Google Nexus 7 review (16GB)

Android 4.1 teaches typing
One of the purported new Android 4.1 features is improved precision when typing on the soft keyboard. After taking the Nexus 7 out of the box, I wanted to quickly put this to the test. I usually make lots of mistakes when texting on my iPhone 4 or even when testing typing precision on other tablets, so my typing skills aren't exactly legendary. However, when signing in to my Google account on the Nexus 7, I was able to type quickly, without making a single mistake.

While I did eventually begin making mistakes (and plenty of them, of course), the majority of the time I felt much more like they were my own errors and not the tablet misinterpreting my taps. It's obviously not perfect, but it is an improvement over what I've experienced on Android tablets before.

Siri-ous voice recognition
There's also now a Siri-like voice recognition app that allows you to search the Web with your voice. It's not so much an assistant like Siri -- it won't schedule meetings for you or remind you to call your wife when you leave work -- but it will recognize phrases like "Who are the Oakland A's playing today?" and return the answer via a voice response as well as a crude graphic showing a recent final score. "Where can I get some pizza?" returns a Google Maps listing of restaurants nearby that serve pizza. The current version of Siri on the iPhone 4S could keep up with the food queries, but not so much the sports.

Other queries, like, "Show me pictures of 'x,'" worked really quickly to deliver an assortment of pictures matching your subject. The same goes for word definitions. Again, while cool, this is another feature that will probably get little use on the tablet and be more at home on phones.

Hardware features
The quad-core Tegra 3 inside the Nexus 7 is the same 1.3GHz chip we've seen in most recent Android tablets, including the 12-core GPU. The Nexus 7 also includes 1GB of DDR2 RAM, as opposed to the faster DDR3 RAM the Asus TF300 uses. The Nexus 7 also has 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and GPS. There's also support for Google's NFC-based technology, Android Beam.

With Android Beam you can send Web pages, maps, and files, but not apps, however. To work, the two compatible devices have to touch back to back, and in the case of the Nexus 7 the device must touch the upper-right corner of the tablet's back to work. And work it does. Web pages or maps travel fast; however, pictures and larger files obviously take a bit more time to copy over.

Performance
The Nexus 7 sports an IPS screen with a wider viewing angle than the Kindle Fire's and even wider than you see on some 10-inch Android tablets. The 1,280x800-pixel resolution packed into a 7-inch display gives visuals like text and graphics a sharper look than what I'm typically used to seeing on most 7-inchers.

The screen is responsive to touch and swipe, but possibly could use just a bit more sensitivity calibration, as some of my swipes would only half take.

Tested spec	Google Nexus 7	Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0	Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7	Amazon Kindle Fire
Maximum brightness	288 cd/m2	379 cd/m2	110 cd/m2	424 cd/m2
Default brightness	190 cd/m2	150 cd/m2	51 cd/m2	147 cd/m2
Maximum black level	0.28 cd/m2	0.31 cd/m2	0.0049 cd/m2	0.45 cd/m2
Default black level	0.18 cd/m2	0.12 cd/m2	0.0049 cd/m2	0.15 cd/m2
Default contrast ratio	1,055:1	1,250:1	10,408:1	980:1
Maximum contrast ratio	1,028:1	1,222:1	22,449:1	963:1

Riptide GP ran smoothly, and, of course, it includes the Tegra 3 water-splash effects; however, the frame rate does drop when the resolution is cranked to max. Both GTA 3 and Max Payne Mobile looked as good as they do on any tablet, save the Transformer Infinity or iPad.

That said, I feel it's make or break time for the Tegra 3. It's been six month since its release and we've still yet to see a killer, exclusive game that takes advantage of its quad-core architecture. Infinity Blade on the iPad is approachable, additive, takes advantage of the iPad's GPU to produce gorgeous visuals, and above all, it's fun. For a while at least. Tegra 3 needs its own “Infinity Blade” (actually, several killer apps would be nice) to avoid being anything other than a stopgap.

As for video, I got a 1080p movie to play on the tablet, and it looked great, especially with the screen's high pixel density.

As for battery life, Google says to expect 9 hours while playing HD video. Using the device casually for a day or so I found its battery drained at about the same speed as the Kindle Fire's, but we'll have to wait until CNET Labs runs its full suite of battery tests before posting official numbers.

I found Web speeds matched those of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, but on average were faster than the Kindle Fire's. App download speeds were identical to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0's speeds; I downloaded a 218MB version of Deer Hunter Reloaded in 122 seconds. This score was averaged over three iterations with the closed network router about 5 feet away from the tablets.

The speaker slit is located on the bottom back of the tablet. The sound that emanates is fairly loud and full, without much distortion, even at maximum volume. One word of advice: when using the speakers, keep the tablet laid flat on its back. In this position the sound is able to bounce off whatever surface it's on and reverberate, creating a echo that increases the fullness of the acoustics. Look, I'm no audiophile, but I was impressed considering the size of the tablet.

	Amazon Kindle Fire	Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0	Nexus 7
Deer Hunter Reloaded download speed (in seconds)	474	120	122

Final thoughts
The Nexus 7's screen looks great and feels responsive; the tablet feels well-built and does a good job of demonstrating its power in games and movie performance. The lack of built-in expandable storage or a back camera is a bummer, but it's understandable given the dirt-low $200 (for 8GB; $250 for 16GB) price.

Google is off to a good start here. The specs are impressive, the Android 4.1 OS feels simplified while retaining its flexibility, and TV shows and purchasable movies are welcome additions to the Google Play store. However, while the Nexus 7 is clearly the best 7-inch tablet available, Kindle Fire owners will still be treated to a better-implemented ecosystem and more video options, especially if they're Amazon Prime members.

To be an iPad killer, you'd need to gather a universe-size amount of app support. And that would only be your first step. The Nexus 7 isn't an iPad killer, but it could be the first step on the road to a much more competitive tablet market.