Would you be willing to pay more for a higher end Nexus 7 (2013 model)?

[paul-c]

I would pay more for a better screen and a better speaker setup. But the again, I like the price point right now. I think the Nexus 7 really doesn't compromise all that much. Really good blend of features at a great price.

Sent from my Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini

 

[trainplane]

1. A high res screen (~300 ppi). We have 5" phones that have 1080p screens so it can be done on a 7" screen. Also, a better contrast screen like the iPad mini.
I can agree with that since that while it is a great screen, it could be better. That being said, it isn't bad at all.

2. A good rear camera. The iPad Mini has one and is often requested for the N7.
Why do you need a rear camera? I see no benefit of that, unless you're one of those people who like taking pictures...with a tablet...Get a real camera or use the one on your phone. Useless hardware on a tablet IMO.

3. A hdmi or micro hdmi port.
Ok, yeah why not. It is useful.
4. A SD card slot. This is actually more Google not wanting you to expand memory than cost savings although it does save them a few bucks. Google wants you to pay them for their cloud.

You don't pay for anything really.
5. Better speakers. Both the Nexus and iPad speakers are lame. I don't know how so many reviewers say they are good. Yes, you won't get very high quality speakers in a 7" tablet but I'm sure it can be better than what is there now.

Get a decent set of headphones or use your speaker system. Bluetooth it up.
6. Tegra 4 or Exynos 5 chip. This will likely come in 2013 models and they update the CPU/GPU every year anyway so it shouldn't add too much to the cost.
7. Better battery. Maybe even removable.

Better battery? Maybe. Removable? No, Google is moving away from SD cards and removable batterys. You just have to get used to it.

2. The nexus 7 is a one handed device so a camera on it isn't as silly as an iPad camera. The iPad Mini will soon be the most popular tablet ever and you'll see many people using its camera. Sorry if that offends you.
4. You know only the first 5 GB of Google Drive is free right? Google isn't a charity.
5. Many people have good headphones and speakers but don't carry them all the time. The tablet's speakers are often used. Do you have a Nexus 7?
7. I know Google probably won't do removable batteries. But another tablet maker might do a pure android 7" that does.

Of the things suggested here, only a higher res screen and rear camera will significantly add to the cost. A SD card slot, hdmi slot, even a better battery will only add a few dollars to the BOM. Also, Tegra 4 might have an LTE radio built in.

 

[NickFromHouston]

It's not in Google's interest to build a low-end Nexus device. They want to build devices with high-end SoC, competitive physical design, only the essential features for each product, put the latest Android OS on it to test for compatibility, and benchmark for performance. Asus, Samsung, Acer, HTC, Kobo, Huawei, or whoever else might want to dabble in the $99 barebones tablet market but for that price it's not going to be compelling hardware. Are any of us going to buy that? No, we're not.

Regarding a new, high-end Nexus 7 model for 2013, I think we're going to see an offering from Motorola. Remember them? The Xoom and the Xyboard were their 2011 tablets, and now we have rumors of an "X" tablet in the making from Moto. I wouldn't be surprised to see the following from them by July, given the current Nexus 7 tablet would be due for a new version first:

--- Nexus 7.5 ---
Tegra 3 1.7GHz
2GB RAM
32/64GB storage
1900x1200 pixel (16:10 ratio), 7.5" diagonal Super IPS display at roughly 300PPI
HDMI out
5KmAh battery

I would also not be surprised to see thinner bezels on the sides (if you are looking in portrait mode), but I would suspect the tablet would be a little closer to 14oz in terms of weight. And I suspect we're looking at $300 and $400 models.

And yes, I would so buy one....

 

[Persill]

I would definitely consider paying for a better tablet, but the affordable price tag for already awesome specs is what i like about the Nexus line of devices.

 

[zedorda]

The Nexus 7 is a pretty good device for $200 but you can tell Google and ASUS had to take out a few features to make it so inexpensive. If they were willing to make a higher end tablet, it would add maybe $75 to the price. Some things to consider adding:

1. A high res screen (~300 ppi). We have 5" phones that have 1080p screens so it can be done on a 7" screen. Also, a better contrast screen like the iPad mini.
2. A good rear camera. The iPad Mini has one and is often requested for the N7.
3. A hdmi or micro hdmi port.
4. A SD card slot. This is actually more Google not wanting you to expand memory than cost savings although it does save them a few bucks. Google wants you to pay them for their cloud.
5. Better speakers. Both the Nexus and iPad speakers are lame. I don't know how so many reviewers say they are good. Yes, you won't get very high quality speakers in a 7" tablet but I'm sure it can be better than what is there now.
6. Tegra 4 or Exynos 5 chip. This will likely come in 2013 models and they update the CPU/GPU every year anyway so it shouldn't add too much to the cost.
7. Better battery. Maybe even removable.

In 2013, we are likely to see more 7" tablets from ASUS, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, and Amazon. If Google doesn't put out a high end 7" tablet, someone will. I'd be willing to pay an extra $75 or so to get the above. Would you?

I am very happy with the Nexus7 and the fact that it lacks these features you want included. I bought it because of its simple nature and focus on media consumption. It seems to me you want an all-in-one type tablet which the Nexus7 in design was not intended for. There numerous products out there of the all-in-one design you can choose from which Google did not want to compete with for market share. So it is highly unlikely your going to see the Nexus7 abandon its core design elements. One thing the general public seems refused to come to terms with about tablets. They are satellite devices and benefit greatly from the support of other host devices - wifi drives, mobile data/hotspots, PCs, smart TVs, Bluetooth devices, wifi cameras, Cloud access, etc. Tablets are not meant to be your stand-alone computer. So a owner of a "smart home" or even someone that makes use of modern methods does not need most of the added features these all-in-one tablets offer.

