Nexus 7 vs the Nexus 10 - Is the 7 too small?

[TerryMasters]

Forgive me if this is in the wrong place, I know the Nexus 10 is a "rumored" device but this problem is what's stopping me from buying a 7, as I can't decide whether to preorder it, wait for a 10, or just go with an Infinity.

I've been in the market for a new Android tablet for a while now. I was originally going to get the Infinity, but 3 things stopped me - 1. It's not a Nexus device, 2. It, like the 10 seems to be MIA and 3. I do not want a keyboard dock. Holy Jesus, I can't believe how hard it is to find a regular desktop multimedia dock for the Transformer tablets. The Galaxy Tab was great for this, as the Xoom's dock left scratches on the bottom due to the lack of pogo pins, but the new Samsung and Motorola tabs just lacks the horsepower I'm looking for.

Now the problem I have with the Nexus 7 is that according to it's specs, it's about the size of a DVD case. Which may have been great, if there weren't a 2" gap of a bezel. That makes me think the screen is more of a 6" if the actual device dimensions are 7.8" (it looks like there's an inch of bezel on the top AND bottom, with too little bezel on the sides).

All in all I'd use it mostly to stream music to my stereo, which again makes me think the 7" tablet is too small especially if guests are going to be using it. I've never had a Kindle before, so I can't say whether or not I find the form factor acceptable. But if I had to guess, I'd say it's too small for me personally.

What do you guys think I should do? Is anyone else here not buying a 7 in anticipation of a 10 announcement?

 

[luke31]

Forgive me if this is in the wrong place, I know the Nexus 10 is a "rumored" device but this problem is what's stopping me from buying a 7, as I can't decide whether to preorder it, wait for a 10, or just go with an Infinity.

I've been in the market for a new Android tablet for a while now. I was originally going to get the Infinity, but 3 things stopped me - 1. It's not a Nexus device, 2. It, like the 10 seems to be MIA and 3. I do not want a keyboard dock. Holy Jesus, I can't believe how hard it is to find a regular desktop multimedia dock for the Transformer tablets. The Galaxy Tab was great for this, as the Xoom's dock left scratches on the bottom due to the lack of pogo pins, but the new Samsung and Motorola tabs just lacks the horsepower I'm looking for.

Now the problem I have with the Nexus 7 is that according to it's specs, it's about the size of a DVD case. Which may have been great, if there weren't a 2" gap of a bezel. That makes me think the screen is more of a 6" if the actual device dimensions are 7.8" (it looks like there's an inch of bezel on the top AND bottom, with too little bezel on the sides).

All in all I'd use it mostly to stream music to my stereo, which again makes me think the 7" tablet is too small especially if guests are going to be using it. I've never had a Kindle before, so I can't say whether or not I find the form factor acceptable. But if I had to guess, I'd say it's too small for me personally.

What do you guys think I should do? Is anyone else here not buying a 7 in anticipation of a 10 announcement?

If it's too small for you, then it probably is. I had the iPad 3, and sold it to get this. Thought long and hard about the size difference, and the positives outweighed the negatives for me. Holding the iPad to read a book was very annoying, as it got very heavy very quickly. This thing is going to be crazy light, and perfect for one handed reading. Also, I found that 10in was actually pretty awkward for gaming, due to the screen being too large. Especially for 1st person shooters. After weighing these things, I thought 7 inches would be perfect for me. The WORST thing you can do is persuade yourself into thinking you want this device even though you truly don't. You'd be worse off because of it.

 

[Edwill86]

I sold my galaxy tab 10.1 for the nexus 7 mainly because even though the 10.1 was great for watching videos it was just too cumbersome to take any where. I personally think ill get more use out of the smaller nexus 7 just because ill be able to use it on the go.

 

[JoeUserTX]

Nexus 7 vs the Nexus 10 - Is the 7 too small?

Some women might think the 7 is too small, but others might be scared to death of the 10.

As a guy, the 7 would be more convenient, but I'd like to have a 10 for those special events.

 

[pdhahn]

Personally I think there is a place for both a 7 and a 10. The 10 is great for video content and prolonged web browsing, while the 7 is great for ebooks, audio, light web use, and better suited to travel.

 

[tntdroid]

I got the Xoom at launch and use it a lot around the house. I took it out a few times and found it large to carry everywhere. The 7 should be much lighter and easy to carry around

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

 

[SpenceJonas]

Best bet is just to go hold a 10.1 tablet then go hold a kindle fire or Samsung 7. Personally I think the 10 inch tablets are too awkward to hold for playing games, reading, and browsing. It really just comes down to whats more comfortable to you.

 

[John-Smith]

What I would do if I were you is, get the Nexus 7. Keep the box and all the original content nice and in mint condition. Play around with it. If you don't like it for some reason, return it. If you do like it, keep it and then when/if the Nexus 10 comes out. Sell the N7 for $50 less and put the money towards the N10.

I would do this soon though, who knows how long they will be giving out the free $25 play credit.

 

[dparrothead1]

I have used a Nook Color as my only tablet for the past 1 1/2 years. I bought it for that purpose and it has served me well. It's just a tired platform and not very fast even though I am running a GB MIUI on it.

Folks, IMHO, the 7" is perfect for a tablet for portability. It is easy for book reading, game playing and video watching. I have tried 10" and, quite frankly, do not like them. They are fine if you are sitting on a couch or recliner. But out in public, a two handed device just seems awkward.

Believe me, if you have never used a 7", you are going to be pleasantly surprised.

 

[tom49058]

I struggled with the exact same issues. What it came down to for me is l wanted a Nexus device and some bloggers I really trust were high on the 7" form factor. So I decided for $200 I'd get the Nexus7, and if I hated it I'd sell it and buy a bigger tablet later. This way I get hands on experience with pure Google and a 7" form factoer.

