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What should I buy?: Nexus 7 & Galaxy Nexus vs. ASUS Padfone

Padfone or G-Nexus-7 combination
I've been using a SIM-free (unlocked and rooted) Motorola Atrix 4G with the lapdock everyday as my "daily-driver" phone/laptop solution since April of last year. I used the webtop, and later on, a modded version of Gentoo with Google Docs and Libre Office to get things done. I work at a university, so if I need something other than regular office software, I just use one of the hundreds of workstations I have access to on our campuses-- I've never experienced the so-called limitations that the lapdock+phone combo presents, and the fact that I ride very crowded trains in Tokyo precludes me from bringing my $1500+ laptop around everyday.
So when the Asus Padfone came out, I was sure that this would be my upgrade path! A phone that goes into a tablet that clips onto a keyboard. Brilliant! But hang on-- now there's the Nexus 7... Pure Google, and OPEN... That plus a Galaxy-Nexus... hmmmmm.... Could that also do the trick??
Well, there's always "let's wait and see a few more months..." But the obvious happened a week ago-- my Atrix's screen gave up the ghost... Sure I can plug it into HDMI, and use the lapdock just fine, but I can't use it as a phone... GRRRR!! Oh, and check out my location to the left-- I live in JAPAN, but I travel a lot, and go back to the US every year; actually, I'm going home in a week for a month!! So I NEED a phone either just before I go, or when I get there....
REQUIREMENTS:
- SIM Free (unlocked): I travel. A lot. Internationally. I needs my unlock!
- Multi-band support: Japan uses 2100MHz for HSPA+, and so does most of Asia. The US is 850, 1900, 1700... I'd like to find a phone that supports both of these... The Padfone will only support the Asian frequency, but nothing in the States-- I'd be stuck on 2G back home for a month... I can tolerate that though because I'll at least have AT&T hotspot support. The G-Nexus of course has a PENTABAND 3G radio (why the F don't other phones <other than the iPhone> have this same radio?!) so it'll work with whatever network I throw at it.
- Open bootloader/Rooted: One of the things I really enjoyed about my Atrix was being able to tweak tweak tweak. The Nexus devices don't need an explanation here-- They're designed to root and tweak. The Padfone can be rooted now--but it's bootloader is locked... But with the exotic tweaks made to get the tablet and phone UI to work, I doubt I'd use a custom ROM anyhow.
- Tablet/Phone combo: I got spoiled by my Atrix. Being able to use a physical keyboard to respond to an incoming text message is really habit-forming. Especially if I need to type it in Japanese. Of course the Padfone would win here... Not sure if there's an app that lets you see the text and MMSs on a phone through a tablet though. The other obvious thing here is that the Padphone *IS* the tablet, once docked into the PadStation. No tethering, no separate data plan, no hotspot needed. The G-Nexus-7 combo would see me tethering the G-Nex to the Nex-7. Is there a simple app that can make an on-demand data connection between the two happen at will?
- Updates: This is what pissed me off about Motorola. The OG Atrix's Tegra 2 processor can more than handle ICS, but here it is almost 6 months later, and nothing. Luckily I can get Kang builds, but certain things just don't work for me--for example Chrome crashes ALL the time. Camera sucks, etc. Hence, I'm over using another Moto device. Obviously the Nexus duo will ALWAYS get the latest and greatest; no-brainer there. Asus? The TF series got their updates to ICS within the first 3 months IIRC. Since Jelly Bean is just a point update, perhaps the Padfone will see an update in the fall sometime--I can live with that.
- Ease of use: Not the OS, but the physical pieces... The G-Nex-7 combo is easy in the way that both are able to use the same charger (micro USB). Padfone just nests together. I like how the Padfone keyboard has USB ports and an SD card slot... Not to mentin BATTERIES galore. It's hard as hell trying to find a place to charge my phone all the time, and sometimes I'd just use the Moto's lapdock as a battery charger!
- Price: this is the kicker... The Galaxy Nexus/ Nexus 7 Combo will come out to less than US$600 when bought from the Google store. Even buying from a grey-market distributor in Taiwan, I can't buy the Padfone/PadStation/Keyboard combo for less that US$1000... I have barely that much to spend though.
Friends, I need some help deciding! Here are my pros and cons for each device as it stands today. I'm posting this in the Padfone, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7, and my old Motorola Atrix forums as well. I want some good honest and thoughtful opinions-- no haterism, flaming, or retardedness please. This is an extremely important purchase for me, and needs to be done ASAP.
As always, thank you so much for your opinions!

Your answer is in the OP. You're welcome.

starrwulfe said:
Not sure if there's an app that lets you see the text and MMSs on a phone through a tablet though
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https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apdroid.tabtalk
And if you need a physical keyboard you can get a compact Bluetooth one off eBay for like $35 (maybe less?)

