Real Impressions from an Apple User - Returning the 7

[amroa]

What I find disturbing is people's reports that scrolling etc on the Nexus 7 is still not as smooth as iPad. How is this possible? JellyBean and Project Butter was supposed to be the last word in smoothness in the OS. Even ICS should have been as smooth.

At least for Chrome, it comes and goes. There are times when I slide up or down with my thumb, the pages seems stuck. And then there are times it's as smooth as my iPad. The key element here is that it is not consistent. I'm going to give Google time to improve this. I'm still liking the N7 and don't plan on returning it.

It seems to me this is a repeat of Windows/PC vs OSX/Mac. Apple has tight control over both hardware and software for all their products. Google does not. Yes, Asus made this for Google. But I don't think that's enough. You've got about 4-5 main phone manufacturers who can customize their own UI and then on top of that the network providers who put more crap on it.

 

[JHBThree]

By the way....why is it every time Apple fanboys want to diss Android tablet apps, they mention Twitter? Especially since TweetCaster is a Twitter app that's as nice as anything available for the iPad.

Because twitter is just one example of the awfulness that is Androids tablet app selection. (And the iOS twitter app is so much better)

Take your pick; if the apps are on both platforms, odds are the android version is inferior.



Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[snookiesnoo]

Personally 7 inches is too small for me. The Nexus has 45% of the screen space of the iPad. Quite a difference. Don't find the iPad too big too carry anywhere and I don't see a 7 inch being that much better. The real reason for the 7" size is lower cost. Some people want a smaller size but I don't think its that many.
People are acting like this is the first Android tablet and will spur development of apps. Android tablets have been around for awhile and they just aren't selling. That's why the Android companies talk about how many they shipped not sold while Apple gives sold to actual people numbers.
This is why Google was forced to take the really odd step of competing against their own partners.
Google isn't competing against Apple with the Nexus 7. Apple owns the tablet market. They are competing with their own partners as well as the Kindle Fire and Nook which use Android but not Google services so Google makes no money from them.
So not a bad device for $199 and $249 if they can get the quality issues ironed out. But let's not pretend it's a real iPad competitor. If Apple comes out with a 7 inch it's going to slay the Nexus and we all know it.

 

[snookiesnoo]

Plenty of phones are now better than the iPhone

The buying public disagrees.

 

[snookiesnoo]

Because twitter is just one example of the awfulness that is Androids tablet app selection. (And the iOS twitter app is so much better)

Take your pick; if the apps are on both platforms, odds are the android version is inferior.



Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

The same is true of Android phone apps compared to iOS. Anyone who owns both is well aware of this.

 

[crackberrytraitor]

Disclaimer: I am an Apple fanboy who has owned every iPhone and iPad since their release.

Ok, so now that I have that out of the way, we can get on to the juicy stuff. I have been growing tired of the iOS devices and have been looking for an alternative to freshen things up. When I heard about the nexus 7, I thought I would try it and if I really liked it, I would pick up the Galaxy Nexus for $350 which is a great price. My thought was I could sell my iPad 3 and buy both these Google devices with the money I receive.

Before I completely took the plunge, I found a Nexus 7 at Sams club on the release date and figured I could test it out for awhile before I made my final decision.

My first impression was WOW, I love this thing. The hardware and software out of the box seemed very smooth and intuitive unlike Android the last time I tried it (the original Verizon Droid). I immediately thought that the 7inch form factor was leaps and bounds better than the iPad. After using it for about a week, I am still convinced I am right and apple will be forced to come out with an iPad mini.

Now unfortunately, I have still decided to return the Nexus and stick with my iPhone and iPad. I just couldn't get over two key areas where Android/Nexus 7 aren't up to par:

1. Apps: the quality of apps isn't even comparable to their iOS counter parts. Going from twitter on the Nexus to twitter on the iPad is night and day. This applies to the majority of apps that I tested. Until developers focus on tablet apps for Android, this will be a major rift.

2. Web Browsing: the iPad still feels much smoother when browsing the web. I did not like the feel of chrome although this may just be personal preference.

With all that said, I will still be recommending the Nexus 7 to friends and family who are looking for a good, cheap tablet. I don't think the Nexus can compete with the iPad directly but it will certainly grab a chunk of the market who doesn't want to spend $500 when they can get 3/4 of the way to the same experience with a Nexus 7.

Just my $.02.

The stock twitter app is terrible, I'd recommend plume. The whole thing about android is that it can do just as much as Apple products and more, but you have to know how to do it. It basically is a blank slate that you can set up any way you want with apps and tweaks. After using the new iPad for 2 days a while back, I would say Dolphin browser blows it out of the water when it comes to speed.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[crackberrytraitor]

The buying public disagrees.

