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The Nexus 7 is my first table and I'm still sitting on the fence about the whole experience. The version of Chrome is superb and it's a pleasure to surf, but th

The Nexus 7 is my first table and I'm still sitting on the fence about the whole experience. The version of Chrome is superb and it's a pleasure to surf, but there really are a lack of tablet specific Android apps. Some Android apps are also missing features present in their iOS counterparts. For example, the MLB app is very basic compared to the iOS version. I was hoping the 7 would be useful for reading PDFs, but it's merely passable when there's nothing better around. Android 4.1 is a pleasure to use and is snappy. The hardware is nice, but I had to call for a replacement since my screen started to peel off after about 10 days.

kevhsu 14y ago
try ezPDF. It's a paid app, but it kicks the living poop outta Adobe's Android app.
sogrady 14y ago
> The Nexus 7 is my first table and I'm still sitting on the fence about the whole experience. The version of Chrome is superb and it's a pleasure to surf, but there really are a lack of tablet specific Android apps. Some Android apps are also missing features present in their iOS counterparts. For example, the MLB app is very basic compared to the iOS version. I was hoping the 7 would be useful for reading PDFs, but it's merely passable when there's nothing better around. unlike when i bought my Xoom, i'm reasonably optimistic that we'll see tablet applications and updates arriving shortly. as chris dibona has said before, the attractiveness of the platform is basically a direct function of how many are sold. with initial sales at least perceived to be promising, i think we'll see more announcements like EA's in the days ahead: http://phandroid.com/2012/07/30/ea-updates-dead-space-with-nexus-7-support/ http://phandroid.com/2012/07/30/ea-updates-dead-space-with-n... and if i'm being honest, it was easier to take a flyer on a $250 device that may seem more applications coming than a > $500 alternative. > Android 4.1 is a pleasure to use and is snappy. The hardware is nice, but I had to call for a replacement since my screen started to peel off after about 10 days. this is the second time i've heard someone mention this, and depending on how widespread the problem is, it could certainly impact sales negatively. mine has had no such issues thus far, but i guess i'll see what happens in three days.
- adestefan 14y ago
  I had no idea it was an issue until I started to search around about how to send the device back. At first it was just the left side was a bit above the edging, but after another day it was so bad that when I push the left 1/4 of the device it discolors the screen. I thought it was just shoddy hardware so I was really thinking about returning it for a refund, but then I read the reports about it happening to other people. I called support and they said they're going to ship out a replacement.
- huggyface 14y ago
  The screen separation issue is a very widespread issue of the very first batch -- I got such an affected unit. It always seems to be the left or upper left, and clearly relates to the adhesive applicator. I have zero doubt that they've ironed out the issue, fixed the glue machine, and all is well now (it isn't a foundational or design problem. Simple manufacturing).
huggyface 14y ago
The version of Chrome is superb and it's a pleasure to surf I have to strongly disagree with all of the lauding about Chrome on Android. Chrome on Android was terrible on my Galaxy S2. Chrome on Android was terrible on my Galaxy S3. In both cases perhaps because Samsung heavily optimized the basic, unbranded browser (full hardware acceleration, etc), but also because Chrome has some bizarre rendering behaviors (for instance it separately sizes text on sites like HN or Reddit). So I got a Nexus 7. Pretty powerful device, and I was used to browsing full sites like The Verge and The Toronto Star with no issue. Load Chrome -- they removed the unbranded browser -- and it is atrocious. Huge, multisecond pauses on either of those sites (http://www.theverge.com http://www.theverge.com and http://www.thestar.com http://www.thestar.com - be sure to go to the full sites and not the gimped mobile version). Scrolling is a hilariously bad affair. Note these observations online and am given the standard "oh no must be your unit, etc. etc." Only my second Nexus 7 was just arriving (from Google Play, while the former came from Staples, fwtw) -- exactly the same behavior. I do not understand the expressions of love for Chrome on Android. Perhaps it's the chrome of the browser -- bookmark management, etc? I don't generally use that but instead simply punch in auto-completed URLs and browse sites, and there it is profoundly, catastrophically deficient.
- adestefan 14y ago
  Mainly because those websites run like trash even on my desktop.
  - huggyface 14y ago
    They run beautifully in Safari on the iPad. Indeed, they run quite well in Firefox (beta) on the Nexus 7. They ran quite well in the stock browser pre-JB. Those are only a couple of sample sites, but there is an endemic inefficiency of Chrome on Android that makes it unusable as a primary browser. Metacritic -- forget about it. I could go on and on. I have to think that people who like Chrome on Android must actually stay within the ghetto of mobile sites, where its inefficiency is less pronounced and things like the bookmark manager stand out more. The massive delays and largely non-functional scrolling on richer sites just makes it hard to believe that people are praising that browser.