I own the Prime. Asus is TERRIBLE with their software support. Absolutely terrible. Go with the Nexus and enjoy quality software support from Google.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium

Psipherious said:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apdroid.tabtalk
And if you need a physical keyboard you can get a compact Bluetooth one off eBay for like $35 (maybe less?)
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Thanx for that app tip! That's going on the "save" list. I can go to Akihabara (the famous Tokyo electronics shopping area) and get one for maybe even less--that's definitely part of my solution if I do the G-Nex-7 thing.
nyijedi said:
I own the Prime. Asus is TERRIBLE with their software support. Absolutely terrible. Go with the Nexus and enjoy quality software support from Google.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
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And I've heard about ASUS's bad support at times... One of the reasons I switched from using an HP laptop to an Apple one, was because I can walk into any Apple store worldwide and get help with it. (I'm just as mad about them suing everyone into oblivion, and I'm not that flattered with iOS the way I am with Android, but I loves me some OSX for sure.)
Keep the opinions coming y'all. Thanx!

I've owned more than enough Android devices and the thing that always leaves me disenchanted with them in the end is the update fragmentation. I have the n7 on preorder and my x2 is set to be replaced by the g-nex in August. This is just my opinion but I think it's insane that I have to keep flashing roms that may or may not have all of my hardware working correctly just to get an update. Nexus devices represent what I feel google should have done at Androids launch to combat Apple. I plan to use my n7 as an iPad alternative until Windows Surface launches and I can get a tab with fully featured office for productivity.
Sent from my DROID X2 using xda premium

nyijedi said:
I own the Prime. Asus is TERRIBLE with their software support. Absolutely terrible. Go with the Nexus and enjoy quality software support from Google.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
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Ya i've been waiting for the new asus infinity to come out but i know it will never get updated and i can at least get a bluetooth keyboard or some extra keyboard hooked up to the nexus 7 and type away

Gnex + N7 combo hands down.

Nexcellent said:
Gnex + N7 combo hands down.
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+1
10char

Nexcellent said:
Gnex + N7 combo hands down.
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Exactly this. If for nothing else, these two solid reasons:
A GNex + a Nexus 7 are cheaper than a Padfone
And the battery on the GSM model of the GNex is excellent compared to its LTE counterpart.
Treat yourself to some delicious Jelly Bean. =]
Not to mention, you can just buy the $70 3800mAh extended battery from Seidio with NFC if you are worried about battery life, and you'll still be paying way less than the Padfone. I ordered one for my dad's Verizon GNex the other day, and will finally be able to put in his phone when he comes home on sunday, since no other battery has been good enough, even with the Gummy ROM on his phone. =[

Hmm. Good point. One of my main concerns is battery life since I'll be tethering with this combo a lot. I forgot the NFC chip is in the battery and not the body... also I wonder if NFC is compatible with the Felicia systems used here in Japan for things like train passes and e-money.... the phone I'm using now has it... not a necessity though.
Sent from my SBM005SH using xda-developers app

seff5677 said:
Ya i've been waiting for the new asus infinity to come out but i know it will never get updated and i can at least get a bluetooth keyboard or some extra keyboard hooked up to the nexus 7 and type away
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I wouldn't just worry about timely updates. I'd worry about decent performance. My Prime is a quad core device and it sucks total ass at playing games, browsing, and just about everything else. Constant lags and crashes. It's enraging. Do yourself a favor and stay away from Asus devices (the Nexus 7 will likely be different since it's a google device). You'll save yourself some huge headaches.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium

I think it's incredibly odd that there is so much Asus hate yet the N7 is an Asus device itself. Performance-wise with the N7, i'd imagine apps would perform similarly to the transformer prime seeing as it uses the same processor...

jpxdude said:
I think it's incredibly odd that there is so much Asus hate yet the N7 is an Asus device itself. Performance-wise with the N7, i'd imagine apps would perform similarly to the transformer prime seeing as it uses the same processor...
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The reason for the Asus hate is not their hardware, it's how they bloat up the OS after google passes it off to them. With the n7 Asus has nothing to do with the OS, they just make the hardware.
Sent from my DROID X2 using xda premium

So far most responses seem to support the Nexus combo.
I, however, when reading how you use your devices was thinking PadFone all the way. It seems like a better fit for you.
But just my 2 cents.

CGI_Ram said:
So far most responses seem to support the Nexus combo.
I, however, when reading how you use your devices was thinking PadFone all the way. It seems like a better fit for you.
But just my 2 cents.
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The problem is, I think most of the benefits he would get from the padfone would be too minor to justify a $300-$400 price premium. And I am also not sure how well the phone part of it does by itself etc, Ive yet to check some reviews of the padfone. For all that extra money he could by himself some nice cases, screen protectors, bluetooth headsets etc. Even a pack of those little nfc coin things he might be able to put to good use.
Sent from my HTC Mecha using xda premium

jpxdude said:
I think it's incredibly odd that there is so much Asus hate yet the N7 is an Asus device itself. Performance-wise with the N7, i'd imagine apps would perform similarly to the transformer prime seeing as it uses the same processor...
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Believe me, I was super pissed when word leaked that Asus was making the Nexus tablet. I'm not buying one solely for that reason. However, I do think the N7 should be okay since Google is taking care of the software instead of Asus and oversaw the hardware. Asus is completely incompetent. Google is not.
And as a Prime owner, if apps on the N7 perform similarly as the Prime, I'd suggest throwing it in the garbage. All browsers, Google Earth, tegra games - they're god awful on the Prime. Some of them are literally unusable. With that said, I'm sure apps on the N7 will run great thanks to Google.
Have I mentioned how awful Asus is?
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium

