Nexus 7: Is lack of SD card port a deal breaker for you?

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by taming

My point was not that I would necessarily use that drive, but rather that the idea that I might have to connect storage was not off-putting. Folks are also using larger drives with USB powered hubs.

Well, I can't speak for others, but for me that would be an acceptable solution for the MS Surface Intel Version when used at a table as a full desktop replacement. But for a small tablet it is an unnecessary inconvenience.

[HarryT]

Given the utterly minimal expense of including a MicroSD slot, I do think it's a pity that Google made this decision. Sure, USB-OTG is a workaround, but it's inconvenient, and the user really shouldn't need to do this.

[taming]

<shrug>I know what my usage is likely to look like. It really is a non-issue for me.

[SensualPoet]

Having a couple of years of real life experience with ereaders and tablets, the lack of an expansion slot isn't a deal breaker. Yes, it's a nice to have and if there is a work-around that's comforting. I also know that everywhere I am likely to be, I have wifi access -- at home, at the airport, on vacation. So, the cloud thing to load up is absoultely, in my real life, good enough.

But, would I spring for the 16 GB as insurance? That's problematic because when you add in taxes and shipping, the "$199 Nexus 7" upgraded to 16 GB arrives at the door with a $312 price tag.

[5thWiggle]

I'm not in the market for a tablet, but I like to vote.

The Nexus 7 has no card slot , but has USB OTG host .
My Acer A100 has a card slot , but no USB OTG host .
My Pocket Edge has both , but no GPS or Bluetooth Keyboard support

As long as it has either USB host OR a sd card, it's not a deal breaker. In fact, with four tablets currently in the house and at least twice as many microSD cards floating around plus only-God-knows-how-many thumb drives, I'm thinking it's time to get one of these, and say bye-bye to rest.

[Fluribus]

Originally Posted by VaporPunk

At least for now.

Chose this, though I should say I'd have major doubts about buying because of the lack of micro SD. What did Google save by not adding this? A buck?

I do want a 7" tablet even though I have my Asus Tran (Original), for portability. I also want an MS Surface. And World Peace. Sigh...

Give me an external micro SD slot and to hell with world peace.

[hrosvit]

Lack of expansion is a huge deal for me. I have the 64GB iPad, and I am nervous about filling it up (it tells me right now I have 5.5GB free). Prior to the iPad, I used my Nook Color with a 32GB microSD card, and the card was always filled entirely with movies and music. Plus, I could carry extra cards with me.

In order to (somewhat) solve this problem, I bought a Seagate Go-Flex Satellite drive. It's a 500GB 2.5" external drive that contains a wifi transmitter (not receiver) so any other wifi capable device (laptop, phone, iPad, Android tablet, etc.) can connect to it and access its contents. I've got it stocked with music and videos and things. Not a perfect solution; the battery life is not stellar (a little more than 4 hrs). But the accompanying iOS app is very good; it lets you transfer files to the iPad to use when the two are not connected, and then delete them from the iPad when you're done using them. So I only usually have two or three movies on my iPad at a time, and transfer new ones from the drive when I need them. I have, however, heard that the Android app is significantly less appealing (although I have never used it), so it might not be a great solution for the Nexus.


Edit: I see 5thWiggle posted a link to the drive a couple posts up. That's it, exactly.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

Lack of expansion is a huge deal for me. I have the 64GB iPad, and I am nervous about filling it up (it tells me right now I have 5.5GB free). Prior to the iPad, I used my Nook Color with a 32GB microSD card, and the card was always filled entirely with movies and music. Plus, I could carry extra cards with me.

Although I share your views on the lack of an expansion slot, remember that (unlike the iPad) the Nexus can read from a USB memory stick, so it's not really the same situation.

[taming]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

But, would I spring for the 16 GB as insurance? That's problematic because when you add in taxes and shipping, the "$199 Nexus 7" upgraded to 16 GB arrives at the door with a $312 price tag.

The price delivered to Alberta for the 8 GB was $239.44 all in. With the $25 credit for the Play store as a bonus it was a pretty good deal. I'm like you, SP, I have WiFi almost everywhere I am likely to be.

[steven522]

The 7" screen is the deal breaker for me. Don't care how many pixels they are squashing in there, I have tried and rejected many 7" tablets. The screens are just to small for my vision to cope with. Especially when the 7" is "widescreen" format.

A co-worker bought the Archos G9 10" and compared it to my Archos G9 8". The 10" is widescreen and the 8" is 4:3. They were the same width with the 10" being about an inch and a half longer.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by taming

The price delivered to Alberta for the 8 GB was $239.44 all in. With the $25 credit for the Play store as a bonus it was a pretty good deal. I'm like you, SP, I have WiFi almost everywhere I am likely to be.

I envy you. I don't even have reliable wifi in my house, as proven by my excruciating attempt to stream a movie from Vudu last night. I believe my DSL modem is attempting to drive me crazy. Additionally, I travel around the country teaching, and I am constantly amazed at the places I go where I cannot reliable find wifi. Or "higher end" hotels that charge $20 per day for wifi. Or "lower end" hotels with wifi service that screams along at about 0.4Mb/s.

[taming]

You may want to look at something like Connectify to create a hotspot that runs off your computer or laptop. I use that at work.

[Belfaborac]

For me "no expandable internal storage" equals "pointless", regardless of screen size and other specs.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by taming

You may want to look at something like Connectify to create a hotspot that runs off your computer or laptop. I use that at work.

I am using that, too. But why use a tablet at all when you have to use 2 devices? The point is we shouldn't accept having to jump through hoops to use our devices the way we want to, just because some companies want to lock us into their cloud. The sooner we tell them NO the sooner we will be back to getting real value for our money. The problem is that people have come to accept this lack of functionality and treat it as if it was the normal state of affairs (i.e. bend over backwards to find workarounds).

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

Lack of expansion is a huge deal for me. I have the 64GB iPad, and I am nervous about filling it up (it tells me right now I have 5.5GB free). Prior to the iPad, I used my Nook Color with a 32GB microSD card, and the card was always filled entirely with movies and music. Plus, I could carry extra cards with me.

Lol. I have a 64GB iPad and have actually had a few times when I filled it to capacity (0MB free). I don't even store any music on the thing. Had to delete a bunch of stuff so I could upgrade apps.

I find the lack of SD card slot on the Nexus 7 disappointing but at the price point, it wasn't an absolute deal breaker. I would've preferred spending $250 on a Nexus 7 8GB with microSD card slot or full-size USB host port instead of a Nexus 7 16GB, unfortunately, that wasn't an option. However, the combination of 1280x800, 340g weight and 8 hours battery life is enough to outweigh my misgivings regarding the lack of SD slot. If USB OTG works, then it makes the pill even easier to swallow.

Oh well, the Transformer Infinity shouldn't have any of these limitations.