Google Nexus 7

So as you may know I've taken to eReading in a big way. So I purchased the Sony PRS-600. It was a great reader, but I wanted a single device that could be used as an eReader and tablet, so I purchased the Kobo Vox (See an older blog entry on that device). That was great when I got it, but I always found the performance as an eReader very good, but occasionally sluggish. As a tablet, it fell short in the performance department. My latest purchase is the Google Nexus 7, purchased online as there were no local stores that had it in stock, and I tried. It arrived about 3-weeks ago and it is great.

The quad-core processor and 12-core are amazing. If used for reading and web-surfing and email processing the battery lasts about 3-days. I use the Nexus Calendar, People, Aldiko, Chrome, Hotmail and GMail. When I play games (Angry Birds) the power consumption increases so that I have to recharge daily if not more often. Normal business use allows me to recharge every second day at the most.

The unit is thinner, lighter and the screen is superior to the Kobo Vox. I can't compare it to other tablets as I haven't bothered to do a serious comparison, the processor convinced me to just buy the Nexus. The most noticeable difference between the Nexus and the Vox or my Android phone (Acer Liquid) is the speed that it connects to my home wifi network. By the time I power it up and open Chrome, it is connected. Where my other devices had a measurable delay. Jelly Bean is neat with the voice support, similar to Siri. I prefer the Nexus to the iPad as I prefer the format for eReading books. I don't often read magazines, but I do read Laptop Magazine and Wine Access on the Nexus.

I did sell my Kobo Vox ($100) and an HP 110 Netbook ($125) to subsidize the Nexus. So far so good.