I also use the Atrix + Laprtock as my entire molbile solution. And this includes "real" work which needs substantial typeing and screen real estate.
For me, dropping down to 10 inch would be a killer. I have tried using 10 inch netbooks, and it is a real pain. But maybe the OP can get away with this (younger eyes on a higher res screan, perhaps smaller fingers/hands).
But no way in the world can one work like this on a 7 inch screen.
If one is using the pair for light browsing + media then I cerrtainly see the GN + N7 as a sound choice. But for a working laptop replacement, not for me. Alas I am not certain a padphone works either (though I like the concept). I would certainly be concerned about the phone itself (there are a lot of deatils in this area that do not show up in specs, ask Apple).
A shame the OP just busted his scrreen. I suspect the right answer is to wait several months.

exwannabe said:
I also use the Atrix + Laprtock as my entire molbile solution. And this includes "real" work which needs substantial typeing and screen real estate.
For me, dropping down to 10 inch would be a killer.
But no way in the world can one work like this on a 7 inch screen.
A shame the OP just busted his scrreen. I suspect the right answer is to wait several months.
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I had exactly that same question, so I trekked over to the local electronics shop near my home here in Yokohama, and they have an Asus TF201 set up there on wifi. The tablet's dimensions are Padfone sized-- 10 inches. They also had the keydock there too, so I got to test that out as well... Wow. Color me impressed. Remember, the 10" IPS screen has more pixels and a much wider and brighter viewing angle than the Moto OG Lapdock. The keyboard was also easy to type on, and I love the fact that there are actual keys for Home, Back, Volume, Menu, Play/Pause and so on.
CGI_Ram said:
So far most responses seem to support the Nexus combo.
I, however, when reading how you use your devices was thinking PadFone all the way. It seems like a better fit for you.
But just my 2 cents.
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Click to collapse
You're right-- It does seem like a better fit to me too, the more I think of it. Going and actually futzing with the TF201 yesterday didn't help though...
TauxiC said:
The problem is, I think most of the benefits he would get from the padfone would be too minor to justify a $300-$400 price premium. And I am also not sure how well the phone part of it does by itself etc, Ive yet to check some reviews of the padfone. For all that extra money he could by himself some nice cases, screen protectors, bluetooth headsets etc. Even a pack of those little nfc coin things he might be able to put to good use.
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The phone part did pretty well according to Anandtech and Engadget--
Bear in mind that this is supposed to be saving me the cost of getting a netbook to take to work with me everyday as well too... As far as accessories, well I already have 2 bluetooth headsets just sitting on my desk in front of me now, along with a microUSB to USB port adaptor and micro HDMI M/F cables. All this was from me using the Atrix in various situations.
And while the Nexus Duo is a powerful combo, there are 2 things that I absolutely need to have in a device for the way I work-- SD card adaptor and Ethernet Adaptor.
I work in the Media faculty at the university and also teach photojournalism classes; I also freelance a lot too, and one of the things that helps me a lot, is being able to yank my SD card out the camera, snap it into a USB card reader and plug it into the Lapdock and have the Atrix see it, mount it, and access it. I can then do whatever I need to do to the pix while sitting on the train (Did you know the Bullet Trains here all have Wifi onboard, and can be used while in tunnels? I once wrote and uploaded 2 magazine articles, pix and all while on a 3 hour train ride!) The Padfone's keyboard dock has a full sized SDXC card adapter built in...
Also, while my university has wifi almost everywhere on campus, I cannot access the secured parts of the network where we house our common files for grading and such. We can only use the PC labs, office PC pools, or the ethernet ports in the staff rooms. Currently I use a small wifi adapter in bridge mode sometimes-- of course with the SSID not broadcast. But a better solution would be to get a USB Ethernet adaptor. I know the Transformer series has this baked into their kernels-- I think the Padfone can do it too. But I need to do some checking.
Can the Nexus Duo do some/any of these? Let me know how, so I can check off the boxes!

I wouldn't touch an android or ios tablet after the specs of the Microsoft surface the other windows 8 tablet with ivy bridge processors were revealed. Im done with android on anything but my smartphone. Only thing I need to know is the batter life on those beast.

Are you still happy with your Nexus 7?

Hi everybody!
I'm about to get a tablet. Not sure yet which one, but the Nexus 7 is definitely one of my targets.
So I was wondering, if you, Nexus 7 owners, are still happy and would still recommend it.
If not, let me know why and what you'd recommend instead.
Looking forward to your answers.
Kind regards and greetings from Germany.

