What I wanted vs, what I got. Road warrior week 1 report.

[mrmw]

About me:
3.6# laptop (plus 0.7# power brick) toting road warrior whose been around the block a few times; Nook Simple Touch (about 14 oz with case); Sprint Photon 4G Android 2.3.4 (no ICS updates for this model) with removable SIM card for international use; Skype via wifi works well as do non-US SIM cards for voice and data.

What I wanted: 7" tablet with bluetooth HFP (hands free profile for headset) for Skype when overseas, VPN (to combat the great firewall when in China and reliably access gmail), to occasionally edit lengthy Word docs and simple formula bearing Excel files; ebook reader, mp3 player, browse, micro SD card, HDMI/video out, USB OTG cable for wired ethernet (for secure banking), wired/BT keyboard/mouse, USB storage (in the absence of micro SD card).

A 10" tablet doesn't work for me- too heavy and difficult to hold. The 7" form factor is perfect--which is why I got my wife a Nook tablet and rooted it so that now it runs Froyo 2.2. Froyo is limited when it comes to tablet apps, however, so I was hoping I could get what I wanted with the N7.

What I got: Black Friday Nexus 7 / 32 gb $229 delivered.
--What I expected:
------no micro SD card slot
------USB ethernet combo for wired ethernet would work well--and it does with Monoprice sourced adapter and OTG cable.
------ebook reader, Docs To Go, mp3 player, various browsers work well.
------A robust developer community for rooting access so as to enable USB OTG flash drives and Stickmount.
--What I didn't expect until it was too late:
------no Bluetooth headset support and what's worse --no wired headset support!?!(*&(*&&^##$
------ill suited for Skyping out to landlines from non-US hotel rooms at ease and comfort.
------No hdmi via MHL support--cannot use for projectors/presentations except perhaps across a desk with a couple of people.
--What is still unknown: if the Android VPN implementation is usable or if its buggy. There are reports of both.

So basically what I have here is a $229 illuminated ebook reader and mp3 player that will browse and check gmail. With a case it weighs about 18 oz.

It won't save me three pounds in my briefcase. It won't Skype out the way I prefer. It won't do a presentation. Nada. Never.

I already have a 4gb Sansa Clip+ with a 16gb micro SD card that weighs about an ounce; and a Nook 2nd generation Touch with a clip on light both of whose batteries last a month or more; and the Photon 4g phone which is an ebook reader (courtesy of Aldiko), mp3 player, browses well AND has an HDMI port (but is stuck on Android 2.3.4).

I'm seriously considering killing off the root, flashing back to stock and returning it to Office Depot.

 

[carracerz14]

Sounds like you should have done more research before you blindly purchased something.

Sent from my RAZR MAXXIMUS

 

[mrmw]

Sounds like you should have done more research before you blindly purchased something.

Sent from my RAZR MAXXIMUS

mea culpa

re no headset support. I don't feel so guilty. So sue me.

re no MHL support. ditto.

 

[Klister]

Nexus 7 has bluetooth yet does not support a bluetooth headset? Is this correct? So what type of bluetooth devices does it support? I'm disappointed to learn I can't use a headset.

 

[anon(1024093)]

Nexus 7 has bluetooth yet does not support a bluetooth headset? Is this correct? So what type of bluetooth devices does it support? I'm disappointed to learn I can't use a headset.

Based on what I've read around here alone, it seems to at least support a bt keyboard.

 

[Zapflashgone]

It's not a phone so it does not support some of the phone protocols like headsets.
Was this unexpected?

 

[krlseidl]

I use a Jabra Halo blue tooth headset on my Nexus 7 all the time. Mine is one of the early morning nest from last July but I can't believe the newer ones wouldn't work just as well.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[MJKearney]

mea culpa

re no headset support. I don't feel so guilty. So sue me.

re no MHL support. ditto.

Mea culpa? First, no Latin allowed in the forum. We speaka da English only here. Broken English is okay, too. Just no Latin, please. Non intelligo!

Second, the official Nexus 7 specs on the Google website are pretty generic, so I can understand you not knowing these things weren't supported. On the other hand, if they were so important to you, I'd think that the lack of specificity from the official specs would have led you to do a few minutes of research on a forum like this, or by calling Google, before making a purchase. But I'm not here to judge you or sue you, and what's done is done. You're not the first (nor am I) to purchase something and then be disappointed by it, whether or not it be extensively researched. Errare humanum est.

Third, a few things about headsets that may or may not be helpful to you. As you found out, the N7 audio jack definitely only supports audio out, not a mic input. It was a hardware choice made by the manufacturer. It has a 3-pole headphone only jack, not a 4-pole jack required to support a microphone.

However, Bluetooth headsets with a microphone do work, even those with a Hands Free Profile. From my experience, it depends on the app/headset combo as to how well or if the headset works. Here is my experience with some apps requiring a microphone, using a cheap, mono, Bluetooth headset which uses HFP (TaoTronics TT-BH01).