The other features like better cpu, speakers, screeen, battery are all stuff I expect to be part of a newer model at the same price point or at least close. So no I wouldn't be will to pay more for just an updated Nexus7 years after I bought my first Nexus7.

 

[jpr196]

Nope...I can barely justify a tablet in the first place..the only reason I bought one was because it was pure google and so cheap. It's a nice ereader, light browsing, media consumption device but not much more.

 

[socialcarpet]

Absolutely.

I don't care about a rear facing camera on a tablet, but a better GPU, faster processor and better speakers with some stereo separation would pique my interest. Higher resolution and HDMI would be cool too.

As it is though, I'm pretty happy with my Nexus 7. I don't think I'd run out to buy a new one unless it was really remarkable. This one meets my needs very well. My next tablet may very well be a Nokia running Windows RT anyway, but I won't do that until Windows RT has a decent library of apps and they don't have jack right now so that could be a while.

 

[Cruise Guy]

Thats kind of funny that you wouldn't buy something without LTE. Most home internet access is 4 meg, 10 meg, 20 meg, something like that. You can watch a HD movie on 2 Meg. HSPA+ has a max speed of 42MB per second. Even the iphone couldn't go over 14. But what, oh what, oh what do you need LTE speeds for on a device that can get 20MB per second. Thats wicked fast. If you buy a computer today and take it to Starbucks, you are surfing at like 7 or 8 mb per second. What's all this craziness about I need LTE when most of you don't even know why you need it.

 

[randyw]

I Probably would but probably not this year. Just got my 32gb N7 3G. Think I'll hang on to it for awhile.

 

[jamojamo]

Naw.... I bought it because it was what it is at the price I was willing to pay. And it gave me huge bang for buck. That is what made the nexus 7 so magical .

My thoughts exactly.


Sent from my Nexus 7

 

[quicksilver53]

I am very happy with my 32gig model. I do not see myself upgrading anytime soon as I have just had this one for two weeks. It does everything that I need it to do.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[Indigoquilter]

I just bought mine and I will be hanging onto it for as long as I possibly can, since I can't afford to replace things like this very often. I can see a market for the features you describe, though I'm in the section of the market which appreciated the Nexus 7 because it offers a great spec for a relatively low cost.

5. Better speakers. Both the Nexus and iPad speakers are lame.

*winces* Please don't use "lame" as an insult - it's really disrespectful of people with disabilities.

I'd have been happy to pay an extra tenner or so for better speakers, since I will be using it for listening to audiobooks a lot. Speakers do seem to be overlooked on computers a great deal, and I always notice this whenever I'm buying a laptop. I'll ring a shop or manufacturer to ask which laptops have good speakers, since as well as the audiobooks I watch films on my laptop instead of having a TV, and will be told either, "Oh, they're all fine," or, "All computers have rubbish speakers, you must get external speakers if you want to hear any sound at all." Which is total nonsense, as computer speakers vary considerably, and like most people, I just want to be able to watch a film from six feet or so away and hear it clearly, rather than needing DJ-quality sound. Considering how popular online videos are these days, it's high time that manufacturers caught up with the fact that yes, people *do* care about the quality of the sound.

7. Better battery. Maybe even removable.

A longer battery life never hurts, but I manage fairly well. I don't think I'd have paid extra for it, unless it was a fairly low price increase and a mammoth difference in how long the battery lasts for.

I think one area which needs more development is accessories. At the moment, it's very patchy indeed, and new tablet owners find themselves having to buy all sorts of bits and bobs to get things to function. Tablet manufacturers are starting to produce accessories, it seems, but they're not that common and the prices are very high. They need to accept that right now there are a lot of cheap accessories they'll be competing with. ?25 for an official docking station might have been worth it if it had come with good-quality speakers and an extra charger, for instance, but it's basically a stand which replicates the two ports it's covering up, and I don't think that's worth that amount of money.

 

[ShaggyKids]

Nah. I didn't NEED a tablet at all in the first place. This one does what I need it to do just fine. I bought it and a week later they outlawed tablets and smartphones at work. I would have used it more at work. Sure am glad I didn't spend more than I did for this one!

 

[liljew]

I want a rear facing camera for QR and check scanning. Enormously high resolution isn't necessary for it. A micro SD card would be nice but an OTG USB port would be nicer. Louder clear speakers would be nice, but I'm not sure how you would fit front speakers to a seven inch tablet.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using TapATalk

 

[Mooem]

I don't really see them moving out of the 200 to 250 dollar price range. The main reason being is that it's right in that impulse buying territory. So no, I wouldn't be willing to pay more because I don't think they will charge more. Its main appeal to me was the fact that it was cheap in price but still packed a punch in hardware. I think they will find a way to keep specs current but still manage to keep it within $200 to $299.

 

[wunderbar]

The only things I would really want are some kind of video out, either though HDMI through the USB port or Miracast, and full USB OTG support. Beyond that it works just fine for me.

 

[John-Smith]

If they can make the successor the same size but with a much smaller bezel.

-Bigger battery (The battery life is already great though)
-Front facing speaker
- A bit faster processor
- Dual band to support miracast
- Micro HDMI out

And of course don't make the entry level model 8gb and then discontinue it 3 months later

That's all that's necessary.

 

[ctychick]

Camera (for snapping documents for Evernote) and hdmi are the only features I feel are missing. To be honest, I thought I would miss them, but having had the current N7 for about a month now I'm almost indifferent. I always have my phone on hand to snap a high quality photo that ends up in Evernote just the same, and video streaming can be accessed by a growing number of other household and mobile devices. Def not enticing enough to pay up for those features on the next model.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums