27 ms·
Nexus: The best of Google, now in three sizes
- sergiotapia 14y agoThe idea of owning a tablet by Google creeps me out to no end. I just can't picture myself using this without the lingering feeling of having Big Brother tracking me, watching me, keeping tabs on what sites I visit and what content I post online.
- jonknee 14y agoLuckily any tablet you choose will have significant tracking capabilities...
- seiji 14y agoApple isn't in the business of exploiting your private data to advertise products/services/content from third parties at you though. The incentives are completely different.
- jonknee 14y agoSure they are, they're just not as good at it as Google is. Apple has built Facebook and advertising into iOS. Besides their own advertising network, Apple made support for third party tracking using the IDFA (ID For Advertising, it was created after they decided using the UDID for ad tracking was not ideal).
- jopt 14y ago> Apple has built Facebook and advertising into iOS That simplifies things in a very reductive way.
- spdy 14y agoThats why the have built-in facebook and twitter support. They sell you as well dont believe in fairy tales. And to be honest im fine with google having my data they have a solid record for keeping things in line.
- ryanpetrich 14y agoFacebook and Twitter support have to be explicitly activated in order to send any data to those parties. In the case of the optional Facebook contact sync feature, it even warns that the data in your contacts list will be sent to Facebook. When submitting a post to either Facebook or Twitter, including the location is optional and off by default.
- cma 14y agoMaking the location visible on your post is optional and off by default; sending the location is not, as far as I understand.
- ryanpetrich 14y agoLocation Services doesn't start up until the "Add Location" text is tapped. The best Facebook or Twitter could do would be to geolocate based on the IP address.
- themckman 14y agoDon't they own/operate the iAds network?
- Inufu 14y agoa) how is this different from browsing on your desktop? b) why would a company as big as Google care about what a single user does?
- klez 14y ago> b) why would a company as big as Google care about what a single user does? Nice try, Google secret agent :P No, seriously, Google is interested in what you browse and already tracks it (anonymously, I hope) to target ads. So it all leads to your first point. There's really no difference in practice. But in potential it's true that a device with a cellular network connection can provide more interesting location infos than a desktop tied to your desk.
- codeulike 14y agoAt least you can check the source code.
- watty 14y agoPrivacy is a legitimate concern but it's not limited to Google. Apple is tracking you, your ISP is tracking you, your phone company is tracking you, etc. Just root it and put a custom ROM on it if you're that worried (and use a VPN, DuckDuckGo, TOR, tinfoil hat, etc.).
- zanny 14y agoThe Nexus devices all have unlocked bootloaders, go get Cyanogenmod if you are concerned.
- KirinDave 14y agoThey are. But no more than any other vendor is. The difference is Google gives you all sorts of services to export those insights and use them for your own benefit. Most of the google tracking data is exported (with the big exception being the backing to Google Now for card selection). But most people don't realize how much data you can farm from the Latitude API. The problem we face is that a lot of the features we want delivered from our products are really only achievable if we offer up our data for analysis to some big external compute farm. We aren't at the point yet where your mobile devices can do it in house. So we have things we want, but the only way to get those things is to take a privacy risk. But this is hardly a new situation. Why do you trust your banks not to do this? Credit card providers? Stores? Loan and insurance issuers? Cellphone vendors? I'm asking why you are not creeped out or outraged all the time because a trivial search of the landscape reveals all these institutions are doing such things but not providing any value back to you for it.
- klausa 14y agoFlagship Android device, unlocked, without contract, for $299. Impressive. From the marketing video it looks like Android 4.2 gained Swype-like keyboard. It seems that they're no longer using tablet UI, even on Nexus 10 (i.e. it has status bar on top, navigation buttons are in the middle of the screen). That's weird, and I definitely don't like it, but it might not be that big of a problem.
- wmf 14y agoYeah, these prices look almost too good to be true. Other Android vendors may be getting some serious indigestion from this.
- gms 14y agoNexus 7 devices are being sold at a loss, so I suppose in one sense yes, the price there is too good to be true.
- jonknee 14y agoSource?
- trimbo 14y ago> Nexus 7 devices are being sold at a loss Back in June... and only for the $199 model...
- bryanlarsen 14y agoWhat I heard is that Google isn't making money on them, but ASUS is.
- cmatthias 14y agoI'm not quite sure whether there was ever an original source for this claim other than a bunch of tech blogs parroting each other, but iSuppli shows that this was false, at least as of July 11th: http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/pages/Low-End-Google-Nexus-7-Carries-$157-BOM-Teardown-Reveals.aspx http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/pages/Low-End-Google-N... Sure, if you add in the $25 Google play credit, and leave room for some margin for Asus (since Google is just a reseller), you might get close to breaking even, but as far as I can find, the Nexus 7 was never sold at a loss.
- codeulike 14y agoWhat, no 3 hour long livestreamed press event? edit: oh, they had one planned in NY, cancelled due to the hurricane
- dangrossman 14y agoIt was cancelled due to the hurricane. The event was going to be in New York.
- codeulike 14y agoAh, I see. Thanks. Multi-user in Android 4.2 looks handy. edit: ah, but device specific so far, so only on the Nexus 10.
- seiji 14y agoOdd they announced it anyway. Could you imagine Apple having to cancel an event then just throwing the specs up on their website?
- codeulike 14y agoI suppose they have agreements with Asus, Samsung and LG and so they have to announce now ...
- aviraldg 14y agoRead my reply above.
- jonknee 14y agoSure. It beats re-scheduling and having all the invitees re-book travel on a very tight deadline (not to mention where, it's possible NYC won't be able to host such an event for a while). If SF had an Earthquake right before a scheduled event, I wouldn't hold it against Apple if they made it into a press release type announcement.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- Inufu 14y agoNow I have to decide between the Nexus 4 and the Droid Razr Maxx HD :-/
- abraham 14y agoIf it wasn't for the Maxx running 4.0 I would seriously consider it.
- StavrosK 14y agoI have no idea about the device, but that name is embarrassing.
- Macha 14y agoCould be worse. Could be the "Samsung Galaxy SII Epic 4G Touch". Although that said, it seems to be worse in the US. Your carriers take the manufacturer name and replace it with their own (Desire HD -> Inspire 4G) or tack it on at the end (Galaxy S2 -> Galaxy SII Epic 4G Touch)
- Inufu 14y agothe name is quite annoying, but it has a ridiculously large battery.
- astrodust 14y agoCalling your product something generic like XK39-B50 or any of Sony's impenetrably confusing product names for their electronics would be better than the names they come up with.
- CountSessine 14y agoYou'll never get a firmware update with a Motorola phone. Even under Google they've abandoned phones that they previously 'promised' would see firmware updates.
- computerbob 14y agoI just bought the nexus 7, but I might be buying the nexus 10. Finally being able to have different accounts on one tablet is awesome.
- StavrosK 14y agoI'm guessing it'll also be available on the Nexus 7.
- melvinram 14y agoSomeone forgot to tell their marketing team: http://www.google.com/nexus/ http://www.google.com/nexus/ Edit: Basically the website still has old info about old devices.
- jonknee 14y agoMaybe they're evacuated--these devices were supposed to debut at an event in NYC that was cancelled because of Hurricane Sandy.
- hyperbovine 14y agoBut but... why use reason when you can make a facile, snarky observation instead?
- cbhl 14y agoNew devices don't go on sale until November 13 according to the release so they've got a few weeks to update the site (and the Play devices store for that matter).
- patrickaljord 14y agoYou can buy it here https://play.google.com/store/devices?feature=askme_campaign https://play.google.com/store/devices?feature=askme_campaign
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- chrisbolt 14y agoLooks like they're halfway through fixing it: http://cl.ly/image/3K171Y0o3r3F http://cl.ly/image/3K171Y0o3r3F
- AndyIngram 14y agolooks like they just pushed the update.
- emehrkay 14y ago
- fr0sty 14y agoAnd someone finally implements the killer-feature for the "Family Tablet": Multi-Account Support: > But what makes Nexus 10 unique is that it's the first truly shareable tablet. With Android 4.2, you can add multiple users and switch between them instantly right from the lockscreen. We believe that everyone should have quick and easy access to their own stuff -- email, apps, bookmarks, and more. That way, everyone can have their own home screens, their own music, and even their own high scores.
- acgourley 14y agoNice catch, that's a huge step forward. But is that not on the nexus 7?
- stanleydrew 14y agoIt is an Android 4.2 feature so I'm sure it's also on the Nexus 7 and Nexus 4. But those devices are smaller and less likely to be shared so they are not playing multi-user up in those marketing materials I suspect.
- bitcartel 14y agoHopefully it will be available on phones, as a 'Guest' mode would be perfect for lending your phone to someone to make a quick call or text message.
- pooriaazimi 14y agoI could even do with a guest mode that would allow the poor fellow to browse the internet (only on WiFi, even)... :(
- hendi_ 14y agoNope :-( "Available only on tablets.", see http://www.android.com/whatsnew/ http://www.android.com/whatsnew/
- 14y ago
- aviraldg 14y agoI'm pretty sure they'd written this beforehand and scheduled it to be posted but forgot all about it when they cancelled their event.
- ryanwaggoner 14y agoLet's hope, because this is a pretty pitiful launch.
- notJim 14y agoYeah, it's really quite sad to see just a lame blog post and very little press at all around what should be a huge launch. I suspect part of the reason they launched is that basically all of the information has been out there for a few weeks now anyway, so better to kill off the rumor mill.
- bryanlarsen 14y agoTheir press event was cancelled because of a hurricane. Cut them some slack.
- monkeyfacebag 14y agoHopefully this starts the ball rolling on Android tablet apps. I really love my Nexus 7, but the app selection is definitely inferior to what's available for iOS.
- GuiA 14y agoYou know, I have a feeling that this might come, in major (but non integral) part from the Android SDK. Objective C & Cocoa just have an extra layer of polish to them that I believe contributes highly to the resulting level of quality of the app
- eropple 14y agoI'd agree with that. I switched from an iPhone 4 and an iPad 2 to a Galaxy Nexus and a Nexus 7, in part because of a new job as an Android developer and in part because I just couldn't put up with the OS anymore. I absolutely hate Objective-C and Xcode, but even I have to admit that the Android SDK is kind of crap. Even in Eclipse its integration isn't very good (though I use IntelliJ as my IDE, which is finally catching up) and the documentation is just awful, badly-written stuff that desperately needs the attention of a good technical writer or twelve. I can totally buy that app quality is negatively impacted because very little makes sense and there's not a lot of documentation to straighten you out.
- king_jester 14y agoIt's been a while since I jumped into Android dev, so I'm curious if you could elaborate more on the things you are finding annoying and/or confusing. Also, are there things about Android development that you like more than iOS development?
