Google’s Nexus7- the iPad killer?

by | Jul 27, 2012 | 21st century skills, classroom tools, Counseling Tech, Nexus 7, Review, school counselor, STEM, technology, tips, video blog | 0 comments

Google's Nexus7- the iPad killer? 1 on The Counseling Geek

After a terribly late arrival (due to the high demand) my Nexus 7 finally arrived. A 7-inch tablet made by Asus and Google, it provides stiff competition for the industry leading iPad. From my few weeks of playing with the N7, I have been thoroughly impressed. I had never had an Android device before (I had owned an iPod Touch and played with iPads) and I have to say I am sold. The N7 is priced right – at $200 for the 8GB and $250 for the 16GB (both come with a $25 credit to the Google Play Store). This about half the price of a new iPad. I have never had a huge affinity for Apple products as I feel they are overpriced for what you get. I think they have the “clout” factor which bumps the price of the product up about $200 from what it should be for the actual performance. You pay for that little Apple logo on the back.

Apple products are also less customizable – Android lets you tinker and tweak things to your exact specifications. I was able to get all the Apps I wanted easily and (mostly) free from the app store. Google, one of the most popular web service providers is high integrated into the N7 – coming with Chrome as the default browser, a native Gmail client, and powerful Google search features including Maps/Navigation.

That being said, the N7 is not perfect. When a perfect device comes out, I would like to see it. Some of the flaws (more like missing conveniences) are the limited amount of storage space (8GB/16GB) with no card bay to add removable storage. There is no rear facing camera, so taking photos is out. You can take photos with things like Instagram from the front facing camera, but it is primarily for video chat. I wouldn’t pay for it, but there is also no option for 3G service with the device, like some iPads have.

It does play nice with things like Google Drive and Dropbox so that allows you to extend your storage space, only downloading what you need but still having access to all your cloud based files.

The Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) operating system is fast, functional, and I have yet to have a problem or see a flaw. Granted, I am not an Android aficionado, so take that with a grain of salt.
I will have a more blog posts upcoming about ways I am utilizing the N7 in my counseling program, articles about my favorite apps, and other featurettes about my new toy, so stay tuned.
Below are some photos of my device, a video showing some of the features hands-on, and the exact specifications from Google.



 

Google's Nexus7- the iPad killer? 2 on The Counseling Geek


Purchase a Nexus 7 in the Google Play Store

More Info: https://www.google.com/nexus/#/7/specs


SCREEN

  • 7” 1280×800 HD display (216 ppi)
  • Back-lit IPS display
  • Scratch-resistant Corning glass
  • 1.2MP front-facing camera

WEIGHT

  • 340 grams

MEMORY

  • 8 or 16 GB internal storage
  • 1 GB RAM

BATTERY

  • 4325 mAh
    • 9 hours of HD video playback
    • 10 hours of web browsing
    • 10 hours of e-reading
    • 300 hours of standby

CPU

  • Quad-core Tegra 3 processor

SIZE

  • 198.5 x 120 x 10.45mm

WIRELESS

  • WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
  • Bluetooth

USB

  • Micro USB

OS

  • Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)

FEATURES

  • Microphone
  • NFC (Android Beam)
  • Accelerometer
  • GPS
  • Magnetometer
  • Gyroscope

The blog author, Jeffrey Ream M.S, PPS, writes for The Counseling Geek. Connect with Jeff via email, Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.

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