Yup still love it. My first tablet tho. I'm very on the go and 7" is perfection. Battery lasts me most of the day playing galaxy on fire 2 and streaming shows from xfinity. It runs super smooth and touch seems more sensitive than other devices. Sometimes I have an issue where the screen won't respond but turning the screen on and off seems to fix that.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

hismadnezz said:
Hi everybody!
I'm about to get a tablet. Not sure yet which one, but the Nexus 7 is definitely one of my targets.
So I was wondering, if you, Nexus 7 owners, are still happy and would still recommend it.
If not, let me know why and what you'd recommend instead.
Looking forward to your answers.
Kind regards and greetings from Germany.
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I think what might help inform your decision is what you intend to use the tablet for.
The prime example being, if you need a lot of local storage, this might not be the device for you as it has no removable SD card slot. (although with rooting and USB OTG you can mount external flash devices)
If you're after a great overall tablet for consuming content, I can't think of a better option at this price. I'm virtually addicted to mine (much to my wife's chagrin).

Its the best. Get one ASAP! Device is works very well. Best bang for buck.

Love it. It's a fantastic device and the form factor rocks as far as i'm concerned.

still like it? its been less than a month lol
ive had 2 defective ones and a 3rd is being sent to me, and i still like it.

Absolutely no regrets, having the power of Tegra and a stock Android install really shows just how powerful the platform can be. And for the price it really is quality piece of kit, the only downsides to my mind are the lack of expandable storage and no HDMI out. But storage can be solved quickly and very cheaply with an USB OTG cable, the HDMI out will soon be solved through Miracast, and the nearest competitors with these features cost almost double the price.
If you're in the market for a tablet, there's really no competition for the Nexus 7 right now unless money is no object.

plambda said:
I think what might help inform your decision is what you intend to use the tablet for.
The prime example being, if you need a lot of local storage, this might not be the device for you as it has no removable SD card slot. (although with rooting and USB OTG you can mount external flash devices)
If you're after a great overall tablet for consuming content, I can't think of a better option at this price. I'm virtually addicted to mine (much to my wife's chagrin).
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um....
I'm looking forward to use a tablet for browsing the internet while I'm on the couch / bed and if possible watch a few episodes of my favorite TV shows while I'm traveling (train / airplane). I'm not much of a gamer and for music I've got my little iPod. That's pretty much it...

I have only one problem with mine. I can't put the damn thing down.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

AuxiliaryPie said:
still like it? its been less than a month lol
ive had 2 defective ones and a 3rd is being sent to me, and i still like it.
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well....yes. I've decided to buy a smartphone (name is not relevant) once, and after only 10 days, I've regretted that decision already. I think after 4 weeks you can decide that already, don't you?

Yes I'm still happy with my purchase. I bought it on July 17 and since then I didn't use my iPad 3 yet. Same thing for my gnex... since I got jelly bean on it I've yet use my iPhone 4s. I understand why apple hates android now!
Sent from my Nexus 7

Soooo who gonna sell their Nexus 7 for a Ipad Mini?
Well come next Month we find out if Apple are gonna launch an Ipad mini, but the question is will you sell your Nexus 7 to buy one if the specs are decent & it has a Retina display plus if the price lands around what the Nexus 7 16GB is atm.
I have no doubt in my mind there will be plenty of Nexus 7's on Ebay if an Ipad Mini does come about next month.
I personally won't be selling mine as im not a fan of Apple never have been, but i reckon some on here will even if they don't admit to it right now.

ixon2001 said:
Well come next Month we find out if Apple are gonna launch an Ipad mini, but the question is will you sell your Nexus 7 to buy one if the specs are decent & it has a Retina display plus if the price lands around what the Nexus 7 16GB is atm.
I have no doubt in my mind there will be plenty of Nexus 7's on Ebay if an Ipad Mini does come about next month.
I personally won't be selling mine as im not a fan of Apple never have been, but i reckon some on here will even if they don't admit to it right now.
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There's no way Apple will sell an iPad mini at a loss. They have no qualms being the most expensive solution on the market, that's practically their business model. It will be nowhere close to $199. $349 is the lowest I see them pricing an 8GB model.

I love mine, and I don't think Apple is going to fight in the pricing weeds with N7. Lowest the iPAD mini will cost is $249 or maybe even $299

Love it. Perfect form factor for me too. Always felt the iPad was too big for my usage, felt awkward using it out and about. This thing bridged the gap nicely.

hismadnezz said:
um....
I'm looking forward to use a tablet for browsing the internet while I'm on the couch / bed and if possible watch a few episodes of my favorite TV shows while I'm traveling (train / airplane). I'm not much of a gamer and for music I've got my little iPod. That's pretty much it...
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Then go for it. You won't regret it.

Yes, I get more happy the longer I have it. Now after saying that I have to say that screen size is a big factor in deciding what is best for you. I've gone through Acer Iconia A500 10.1 inch, Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 inch (still have), iPad New (3) 9.7 inch and now the Nexus 7, 7 inch.
I definitely take the 7 out with me more often than I did the others.
I would visit a Best Buy or some other place that sells tablets that has them in different sized to get a feel for what is good for you and if you decide 7 is the best you should get the Nexus 7. I'm just saying that because I spent a lot of money trying to find my perfect size and should have visited a store in the first place to know my perfect size before going through all those other tablets.

I have the loose screen and it doesn't bother me one bit. It's a great companion for a daily commuter.
I can't put this thing down. It's the only tablet I use anymore.
Sent from my iPad 3 using Tapatalk 2

yup everytime its in my hands I say mmmmmmmmmmmmmannnnn Im glad i got this thing :good:

I'm loving it. It's my most used tablet so far. It just feels very comfortable in the hand and works very fine. Great device.