For Groove IP, which uses Google Voice for calls, Bluetooth works fine, though according to the person on the other end, my voice quality was a little choppy in one call. I don't know if that's the fault of the cheap headset, the application, Google Voice, or my connection. Regardless, it worked well enough.

I got the headset to work with Skype, also. However, I needed a workaround for it to work. Skype claims Bluetooth works with many headsets. A recent version claims "more headsets supported", but apparently not mine!

To make it work on Skype, I use the app called BTmono, which forces the app to play nice with app/headset combos that aren't compatible. I only tried it on a Skype test call where you can record a quick message that is then played back. My recording was successful and I could hear everything clearly. The tricky part is that for Skype you have to activate BTmono after you start the call connection.

I also was able to use the Bluetooth mic when making a recording with an app called TapeMachine. This app also claims that it supports Bluetooth, but as with Skype, it isn't natively supported with my particular headset. Once again, BTmono came to the rescue. Activating BTmono, before switching mic inputs within the recording app, allowed my Bluetooth mic to work perfectly. It also allowed me to hear the recording play back through the earpiece.

So, I use BTmono to enable the Bluetooth mic when I have compatibility issues. But as the name implies, BTmono is primarily for streaming audio to mono headsets that are intended for making phone calls (HFP), and which often aren't compatible with apps that play back or stream audio. So if you have your earpiece for phone calls, but also want to listen to music or audio from your favorite music or radio streaming app, you can listen to it in wonderful mono through one ear! Of course, it's probably better just to buy a stereo Bluetooth headset that works natively with player apps, if your intent is to listen to music. For the Nexus 7, stereo Bluetooth headsets (A2DP?) work well.

Lastly, if you do try BTmono, use the free version first to make sure it works with your Bluetooth device. If it does, then be a big spender ($1.00) and buy the paid version. It includes a widget that makes activating the app much easier and faster.

Opuseris! Pax Tecum.

 

[mrmw]

Mea culpa? First, no Latin allowed in the forum. We speaka da English only here. Broken English is okay, too. Just no Latin, please. Non intelligo!...


I got the headset to work with Skype, also. However, I needed a workaround for it to work. Skype claims Bluetooth works with many headsets. A recent version claims "more headsets supported", but apparently not mine!

To make it work on Skype, I use the app called BTmonoOpuseris! Pax Tecum.

I will try this and report back. And if it works, then (1) I'll probably keep the unit and (2) there's no reason why Android can't support it in the next release. Is anyone listening?

Insofar as the original post, it was my intent neither to knock the N7 nor rile the fanboys but rather to help others of similar user profiles to avoid my mis-steps.

 

[Mikesnexus]

To the OP.
Can understand your frustration fully as I purchased my N7 for work travel also. If I had done some more research I may have purchased something else. But honestly I am so happy with what this unit can do that I am researching ways to make it better fit my needs. (More storage,accessories ,etc.)
Hell it gives me something to do on those long nights at the hotels when you have been there so long you just don't feel like going out.
Good luck and hope you figure out what works for you.

Sent from my Nexus 7

 

[mrmw]

To the OP.
Can understand your frustration fully as I purchased my N7 for work travel also. If I had done some more research I may have purchased something else. But honestly I am so happy with what this unit can do that I am researching ways to make it better fit my needs. (More storage,accessories ,etc.)
Hell it gives me something to do on those long nights at the hotels when you have been there so long you just don't feel like going out.
Good luck and hope you figure out what works for you.

Sent from my Nexus 7

LOL. Well said. BTMono delivered audio through a Plantronics Voyager Pro and Voyager 520. No microphone function, however, as I believe what was heard got conflated with the built in N7 mike.

The poetic case just came. Altogether it's a slick unit (paean to fanpeople). I have eight more days to ponder. If I return it the case can be had...

 

[B. Diddy]

Hey, what about the Nexus 7 with HSPA+? Shouldn't that work with a wired headset since it should have phone protocols, or at least mobile data protocols?

 

[Ziptied]

Being able to use GSM for an internet connection doesn't make it a phone. And to the OP, yes, we are listening.

 

[Azwizzard]

So what BT headsets ARE working well? Mainly for Skype and such...

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[mrmw]

Being able to use GSM for an internet connection doesn't make it a phone. And to the OP, yes, we are listening.

I have some expertise in the field, in which it is said: "People only do in hardware what they can't do in software".

You have all my confidence.

In my OP, it was inferred--but not stated expressly--that a key reason I bought the Nexus 7 was for assured Android updates, unlike my Photon which was End of Lifed inside of 11 months during which I was assured that ICS was coming now within the Q4 2012 timeframe.

Should BT handsfree profile AND MHL support come too, I will be one happy camper.

 

[mrmw]

Dear Ziptied:

You said you were listening, so let me ask you first before I do another thing today.

The 2nd generation Nexus 7 just hit the street yesterday morning. Can you tell me if the Gen 2 model, in contrast to my 1st generation unit, fully supports a wireless headset (WITH microphone) and a wired headset (with microphone)?

Thanks in advance...