I have often mentioned here I am something of a geek. Heck my father likes to joke the DoD could easily find the heat signature of my house from space based on what I have in my home office. Three computers. Server. PS3, PS2, N64, Sega, four phones, and countless other things. But I have not gotten a "smart" phone or a tablet on purpose, cause I am already in front of a computer way too much. Why would I want to buy something that would just be an extension of my workspace?
But I do build web sites for a living. And although there are services I can use to test my sites to ensure they render correctly on a phone or tablet, well I really needed to get a darn tablet.
I must have spent like 40+ hours reading everything I could find on the different tablets out there.
I got the Google Nexus. Much more below the fold.
Let me start off by saying IMHO the iPad from the reviews and my interface with the darn thing is the best tablet out there. If price was no problem I'd own that. But then if price was no problem I'd be driving an Audi A8 and living in a $10,000,000 condo on the beach. My tablet was $249. From the reviews the iPad of a similar memory and processing speed $549. In my world that is a HUGE price difference :)!
I had planned to get the Samsung Galaxy. But as I read more I found the hardware maker of the Samsung was the exact same for Nexus, and well Google are the folks that make the OS for both. Why not go with them? So I did.
Let me first start with the only issue I have with the thing, which I knew from the reviews. It only has a forward facing camera which is meant to be used for something like video Skype. I've looked and looked for an app, but it won't allow me to scan in a bar/QR code. That really pisses me off. But alas I knew this before I bought it.
Outside of that it is one of the more amazing pieces of electronics I've ever owned, and I've owned a ton of them. I have to admit I am blown away. Via the Google Play store, like the Apple App Store, I loaded the thing up to do anything and everything you can imagine. I didn't have to pay a single penny for anything. I am kind of a "power user" and outside of stuff from the Adobe Creative Suite (PhotoShop, Illustrator, InDesign) it does everything I can on my $3,500 desktop. Lets just say there as "an app for that."
I am also a interface kind of guy. When I get a new PC I might spend 20+ hours getting the operating system to work and look the way I want. Just habit. So I started there with the Nexus before I had used it much. I quickly realized that "out of the box" it was almost perfect the way it was. I mean simple, easy to use, exactly as it should be.
It was the same with touching a screen with my fingers and not using a mouse or keyboard shortcuts (the way I do most stuff). At first I was all pissed off. Thinking I don't want you to do that. That wasn't my intent. Then after a few hours it all made complete sense. Again it was about perfect.
Finally when I entered my Credit Card info Google threw me $50 in credits. Now what I am about to say .... well I can't believe I am about to say it.
I am a huge reader (you know books, the ones you hold in your hands) and gamer. I've said so many times I could NEVER imagine reading a book on a computer, much less a tablet. Same with video games. Why play them on my phone or tablet when I can play them on my 60 inch HDTV. But I bought a few. I mean they were free.
OMG. OMG. OMG.
I am not smart enough to put to words the reading experience, other than to say it is enjoyable. Very enjoyable.
And for gaming, I am stunned. I fear I might not turn on my PS3 again.
It is, how can I say this, maybe the best $249 I've spent in the last decade or so. Just amazing.
I normally can find flaws in anything. Pick shit apart. I find almost nothing to complain about with the Google Nexus.
Update/Note: The Nexus doesn't have a memory card port, therefore you have to use something like DropBox to move files around. And of course that means you can't upgrade the internal memory via a card.