Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds
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Quick Nexus 7 comments..

So far: very positive.

Yes, the camera is front-facing only, and there's a good reason there's not even a camera app on the thing by default: it's pretty nasty. But does anybody really care? You'd look like a complete dork trying to take photos with a tablet anyway. It's probably fine enough for some video conferencing, but since that's not my thing let's just say "whatever".

Software: I prefer the plain android look, and dislike the various skins manufacturers have used (I really don't understand the "pee in the snow" model of skinning android to look and act horrible just so that the different manufacturers can make their mark on it - I'm pretty sure the majority of people tend to prefer plain android). So being a "Nexus" device I'm already fairly happy with it.

And yes, it's smoother, and "plain android" is picking up some of the best extensions (like app folder shortcuts). Yes, resizable widgets etc. And a lot of small improvement just in general.

The gmail app has "Mark unread" as a button (although the icon wasn't totally obvious to me), which I like. But the %^$ thing still cannot be set to send just plain-text emails. Why, google, why? Good technical mailing lists all know that html email is just spam or marketing people, and auto-delete html crap. Just give me the option to send text-only, ok? *

The size: I think the 10" tablets are too big. The 8.9" form factor is better. And I think the 7" one is better yet, although I wouldn't dismiss something in between those two (ie the rumored apple mini-tablet size of 7.85" doesn't sound bad either).

And it has enough pixels to make small text readable. I had to change the font-sizes to be smaller, but I can understand why the default would be the medium-sized text. I prefer my text small, so that I see more of it at a time.

That said, I've used it as a kindle replacement for a few evenings, and for pure reading, the kindle still beats it handily for that (although when I want a light, the Nexus 7 comes close). They are comparable in size, but e-Ink really is nicer for reading. And the kindle is lighter, which to me is a big deal while reading. I've got the Kindle Touch, but I think I'll switch to the even lighter Kindle 4 ("Kindle 5"?) if it gets a front-light.

But the Nexus 7 is a perfectly fine reader, and with color, magazines etc work. That's when you notice the smoothness, apparently. At least Tove says that the difference between the Nexus 7 and her Galaxy Tab 8.9 is quite noticeable. And quite frankly, I could never use the Motorola Xoom for reading - too big, too heavy, but the Nexus 7 I had no trouble with.

Verdict: it's solid. If you simply don't like tablets (or android), I doubt the Nexus 7 will really change your mind, but if you were borderline, the new price-point (for a quality device - there's been cheap tablets before, but they've really been pretty bad) and the incremental improvements might be enough to push people over the line.

It's really quite nice how well Android 4 and up work n multiple form factors. This just reconvinces me that there are a host of people that would adopt Android if they gave a more modern version a chance. I took the night off for some drinks and some TV shows and this has been nice to have over my Macbook Air for casual chatting.