Apparently not as Android has 60 percent of the smartphone market, lol.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[JHBThree]

Apparently not as Android has 60 percent of the smartphone market, lol.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

Read what he said. Android is not a phone. The iPhone alone has what, 30% of the market? What single android phone has a market share remotely close to that?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[JHBThree]

The same is true of Android phone apps compared to iOS. Anyone who owns both is well aware of this.

Its less clear with phone apps. The biggest issue with Android tablet apps is they're usually blown-up versions of the phone app.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[djnshores]

Apple's iOS is not open source like Android OS. Consequently, Apple has tighter control over the quality of its software. I purchased a Nexus 7 over an iPad primarily because of price. I found incompatibilities in some of the games. Often the keyboard would lock up or the keys became unresponsive. In some cases there was display stuttering and freezing. Android has too many flavors that are not completely backward compatible.

Also, iOS was designed for tablets while Android OS was geared toward smart phone users. Android 4.1 is the best Android OS yet and feels more like a tablet OS. But it comes with some heavy baggage.

Then again, the Nexus is not in direct competition with the iPad. The $499 starting price is a deal breaker for many.

 

[crackberrytraitor]

Read what he said. Android is not a phone. The iPhone alone has what, 30% of the market? What single android phone has a market share remotely close to that?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Not valid. If there were only a few Android phones available, people who like android would buy those instead. Do you see people saying "well hey I've only got a few Android phones to choose from, time to ditch Android and buy an IPhone" The fact is, Android is more popular as a Smartphone platform than IOS. There were a lot of Android phones around back when Apple still had the biggest marketshare. Having a lot of models doesn't guarantee you the #1marketshare, if it did Blackberry would be going strong.

BTW, that 30 percent includes 4 different types of Iphone. The IPhone is not 1 phone. By your definition, there are only 4 Android phones, Samsung, HTC, LG and Motorola.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[JHBThree]

Not valid. If there were only a few Android phones available, people who like android would buy those instead. Do you see people saying "well hey I've only got a few Android phones to choose from, time to ditch Android and buy an IPhone" The fact is, Android is more popular as a Smartphone platform than IOS. There were a lot of Android phones around back when Apple still had the biggest marketshare. Having a lot of models doesn't guarantee you the #1marketshare, if it did Blackberry would be going strong.

BTW, that 30 percent includes 4 different types of Iphone. The IPhone is not 1 phone. By your definition, there are only 4 Android phones, Samsung, HTC, LG and Motorola.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

'Not valid'? Are you kidding me? You're comparing a platform with hundreds of handsets to one with three. You cannot say 'android' is a more popular platform when it has an order of magnitude more handsets. The fact that the iPhone has the marketshare it does given that there are only three models of iPhone (one of which is only sold on a single carrier) is far more impressive than android's numbers. It SHOULD have more since even the smaller manufacturers have twice as many models of android phones than there are iPhones. Oh, and the 4S has a share of around 20% of the market. That's impressive for ANY single handset.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[crackberrytraitor]

'Not valid'? Are you kidding me? You're comparing a platform with hundreds of handsets to one with three. You cannot say 'android' is a more popular platform when it has an order of magnitude more handsets. The fact that the iPhone has the marketshare it does given that there are only three models of iPhone (one of which is only sold on a single carrier) is far more impressive than android's numbers. It SHOULD have more since even the smaller manufacturers have twice as many models of android phones than there are iPhones. Oh, and the 4S has a share of around 20% of the market. That's impressive for ANY single handset.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

First of all, your 4s marketshare statistic is bogus. Feel free to show me the link to your data. And there are 5 IPhone models, not 3. AND there aren't hundreds of Android phones available, at least not that have ever been sold in carrier stores. Your gift for exaggeration and inaccuracy is notable. Secondly you didn't address what I said. Unless you can cite some data showing that that if there were only a few flagship Android models available, people would be more likely to pick an IPhone, your argument is groundless. And even when there were a multitude of android devices years ago, Android didn't beat Apple in marketshare. It was when Android outpaced Apple in features that that happened. By your logic, Blackberry SHOULD sell more phones than Apple because they have more models. The fact is, when somebody goes to get a new smartphone they pick between an Android phone or an IPhone and it's not the multitude of Android phones that makes that decision for them. In fact, in my AT&T store, and most that I've been in, the Apple section is bigger than the Android section, with bigger fancier displays as well. And don't start with the "people buy android because it's cheap" garbage. There are iPhone 3gs available for the same price. I'm sorry you're grumpy that Android has beaten IOS, but it's time to get over it and stop being in denial. It's going to be very difficult to take anything you say seriously again after a post like that.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[mtva24#WN]

