Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds • Hacker News Board

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#11

Post by mjfern » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 6:35 AM UTC

> 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).

Tablet and smartphone manufacturers are doing this because they are trying to differentiate their devices. With the Android OS (along with Android apps) and the hardware converging to a dominant design (ARM-based processors, similar form factor), tablets will become commodities (Armdroid). Competitors will be forced to compete on price. Their margins will collapse.

This is what happened in the PC market. With the Wintel standard, PC manufacturers had little opportunity to differentiate their products. The OS and CPU are identical, as are the internal components and peripherals. What's left? The color of the case? Fingerprint readers? Ultimately, PC manufacturers were all forced to compete on price. As a result, while Intel and Microsoft earned margins in the double digits, PC manufacturers' margins were squeezed to the low single digits.

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#12

Post by rwmj » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 6:39 AM UTC

roopeshv wrote: post #10

rwmj wrote: post #8

Here's my very quick, nitpicking Nexus 7 review (had mine delivered last Wednesday): - It's a tiny tiny bit too heavy to hold comfortably. It feels like just a few grams would make the difference. - The battery life is fantastic. I've used it for hours and hours and it's still on 80-90%. - Android 4.1 is fast and efficient. I don't notice any difference in speed or usability from an iPad 2. - The screen has an incred…

i am not sure why everyone is feeling that it is hard to open the box. there were 2 tapes on the box, which I cut with my room keys and everything was fine, it wasn't hard. Is it just me that feels everyone is just too idiotic when it comes to opening boxes?

There was also a sleeve which I had to attack with scissors to get it off. As I said, it doesn't matter because you only open the box the one time. But there is a noticable difference between this and Apple hardware which really concentrates on the "[getting it] out of the box experience".

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#13

Post by roopeshv » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 6:44 AM UTC

rwmj wrote: post #12

roopeshv wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i am not sure why everyone is feeling that it is hard to open the box. there were 2 tapes on the box, which I cut with my room keys and everything was fine, it wasn't hard. Is it just me that feels everyone is just too idiotic when it comes to opening boxes?

There was also a sleeve which I had to attack with scissors to get it off. As I said, it doesn't matter because you only open the box the one time. But there is a noticable difference between this and Apple hardware which really concentrates on the "[getting it] out of the box experience".

what? i pushed it from one side and the box slid from the other side. I have no idea why anyone would use a scissors to take off sleeve.

And no matter how you concentrate on getting out of box experience, people should really use common sense when it comes to opening boxes.

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#14

Post by cmelbye » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 6:44 AM UTC

roopeshv wrote: post #10

rwmj wrote: post #8

Here's my very quick, nitpicking Nexus 7 review (had mine delivered last Wednesday): - It's a tiny tiny bit too heavy to hold comfortably. It feels like just a few grams would make the difference. - The battery life is fantastic. I've used it for hours and hours and it's still on 80-90%. - Android 4.1 is fast and efficient. I don't notice any difference in speed or usability from an iPad 2. - The screen has an incred…

i am not sure why everyone is feeling that it is hard to open the box. there were 2 tapes on the box, which I cut with my room keys and everything was fine, it wasn't hard. Is it just me that feels everyone is just too idiotic when it comes to opening boxes?

I was surprised about this too. I was expecting a fight after seeing countless unboxing videos featuring people that simply couldn't open it without shredding it with scissors. I cut the two pieces of tape with a knife, and then held the top part of the box and the bottom just slid out.

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#15

Post by berkut » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 6:47 AM UTC

roopeshv wrote: post #10

rwmj wrote: post #8

Here's my very quick, nitpicking Nexus 7 review (had mine delivered last Wednesday): - It's a tiny tiny bit too heavy to hold comfortably. It feels like just a few grams would make the difference. - The battery life is fantastic. I've used it for hours and hours and it's still on 80-90%. - Android 4.1 is fast and efficient. I don't notice any difference in speed or usability from an iPad 2. - The screen has an incred…

i am not sure why everyone is feeling that it is hard to open the box. there were 2 tapes on the box, which I cut with my room keys and everything was fine, it wasn't hard. Is it just me that feels everyone is just too idiotic when it comes to opening boxes?

I had to rip the sleeve cover to get it off as it wouldn't slide without ripping...

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#16

Post by scorpioxy » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 6:47 AM UTC

His comment about 10-inch tablets being too big got my attention.

I am in the market for a tablet that I am going to replace my dead Sony e-reader(6 inch I think). But i think the 7-inch ones are just too small for reading. Has anyone tried to compare both sizes?

I am mainly interested in using it for reading tech books and the occasional email. Currently leaning towards a transformer.

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#17

Post by charliesome » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 6:54 AM UTC

mjfern wrote: post #11

> 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). Tablet and smartphone manufacturers are doing this because they are trying to differentiate…

Why don't manufacturers compete on quality instead?

I can walk into a store and see the Apple computers on one side and the Windows computers on the other. All the Apple computers look and feel beautiful, but the Windows computers are plastered with stickers and 'Beats by Dr Dre' branding. They're made out of what looks like the cheapest plastic ever. I can understand why Apple is absolutely killing it at the moment - it's because everything else is shit.

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#18

Post by Andrenid » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 6:58 AM UTC

roopeshv wrote: post #10

rwmj wrote: post #8

Here's my very quick, nitpicking Nexus 7 review (had mine delivered last Wednesday): - It's a tiny tiny bit too heavy to hold comfortably. It feels like just a few grams would make the difference. - The battery life is fantastic. I've used it for hours and hours and it's still on 80-90%. - Android 4.1 is fast and efficient. I don't notice any difference in speed or usability from an iPad 2. - The screen has an incred…

i am not sure why everyone is feeling that it is hard to open the box. there were 2 tapes on the box, which I cut with my room keys and everything was fine, it wasn't hard. Is it just me that feels everyone is just too idiotic when it comes to opening boxes?

Myself and my wife had absolutely no problem sliding it out of it's sleeve and then slicing the 2 tabs with a knife and lifting the top off.

Only thing i can think of, is maybe there was a defective batch of boxes that were slightly too tight? The complaints I had been reading for days definitely confused me once I got it and opened it with ease.

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#19

Post by Andrenid » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 7:01 AM UTC

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #9

I'm a long time Linux and Android fan, but had no interest in a tablet. I recently had not one, but two Android disliking friends buy a Nexus 7 and one even sold his iPad shortly thereafter. Needless to say, I wound up pulling the trigger. 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…

I'm another linux fan that just did NOT see the appeal to an "oversized phone", and also got burned by how crappy earlier versions of Android were.

I've ignored all the tablets that came out, iPads, Android tablets, all of them... then when I saw this one, I figured "at that price, i'll give it a shot"... I'm SO glad I did. Absolutely loving my Nexus 7, and it has 100% converted me to being a tablet fan.

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#20

Post by mahmud » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 7:03 AM UTC

scorpioxy wrote: post #16

His comment about 10-inch tablets being too big got my attention. I am in the market for a tablet that I am going to replace my dead Sony e-reader(6 inch I think). But i think the 7-inch ones are just too small for reading. Has anyone tried to compare both sizes? I am mainly interested in using it for reading tech books and the occasional email. Currently leaning towards a transformer.

I had a Kindle and a 7" Galaxy Tablet. Sold the kindle within the first week and got myself the larger Kindle DX.

If you're a heavy reader, don't compromise: just get a DX or something that size.

I don't even try to read more than a page on my Galaxy Tablet.