Gadgetory

so the same thing kind of always happens when a new phone is announced the media gets the device ahead of time maybe a couple days a couple weeks if we're lucky and we get to use it while we're preparing our review then the date and time of the press embargo arrives the embargo lifts everybody posts their review at once and it is a giant big frenzy of activity there's commenters going nuts and defenders and attackers and it's just a huge explosion for about a day and then everything disappeared ensure there's follow-up coverage and stuff as people find bugs people have other stuff to say about the devices they wear a man over the course of a day or so but really nobody ever goes back and revisits these devices after that initial blast of review to see how they feel after a couple weeks so let's do something about it let's take a look at another device a tablet this time whose day as the media darling has come and gone I'm Michael Fisher with pocketnow.com this is the Google Nexus 7 and this is episode 6 of after the buzz the Nexus 7 was Google's attempt to bring the pure Android experience at pioneered with the Nexus One Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus smartphones to the tablet space released in July 2012 it's a small 7-inch tablet built by a seuss powered by the quad-core Tegra 3 processor running a stock build of Android 4.1.1 jelly bean the Nexus 7 doesn't have much going on in the way of deluxe features the build quality is good but not premium there's no special amenities like a primary camera the highest storage option available is 16 gigs and while the display is high resolution its color reproduction isn't the best ordinarily that kind of a list of compromises would have sent a device in mid-2012 right to the bottom of my wish list and to be honest at first I was bored but the Nexus 7 has two things going for it and those two things grabbed headlines right out of the gate the first was its branding as a Nexus device the new tablet was guaranteed always to receive the latest version of Google's OS first without any of the hang-ups of a manufacturer scan or a carrier interference to get in the way some problems that were faced by the Galaxy Nexus LTE which we talked about on the last episode of after the buzz as a pure Nexus device the Nexus 7 had a real leg up in utility the second was pricing Google priced the Nexus 7 to sell at $1.99 for the 8 gig version and 249 for the 16 gig unit that put it head-to-head with Amazon's Kindle Fire except the Nexus 7 had better specs and none of Amazon's forked Android OS limitations plus it was backed up by the freshly reinvented Google Play Store and its bevy of books movies and music suddenly Google had a contender in the mid-size tablet space complete with its own content store frankly I still didn't care the device still seemed like too big a compromise to me in fact it wasn't until I got my hands on one that things started changing but then they changed quickly the first big stand out for me was hardware this isn't the thinnest device around or the lightest but it's perfectly sized for my exceedingly average hand plus its 340 grams keep it from feeling too cheap or chintzy but also make it much more portable than my 660 gram 2012 Edition Verizon iPad the Nexus 7 can fit in an upper pocket but that's a little absurd less absurd if you're into cargo pants like it's still 1997 is cargo pocket carrying of course carrying it in a bag makes more sense than any of these options and it's perfect for that that's true even if you don't want to invest in a case I hate cases and I never buy them as a result I have to gingerly treat my easily scratch iPads metal case with kid gloves but with the Nexus 7's sturdy rubberized finish I don't think twice about throwing it in a bag with my keys pens and pencils whatever sure after a season of use it's got a scuff here and there and it does tend to pick up sweaty fingerprints very very easily but it's held up remarkably well considering how often I just throw it around and it lasts quite a while being thrown around to battery life isn't as good as a larger tablet but it definitely lasted me the transatlantic flight to Aoife in Berlin without a problem and it's screen was bright enough to read on a beach for most of the summer but I wouldn't call it exceptional in sunlight like most LCD panels it's not just the hardware that won me over though jelly bean running on the Nexus 7 is fast its stable and it's very useful the usability bump is thanks in part to project butter which has made the experience much smoother than any previous version of Android that holds true even over time with the Nexus 7 staying responsive even after many app installs and a whole lot of uptime there are occasional hiccups with the build on my device though with usability bugs popping up after about a week between restarts these manifest as touchscreen responsiveness issues that actually make the device tough to use but they don't pop up often and a soft reset clears them up just fine jelly beans other enhancements like Google now were cool at first but quickly lost their luster the service is handy but less so on a tablet than a phone I typically only find myself given cards with information that would have been useful about a few days ago but jelly beans new voice dictation continues to come in handy quite often and the OS has slick responsiveness is a real breath of fresh air especially when you consider it didn't sacrifice customized ability to get it even the notification bar which I still think is misplaced way up at the top of the screen isn't as big a hassle as I thought it would be taken together all the raw utility and stability of the software coupled with the portability and sturdiness of the hardware have made the Nexus 7 one of the bigger surprises of my 2012 even after three months I really really liked it and as I've mentioned on the pocket now weekly podcasts more than once I now use it exclusively as my tablet of choice even more than the category leading iPad there have been more announcements in the tablet category lately Amazon has followed up on their Kindle Fire line and and I've had many from Apple is almost a sure thing if the leaks are to be believed but even in the face of all that I'd still have no hesitation recommending a Nexus 7 to a first-time tablet buyer it's a great size running a great OS in its pure form it's guaranteed to get timely updates and it's as cheap as all get-out best of all it appears to age well and here on after the buzz that's what we're all about guys this has been episode 6 of after the buzz we hope you liked it leave us a thumbs up here on YouTube if in fact you did leave us a comment on the post at pocketnow.com nt's there are five other episodes of after the buzz tag on Pocket now so go find them if you want to see our take on other older devices you can also hear us every week on the PocketNow weekly podcast and you can follow us on Twitter the official account is at pocket now - I account is at captain - phones that's captain the number two phones and you can find us of course on Facebook and Google+ just search pocket now in those venues stay tuned for future episodes after the buzz they are coming soon thank you for watching again and we will see you next time