When Google launched its first Nexus tablet in 2012 with Asus as the OEM, the tablet created a lot of buzz worldwide and offered consumers the purest form of the Android OS on a 7-inch tablet with decent hardware at a competitive price.
However, one year is a long time and when it comes to technology; devices tend to get more powerful with each passing year, while prices are expected to stay the same or even drop.
We now review the
Google Nexus 7 (2013), Google and Asus' second outing with a joint flagship device, the current tablet platform lead.
Considered by many to be the challenger to the Apple iPad in the tablet segment, the Nexus 7 (2013) finally
reached Indian shores recently, and is an attempt to strike a golden balance between premium specifications and price.
The Google's latest Nexus 7 (2013) tablet is also a definite upgrade compared to its predecessor in terms of hardware and design, while the software upgrade benefit, as previously mentioned, remains the same.
In our review, we see if that is all the Asus-manufactured Nexus 7 (2013) has to offer users, especially against some very stiff competition from Samsung, Amazon Kindle, Lenovo and LG in the Indian tablet segment. We try to find out in our review.
Design/ Build
We would be lying if we said that we did not find the Nexus 7 (2013) tablet attractive, but we would be deviating equally from the truth if we said that its design was unique.
The new Nexus 7 tablet is both lighter and thinner than its predecessor and sports a narrower front bezel around the display. The latest model comes with dimensions 200x114x8.65mm compared to 198.5x120x10.4mm of the Nexus 7 (2012) tablet, while in terms of weight the new Nexus 7 is light at 299 grams (Nexus 7 2012 was 340 grams).
The front panel is dominated by the 7.02-inch display, which is negligibly bigger than a 7-inch display found on the original Nexus tablet. The front panel of the new Nexus 7 tablet features a black strip of glass around the display, that blends with a slight seam to the back panel. In the original Nexus 7, the front panel included a plastic grey rim along the sides of the display, which did give it a low-cost tablet looks. The front of the Nexus 7 also includes a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera on top of the display.
The new Nexus 7's rear panel features a soft-touch coating which appears to be made of polycarbonate material, though is a bit susceptible to smudges. The rear panel of Nexus 7 (2013) is one of the major changes in design aspects, compared to the dotted back panel in the original Nexus tablet. To be noted, is that the rear panel of the new Nexus 7 now offers less grip when compared to the Nexus 7's (2012) dotted back. Another new and very important addition to the Nexus 7 (2013) tablet is the 5-megapixel rear camera. The new Nexus 7 now becomes the first Nexus tablet (7-inch and 10.1-inch) to feature a rear camera.
Talking about the branding, much like the original tablet, the new Nexus 7 also does not include any branding on the front panel, while the back embeds the usual glossy Nexus branding and also the Asus mark in matte at the bottom of the back panel.
The design is minimalistic with the left side (in portrait mode) being bare; and the right side that houses a large volume rocker buttons and the small power button. Also on the right side is the SIM tray for Nexus 7's 3G model. However, we wished that there was an illustration on the SIM slot that indicated the correct way of inserting the SIM into the tablet - as we wasted quite a bit of time trying to insert the SIM the right way into the Nexus 7 tablet.
The Nexus 7 (2013) comes with the usual number of connectivity ports, the Micro-USB port is on the bottom panel, while the 3.5mm audio jack is at the top panel. The original Nexus 7 included the audio jack at the bottom panel, which was very unusual for a tablet.
The Nexus 7 comes with dual-stereo speakers placed on both top and bottom panels of the device, powered by Fraunhofer mobile audio technology.
There's no doubt that both Google and Asus have addressed the design shortcomings of the original Nexus 7 and have tried to improve the new Nexus tablet variant's design in every way imaginable. The original Nexus 7 was considered by many an all plastic affair with the rear dotted design giving it a bad look, though was very helpful in gripping the device. The new Nexus 7 tablet is smart enough and is not very heavy to lug around.
Display
The Nexus 7 (2013) comes with a 7.02-inch IPS (full-HD) display with a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels, which translates to a pixel density of 323ppi (pixels per inch). The Nexus 7's display also features scratch-resistant Corning glass protection. However, the Nexus 7 tablet's display is a fingerprint magnet, and we had to regularly clean the display to keep it clear.
The most striking upgrade in the latest Nexus tablet is its 7.02-inch display, which we can safely say is the best found on an Android tablet in the price segment.
The resolution and pixel density of the Nexus 7 (2013) model is more than some of its competitors in the 7-inch tablet segment like the Amazon Kindle Fire HD (1280x800 pixels); Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (1024x600 pixels); Asus Fonepad 7 (1280x800 pixels) and the Apple iPad mini (1024x768 pixels). However, the recently launched Apple iPad mini with Retina display offers 2048x1536 pixels resolution which is far more than the Nexus 7 (2013).
Notably, the new Nexus 7's display is brighter, crisper and offers higher contrast compared to original Nexus 7 tablet. In daily use, the Nexus 7 (2013) display is a delight to use, no matter what the tablet is being used for. The images and texts look crisp and sharp, and the 7.02-inch display is a treat for e-book readers.
Aside from screen resolution, the Nexus 7's display is decent by its colour reproduction, which is accurate. Thankfully, the Nexus 7's display offers vivid colours and is not oversaturated, as usually seen on an AMOLED panel.
We expect tablets to often be viewed by multiple people at once (when watching a video clip, for example) and in this department, the Nexus 7 delivered great viewing angles. We should mention though, that the display was a little reflective and the screen also looked washed out at certain viewing angles. While the sunlight legibility was decent, we wish that the screen brightness levels could be better. The touch sensitivity of the Nexus 7 tablet is great and we did not encounter any issues while using the tablet.
Camera
One of the biggest criticisms that the original Nexus 7 tablet faced was the absence of a rear camera. However, Google and Asus have worked in almost all departments of the Nexus 7 (2013) tablet and have given the device a complete face-lift that includes the camera as well.
