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Nexus 7 News => Nexus 7 News - - Front Page Comments and Discussion => Topic started by: Babyfacemagee on July 11, 2012, 04:13:01 PM

Title: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: Babyfacemagee on July 11, 2012, 04:13:01 PM
http://www.youtube.com/v/wx30f6XV-Bk

So you've scoured this and every other tech site from head to toe.  You've poured over the specs of your pre-ordered Nexus 7 so much you've got every last detail from the Tegra 3 to the dual mics to the IPS display's manufacturer leaving ghost images on your eyeballs.  Well...surprise!  You won't find THIS feature written anywhere officially by Google in any of the materials we've seen yet for the Nexus 7.   It seems one curious owner of a Google I/O Nexus 7 stumbled upon a magnetic 'Smart Cover' Sensor when playing around with his device and a magnet.  As you can see in the video above when a magnet is held to the lower left corner of the device while the screen is on it turns the display off.   

(http://i.imgur.com/xQufv.jpg)
Smart Covers On Asus Site

Now there's no word from Google if this is an official feature we can expect when using one of their official cases although if you scroll down to the covers on this Asus page (http://usa.asus.com/News/82X3sMt2tbBLf6xN/) it DOES call it a 'Smart Cover'.  Did Asus sneak a feature in there undocumented by the big G?  Does this mean the Nexus 7 is in for a copyright fight with Apple to use such a technique?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments.  Yay or Nay on the 'Smart Cover'?

(http://i.imgur.com/ssIWS.png)

AndroidPolice (http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/07/11/the-nexus-7-has-one-more-trick-up-its-sleeve-a-magnetic-smart-cover-sensor/)
Title: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: LanceJ on July 11, 2012, 04:40:45 PM
Interesting...
Title: Re: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: Drew on July 11, 2012, 05:07:10 PM
Hopefully no Apple fight, but I now have to cancel my case order. 

Glad you posted this as a case with "auto-sleep" for the 7 will be great (and coming out soon?)
Title: Re: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: birdastrompgman on July 11, 2012, 07:32:09 PM
I've got a hard case ordered, but I won't send it back.  I'll glue a magnet to it, or drill a hole in the case cover & insert a magnet in the hole.
Title: Re: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: samalex on July 11, 2012, 07:49:01 PM
Nice!  This looks amazing! 
Title: Re: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: radiocycle on July 11, 2012, 08:04:56 PM
Is this the one that's being referred to?

 http://www.amazon.com/i-BLASON-Google-Genuine-Leather-Warranty/dp/B008GEHWWQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1342058414&sr=8-4&keywords=nexus+covers (http://www.amazon.com/i-BLASON-Google-Genuine-Leather-Warranty/dp/B008GEHWWQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1342058414&sr=8-4&keywords=nexus+covers)

And I've never used a stylus, what apps/programs would you use that with?  Is it a good thing to hve??

r
Title: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: LanceJ on July 11, 2012, 10:18:51 PM
The case being referred to is the one on the Asus website... Also... A stylus can be used for anything you'd use your finger for, just more accurate and smaller touches... Lots of people use them with drawing apps, that sort I thing...
Title: Re: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: halibaitor on July 12, 2012, 06:39:04 AM
Well, it can't be  totally undocumented.  Google/Asus had to tell the manufacturers, or they wouldn't be offering the "smart covers" for sale.  They had to know ahead of time, that feature was coming.

Seems Google is good at keeping the consumers in the dark.  They are doing it with the ship date also.  Wonder what else they aren't telling us?
Title: Re: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: radiocycle on July 12, 2012, 09:32:17 AM
The case being referred to is the one on the Asus website... Also... A stylus can be used for anything you'd use your finger for, just more accurate and smaller touches... Lots of people use them with drawing apps, that sort I thing...

Ah, very good! I've never used a stylus but maybe I'll check one out, thanks.  I looked on the Asus site for NA and couldn't find any reference to an N7 cover but I'll look around some more.  My hunch is that it's a different site than you are finding...

r
Title: Re: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: Babyfacemagee on July 12, 2012, 09:36:26 AM
The link to the Asus page is in the article above.
Title: Re: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: radiocycle on July 12, 2012, 09:45:20 AM
Ah yes I saw that but I guess you can't really buy a cover from that page yet...(?)
Title: Re: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: S.Prime on July 12, 2012, 10:24:29 AM
Quoted from GeeksareSexy.net:

Quote

I have omitted the video as it is already posted, but GeeksareSexy.net says:


Nexus 7 Smart Cover is on its way

 



Those who (probably quite wisely) decided not to buy into the iPad “premium” product sell and instead went for the “cheap but good” marketing of Google’s Nexus 7 might have been lamenting the fact that there was no Smart Cover alternative for their nifty new tablet.

The Apple Smart Cover is a foldaway cover that is designed to automatically turn your device on and off as you remove and apply it to the surface. How? Magnetization that also handily gets the cover to sit quite securely on the surface of the iPad.

Apple has a patent in the design and Google is unlikely to want to get into any more legal lockdowns with their technological brother. However, it would seem that the functionality is there: the video below demonstrates how the Nexus 7 has a corner which responds to a magnet.



You can probably expect third party cover creators to be including this functionality in cases very soon (if they haven’t already).
Title: Re: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: radiocycle on July 12, 2012, 10:34:22 AM
Ah, tnx S.Prime!
Title: Re: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: samalex on July 12, 2012, 10:36:56 AM
Ah, tnx Sam!

???
Title: Re: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: kyoo on July 12, 2012, 11:57:29 AM
wish the cheapo cover i bought had a magnet there
Title: Re: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: kyoo on July 12, 2012, 08:27:20 PM
Is this the one that's being referred to?

 [url]http://www.amazon.com/i-BLASON-Google-Genuine-Leather-Warranty/dp/B008GEHWWQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1342058414&sr=8-4&keywords=nexus+covers[/url] ([url]http://www.amazon.com/i-BLASON-Google-Genuine-Leather-Warranty/dp/B008GEHWWQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1342058414&sr=8-4&keywords=nexus+covers[/url])

And I've never used a stylus, what apps/programs would you use that with?  Is it a good thing to hve??

r


canceled my cheapo cover to go for this one as long as its got the magnet for auto wake/sleep! not digging the official asus ones, looks like its made of silicon
Title: Re: Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature
Post by: samalex on July 13, 2012, 07:35:28 AM
I'll wait a month or so because chances are some of the bigger cover makers will start rolling out N7 specific covers that utilize the magnetic sensor in due time.