Google Nexus 7 tablet

I got a Google Nexus 7 8gb for my birthday.  This is a great device.  This is my second tablet.  The first one was one of those unofficial tablets that comes free when you buy furniture.  There is a world of difference between the two tablets.  All the apps that I downloaded and purchased on my phone were auto-downloaded once I logged in.  The battery life is impeccable.  The main reason for I wanted a tablet was to watch videos while travelling.  I previously used my cell phone.  I had to carry a usb battery pack just to power the phone during the long flights.  I won't have this problem with the tablet, although I haven't had a chance to travel with it yet.

I was able to use ES File Explorer to copy some tv shows down to my tablet to test the video quality.  This is where I found a lack of video players.  I have a Samsung phone (Galaxy S and Galaxy S 2) so I tend to use the Samsung music and video players.  After installing MX Player, I was able to test out the video quality.  It was perfect for my travelling needs.

I still have not found an e-Book reader that I am happy with.  I installed a few of the top ones.  The big thing that annoys me is the method for scrolling.  My wife's Nook allows you to swipe to the side and the page flips.  Many of the apps scroll up/down instead of left/right.  The left-right swipe feels more nature, but this isn't a limitation of the Nexus 7....more of the apps that I can use now that I have a good tablet.

The Blogger app on the tablet works pretty well.  I can type pretty fast with the on screen keyboard.  I don't find myself making many spelling mistakes (from mistyping, I still can't spell on my own).  I have written a few posts using the tablet.  The Blogger app has a habit of putting the generated html in the edit window, corrupting my draft blog entry, though.

Games are a great plus on this tablet.  The games are lightning fast.  Many of the games that I wasn't able to play due to the smaller screen of a phone or the slow speed of my other tablet are running great now.  The Facebook app is a lot easier to use on a bigger screen.

The Nexus 7 does seem to lack the sleep feature of the iPad.  I tend to shut down the tablet if I know I'm done with it for the day.  When not being used, the battery usage is lower, but it still draws more than I would have liked.  I have not had a chance to use Skype yet.  The YouTube app is much better than the versions I have used on my phones.  AndroidVNC works a lot better on a tablet.  ConnectBot still isn't as usable as a laptop.  I tend to use the arrow keys and tab a lot when I ssh.  It is still hard to type out commands.

Overall, the Nexus 7 is a fabulous tablet.  It is not a complete replacement for my laptop, but I have reduced my dependency on the laptop.  So far, ssh, web browsing and blogging are the main reasons I reach for my laptop.  Web browsing and blogging is split between the tablet and the laptop.  Some webpages are still mouse-oriented.  Other webpages are too javascript heavy, so I reach for Firefox/NoScript on my laptop.  For blogging, I try to use the tablet, but the html corruption problem forces me to reach for the latop.