- eropple 14y agoI never did iOS development in anger; I just really, really don't like Obj-C or Xcode from dealing with OS X programming. A few things that come to mind off the top of my head: -Again, the documentation isn't well-written. It almost all feels like it's written either by an engineer with little writing experience or a technical writer without engineering experience. There have been times when I've had to re-read passages over and over again because I genuinely couldn't parse what they were trying to say. -The insistence on weak typing everywhere is insane. Intents are sloppy, weakly-typed junk; Messages ditto. The R auto-generated class isn't bright either--even if you need an integer index, at least wrap it in a type-safe class to eliminate the possibility of passing the wrong thing around. I really do genuinely like working in Java, but I like working in well-designed Java. This is the same company that made Guava, which is perhaps the most elegantly designed API I know of in Java-land. But many of Android's APIs treat classes as an incidental hindrance. -Dalvik blows. There is nothing good about it and there's so much that's bad about it. The class limit is crippling, and the lack of hot-loading is prohibitive. (I write games in my spare time, I'd love to be able to use Groovy as a scripting layer, but that's not going to happen.) -This might sound crazy, but XML is a machine-readable format. People know that, right? Okay, great. So why are the tools for building layouts so much junk? Not on this list is fragmentation, because I don't find that to be a real problem for my purposes. My app for work is 4.0+ only, and I test on a Galaxy Nexus; if it works there it'll work on a SIII or an Atrix HD or whatever else somebody wants to try. (We're outsourcing wide device testing to uTest, but our app isn't done so I haven't had the opportunity to try their services.)
- Aardwolf 14y agoNow all we need is 3 SIM cards for the same mobile contract, so you can use all three devices without swapping SIM cards all the time and without paying for 3 separate contracts.
- cbhl 14y agoI've seen "family plans" where minutes and data (!) come from a shared pool like this, although I forget where.
- 3amOpsGuy 14y agoIn the UK the last operator to stop doing this (Vodafone) stopped around 2004, the others in the 2-3 years before that. Was really handy for a car-phone (remember those!) sim which meant the car rang pre-bluetooth days. Less relevant these days but i also have an old BMW E38 i cherish which would benefit from such a setup were it available today.
- MartinCron 14y agoI was just thinking about that. I've got a 2004 era Mercedes with a built in car phone and was wondering if I was supposed to get a distinct phone number for it, which seems preposterous.
- LandoCalrissian 14y ago
- slewis 14y agoThe phone comes with wireless charging built in. Looks like that's a first. Does it come with a charging pad as well? I think I'd buy a phone just for this feature.
- bitcartel 14y agoIt won't be long before the usual suspects start claiming - screen resolution isn't important - multi-user accounts are overly complex - low prices mean the devices are cheap and nasty
- rimantas 14y agoThank you for rushing in and claiming it for them.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- w1ntermute 14y agoI'm eagerly awaiting posts of this nature from Marco, Gruber, and Siegler.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- notatoad 14y agoIn fairness to the usual suspects, their reviews of the nexus 7 were all pretty fair (and for the most part, favourable).
- tadfisher 14y agoIt didn't stop Gruber from complaining about the lack of cell data (which, thankfully, will be fixed when the $300 Nexus 7 flavor comes out).
- notatoad 14y agoAnd the lack of cell data was an entirely reasonable thing to complain about. I didn't say the reviews were exclusively positive, I said they were fair.
- nodata 14y agoDon't give us Sun-style crazy version numbers please Google! 4.2 should have got a new name!
- stanleydrew 14y agoI remember reading that they considered a new name, but they didn't feel like the feature updates were strong enough to warrant it. Which is refreshing actually. The post did call it an update to jellybean.
- klez 14y agoThen they should have only bumped minor version.
- kiallmacinnes 14y agoIsn't that exactly what they did? e.g. X.Y.X where: X = Major, Y = Minor, X = Bugfix/Patch/...
- codeulike 14y agoSometimes a change in Y gets a dessert name, sometimes it doesn't.
- JeremyBanks 14y agoThat's what they did.
- nodata 14y agoUntil now a minor version bump would warrant a name change. This time it doesn't.
- blissofbeing 14y agoDo any of these support LTE?
- codeulike 14y agoApparently not.
- jug6ernaut 14y agoDoes not appear to have LTE support out of the box. But the chipset DOES have an LTE modem, so there is hope.
- neovive 14y agoI've been very happy with Galaxy Nexus so far. The specs on the Nexus 4 look impressive. Anyone going to upgrade their Galaxy Nexus for the 4?
- stanleydrew 14y agoI won't, but I think my girlfriend will upgrade her Nexus S. She's not thrilled by the increasing screen sizes though. And I agree that a smaller option would be nice. I refuse to consider anything other than a Nexus device though so I guess I'm stuck.
- sjmulder 14y agoI have the same issue. I’m on a Nexus S as well and it’s starting to show its age with the latest operating system and apps. But the form factor is great, and all these newer flagship phones are huge.
- kiallmacinnes 14y agoI have the Nexus One, and it's really starting to show it's age! I'll be getting the Nexus 4 once it's out, but like both of you, the screen size is the biggest drawback for me. I really hope Google realizes that bigger is not always better!
- SnaKeZ 14y agoI have the Nexus One and i think to buy a Galaxy Nexus..just for the good price!
- navs 14y agoI've been waiting for a smaller nexus to hit the stands before I buy my first Android phone but it looks like that won't happen so I may just get the Nexus 4, once it becomes available in New Zealand. I just wonder for how much.
- 14y ago
- programminggeek 14y agoOk, um, did anyone else notice that 4.2 is called Jelly Bean, like 4.1 was called Jelly Bean? Up until now it was Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Jelly Bean. Did they run out of tasty treats already?
- bryanlarsen 14y ago2.0 & 2.1 were both eclair, and 3.0 & 3.1 were both honeycomb. The fact that they didn't change the product name indicates that this is a fairly minor update.
