Kindle Fire. It's a smart move. There are plenty of people who wouldn't mind having a tablet handy, but aren't willing to cough up £400+ for one. A decent tablet that isn't crippled in processing power and won't fall apart if looked at funny going for well under half the price of an iPad has potential to do pretty well.

As for the size, it's a tricky one. Steve Jobs apparently thought 10 inches was the absolute minimum anyone could possibly want but most people seem to think it's more like the maximum (note the lack of any tablets bigger than that), and already getting a bit big to actually hold for a long time rather than lying it on a table. I have an old Archos 7 inch media player which I find OK for watching films and such. Having a bigger screen might be nice, but it would make it a lot less convenient to carry around.
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Does the old archos come with a tv (vga) connection adapter, that would give you a larger screen at least when home.
 
c4llum said:
It looks like Google have done a good job on their new Tablet. Of course it's still early days and impossible to make a good judgement but it's the first time that I've been impressed by a tablet since the iPad.

Some tech specs:
quad-core CPU (w00t)
1280x800 HD screen
9 hours of HD video battery life (believe that when I see it)
340 grams
Jellybean 4.1
200 dollars

Google's announcement presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVqKVNtQ7Yg
The Guardian's review: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2012/jun/27/google-nexus-7-tablet-hands-on

So far so good. It can do just about everything the iPad can do, but whether it will work just as smoothly is another question. Also, it is much smaller. I'm not sure I like that yet. I've always felt the iPad was just a little too big for my comfort and the nexus 7 might be too small (always the size.....:P).

So, what do you think?
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Almost awesomeness incarnate :) It just lacks SD card. Its perfect for gaming, but I have already filled my Transformer Prime with games and stuff more than once. And 32 gb SD cards.

Games are now sometimes 2 gb, but then I also rip some of my blueray movies so I can play them in 720p. That is why I can take up 32gb SD cards on top of the 16 built in SD card. Still, I run out of space with just that, and its at least 8 gb of games alone.

Ouya seems, if possible, even more awesome. But then, also less portable. For me, both would be nice additions to my already extensive computer collection. I imagine its a bit like women who wants shoes for all occasions. I just do so with computers, smart phones and all the stuff in between.
 
I'm am iPhone/iPad user so new to Android with the Nexus 7. One thing I've noticed in Google Play is a "Permission" screen that comes up telling me what an app will have access to if I press "Accept & download".

Most of the apps I've looked at seem to want access to stuff I don't think they need access to, so I pass on downloading. Am I missing a trick here that allows me to selectively deny access while still installing the app?

Also - anybody know of a good combined FTP/Text editor? I use Textastic on iOS, but can't find it in Google Play.

The ability to download, edit and upload text files will turn the Nexus 7 into a much more useful device for me. As will Quickoffice Pro HD when/if they get around to releasing it for Android 4.1
 
mikeyx said:
Does the old archos come with a tv (vga) connection adapter, that would give you a larger screen at least when home.
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You had to pay something like £20 extra for a dock, which then allowed HDMI and component outputs, as well as mains charging and USB ports (the 7" version already had the last two, but the 5" didn't).

megaresp said:
Most of the apps I've looked at seem to want access to stuff I don't think they need access to, so I pass on downloading. Am I missing a trick here that allows me to selectively deny access while still installing the app?
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Sadly not, either you accept everything or you don't download it. I think a lot of the access free things want is actually for adverts rather than the the apps themselves, which can explain some of the odder permissions wanted.
 
Cuddles said:
...either you accept everything or you don't download it. I think a lot of the access free things want is actually for adverts rather than the the apps themselves, which can explain some of the odder permissions wanted.
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That's what I figured, so I don't bother with such apps.

This implies it is relatively easy for an App developer to install malware on an Android device. The developer can rely on the ignorance of some large part of the user-base.
 
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megaresp said:
The developer can rely on the ignorance of some large part of the user-base.
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To be fair, that's how the vast majority of hacking works. It's almost always much easier to get ignorant users to allow you to do something than it is to find a loophole to do it without them having any input.

This implies it is relatively easy for an App developer to install malware on an Android device.
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Yes. It's an open(ish) platform like a PC. There are checks on app stores and malware generally gets taken down soon after it's noticed, but if a user decides to give a program permissions that's pretty much the end of it. It's ultimately the same trade-off we have in a lot of places - you can have lots of freedom or lots of safety. Apple goes more for the latter while Android goes more for the former. Which is best depends entirely on your point of view. And either way, you can never keep people entirely safe from themselves.
 
Cuddles said:
Sadly not, either you accept everything or you don't download it. I think a lot of the access free things want is actually for adverts rather than the the apps themselves, which can explain some of the odder permissions wanted.
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There are apps to tailor each app to what you allow it to access.

Check out PDroid in app store. Needs root and patching which may require some knowledge of adb but there are often guides out there - XDA forums for example.

So yeah, there are some 'workarounds'

Pulled the trigger on the Nexus7 today so should get it tomorrow. ONE MOAR SLEEP.

Then a quick root (insert giggle here) and off we go.

USB OTG is enabled using stickmount app in rooted devices - get a wee cable and large uSD card and game away.
 
I got my Nexus 7 yesterday, rooted it this morning, installed Stickmount and ES File Explorer and I'm good to go. I was able to play video from a 32GB USB drive and look at pictures from an SD card using a card reader. Woot!
 
Zax63 said:
I got my Nexus 7 yesterday, rooted it this morning, installed Stickmount and ES File Explorer and I'm good to go. I was able to play video from a 32GB USB drive and look at pictures from an SD card using a card reader. Woot!
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Superb! Got mine charging just now then off to root.

Gonna gift my rooted Nook Color to my MIL - shame, got it running extremely well atm.
 
megaresp said:
I'm am iPhone/iPad user so new to Android with the Nexus 7. One thing I've noticed in Google Play is a "Permission" screen that comes up telling me what an app will have access to if I press "Accept & download".

Most of the apps I've looked at seem to want access to stuff I don't think they need access to, so I pass on downloading. Am I missing a trick here that allows me to selectively deny access while still installing the app?

Also - anybody know of a good combined FTP/Text editor? I use Textastic on iOS, but can't find it in Google Play.

The ability to download, edit and upload text files will turn the Nexus 7 into a much more useful device for me. As will Quickoffice Pro HD when/if they get around to releasing it for Android 4.1
Click to expand...

If you root the Nexus 7, you can change permissions for what an app can and cannot get access to with one of the apps specialized for this purpose. I would suggest Avast, a free Android security application. It can block the most useful stuff for each app, like wifi, 3G and the phone.

You will probably figure out fast why these apps want that kind of access. On iOS they use that kind of access all the time, the users just accept it by downloading the app, instead of being told. Most the apps have a good reason to do so. There are still many that might not though.

For text editing in pure text, and not something like Word documents, I would suggest Total Commander. It can edit text documents / files, unpack, organize your files, access FTPs and other useful stuff.

Otherwise try DB Text Editor. You can use that one with Total Commander.
 
Zax63 said:
I got my Nexus 7 yesterday, rooted it this morning, installed Stickmount and ES File Explorer and I'm good to go. I was able to play video from a 32GB USB drive and look at pictures from an SD card using a card reader. Woot!
Click to expand...

The importance of a real USB port is not to be underestimated.

Please try this app though:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ghisler.android.TotalCommander&hl=da

Its free, and the best file explorer / organizer I have ever tried... well maybe since Norton Commander ;)
 
I can't believe no one has asked this before...

Does it have longer life span than the Nexus 6?
 
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