I don't use chrome...I use the native ICS/jellybean browser...OP better learn how to flash a ROM. Welcome to android buddy

 

[JHBThree]

First of all, your 4s marketshare statistic is bogus. Feel free to show me the link to your data. And there are 5 IPhone models, not 3. AND there aren't hundreds of Android phones available, at least not that have ever been sold in carrier stores. Your gift for exaggeration and inaccuracy is notable. Secondly you didn't address what I said. Unless you can cite some data showing that that if there were only a few flagship Android models available, people would be more likely to pick an IPhone, your argument is groundless. And even when there were a multitude of android devices years ago, Android didn't beat Apple in marketshare. It was when Android outpaced Apple in features that that happened. By your logic, Blackberry SHOULD sell more phones than Apple because they have more models. The fact is, when somebody goes to get a new smartphone they pick between an Android phone or an IPhone and it's not the multitude of Android phones that makes that decision for them. In fact, in my AT&T store, and most that I've been in, the Apple section is bigger than the Android section, with bigger fancier displays as well. And don't start with the "people buy android because it's cheap" garbage. There are iPhone 3gs available for the same price. I'm sorry you're grumpy that Android has beaten IOS, but it's time to get over it and stop being in denial. It's going to be very difficult to take anything you say seriously again after a post like that.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

There are three iPhone models: 3gs, 4, and 4s.

The rest of your post isn't even worthy of discussion. Its a fanboy rant. Nothing more, nothing less.

Oh, and here's your stats. Please note that at least one of them has the iPhone 4s as making up more than 50% of iPhone sales.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...mpetition_in_uk_holiday_smartphone_sales.html

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/0...rrow-marketshare-gap-between-ios-and-android/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...-to-get-Apple-market-share-growing-again.html

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=30686

So what's more impressive: a company that has the market share apple does on the backs of three models, or a group of companies that sell dozens and dozens of models of android handsets?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[crackberrytraitor]

There are three iPhone models: 3gs, 4, and 4s.

The rest of your post isn't even worthy of discussion. Its a fanboy rant. Nothing more, nothing less.

Oh, and here's your stats. Please note that at least one of them has the iPhone 4s as making up more than 50% of iPhone sales.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...mpetition_in_uk_holiday_smartphone_sales.html

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/0...rrow-marketshare-gap-between-ios-and-android/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...-to-get-Apple-market-share-growing-again.html

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=30686

So what's more impressive: a company that has the market share apple does on the backs of three models, or a group of companies that sell dozens and dozens of models of android handsets?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Lol. "I can't come up with any valid counterpoints to what you have to say. Therefore your post isn't worthy of reply."

Funny how none of those links you posted backs up your claim or the IPhone 4 having 20% of the cellphone market. Read them all in detail. Way to dig yourself deeper.

And there's 5 iPhone models. The IPhone, IPhone 3g, IPhone 3gs IPhone 4 and IPhone 4s.

Just off the top of my head I'd say Samsung is more impressive as they are the #1 smartphone maker in the world, and make a great portion of IPhone components.

I'm sorry you're upset, but posting more inaccuracies, and straw man arguments isn't doing you any good.



Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[julesR]

So what's more impressive: a company that has the market share apple does on the backs of three models, or a group of companies that sell dozens and dozens of models of android handsets?

Doesnt make sense to compare handset market share to platform, or on one hand, a company, to a platform on the other..apples to oranges. The bottom line is there are more android powered device in the hands of end users than there are ios.

Would Apple have even the market share they do if ios were marketed the way android is? Not likely. And I wont even mention webos which would have, could have changed everything

 

[The Hustleman]

. I'm curious to see how (assuming the rumors are true) a smaller iPad is going to impact not only other 7" tablet sales, but 10" iPad sales as well.

Probably not much, I still don't see the purpose of 7" tablets. If I wanted a tablet I would get a real one

sent from my Samsung Galaxy S WII on T-Mobile! goodbye Sprint!

 

[Cubfan]

I couldn't care less about market share. I want a device with equal or better hardware running Android instead of iOS. I can easily find several phones that fit my requirements, but not even close on a tablet.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[giograves]

So what's more impressive: a company that has the market share apple does on the backs of three models, or a group of companies that sell dozens and dozens of models of android handsets?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Completely different ways to do business, not really a fair comparison. But clearly the Apple way creates brand identification so strong that even my 6 year old is calling my N7 an iPad. Smh

Look, due to open source, hardware companies like Samsung can actually have some fun too and make money in this emerging smartphone market using Android. Otherwise consumers would have much more limited options to spend their money.

And until such time that building an Android handset fails to make a profit, there will be a continuing flood of droid clones to hit shelfs.




-Sent from my Jelly Bean Nexus 7