7" tablets

[tony_park]

So, I'm in the market for a smallish tablet, no particular ties to any platform. I used to use an iphone 3gs, but only have a few apps that I bought, currently on windows phone on a lumia 800.

I'm looking for a tablet to be doing some browsing, emails etc, maybe some music. All my music is drm free mp3s stored on a home server.

So swaying towards the Nexus 7, as its not a bad price, and spec. Then there's the new ipad mini, a lot more expensive, but will just work with itunes installed on my home server (with ihomeserver installed)...

Oh the choices! Can any one help?

Thanks
Tony

[bobbob]

i'm getting a second ipad at xmas. i say second i mean replacement for the one my g/f has liberated from me after mocking me for buying one for the first few weeks

[holidayboy]

I got a nexus 7 and love it.

[duncane]

I have a Nexus 7 and really like it. Mostly just casual browsing and email but it's quite snappy. Only music I'v played has actually been transferred to it not streamed. Wached a few large MKVs on it with no problems and picture is great.
For the price it's fab!

P.S. I do use a lot of Google Services (Calendar, Docs, Books, Gmail) and have an Android phone so it was a no brainer for me really. No Apple stuff so no itunes etc.

[foxwood]

If you've got a Nexus 7, you should check out Nexus Media Importer. It will allow you to access music and videos on a USB stick, without having to root the device. $2.99 for the app, and pick up a USB To Go cable for a buck or two on Amazon. Definitely helps to address one of the weaknesses of the Nexus 7, which is otherwise a great little device.

[spanner]

I have a kindle fire HD and if you listen to music without earbuds it really does have nice sounding speakers. not sure i like the amazon GUI as well as straight android, but if you are a amazon prime person its worth a look. If you want a 7 inch tablet to play with or to use as a remote or keep in the car You could try a $50.00 android tablet from aliexpress (China). Lower resolution but runs all the google apps including netflix and such. also room for sd card and takes usb storage

[holidayboy]

I figured what the hell - I rooted my Nexus 7 and after a bit of fiddling, I can now browse the LAN via wifi, select a .wtv file with ES File Explorer and open it with either VLC, or MX Player.

[Motz]

7" tablet is the absolute perfect size. Not 8.9, not 7.9... but 7". It is the perfect fit in your hands. Now I have said it before and will say it again... I think tablets are stupid and I still have not found a use for it, but I do own a 16GB Nexus 7 and I do enjoy it for what it is.

Since it is running Jelly Bean and is always going to be updated I really think it is great. I own a Galaxy Nexus and have slowly integrated myself into the google services universe. I think overall it is a great device that you can just throw in your bag and take with you. They are refreshing the line with some new sizes on Monday so you will probably wait until then. My favorite thing about Android has to be google music though, I have everything synced automatically on my WHS to google music and I have all of my music with me at all times on a phone, tablet, or web browser. Their other services are great as well and Drive seems to keep getting better. Web browsing is chrome is great as well which is probably what I do most on the tablet. I don't think you need a huge amount of storage either unless you plan to store content on your device, but that seems less and less common.

[duncane]

Holidayboy, I do the same except use FX File Explorer and NO root. Why did you need to root?

[holidayboy]

Good question, I'll try and remember!

It might have actually been for a different reason.

I remember doing something in order to play HD (h.264) recordings smoother.

[duncane]

No problem, thought my N7 was maybe 'special' lol.

FYI, FX File Exlplorer does offer a root addon but I don't need it, yet! I used to have ES File Explorer but found browsing the LAN very hit and miss. Quite often had to reconnect wireless or reboot router. FX has very been solid, on my S2 also.

Cheers
Ewan

[lithium630]

I love my Nexus 7 also. It's fast, light and smooth. I haven't had a single issue yet.

[adam1991]

7" tablet is the absolute perfect size. Not 8.9, not 7.9... but 7". It is the perfect fit in your hands. Now I have said it before and will say it again... I think tablets are stupid and I still have not found a use for it

+1

but I do own a 16GB Nexus 7 and I do enjoy it for what it is.

My wife has a Kindle Fire that looks great and she loves it, my son has a Nexus 7 and enjoys it, and a friend at work has a Nook and likes it (mostly because she and her mom can share Nook books).

I don't think you can go wrong with the listed requirements.

Since it is running Jelly Bean and is always going to be updated

please tell me you don't *really* believe that.

[foxwood]

Since it is running Jelly Bean and is always going to be updated

please tell me you don't *really* believe that.

As long as the hardware supports whever new version of Android Google puts out, I'd expect Google to keep the Nexus 7 updated - it's not in their interest not to (they don't actually make any money on the hardware sales), and it won't cost them much more to push any new updates to the device. If and when it gets to the stage where the latest version of Androdi needs more that 1G of RAM to run comfortably, then I wouldn't expect, or want, that update to be pushed to my Nexus7.

[adam1991]

yes, I agree wholeheartedly.

Which is why I express doubts to people who think that their Nexus 7 "is always going to be updated".

Here's another reason not to believe the salesmen selling snake oil:

http://consumerist.com/2012/10/17/motor ... h-devices/

Customers who bought the Motorola Photon and other very recent smartphone models are unhappy. When they bough the phones, Motorola bragged that they’d soon be upgraded to a newer version of the Android operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich. That’s not the very newest version, mind you, but it’s a newer version. Now, their phones are less than a year old, and the promised upgrade is never going to come.

[Motz]

sorry.... I should have stated "it will receive regular updates since it is base android"

Google is running the updates on nexus 7 and it is their flagship tablet. It isn't controlled by carriers which is usually the issue.

Nexus s is still getting updated.

I don't expect it to be updated forever as I will buy something new in a year anyways.

[Embiggens]

I figured what the hell - I rooted my Nexus 7 and after a bit of fiddling, I can now browse the LAN via wifi, select a .wtv file with ES File Explorer and open it with either VLC, or MX Player.

Have you guys had success playing wtv's off your lan on your nexus 7's? I'm also using ES File explorer and MX Player and the files will start to play fine, but after about 30 seconds the audio and video start skipping. I have a decent router but I don't know whether it's a playback or streaming issue. (I've also tried BSPlayer with similar results I believe)

Also I'm also looking for a more reliable samba client file explorer. ES works about half the time.

[duncane]

In MX Player I sometimes have to change from H/W decoder to S/W decoder to get the WTV to playback

[Embiggens]

Thanks duncane, I haven't tried the software decoder on MX Player since a couple updates ago. Also I'll give FX File Explorer a try. I'm excited, I've been hoping/feeling there's some combination that would work.