Asus Nexus 7 tablet is the first and only tablet running Android Jelly Bean. Powered by Nvidia Tegra 3 quad core processor, the Asus’ tablet priced for less than $250.
The official announcement of the Asus Nexus 7 tablet only a few weeks before the official launch, but rumors about the screen size, CPU choice and even manufacturers were already months earlier on the agenda of relevant platforms. A very early prototype was quiet at CES 2012 and Google mentioned only in passing. The final product follows the familiar Nexus branding and is equipped with a 1.2 GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 SoC, 1 GB DDR3 RAM, 8 to 16 GB SSD and a 7-inch screen with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution - and all for less than $250.
The Design of Asus Nexus 7 Tablet
Although Google owns Motorola now, their first tablet is made by Asus. Perhaps this is not surprising, since Asus produces successful Android tablets with excellent workmanship at the moments. The current Asus Transformer tablet, as the Prime or the Infinity could impress us already. Does the Nexus 7 have the same qualities?
The Google Tablet looks much sleeker and more modern than the Amazon’s tablet. However, it lacks the slimness and the splendor of the Asus Transformer series. The need to produce an inexpensive tablet means that plastic material is the only choice. Nevertheless, the tablet feels in your hand without serious problems of adequately stable. The front is completely flat and protected with Corning Glass. In contrast, the curved back of textured plastic with a light rubber feel. Therefore it is less sensitive to fingerprints as a glossy surface.
Asus Nexus 7 Tablet’s Equipment
The interface equipment is quite meager: only a micro USB port and a 3.5-mm headphone jack are available. Anyone who hoped to Mini-/Micro-HDMI or even a card reader will be disappointed. Interestingly, one can find on the lower left edge four showy spring pins (pogo pins), are similar to the three contacts of the Galaxy Nexus smartphone. We assume that future accessories and docks will use this connection.
Unfortunately, the Asus Nexus 7 tablet missing MHL and OTG support, at least at this early stage. The USB OTG (USB On-the-Go) works with certain mice and keyboards, but our USB flash drives unfortunately not recognized correctly.
The wireless functionality includes wireless n, GPS, Bluetooth and NFC. Given the price range, this is quite abundance. GPS fix (no WLAN support) with 1-2 minutes works pretty fast and the wireless range is comparable to the Kindle Fire.
Currently, there are no models with GSM and EVDO support, bringing the Asus Nexus 7 tablet similar to the Kindle Fire. In addition, it is worth mentioning that there is no status LEDs that indicate whether, for example, charged or fully charged, and will inform you when a micro-USB cable is connected.
Software
Until now, all Google devices with the latest version of Google came without manufacturer-specific user interfaces on the market. While most tablets use Ice Cream Sandwich, or even earlier, the Asus Nexus 7 tablet comes with the latest version of Jelly Bean.
From the outset, it is clear that the Asus Nexus 7 tablet is aligned on a multimedia application. Fortunately, the software is much more efficient and easier than the Kindle Fire, and the user can download any Android apps, movies and music with no side-loading or other cumbersome detours.
Camera and Multimedia
The Asus Nexus 7 tablet has a built in 1.2-MP front camera for video conferencing and portraits. Unfortunately, there is no pre-installed camera app. The images are quite below average, especially when compared with back 5-MP and 8-MP cameras that are found commonly in larger 10.1-Tablets. Since the camera was apparently primarily designed for video recording in standard definition, missing functions such as focus, flash and face detection.
The video quality of the camera ranges from poor to average, and depends strongly on the lighting conditions.
The built-in video player works fine, but lacking both functions and native support for the most common AVI and MKV files.
As is expected from the renowned graphics chip manufacturer Nvidia, trumps the Tegra 3 SoC in particular with games. Compared with Tegra 2, the integrated GPU double the pixel shader units and a faster clock speed.
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit for example runs smoothly with liquid and stable frame rates on Asus Nexus 7 tablet.