- dschep 14y agoThere was also a 3.2 Honeycomb release.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- cbhl 14y agoIt's just a point release. There's been at least one for every version since Eclair except Froyo. http://developer.android.com/reference/android/os/Build.VERSION_CODES.html http://developer.android.com/reference/android/os/Build.VERS...
- jkimmel 14y agoInternally, Google Engineers work "by dessert" [1], the version numbers are decided by someone further down the product pipeline. With an instance like this, the developers most likely made a number of updates to the same branch of the OS (Jelly Bean), that someone in marketing/product management felt were significant enough to warrant a new 4.x number. At the end of the day though, it's still the same Jelly Bean core, so the next desert is reserved for another actual OS branch. [1] - I believe JBQ said this to the media once, but I can't find the source now.
- codeulike 14y agoAndroid updates are named after things you might want to eat. OS X updates are named after things that might want to eat you.
- codeulike 14y agoBy launching three flagship devices with three different manufacturers (LG, Asus and Samsung), do you think they are trying to say something about Android and hardware?
- wmf 14y agoGoogle has always spread the Android love among different companies.
- revelation 14y agoThat hardware (manufacturing) is a commodity? I think they already know, judging from the inane modified android UIs they put on their handsets. I think it would be more important to break the "you are just a dumb pipe" news to the mobile carriers. They still have illusions.
- pooriaazimi 14y agoThe screen for 10.1" model is great: 2560x1600 (300ppi) - iPad (3 and 4) are 2048x1536 (264ppi). Which means it has 30% more pixels (409600 vs. 3145728).
- Xuzz 14y agoHowever, the screen is "PenTile" (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PenTile_matrix_family http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PenTile_matrix_family), which means that each pixel is only 2/3 of what we'd usually think of a pixel. And it really does look like crap, even at high densities (such as on the Galaxy Nexus). If you calculate out the number of subpixels (what actually shows colors on the screen, the important number), the 2048x1536 display on the iPad is still significantly ahead: https://www.google.com/search?q=2560*1600*2/3+-+2048*1536 https://www.google.com/search?q=2560*1600*2/3+-+2048*1536
- revelation 14y agoIs there a confirmation for this somewhere?
- silasb 14y agoConfirmed that PenTile is crap. I came from a OG Droid to Galaxy Nexus and was horrible not impressed by the PenTile screen. It is really noticeable when using low brightness.
- dholowiski 14y agoAs expected, very little support for other countries (specifically Canada where I am). Movie purchases, and HSPA, but no magazines or TV shows, no google music. Nexus 4 not available in Canada. [edit]Correction - magazines now available in Canada (Woohoo!) they just didn't say so. Now, can we please have google music?
- bryanlarsen 14y agoNexus 4: 8GB for $299; 16GB for $349; available unlocked and without a contract on 11/13 on the Google Play store in the U.S., U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Spain and Canada. Importantly to me, it's got 1700MHz support so it will work on Wind & Mobilicity.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- lrem 14y agoBah... My Nexus 7 came with preloaded content in French. I thought it was an error, until I checked out the store. Need a VPN just to buy any content in a language I understand :/
- tonfa 14y agoSurprisingly Google Music "match" (similar to itunes and amazon) will first be available in Europe.
- jskopek 14y agoCanada has always been a tough region for music support. Spotify has a pretty decent international reach (including many parts of Europe), but Canada is still out of the picture. Same goes for Pandora.
- icebraining 14y agoIn (a small subset of) Europe. Smaller, poorer countries like mine get shafted.
- 14y ago
- pooriaazimi 14y agoFull details are available here: https://play.google.com/store/devices?feature=microsite https://play.google.com/store/devices?feature=microsite ---- 4": https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_4_16gb https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_4_16g... 7": https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_16gb https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_16g... 10": https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_10_16gb https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_10_16...
- ableal 14y ago"Sorry! Devices on Google Play is not available in your country yet." Yeah, but I'd like to window shop and know what the neighbours are paying, perhaps ask someone over there to buy me one. I really dislike this automatic geolocation enforcement that Google spreads liberally over all its stuff. At least Apple lets you look at, or even get things from, other country stores with minimal fuss. (I know, proxies, bleargh.) P.S. http://www.google.com/nexus/ http://www.google.com/nexus/ now has info and pictures viewable anywhere. (Link found in melvinram's comment, thank you.)
- Scottopherson 14y agoLooking at the close-up images, will having the front-facing speakers located where you hold the device be an issue?
- Raphael_Amiard 14y agoThank you Google, for making the Nexus 7 16gb 199$ 1 week after i bought mine .. I love this tablet, but the one thing i really wish is i had the 16gb version, but couldn't afford it at the time.
- achompas 14y agoNot sure if you're in the US, but if so you have 15 days to return it: http://support.google.com/googleplay/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2411741#US http://support.google.com/googleplay/bin/answer.py?hl=en&... Go get a bigger tablet!
- Raphael_Amiard 14y agoHeh, thanks :) But i'm not :/ Anyway, it was already a good deal in the first place, i'm not gonna complain.
- OriginalSyn 14y agoI think you can only blame yourself for purchasing a Nexus 7 last week. There was already plenty of speculation by that point that they'd be announcing the next iteration at the event.
- stcredzero 14y agoWith regards to tablets, one of the next major battlegrounds is going to be in the enterprise, with Apple, Google, and Microsoft duke-ing it out. From that perspective, Surface makes a whole lot more sense. If they can perfect Surface, they will be in a fierce position to defend their enterprise territory. With regards to the emerging enterprise tablet market, Google is playing serious catch-up. If Microsoft can come late to the game, but demonstrate the tenacity they have in the past, they might pull another "IE over Netscape" on Apple.