Did I make a good decision getting the N7?

I recently purchased an N7 but at the MWC I saw ASUS announce the Fonepad.
I would love if I could use my N7 as my every day phone.
The snag is I'm in Canada so it might be hard to obtain one, and I'm not sure how the atom benchmarks against the processor in the current N7.
I've also been considering returning it because I've heard a new version of the n7 is coming out with 1080p and 2GB of ram.

If you always think about what products that will be released in the future, you'll never buy and enjoy anything. The N7 is great. You bought it, now enjoy it.

Well, obviously newer tabs....except cheapo ones, are gonna be better.
If you wanna spend 300....you made a great decision. If you can spend much more, then no you didn't.
I think this is obvious, and why no one is replying.
Sent from my cell phone telephone....

Macmee said:
I recently purchased an N7 but at the MWC I saw ASUS announce the Fonepad.
I would love if I could use my N7 as my every day phone.
The snag is I'm in Canada so it might be hard to obtain one, and I'm not sure how the atom benchmarks against the processor in the current N7.
I've also been considering returning it because I've heard a new version of the n7 is coming out with 1080p and 2GB of ram.
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I bought the N7 last week and ended up returning it. I'm trying to transition from an iPad to an Android tablet and found the screen quality on the N7 to be lacking. It's an excellent low-end tablet, but the screen quality is nowhere near the iPad.
Right now I'm going to either
a) Get a Nexus 10, OR
b) Wait until Mid-May to see how the refreshed Nexus 7 will turn out.
I love the size of the N7, and I already have a tablet for the moment, so I'm thinking I may choose option b. I also fear that if I end up purchasing a N10, it'll have some amazing hardware refresh in the next 4-5 months and I'll end up getting ticked off.
Since I already have a tablet of some sort, it's easier for me to wait a bit. If someone needs a tablet NOW, I'd suggest the N10 to them.

fishy007 said:
I bought the N7 last week and ended up returning it. I'm trying to transition from an iPad to an Android tablet and found the screen quality on the N7 to be lacking. It's an excellent low-end tablet, but the screen quality is nowhere near the iPad.
Right now I'm going to either
a) Get a Nexus 10, OR
b) Wait until Mid-May to see how the refreshed Nexus 7 will turn out.
I love the size of the N7, and I already have a tablet for the moment, so I'm thinking I may choose option b. I also fear that if I end up purchasing a N10, it'll have some amazing hardware refresh in the next 4-5 months and I'll end up getting ticked off.
Since I already have a tablet of some sort, it's easier for me to wait a bit. If someone needs a tablet NOW, I'd suggest the N10 to them.
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Low end? Its specs still stand up or beat most newer 7" tablets.
For 7"....not much that's better...the low price is a bonus.
If you're gonna talk 10"....its apples and oranges. They can pack more tech into their bigger size...obviously. Also...some people don't consider 10" cause its too big.
If someone is afraid that something better will come out....that WILL always happen. So better not buy anything....or maybe just rent...so you can upgrade at will!
Sent from my cell phone telephone....

kj2112 said:
Low end? Its specs still stand up or beat most newer 7" tablets.
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Probably a poor choice of phrasing on my part (I'm battling a head cold and can't think straight).
The internals are excellent, but the screen isn't great. The screen is on-par or better-than tablets in that size range, but it's not as good as a larger sized tablet. Since the size isn't a major issue with me, I have the luxury of being able to compare the larger screens to the smaller ones. I don't expect them to cram the resolution of an N10 into an N7 though.
My particular N7 also had very washed-out colors and very bad backlight bleeding at two corners. Hopefully any refresh that is done will fix quality issues like this.

I think the screen is fantastic - no issues here.

I love my N7
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

You could always use Google Voice and GrooveIP together. I use mine as a house phone with that combination while I'm at home. A Google Voice account is free and GrooveIP Lite is free on the play store. There is also a paid version but the free Lite version has everything you need. Use the Google Voice app for texting. All free on a Wi-Fi connection.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

The N7 forum is probably the last place you'd ask if you made a good decision. I'd venture a guess that most people would confirm that you made a wonderful decision in purchasing one, regardless of what for.

@op,
A bit of good old fashioned research would have answered all questions you have asked here. .
You have bought a quad core, tegra 3 running device which is still quite powerful. It will do whatever you ask it too generally, and it will do it well. I bought mine for £169.99 if i remember correctly, for the 32gig version. If you take all this into account, then go ahead and use it, you`ll find yourself amazed at how good it is, versus value for money, there is nothing better.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
---------- Post added at 03:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:02 AM ----------
helpme364 said:
The N7 forum is probably the last place you'd ask if you made a good decision. I'd venture a guess that most people would confirm that you made a wonderful decision in purchasing one, regardless of what for.
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Click to collapse
Sales figures also confirm why it is such a good device...if your expecting snapdragon 4/ 2 gig ram type hardware then obviously stay of the crack. Respectively, nobody can deny that it is fantastic value for money.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

I can't decide on the Nexus 7 or the Galaxy Tab 7.7. Tomorrow I will test drive both.
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

As long as you don't need a rear camera I would say get the nexus 7. Absolutely amazing.

love mine
it is the perfect addition to my android family of devices
signed owner of -
droid eris x 2 - for the little ones (3 of them)
droid incredible x2 - for the little ones running PAC rom
droid inc 2 - snazzy red mp3 player running viper inc
rezound - current phone running the amazing ecliptic sense
acer iconia a500 - current civato re-flexx rom - amazing
finished the day on my n7 with 68% battery left after 20 hours off the charger.

