Nexus 7 2013 1st Impressions

Originally Posted by mystika1

Thank you for posting the pics. I have looked at the Google n7 and the specs are great. I have made a bootable 32gb microsd card running kitkat 4.2.2 for my nook HD+ and really like it. (From what i gather.. The n7 runs kitkat as well) Ihave a feeling that I will likely give in and purchase the n7 or maybe the 10 as I am a tablet junky. :-) I read today that Amazon will be releasing a new 300ppi sink paperwhite in the second quarter of 2014. That will be interesting as well.

Thanks again,

Penny

I wouldn't count on that. One tech blog claimed this a while back, but there are so many holes in their story that it looks like it is little more than just a myth, IMO. Somehow, crappy journalists and other crappy bloggers keep picking up this totally unsubstantiated rumor from the one blog and then repeating it.

[fbrII]

I have had mine for a couple of days now and I have no complaints. I replaced a first generation Nexus 7. I like the new form factor, text seems a little crisper with smaller fonts and I like smaller fonts, just to get more text on the page.

Overall very happy

[Jack Tingle]

Another point about reading on the N7, I still like "Cool Reader" and "fbReader" for non-DRM books. CR is a little more polished, fbR still reads more formats than anything. I tried several other Android readers from the Play Store, and deleted them all. Now all we need is a .lit reader.

[Ravensknight]

I just "read" a volume of manga. I wasn't sure how it would be on this screen size, but the hd of the screen compensated perfectly. I could read every word without any need for zooming.
Now I want to go and digitize ALL my manga :-)
Oh man, that could take quite a while...

[Faterson]

Just convert LIT to EPUB -- it's obsolete now. I find Moon+ Reader Pro to be the best e-reader on Android -- most customisable, nicest display of books, once you manage to set up the layout just like you wish to see it.

[Jack Tingle]

TOPIC DRIFT WARNING: This is a drift of the original topic.

Originally Posted by Faterson

Just convert LIT to EPUB -- it's obsolete now. I find Moon+ Reader Pro to be the best e-reader on Android -- most customisable, nicest display of books, once you manage to set up the layout just like you wish to see it.

I'd be more likely to convert .lit to .mobi, since the internal set-up for the two is almost identical, they were contemporaries. I never really liked Moon+. I don't read a lot of epubs and for anything else, it's pretty useless. As I said, I prefer Cool Reader for non-DRM stuff.

I have a few DRM epubs, mostly from B&N, so I just load Nook when I want to look them over. The tiny number of Adobe epubs I have, I mostly have just abandoned. I still have a lot of non-DRM .lits though, from long ago on Pocket PCs. And I still think MS Reader had the best user experience and interface of any reader. MS shouldn't have abandoned it.

[Faterson]

Well, we need to agree to disagree there. I thought MS Reader was very lame, and I preferred Mobipocket Reader back in the old days. The first thing I do when I get a MOBI in my hands today, is convert it to EPUB instantly, so I can enjoy it in Moon+ Reader Pro on Nexus 7, and/or in Marvn on iOS.

[cvkemp]

I got the Nexus 7 2013 32 gig for Christmas and I love it, and my wife found the Nexus 7 32 gig 2012 on Groupon for 150 and got it for herself. Except for the screen resolution and the back camera they function about the same. I love the options for ebook readers. I use kindle, and google play book, and also Moon + pro reader.

[Faterson]

I would not recommend the old 2012 Nexus 7 to anyone, not even for $50. The "Retina class" screen resolution makes a huge difference to me. Your mileage may vary.

[Blossom]

Add me to the I love my Nexus 7.2 club! I got mine back in November and right before Christmas I injured my foot and was stuck on the sofa so that's when we really bonded then I got the horrible flu bug on Christmas morning and was on complete bedrest for the next two weeks so now that tablet and I are now best buds.

It's my main reading device, I use it to post here and I find Chrome does really well with websites. This is my first real tablet I've own. I have Samsung Galaxy players and Kindle Fires but non of them can hold a candle to the Nexus 7.2

[cvkemp]

it all depends on what you use it for. My wife loves it. Put she is mainly checking web sites and playing games. The higher resolution screen for what we do is not that important.

[Faterson]

I find the high-resolution screen essential for browsing websites, too. On a small screen like that of the Nexus 7, many webpages open with tiny fonts by default. The ultra-sharp screen often allows you to read those webpages without bothering to zoom in and out all the time. This convenience is not quite there on previous-generation screens.

I'm likewise thoroughly impressed by the 2013 Nexus 7. But, I'd still say the iPad has an edge over it -- particularly thanks to the plethora of tablet-optimised 3rd-party iOS apps. I find iOS 7, however, utterly hideous compared to Android 4.4 KitKat. (Not to mention the jailed environment.)

The Nexus 7.2 is very good for an eBook reader device with the high pixel density. But I have to say that the iPad Mini Retina is a bit better due to the slightly larger screen that is in a 4:3 ratio which is better for reading in landscape. The Nexus 7.2 with KitKat feels a bit short when held in landscape and reading due to its 16:10 ratio screen. But both are terrific for reading.

[Faterson]

Yes, the Nexus 7 is (I think) useless for reading in landscape mode, but it's great for watching movies that way, also thanks to the superb stereo speakers (surround sound effects, too!), as opposed to the iPad's crappy mono speaker.

I also prefer the 3:4 ratio over 10:16 when reading true e-books (meaning EPUBs), but in portrait mode, the 10:16 can be tolerated. (It's worse for fake e-books, meaning PDF files, that leave huge empty margins along the top and bottom edges of the screen on a 10:16 device.)

However, as discussed at length in other threads, the screen of the Nexus 7.2 is superior over the screen of iPad mini Retina, due to the latter's limited colour gamut. Only iPad Air has a screen on a par with Nexus 7.2. Which is exactly why I purchased Nexus 7.2 instead of iPad mini Retina, although I'd been impatiently waiting for an iPad mini introduction for 2 years; it was a letdown both times.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by jswinden

The Nexus 7.2 is very good for an eBook reader device with the high pixel density. But I have to say that the iPad Mini Retina is a bit better due to the slightly larger screen that is in a 4:3 ratio which is better for reading in landscape. The Nexus 7.2 with KitKat feels a bit short when held in landscape and reading due to its 16:10 ratio screen. But both are terrific for reading.

I can't read in landscape mode I tried it. It makes my text dance. After reading on the N7 it's really hard to read on anything else with lower PPI. I notice the font difference right away. I had this problem with the PW I couldn't read on my other Kindles after I moved up. I guess my eyes are just that sensitive.

I don't use my N7 for movies or music. I use my KFHD2 for movies and music or my little SGP4.2 for Music.