kevhsu 14y ago

try ezPDF. It's a paid app, but it kicks the living poop outta Adobe's Android app.

sogrady 14y ago

> The Nexus 7 is my first table and I'm still sitting on the fence about the whole experience. The version of Chrome is superb and it's a pleasure to surf, but there really are a lack of tablet specific Android apps. Some Android apps are also missing features present in their iOS counterparts. For example, the MLB app is very basic compared to the iOS version. I was hoping the 7 would be useful for reading PDFs, but it's merely passable when there's nothing better around. unlike when i bought my Xoom, i'm reasonably optimistic that we'll see tablet applications and updates arriving shortly. as chris dibona has said before, the attractiveness of the platform is basically a direct function of how many are sold. with initial sales at least perceived to be promising, i think we'll see more announcements like EA's in the days ahead: http://phandroid.com/2012/07/30/ea-updates-dead-space-with-nexus-7-support/ http://phandroid.com/2012/07/30/ea-updates-dead-space-with-n... and if i'm being honest, it was easier to take a flyer on a $250 device that may seem more applications coming than a > $500 alternative. > Android 4.1 is a pleasure to use and is snappy. The hardware is nice, but I had to call for a replacement since my screen started to peel off after about 10 days. this is the second time i've heard someone mention this, and depending on how widespread the problem is, it could certainly impact sales negatively. mine has had no such issues thus far, but i guess i'll see what happens in three days.

adestefan 14y ago
I had no idea it was an issue until I started to search around about how to send the device back. At first it was just the left side was a bit above the edging, but after another day it was so bad that when I push the left 1/4 of the device it discolors the screen. I thought it was just shoddy hardware so I was really thinking about returning it for a refund, but then I read the reports about it happening to other people. I called support and they said they're going to ship out a replacement.
huggyface 14y ago
The screen separation issue is a very widespread issue of the very first batch -- I got such an affected unit. It always seems to be the left or upper left, and clearly relates to the adhesive applicator. I have zero doubt that they've ironed out the issue, fixed the glue machine, and all is well now (it isn't a foundational or design problem. Simple manufacturing).

huggyface 14y ago

The version of Chrome is superb and it's a pleasure to surf I have to strongly disagree with all of the lauding about Chrome on Android. Chrome on Android was terrible on my Galaxy S2. Chrome on Android was terrible on my Galaxy S3. In both cases perhaps because Samsung heavily optimized the basic, unbranded browser (full hardware acceleration, etc), but also because Chrome has some bizarre rendering behaviors (for instance it separately sizes text on sites like HN or Reddit). So I got a Nexus 7. Pretty powerful device, and I was used to browsing full sites like The Verge and The Toronto Star with no issue. Load Chrome -- they removed the unbranded browser -- and it is atrocious. Huge, multisecond pauses on either of those sites (http://www.theverge.com http://www.theverge.com and http://www.thestar.com http://www.thestar.com - be sure to go to the full sites and not the gimped mobile version). Scrolling is a hilariously bad affair. Note these observations online and am given the standard "oh no must be your unit, etc. etc." Only my second Nexus 7 was just arriving (from Google Play, while the former came from Staples, fwtw) -- exactly the same behavior. I do not understand the expressions of love for Chrome on Android. Perhaps it's the chrome of the browser -- bookmark management, etc? I don't generally use that but instead simply punch in auto-completed URLs and browse sites, and there it is profoundly, catastrophically deficient.

adestefan 14y ago
Mainly because those websites run like trash even on my desktop.
- huggyface 14y ago
  They run beautifully in Safari on the iPad. Indeed, they run quite well in Firefox (beta) on the Nexus 7. They ran quite well in the stock browser pre-JB. Those are only a couple of sample sites, but there is an endemic inefficiency of Chrome on Android that makes it unusable as a primary browser. Metacritic -- forget about it. I could go on and on. I have to think that people who like Chrome on Android must actually stay within the ghetto of mobile sites, where its inefficiency is less pronounced and things like the bookmark manager stand out more. The massive delays and largely non-functional scrolling on richer sites just makes it hard to believe that people are praising that browser.