Macmee said:
I recently purchased an N7 but at the MWC I saw ASUS announce the Fonepad.
I would love if I could use my N7 as my every day phone.
The snag is I'm in Canada so it might be hard to obtain one, and I'm not sure how the atom benchmarks against the processor in the current N7.
I've also been considering returning it because I've heard a new version of the n7 is coming out with 1080p and 2GB of ram.
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Click to collapse
You made a good decision with the information that was available at the time. Don't beat yourself up about it.
I like the direction things are going and I think we will see more 7" tabs with small bezels and voice integration. People get pi$$ed at teh idea of using it as a phone, but like I keep saying you don't have to use it as a phone, its just nice to have additional options.

ynrozturk said:
If you always think about what products that will be released in the future, you'll never buy and enjoy anything. The N7 is great. You bought it, now enjoy it.
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+1
I find the Nexus 7 to be a blast. It's so much fun getting to experiment with other developer's ROMs on the latest form of Android. Of course there are always updates to be released, nothing's perfect. The Nexus 7 is definitely a good choice considering what other Android tablets are floating around in the market.

Nexus 7 vs Samsung
try to check this.
try to contact any webpage from Nexus 7 and the competitor, and you will see the difference.
Nexus 7 always.
This was the test that I did.

baileyjr said:
You made a good decision with the information that was available at the time. Don't beat yourself up about it.
I like the direction things are going and I think we will see more 7" tabs with small bezels and voice integration. People get pi$$ed at teh idea of using it as a phone, but like I keep saying you don't have to use it as a phone, its just nice to have additional options.
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I don't see why people would be angry about using a 7" tablet as a phone. We already have a 6"1 phone out now. Heck, we'll see 7“ phones pretty soon.
Sent from my SGH-T999 via xda premium.

What I'm worried about is that there will be a refresh with 2gb of ram and a better screen.

Then you've answered thread already! Just wait. Or you will be disappointed ....right?
And a 7 inch phone? LOL. No thanks! I have an s2, and since I got my tab ....I kinda wish I had a smaller phone.
Sent from my cell phone telephone....

Thinking about buying one

I'm thinking about buying anexus7 . do you guys think it is still a good buy? Should I wait? I like the idea of a nexus 10 but the dual core CPU compared to a quad to me does not seem right. Suggestions?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

Quad core does not 'always' mean better than dual core. If I had a chance (the money) to buy a nexus 10, I definitely would.
In my opinion android isn't even optimized properly for quad core, its not needed.... My nexus 7 VERY rarely needs to put use to more than two cores. The two cores of the nexus 10 are powerful ones
Not saying the nexus 7 isn't still worth buying. If I didn't have a nexus 7, I'd still end up buying one its a great device and does everything I need easily, while having a smaller screen size. (Which is perfect for me)
Press thanks if I helped ~ Nexus7/ParanoidAndroid/M-Kernel

Another should I? LOL
Well...to add something more....
The n7 is awesome. Period. If you want more awesome....spend way more, or wait for new devices.
Honestly ....people keep asking this, and its up to you. I bought one at Christmas cause its cheap and arguably the best 7" out there.
Budget, desperation and size preferences make this an apples to oranges discussion.
Not being a Dink, but seriously ....read the many threads that exist with the same question. Might help you.
People have stated their opinions on this in lots of similar threads.
Good luck, if you get one....enjoy!
Sent from my cell phone telephone....

I got my nexus about 3weeks ago. I do love it. But i got my so the samsung galaxy tab 2. It has things likw better. It is dual core vs quad. Bur i dknt feel any performance difference. It has sd card slot. 2 cameras. Both are better than the one camera on nexus.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

kj2112 said:
The n7 is awesome. Period. If you want more awesome....spend way more, or wait for new devices.
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^ this. already into march, a case could certainly be made for holding off a few months until new devices are unveiled, like the much anticipated successor to the nexus 7 (this would be my course of action if i didn't already have an n7). but if you need a tablet now, you can't really beat throwing down $200 for this beast.

I disagree on the N10. Power wise, the Dual core snapdragon is faster... but since it is pushing that insane resolution, it is about the same speed, or laggier, then the N7.
This is why I think uber high resolutions are a waste. Useless number game with no benefit. Just a waste of resources.
The N10 has some nice features like HDMI out but 7" and price is right on the N7. The N7 has a super high DPI. Don't upgrade something that doesn't need upgrading.
This is why the Transformer 300 is faster then the Prime, different res.
I'd buy the N7 again... and I did. We have 4 of them. And I just bought 30 for a job.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

For me the N7 hits my sweet spot in terms of performance, prize and size! :good:

I'm in the same boat. I know I definitely want a Nexus tablet to replace my crappy PlayBook but I think I'm going to hold off to see what is unveiled at Google I/O before making a decision. If a successor is released I will buy that instead.