- Derbasti 14y agoI sincerely hope that with regards to tablets, the next major battleground will be the desktop. I want a tablet that acts as a tablet on the go, but plugs into my mouse/keyboard/monitor at home and just replaces my desktop. Performance is not quite there yet, but it's getting close. OSes are not quite there yet, but progress is being made there, too. I think it is only a matter of time and it might get there faster than we think.
- codeulike 14y ago> faster than we think Surface Pro, hopefully.
- sigzero 14y agoSurface Pro will not compete in the same space. Pricing alone will push it out of that space.
- codeulike 14y agoOK, but if you're looking for tablets that can be proper desktop replacements (as parent comment says), its not going to be cheap
- stcredzero 14y agoThis brings us back to the enterprise. People are going to be finagling a way to get the company to pay for their $1000 tablet.
- fumar 14y agoI have Galaxy Nexus. I was thinking of upgrading to the Nexus 4, for better battery life. But, LTE is missing from the device. On the other hand, the price is great. I wish Google used some muscle to make carriers bend towards Google's needs. I am grandfathered into a Verizon unlimited plan, and would love to stay. I am excited to see the screen on the Nexus 4.
- arrrg 14y agoArrrgh! That Nexus 4 looks delicious, absolutely awesome. But why does it have to be such a monster! With their flagship product, can't they shoot for a happy middle ground and not for monster sizes?
- bryanlarsen 14y agoWith their new naming convention, it seems to me that there's a very nice slot for a "Nexus 3". Hopefully such a device wouldn't feature inferior specs like the s3 mini.
- arrrg 14y agoI don't necessarily want a really small phone. Just a bit smaller, that would be nice. I really do not want a non-Nexus phone, and it just annoys me a bit when Google is able to pick all the right trade-offs for me, except that one.
- codeulike 14y agoStick CyanogenMod on <whatever android phone is the right size>
- arrrg 14y agoI don't think that's worth the hassle. I do not want to fumble around with that stuff.
- bryanlarsen 14y agoSure, but are there any "flagship" Android phones with a screen smaller than 4.6 inches? Even with Cyanogen you're still making compromises at the smaller sizes.
- code_duck 14y agoAlas, the iPad Mini is definitely inferior to the full size, as well. It's more like an iPod Touch 5 Maxi.
- neya 14y agoFinally, they nailed it! Well done Google. Samsung displays are one of the best there ever is (apart from LG). For $299 I think its a killer deal!
- Alcedes 14y agoI guess google is going after budget conscious. No LTE is ridiculous and their excuse that they don't want carrier interference is lame. Does Apple have to deal with carriers interfering with deploying LTE? Please, the real reason why they don't support LTE is the Nexus is not a big seller. So it makes little sense to create multiple sku's. Gotta love that Google spin.
- codeulike 14y agoI'm guessing its more like battery and target-cost limitations edit: and the carrier thing as discussed in The Verge
- drivebyacct2 14y agoAnyone who's been paying any attention knows this is no conspiracy, Google is not happy with Verizon AT ALL. Wallet/ISIS is only a small component of that. Painting this is something else is just inaccurate.
- onetwothreefour 14y agoYou are utterly delusional my friend. This is laziness.
- drivebyacct2 14y agoWow thanks for that cool analysis. It's not like their feuds with Verizon and Wallet are well known and documented. Surely you're baseless accusations of... what exactly... are right on.
- onetwothreefour 14y agoI wasn't accusing anyone of anything. Unless calling you delusional is an accusation. So let me get this straight. Google's entire reason for not supplying LTE is global availability, and yet, one barely used feature on one carrier is apparently what stopped them from shipping it? Oooookay. Verizon and Wallet have nothing to do this with decision. Zero. Verizon doesn't exist outside the US, just so you know. For any Android fanboy to not decry the lack of LTE is hypocritical at best. The wholesale cost difference between a HSDPA part and a LTE part is negligible at best. There's zero downside to providing a LTE part because it's also a superset of 3G/HSDPA/etc. There's maybe a technical reason for not including it, and instead of the BS justification that Google are trying to sell us, I'd love to hear it. It'd be far more believable than the current "you don't really need it" reasoning being thrown about. So yes, you're delusional. You're attempting to justify why LTE isn't included in a flagship phone in Oct 2012. Good luck with that.
- mbesto 14y agoAnd soon enters the paradox of choice. Do I bring my smartphone, mini-tablet, tablet and/or my laptop in my bag? Wait, why did I buy all of these again?
- bitcartel 14y agoThe Galaxy Note could replace your phone and tablet, especially if you don't like to carry items on your person, and prefer to throw them into a bag or handbag.
- TillE 14y agoSmartphone everywhere, mini-tablet if you're carrying a bag, Kindle if you have time to do some reading, laptop if you need to get work done. Larger tablet always stays at home. That about covers it for me, anyway. The 10" tablet now feels like the least desirable device, unless you have a relatively rare use case like reading a lot of big PDFs.
- mahyarm 14y agoMini-tablet replaced the kindle for me. I never had the paper book and e-ink reading requirements that many have. e-ink is just too slow for me.
- pjmlp 14y agoSDK site still lists Android 4.1 as latest version. :(
- suprgeek 14y agoThe Pricing on the Phone for the Given specs is very impressive. Howvwer I would wait for the reviews for the Nexus 4 to come in and wait for a few months. This phone is made by LG and every person I know who has bought any LG telecom product (Phone/Tablet) has had Quality issues with...
- theintern 14y agoThat's the only thing I'm worried about, hopefully the close ties with Google have made sure that the quality and reliability is up to scratch.