Display
Fortunately, the 7-inch screen is certainly a prominent feature of the Asus Nexus 7 tablet. The LED-backlit screen with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution offers 216 dpi and uses an IPS panel, as it is typically used in mid-to high-end tablets. White appears on Google Tablet white and colors are deeper than the Kindle Fire.
The average screen brightness is around 280 cd/m2, the brightest spot was measured in the central screen area. It is lighter than most laptops and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, but at the same time much lower than most tablets like the third-generation iPad (retina), the Asus Transformer Infinity and the Kindle Fire.
Small fonts and images outdoors under direct sunlight are difficult to see. However, the readability is not significantly better or worse than the Kindle Fire. A prolonged outdoor use takes place in the shadow better.
The glossy screen of the Nexus 7 reflects less than that of the Kindle Fire. This is helpful in daily use and compensates somewhat for the lower brightness. Reflections of the surroundings occurs, but to a lesser extent.
In terms of viewing angles, color changes can not be observed, but significant loss of brightness at extreme angles occurred. A direct line of sight will be still better, but at the same time viewing the screen with one or two adjacent users should not be any major problems.
The Performance of Asus Nexus 7 Tablet
For a tablet of this size and in this price range a 1.2 GHz quad-core is an absolute powerhouse. Only in the middle of last year, most manufacturers have begun to bring tablets with dual-core Tegra 2 processors for more than about two-to three times the initial price of Asus Nexus 7 tablet on the market.
Temperature
To determine the idle temperatures, we had the tablet for an hour an E-book page (no screen-timeout) before we made the measurements. The surfaces were slightly warm, but not extraordinarily for a tablet. There was no place that warmed much more than the rest.
To measure the load temperatures, we played to our measurements for about an hour a round of NOVA Third Depending on the ambient temperature can reach some areas of the Tablets temperatures fairly close to the 40-degree Celsius. For a tablet that is relatively high. In normal use, the moderate temperatures, however, should never be a problem and that if only because of how the tablet is held in gambling. So it is a simple matter to ignore the warmest places easily.
Speaker
Due to the location, the Asus Nexus 7 tablet’s speakers can be easily blocked by the left or right hand of the user. At 50% volume playback is rather soft, so we shot it with video and music playback usually 80% to 90% high.
The sound quality is average, given the size and the balance distortion at higher volumes small to small. The maximum volume and the bass quality are slightly lower and weaker than the Kindle Fire. Headphones are detected immediately after connection to the 3.5-mm jack.
Battery Life
The maximum battery life, we measured on disabled screen timeout, switched off Wi-Fi modules and minimum screen brightness. The tablet showed an e-book page. Under these conditions the unit was 17 hours by 38 minutes before it went down automatically.
However we switched on all Wi-Fi modules (WLAN / GPS / NFC / Bluetooth) and set the screen to maximum brightness to measure the minimum battery life. We performed the Stability of test 2.5, the CPU and GPU to utilize until the battery runs out after 2 hours 22 minutes.
Between these two extremes, we carried out the WLAN test for which we disabled the screen lock. This more realistic test ended after 6 hours, 50 minutes.
The estimated 7 hours continuous web surfing is much longer than the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0. Larger tablets like the Asus Transformer Prime and iPad 3 have larger batteries and get closer to the 10-hour.
Conclusion on Asus Nexus 7 Tablet Review
In this price range, the ease of use and smooth software with thin housing are simply the best. Android fans can access without hesitation, for all core functions work perfectly seamless.
Although the hardware configuration is not bad, it is still less impressive than the software. The case feels solid little less than the Kindle Fire, the camera is below average and the brightness needs an improvement.
Title Post: Asus Nexus 7 Tablet Released and Reviewed
Rating: 100% based on 3109 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: onSquid
Thank You for Visiting Asus Zenbook Fans
Rating: 100% based on 3109 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: onSquid
Thank You for Visiting Asus Zenbook Fans