I was thinking about selling my TF700+Dock for a Nexus 7, but then again the Nexus 7 Successor should be coming out later this year. May just wait for that.
Will miss the Transformer though because of the keyboard dock (extra batt life) and it propping the screen up for viewing. Just couldn't stand the laggy IO of the TF700 though. I was reading a few other threads on here about the current Nexus 7's IO being a bottleneck, but I'm sure it's nowhere as bad as the TF700s.

ronkironki said:
For me the N7 hits my sweet spot in terms of performance, prize and size! :good:
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I agree! I love the size of this. It's basically pocketable, even with the Sharkk keyboard case I bought. I haven't touched my iPad in three weeks since I bought it.

What's with all these "Should I buy?" threads?
Look. If you want to buy it, buy it. If you don't, then don't. How are we supposed to know your needs and what you'll be using it for? Watch some videos (there are around 3 million on YouTube) for the N7 and make the choice yourself. It's just a $200 tablet, not an Aston Martin DBS.

ynrozturk said:
What's with all these "Should I buy?" threads?
Look. If you want to buy it, buy it. If you don't, then don't. How are we supposed to know your needs and what you'll be using it for? Watch some videos (there are around 3 million on YouTube) for the N7 and make the choice yourself. It's just a $200 tablet, not an Aston Martin DBS.
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What he said... I didn't like the sgtab2 cuz the screen was fuzzy and wasnt sharp and clean like the n7
Sent from my SCH-I535

Hi, after owning the asus TF201 for over a year now, I also wanted to change to the nexus 7 3g.
I had several problems with the TF201 (laggy wifi, laggy bluetooth, no gps, bad overall performance). During the last year I started hating asus for this design flaw.
Now i noticed, that the N7 is also produced by asus. Should I really try another product of this company?
However, yesterday I wanted to set my order.
Fortunately I found some posts about a stuttering when streaming the audio by bluetooth and additional wifi usage. Some have this stuttering, some others report that their wifi-speed drops near zero.
For me that all sounds like the same strange problems I had with the TF201 (always thought the only reason for my problems was the aluminium-case of the TF201).
Now I'm really dissapointed. The benefit of the N7 3G would be the mobility and the additional connectivity.
I also know that the nexus is a really cheap device. Nevertheless the main-functions should work.
What do you think is the reason for this bluetooth audio stuttering? Software based or really a crappy hardware (I trust asus wouldn't mind).

It all depends. I don't remember reading about a lot of people having Bluetooth problems on a stock device. Those of us who have it are the ones usually on custom ROM's. For example I'm on Paranoid Android 3+ and it's known to have Bluetooth issues. There is also a fix for it but I didn't bother as I never use Bluetooth.
Bottom line is, most people don't have these problems. What you're reading here is a great majority of people who only have problems. That's why they're here, because they're looking around for help. Millions of users I'm sure are perfectly happy with their N7's.

HP Slate7 - Nexus 7 competitor?

Just saw this pop up on Engadget:
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/slate-7/landing.html?jumpid=ex_r10104_go_slate
Decent specs, camera, microSD slot and the possibility of HDMI out. Probably too late to the game, but I might have opted for it over the Nexus 7 had it been available last August. While I like the fast Android updates, I feel like Nexus owners are sometimes used as Guinea pigs to beta test the newest bug-filled features.

Eh low resolution screen is kinda a deal breaker, anything lower than 720p is a pain to use.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda app-developers app

ED2O9 said:
Just saw this pop up on Engadget:
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/slate-7/landing.html?jumpid=ex_r10104_go_slate
Decent specs, camera, microSD slot and the possibility of HDMI out. Probably too late to the game, but I might have opted for it over the Nexus 7 had it been available last August. While I like the fast Android updates, I feel like Nexus owners are sometimes used as Guinea pigs to beta test the newest bug-filled features.
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That link doesn't have the most detailed info. I found; http://www.gsmarena.com/hp_slate_7-5317.php
Honestly disappointing screen kills it right there. The cam is better, but really I don't think 3.5mp means anything compared to a 1.2 both were good10 years ago.

ED2O9 said:
Just saw this pop up on Engadget:
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/slate-7/landing.html?jumpid=ex_r10104_go_slate
Decent specs, camera, microSD slot and the possibility of HDMI out. Probably too late to the game, but I might have opted for it over the Nexus 7 had it been available last August. While I like the fast Android updates, I feel like Nexus owners are sometimes used as Guinea pigs to beta test the newest bug-filled features.
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I think the slate looks good and is more of an alternative or maybe a compromise between some of the very cheap tablets and the nexus 7.
For me the smaller battery would be the killer. HP quote 2AH where as the N7 has a 4.3AH battery with 3 hours more use available. A four hour flight to Lanzarote would be marginal with the Slate by the time you take time at the airport into account, it will be used to keep my 2 year old entertained.
The expandable storage isn't an issue for me as I have the 32GB version. Not interested in holding a tablet up to take picture, I have a phone and a camera for that. HDMI; had that on my Nokia N8 and used it once to try it, I have used dlna to stream to the telly though.
To me it looks like someone at HP has bought a N7, looks at the pros (cheap, light,size) and cons (fixed storage, no back camera) and used it as a starting point and tried to beat it. Good luck to them but I think it will suit a slightly different market to the N7.