- rryan 14y agoHere's a video by the verge which provides a lot more detail, hands on demonstrations, and interviews with the Android team. http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3570034/inside-android-building-the-nexus-4-nexus-10-android-4-2/in/3335719 http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3570034/inside-android-bu... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=66-4uMQqerA http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6...
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- ericdykstra 14y agoNo LTE is a deal-breaker for me on the Nexus 4. I would pre-order one right now if it was included. I think I'll wait for the next great Android phone that has LTE. The Nexus S is a pretty good phone, so without an upgrade in internet speed I don't see any reason to upgrade. As for the Nexus 10, I hope that it gets enough sales to start pushing developers to make tablet apps for Android, and for Google to make the split between phone/tablet sized apps better in the Play Store.
- w1ntermute 14y ago> No LTE is a deal-breaker for me on the Nexus 4. I would pre-order one right now if it was included. I think I'll wait for the next great Android phone that has LTE. There's a good explanation of the LTE situation by The Verge[0]. If Google wants to release timely upgrades, they need to break free of carrier control. And since Verizon and Sprint devices require carrier approval, this will never happen. As for AT&T, their LTE coverage is so limited and the frequencies unique, so it doesn't make economic sense. > The Nexus S is a pretty good phone, so without an upgrade in internet speed I don't see any reason to upgrade. With AT&T, there will be an upgrade in speed from the Nexus S to the Nexus 4 (or to the Galaxy Nexus, for that matter). The Nexus S doesn't support HSPA+ (what AT&T is falsely claiming in its TV ads to be 4G - it's actually more like 3.5G), whereas the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 do. 0: http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3569688/why-nexus-4-does-not-have-4g-lte/in/3335719 http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/29/3569688/why-nexus-4-does-...
- ericdykstra 14y agoOh I definitely understand why Google made the decision, it just isn't a decision that suits me. HSPA+ isn't enough of an upgrade for me to make the purchase, especially if 6 or 8 months from now there's a great Android phone that does have LTE. I may end up buying the Nexus 4 anyway, but no LTE puts up a big resistance barrier that would otherwise put me in line to pre-order the phone.
- lnanek2 14y agoDefinitely not my experience. I'm sitting miles away from Walnut Creek, a town i the East Bay, and I have LTE on AT&T. I certainly have it anywhere closer to civilization, like SF itself or NYC. I wouldn't call AT&T coverage limited at all.
- mikeevans 14y ago>Nexus 4 comes with wireless charging capability built right in. Just place your Nexus 4 on a compatible wireless charging mat to charge -- and retire the wire for good. One's not included in the box though. I wonder how much they plan to charge for that accessory.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- anonymouz 14y agoI like the wireless charging feature. It's the kind of thing that, viewed pragmatically, isn't really all that important, but it has a slick futuristic ScFi vibe to it that makes me want to have it.
- bengillies 14y agoIt's cool and all but, if it's not included in the box it's not a feature. It's an optional extra.
- georgemcbay 14y agoThose look like some very nice devices at very compelling prices. I'm still a bit disappointed though. I've been waiting/hoping for a Nexus hybrid (ala the ASUS Transformer). I'm really sold on that form factor and hope they do something with it on a "Nexus" device. The continued lack of this makes me wonder if they just haven't gotten around to it yet or if they are avoiding it due to Chrome OS related strategy tax.
- beggi 14y agoOk so, 4th generation of Nexus phones is called Nexus 4 and the tablets with 7" and 10" screens are called Nexus 7 and Nexus 10? What..? Also, this greets me when going to the product page (not trying to buy the phone, just trying to look at the phone): http://cl.ly/image/2t2R0L1L0H0F http://cl.ly/image/2t2R0L1L0H0F
- vasco 14y agoIs there anything country specific on the phone? Seriously thinking about crossing the border to buy one. Would I have problems with the store or anything?
- marquis 14y agoThe specs say "NETWORK Unlocked GSM/UMTS/HSPA+ GSM/EDGE/GPRS (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) 3G (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz) HSPA+ 21". So I'm also assuming this means you can use it worldwide with any SIM, I've used my older LG android all over the world (AT&T or T-Mobile in the US).
- netcan 14y agoThis is a test period for the post Jobs Apple. Apple has a loyal mac user base willing to pay an Apple premium. A business that won't just disappear overnight. They had a good head start on iphones. Combined with the obscure phone prices on plans, Apple can easily get their premium here. The tablet market they pretty much had to themselves. Now Android really is mature. Great devices at great prices that compete with iOS devices on features and not just on price. Lets see if they can keep up their margins.
- jawngee 14y agoAndroid still has a long way to go. I have the Nexus 7 (I should divulge I am an iOS/Cocoa developer) and I kind of like it, but it still has a cheap usability feel to it. The parallax is pretty obvious which translates into issues like laggy typing and occasional awkward pauses. The select/copy/paste is just bizarre. Video playback is crappy. Android is to Toyota what Apple is to Mercedes. They both essentially do the same thing, will get you to the same places, but it's a different kind of ride. Some people like Toyotas, and that's OK. I also don't think the kind of people that buy Android devices are the same people that buy iOS devices. Not mention the homogeny of the whole Apple experience and how much smoother that gets with each iteration of OSX and iOS. I can pick up one device where I left off on another one. Because Google doesn't own that kind of end to end experience, it will be hard for them to compete on a whole.
- ajross 14y agoThe qualitative arguments are valid enough, and I won't try to dispute them except to point out that most of what you argue is lets-just-say-controversial and not uniformly agreed upon. But the car analogy is just bad. Mercedes sells cars into different markets with different feature sets than Toyota. People don't buy a Camry expecting it to accelerate like a E350. And the "polish" features are things like Leather Seats and climate control, which are objectively measurable. Compare the Nexus 10, which by basically all objective measures is a better piece of hardware than the retina iPad. All that Apple has on it is brand and opinion. Even Mercedes can't sell cars on brand and opinion alone.