 

[triplecore#AC]

Personally, coming from the iPad2 I found that it was to big so +1 for the smaller 7.

 

[pokingmon]

I like that I can hold (my paper cut out representation of) the Nexus 7 with one hand. It may not seem like that big of a deal, but what if I'm trying to make a call with the other hand? Change the channel? Put my arm around my lady on the couch? Pet my cat? Etc.? (insert wanking joke here)

I see nearly EVERY ipad owner holding theirs like a cafeteria tray. I just don't like that. I think at least one hand should ALWAYS be free, or at least capable of being free, to interact with the tablet itself and perform other tasks. (insert wanking joke again)

Another thing about large screens is that it entices me to do more with the device than it's really capable of or meant to do. I'll want to play a mouse-and-keyboard FPS game, or watch a movie with surround sound, etc. Tablets just don't jive with that. I'm sorry. I know a lot of people love some tablet gaming and even FPS games, but unless I am DYING to play a game and I'm in a pinch, I generally stay away from tablet games that belong on a console/PC and have gimped touch screen controls.

So a 10" tablet just seems kind of stuck in between my needs, desires, and capabilities. I'm replacing my netbook with the Nexus 7, because I realized that ALL I DO on the thing is read web forums, look through my Google Reader stuff, watch funny internet videos, read ebooks, and maybe watch some TV shows or movies. This will be way easier to manage, hold, and carry around.

 

[whip it good]

I have used a Nook Color as my only tablet for the past 1 1/2 years. I bought it for that purpose and it has served me well. It's just a tired platform and not very fast even though I am running a GB MIUI on it.

Folks, IMHO, the 7" is perfect for a tablet for portability. It is easy for book reading, game playing and video watching. I have tried 10" and, quite frankly, do not like them. They are fine if you are sitting on a couch or recliner. But out in public, a two handed device just seems awkward.

Believe me, if you have never used a 7", you are going to be pleasantly surprised.

That's my hope. I have a 10" netbook that's a little too bulky and an iPod touch that's too small. Like Goldilocks, I'm looking for something that's just right. Enough screen real estate to read email and websites comfortably and watch the occasional streaming TV show, but small enough to be convenient for travel by airplane or motorbike.

 

[TerryMasters]

Just typed out an enormously long thank you to everyone who posted in the thread, hit submit to find out the "token expired" and lost everything. Shoutouts to autosaving text fields.

Instead of writing all that again, I'll just say I realized a room in my house will only fit a 7" tablet, and as such preordered the Nexus 7. That way if I don't like it for everyday use, I can always dock it in there. You guys seem very high on the form factor though, for the same reasons I hate the iPad (heavy/bulky) and that also helped me make this decision. Thanks everyone

 

[ranbla]

I seem to be in the minority here. I think a 7 inch tablet might be fine for reading eBooks, but for web surfing, it's too small for me. I currently have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and love it. I read my Kindle and Nook books on it every night and don't have any problems with it being too big or too heavy. And of course, for watching videos, the larger is better IMO. If only Samsung would stay at least somewhat current with the OS updates then I wouldn't really even be considering another tablet. That's really the only thing drawing me to look at the Nexus tablets is that Google will handle the updates and they should be much more frequent than Samsung or any other non-Google Android device.

 

[Unicorn Rancher]

If it's too small for you, then it probably is.

QFT

For me, a 10" screen is too small for a mobile computer but too large to carry around constantly, while the Nexus 7 is a very convenient size for a constant companion. When I need more screen real estate, for spreadsheets or whatever, I have a 16" widescreen laptop computer from work.

Your needs and preferences may be different than mine.

 

[F34R]

Coulda definitely went with the larger tablet, with some features that the 7 doesn't have. I chose to go with the N7 because it is more portable.

 

[MikeLip]

For streaming audio? How can it be too small? Unless you are referring to memory, but even then 16gig is a lot of music. Otherwise the size is perfect for handling. If you are handing it from guest to guest when the inevitable happens and it gets dropped you've lost a lot less. If you want it grippier (not really needful since it's already nicely grippy) get the Google case for it.

10" tabs I find less useful for something that you will carry a lot. The display is what they say - 7". It's more than large enough to ready most anything clearly, especcially with the HD display.

I have the HD Asus Infinity TF700 you are talking about. It gets little use since the Nexus 7 came along. I think it's jealous. It's a beautiful tab, but it's just too big.

 

[jstar8000]

I've been in the market for a new Android tablet for a while now. I was originally going to get the Infinity, but 3 things stopped me - 1. It's not a Nexus device, 2. It, like the 10 seems to be MIA and 3. I do not want a keyboard dock. Holy Jesus, I can't believe how hard it is to find a regular desktop multimedia dock for the Transformer tablets. The Galaxy Tab was great for this, as the Xoom's dock left scratches on the bottom due to the lack of pogo pins, but the new Samsung and Motorola tabs just lacks the horsepower I'm looking for.

Its about the closest you can get. Asus uses almost stock android on their tablets (a few convienient wifi, etc icons in status bar, different widgets, different wallpapers). Also, they have been good at keeping devices up to date. Hell, the TF300 Jelly bean update is already rolling out, with the TF700t probably following with the prime. even the original transformer is getting it. So if you want a 10" tablet now, get the Infinity
And for #2, its on amazon for $499

 

[jd914]

There is no such thing as a Nexus 10 or will there ever be unless Google announces one. Why would you base your purchase decision on a device that doesn't exist?

BTW the Nexus 7 is the prefect size for a 7 inch tablet. If thats too small for you then look elsewhere.