ED2O9 said:
Just saw this pop up on Engadget:
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/slate-7/landing.html?jumpid=ex_r10104_go_slate
Decent specs, camera, microSD slot and the possibility of HDMI out. Probably too late to the game, but I might have opted for it over the Nexus 7 had it been available last August. While I like the fast Android updates, I feel like Nexus owners are sometimes used as Guinea pigs to beta test the newest bug-filled features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks good... but I think you're probably right about it being too late to the game. If HP can market/advertise this as aggressively as Google has with the N7, then it might stand a chance. Google are repostioning themselves as 'content providers' - music, books, magazines - and the 'cheap-as-chips' N7 is a loss leading gateway, somewhat similar to Amazons Kindle.
Hewlett Packard are a tech company first and foremost, and don't have a similar repository of IP content that they can push to make this 'slate' a compelling purchase. In this digital age, people buy their tech based on what they can watch, read or listen to.
----
Still, having said all that... it's an intriguing device... I like the microSD card slot (something sorely lacking on the N7).
If it has an easily unlockable bootloader (I don't know what HP's track record is on that), then I might consider getting one.
Rgrds,
Ged.

No GPS either.
Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk 2

I had it with HP a long time ago. Laptops dropping dead all over the place for no apparent or discoverable reason. And then tech support being worse that shoving a cactus in my rear end. So no. HP is just. No.
Sent from my Motorola XPRT

Screen aucks no GPS thick and ugly silver plus HP logo on there automatically kills it. The HP brand is no longer a symbol of cutting edge got to have technology. It is a symbol of a relic technology company that is holding on to its last strong hold which is server technology and enterprise.

I think it's a good timing. with N7 2.0 coming soon, ppl will consider this one as a cheap alternative to the N7 2.0 instead of the old N7.

rather be a Guinea pig and get more regular updates than to be stuck with something that will 99% of the time will never see the latest is update. plus don't have to worry about all the bloat that other companies seem to love to fill phones/tablets up with. Google has also shown even with older nexus devices they have been kept updated to atleast ICS where as other devices you could forget about it. I am sure when keylime pie comes out the nexus 7/10 will see it. how many tablets the same age or newer will see that?
like the genie off Aladdin said often imitated but never duplicated.
Sent from my Infected HTC Rezound using Tapatalk 4 Beta

I don't feel the HP Slate is anywhere near a competitor for the N7.

HP Slate 7 Android Tablet Review
Uhhh.. The Slate 7 is a stinker.
This is a quick unboxing and review of HP's latest attempt at an Android tablet.
I can't say a whole lot of good things about this tablet. I was sorely disappointed in the overall build quality. The screen was almost rubbery to the touch and it appeared to be warped and separated on the edges. The screen was odd and had almost a glazed look to it. The back camera is decent, but the front camera is not even adequate for video conferencing, let alone the occasional "selfie". The specs are sub par for the price, in my opinion. I wouldn't spend more than $99 US for a tablet like this. I have seen off brand, generic tablets that are build better. I suppose the one saving grace is the stock Jelly Bean 4.1.1. For what you would spend on this tablet ($170 US), you should jump on a Nexus 7 or a Kindle Fire HD.
This thing is starting to make the HP Touchpad look like a great success.
These are my opinions, of course.

not a bad tablet but hp customer support is pretty crap. That and the fact that there laptops are gone really bad lately.

I think if they priced it at $99 you'd have a real alternative for people don't wanna spend $200 for a quality tab. But its only $30 less than the nexus 7, with considerably weaker specs. Who wouldn't just cough up the extra cash?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

It beats the nexus 7 in all benshmarks exept gl
sent from my UNLOCKED gt-s5360 using the XDA app

It's better to look at the Fonepad.
Sent from XDA app

I was considering getting one of these, but then all the specs fell below what the Nexus 7 had in store for me so I went with the Nexus.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Doesn't even compete just look at the specs.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

yousef8824 said:
It beats the nexus 7 in all benshmarks exept gl
sent from my UNLOCKED gt-s5360 using the XDA app
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Look at the wild benchmark differences on exact same devices!! Depends on a lot what you score. So benchmarks are basically meaningless. Anyone can sacrifice battery and smoothness to put up a good score!
Sent from my cell phone telephone....

jimbobvfr400 said:
No GPS either.
Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk 2
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Got one today. It appears it does have a GPS. It pinned me right down to my house in Google Maps.
I will say this, it doesn't seem laggy at alll. The problem is that some apps (Instagram, SiriusXM, Foursquare, UPS Mobile, Jetblue, and others) are marked incompatible in the Play Store. Apps like Twitter, Facebook, Angry Birds Friends, etc. work fine.
I'm not sure what the delimiting factor is, but it may have something to do with the resolution and how the apps were built.