- achompas 14y agoThe "iPad mini vs. other 7" tablet" battle has been going on for a week, but if nothing else I hope these new Nexus tablets force Apple to move away from $100 jumps for memory and $130 jumps for radio. The ~$450 I paid for a 32GB iPad mini would net me two base Nexus 7s. Alternatively, for $100 less I can get an equivalent Nexus 7...with cell radio. Those jumps add up!
- mtgx 14y agoJust being available in the market at those prices will not force Apple to lower theirs. Only if you vote with your wallet and stop buying Apple products for those prices, they'll start to listen.
- dbecker 14y agoIt can work either way. They could lower their prices, because otherwise people will move from Apple to the cheaper devices. On the other hand, if the price conscious consumers move to competitors, they may raise their prices (because only people willing to pay a premium are interested anyway.) Empirically, their are many examples of competition leading to lower prices. But the entry of low cost generic drugs have historically caused the associated branded drugs to raise their prices. It's hard to predict which way it will work in the tablet market.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- yumraj 14y agoIn the era of beautiful Surface and iPads why oh why did the Nexus 10 have to be so ugly, when Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 are pretty. The specs on Nexus 10 make me want to buy it, but the shape is just not helping me make that decision.
- saturdaysaint 14y agoI've been a happy iPhone customer since the first model, but I think a good low-price competitor is going to be a real challenge for Apple - an affordable and desirable unlocked phone strikes me as a big breakthrough. Whether Google is going to make a push to spell out the saving to contract-happy U.S. (and risk alienating carriers and competing handset makers) is the real question.
- astrodust 14y agoApple's not in any significant danger yet. The margin built into their products is usually high, so should push come to shove, they can always cut that. Normally demand is high enough that even at the premium price the product is sold out until it's replaced by a more sophisticated model and the "old" product can be manufactured more cheaply. Other vendors should be thankful that Apple doesn't sell things at cost. This leaves significant opportunities for other vendors to fit in and compete.
- seunosewa 14y agoThey are not in danger of outright failure, but they are in danger of significantly reduced earnings and stock price, which is always a big deal for a publicly traded corporation.
- nachteilig 14y agoI've been an iOS device guy since the beginning, but these low pricepoints on a flagship Google device make it very, very tempting to at least give Android a try. Well done, Google!
- drivebyacct2 14y agoThis stuff is blowing my mind. On every single spec, Nexus exceeds the iDevice equivalent. The Nexus 4 has two NFC radios, a higher res screen, is thinner and lighter and is less than half of the price of the iPhone 5. (edit: That's unfair, I forget about LTE, though I understand why Google skipped that) Similar things hold for the Nexus 10. Am I the only one really surprised? (This is of course not to mention the numerous new Android 4.2 features that everyone except the Verge has ignored)
- jmillikin 14y agoThe iPhone 5 is thinner and lighter than the new Nexus.
- drivebyacct2 14y agoI did indeed misspeak, the tablet is thinner and lighter, the Nexus 4 is a smidge thicker than the Nexus 4, my apologies, I mushed those together in my head.
- wutbrodo 14y agoI don't have that clear a picture of the mobile landscape over the past couple of years (since the last time I was in the market for a phone), but has this not consistently been the case? I remember hearing as far back as 2010, "Specs aren't everything, android fans are obsessed with numbers". The price of course is rather new, but to my memory, this latest comparison really seems entirely in line with the last couple years of the smartphone landscape.
- drivebyacct2 14y agoI think for me it's the seriousness of the tablet, more so than the phone. Anyway, yeah, Nexus phones have always been competitive, but they've always skimped. PenTile display, or low memory or low ROM, or a shit camera on the Galaxy Nexus. This looks like PREMO nearly best you can source parts across 4, 7, 10.
- onetwothreefour 14y ago
- drivebyacct2 14y agoQuite frankly, I haven't seen these mentioned anywhere except in a very long Verge video so I'm making a list of Android 4.2 features: - Google Now will now automatically detect packages you are going to receive and will notify you of their progress. You can now dictate calendar events (also, in 4.1 they added the ability to say "navigate home"). - You can take 360 degree panoramas - Quick Settings & Multi-user accounts - You can swipe the lock screen to reveal informational widgets. (quickly check your calendar, etc) - Swype functionality built into the keyboard. (Even cooler than Swype though because of where it shows the word and the suggestions) I've also yet to see anyone mention that the Nexus 4 rests in a capacitive, magnetic dock.
- hack_edu 14y agoHave detailed specs of the Nexus 4's components been released yet? One of the most surprising features of the Nexus S was the superb Wolfson DAC audio, which is almost unheard of in a phone. If the Nexus 4's compares I'll preorder today.
- manishsharan 14y agoCan someone please comment on how PDF and ebooks from Manning's programming books render on Nexus 7 vs. mini-IPAD ? That, for me, is the deciding factor.
- mfringel 14y agoSince I see a lot of "Hey, doesn't X do that too?" remarks, I just wanted to say: Execution counts. It's not enough to say "Hey, X does that, too." There has to be a qualifier on how well/poorly/etc. it does it. Otherwise, we're meaningless comparing feature checklists, which could be done by a small perl script.
- Achshar 14y agoWon't anyone think of us folks in India. I really want a tablet and I would get nexus 7 if it were available here at that price. Also google music and play store won't hurt either.
- mladenkovacevic 14y agoMiracast support. I hope more devices (TVs and set-top players) really jump on board with this protocol.
