Google Announces the Nexus 7"

[Logseman]

I started a bulk purchase for the device... However, the small storage, the fact that Spain has been left out from the device's launch, and the focus on Google Play content (which is tremendously scarce and overpriced here) have made me pass, or at least wait to consider other options.

[Logseman]

Originally Posted by David Marseilles

Why do tech writers have to be so dense? Can someone show me in the laws of whatever where it says that an accessory to a device can't be bigger than it is? Why can't you make a 93% keyboard, add in speakers to the empty bezel space, and just be happy? This would make a fantastic netbook replacement in a world where people weren't so limited in their imagination and so eager to make excuses for each other's limited imaginations. We could fire every tech writer out there, even the good ones, replace them with average kindergartners, and still have a net improvement in tech writing.

Asus knows that idea. The first mass market netbooks, the 701G, were exactly how you were describing... And the computer is hard to use because the keys are so terribly cramped.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by dredwerker

Streaming on a train is just not doable in the main. I just dont get streaming unless you are at home. Even then, some streaming has its moments, as when you are watching a spinning circle in the middle of a tv programme at the good bit

Dropbox is not streaming and works very well on trains (at least in Sweden). Actually streaming of podcasts also works on train.

Remember that some countries have much better mobile net infrastructure than other countries.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by tompe

Remember that some countries have much better mobile net infrastructure than other countries.

On Friday last week I was sitting outside with my laptop, sharing my desktop with someone who was on a train in Australia. It all worked beautifully, rather to my surprise.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by tompe

Dropbox is not streaming and works very well on trains (at least in Sweden). Actually streaming of podcasts also works on train.

Remember that some countries have much better mobile net infrastructure than other countries.

Not all trains offer WiFi service in the US; just select ones.

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by dredwerker

Dropbox is great for documents and a few books but no pro/enthusiastic amateur photographer or video editor is going to be using it for storage.

Not if they're smart, anyways, as the MegaUpload situation shows...

[tompe]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Not all trains offer WiFi service in the US; just select ones.

WiFi if you buy it always works all the time. I was referring to using your phones 3G on trains. That works most of the time.

[MV64]

Originally Posted by Ankh

No, it is just fine. Paying royalties for any file system is an abomination in this day and age. There are free alternatives, and Google most certainly knows about them.

.

It's a monopoly of sorts. I really don't think companies should be allowed to own the methods of building something (license for FAT) AND products like Tablets that use those methods. It's sort of like the railroad companies also owning fuel and steel plants back in the 19th Century. Unfair advantage.

[Fluribus]

Originally Posted by tacitus

2) You don't need an SD card to root an Android device, you just need to unlock the bootloader -- which has already been done in the case of the Nexus 7. Either way, given that the N7 is an open system (unlike the Nook and Fire) and already has the latest and greatest version of Android available, then nobody but the most fanatical hackers are going to want to root this device. What's the audience for a Nexus 7 running Ubuntu?

It isn't necessary, but it does make the procedure less worrisome for the uninitiated.

3) I agree that Google/Asus will profit from those who decide to go with the more expensive 16GB model. But given that they are selling what is the essentially a state-of-the-art 7-inch tablet at half-the-price last year's state of the art tablets were selling at, I'm willing to cut them a little slack here. As Apple has already shown with the iPhone and iPad, if the people like the device enough, they are willing to fork out a lot of money for a little extra memory. Yeah, it sucks, but Google is hardly the worst offender here.

Google is not the worst offender. But no offender gets my money. I don't use streaming and the prospect of constantly shuffling stuff between my PC and a tablet is insufferable when popping in a tiny card is so much simpler.

I think Google has a lot of tablet manufacturers and retailers scratching their heads at the moment. I was looking at buying a cheap refurbished Acer A100 7-incher recently, but even the cheapest price I found of $169 seems extremely steep in the wake of the Nexus 7 announcement.

I'll probably wait until the end of August to see what the other tablet makers decide to do -- Acer, Asus, and Amazon -- but I will be very surprised if there's anything as good as the N7 for $200 that also comes with an SD-card slot and HDMI.

I don't care about the HDMI. The only reason my ancient and doddering Dell Axim PDA is still of any use is because it has an SD slot.

[RHWright]

Originally Posted by David Marseilles

Why do tech writers have to be so dense? Can someone show me in the laws of whatever where it says that an accessory to a device can't be bigger than it is? Why can't you make a 93% keyboard, add in speakers to the empty bezel space, and just be happy? This would make a fantastic netbook replacement in a world where people weren't so limited in their imagination and so eager to make excuses for each other's limited imaginations. We could fire every tech writer out there, even the good ones, replace them with average kindergartners, and still have a net improvement in tech writing.

The keyboard for my own old Palm Pilot was HUGE compared to the device, but still a great idea. And it folded down pretty compactly. So I agree with the concept here.

Of course, the build/quality of the folding keyboard was sh!t (broke after a few weeks due to not closing it in the "proper," easily confused sequence), but that's another kettle...

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by tompe

WiFi if you buy it always works all the time. I was referring to using your phones 3G on trains. That works most of the time.

That would work if you had a smartphone; but many people (including me), don't have one. Also, the US is vast in size and, depending on your carrier, there are areas without cell coverage.

[WillysJeepMan]

Originally Posted by taming

I agree with you, David. There is a growing trend to force people into using the cloud for just about everything. Expensive new devices are being built without ports, drives, and connections we are used to, thus narrowing our choices as they attempt (and succeed) in getting us locked into one ecosystem or another.

I used the "cloud" decades before it became the "new thing" with iCloud, dropbox, etc. It was called "mainframe computing" and the only access to the data was via "dumb terminals".

I remember those days clearly (as a software developer) and I remember the restrictions and controls that went along.

The advent of personal computers brought total freedom to individuals and with it, tremendous breakthroughs in how computers were used.

But here we are, a generation or two removed, the "digital natives" of this current generation who never knew a time when personal computers didn't exist, are willing (and sometimes, eager) to forego that digital freedom.

Ok, enough reminiscing.... now get off my lawn!

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

That would work if you had a smartphone; but many people (including me), don't have one. Also, the US is vast in size and, depending on your carrier, there are areas without cell coverage.

I don't have a smartphone either. So, if there's no access to wi-fi (in my car, for instance), I can't access anything in the cloud. That's why an SD card is so handy for me. I can take lots of music or whatever. I really don't need it at home since I usually stream music using the TuneIn Radio app or play it from the computer, but it's nice to have the additional flexibility when in areas without wi-fi.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

I don't have a smartphone either. So, if there's no access to wi-fi (in my car, for instance), I can't access anything in the cloud. That's why an SD card is so handy for me. I can take lots of music or whatever. I really don't need it at home since I usually stream music using the TuneIn Radio app or play it from the computer, but it's nice to have the additional flexibility when in areas without wi-fi.

For sure

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

I used the "cloud" decades before it became the "new thing" with iCloud, dropbox, etc.

The cloud has been with me for decades here in Seattle. Constant rain has ruined many a picnic.