- jebblue 14y agoNexus 4 looks interesting but a bigger screen would be nice and I could go to the Nexus 7 now that they have one with a phone option and MicroUSB for connectivity! Ah, it has no camera well a 1.2 MP front facing one but that's it. Maybe the Nexus 10, big, would take some getting use to to replace a phone with it and it has an 8MP rear facing camera, but no phone option. :-( When I can get a 7 with phone and at least 32 Gigs or preferably expandable storage like my Nexus One which I've had 32 Gigs on now for a year or two and an 8MP real rear camera and a front facing camera and MicroUSB then I'll upgrade from Nexus One to Nexus 7 or if the 10 gets a phone I might go to that. The 10 would be a strong option for me now if it had at least 4 Gigs RAM, 64 Gigs storage or expandable and a phone as well as rear and front facing cameras.
- shimon_e 14y agoFYI, the Nexus 4 is quad core. However, the Nexus 10 is only dual! I've tried switching to a tablet at the beginning of the year but web browsing performance wasn't good enough for me. Hope the dual core downgrade won't make that much of a difference. edit: I was under the impression they both were Samsung Exynos arm processors. Turns out the Nexus 4 is using the Snapdragon S4 Pro and the Nexus 10 is using a A15 Samsung Exynos.
- Symmetry 14y agoI was surprised by that too. An A15 ought to be individually faster than the Krait cores in the S4, but not by that much.
- jordanthoms 14y agoThey are using the exynos 5 because it's the only SOC out right now that can support a screen with that resolution. The A15 cores should run very well, I suspect it'll be faster than the nexus 4 for most tasks.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- metalsahu 14y agoThis is a new phase of the tablet wars. During phase 1, an iPad was not only more polished (both hardware and software) but also much cheaper than the competition. In 2009, no other tablet maker could match iPad on cost for equivalent specs because Apple had completely optimized the supply chain. Non-iPads mostly sucked! Fast forward 3years, tablets are no longer a novelty and users have figured out that the product is more function based rather than status driven - unlike Phones where brand plays a part in the purchase esp because majority of the usage happens in front of other people. One sign of this change in consumer behavior was signaled by the launch of iPad 4 within 6months of the iPad 3. Felt like Apple saw a glitch in the matrix and had to make sudden changes. Q3 earnings confirmed that iPad sales were down. What now? Well, the door is wide open. People will pick based on personal preferences as there is no clear "objective best": iPads, Kindles and Nexuses are all interchangeable.
- chm 14y agoI wonder why they chose not to add a full-size HDMI port. A lot of people have HDMI cables/TVs at home, but I guess most of them do not have micro-HDMI cables. The device doesn't ship with one, either. From the viewpoint of the customer, this feels awkward. I guess the business people and engineers see it otherwise...
- Jach 14y agohttp://www.amazon.com/Fosmon-HDMI-Micro-Cable-Feet/dp/B003UH0Z9Q http://www.amazon.com/Fosmon-HDMI-Micro-Cable-Feet/dp/B003UH... HDMI size problem solved, I don't think that alone would turn away any customers though it would be an annoyance. At least the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 have HDMI output, the lack of that is still my biggest complaint about the Nexus 7 and has so far been the deal-breaker keeping me from getting one. (Lack of SD card support is also annoying, but I can live with USB-expanded storage.)
- JVIDEL 14y agoI don't know what's more insane: the N10's 2560 x 1600 screen or how hard is to find a laptop with a measly 1080p screen for twice the price of that tablet. The N4 is bonkers too. Sure there are other phones with HD screens now, but with a quad Krait? the only other I know is the Mi2, and good luck getting one at launch. The N7 with cellular is really tempting since with a little hack you could have a tablet+phone hybrid (using a Bt headset). Too bad it still uses the Tegra3, a SoC that couldn't keep up with the dual Krait. But overall I think Google just brought a gun to knife fight...
- chj 14y agoThey need to work more on their browser. They are using the same webkit core as iOS, right? Reality is, every time I used the browser on Nexus 7, I want to throw it out of window.
- nodata 14y agoSteal my idea, Google: hot-swappable batteries please.
- radiosnob 14y agoGeez, I hate Google localisation. It NEVER works. It is always off. I'm sitting in Germany, all my Chrome settings are set to English. Go to the main Nexus blogspot website and its in English. Great. (despite being blogspot.de) Click on Nexus 10. Its in german. Understandable as I'm Germany. But please respect the browser settings. Go back and click on Nexus 7, and its in English. Go back and click on Nexus 4, and its in FRENCH!! Why?! Click on the expanded memory option on the French page and it goes to the English version of the Nexus 4 page. This infuriates me no end. This is the single reason why I will not use Google Play. I know that if I buy a book or a movie, the chances of it being in the language I set for the device will be slim. I have no desire to through money away like that.
- david927 14y agoI'm in France and I'm getting pages in a mix of English, French, and... German! On the same page. (With no way of changing it.)
- blrgeek 14y agoFinally Android tablets have caught up to (and even surpassed on some things) the iPad. [Of course iOS vs Android is a big choice.] It's taken just 4 years! Nexus 10 - clearly better than the iPad on price, display (resolution, size, aspect ratio), sound, Wifi, RAM, GPS. Battery life is unknown though, GPU likely to be worse. Nexus 7 - beats the iPad Mini on price and resolution, matches on most other things.
- codeulike 14y agoTuesday: I'd say the storm has cost Google a lot of publicity. Guardian Tech is leading with the Apple management reshuffle, way down the page there's a small article saying 'google were going to launch something or other but had to cancel, here are some rumours'.