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Nexus 7 Vs. The Competition / Re: IPad mini comparisons?
« on: December 12, 2012, 12:37:41 AM »
My first tablet was a Kindle Fire, followed by an iPad 3, a Nexus 7 16 gb then an iPad Mini. I don't think one device outshines the rest. I use all three except the Kindle Fire. As media consumption devices I am fond of all of them. They all serve me plenty of the net, email, video, books and music. The screens on all of them are fine to me. The hype of a retina display on the iPad 3/4 is exaggerated but so is the non retina display of the Mini-- it's fine. When it comes to magazines the iPad 3 wins hands down but it is big enough it rarely leaves my living room. The N7 and the Mini are similar in size. I meant to replace the N7 with the Mini but neither does everything I'd like a small tablet to do. I travel to sites across the country for a living and want a small tablet for media consumption and for taking notes. I am an Evernote junkie and my company uses Lync for non email communication.
The N7 fits in my suit coat pocket without a case but I still love the form factor. What I love most about the N7 is it runs Android without all the bloat. My HTC Incredible suffered memory leaks due to HTC Sense and I had to reset my device every 5-6 months. Android 4.2 is the operating system for someone who needs to stay connected. The feature that makes Android superior to iOS is the notifications. I use a Google Voice number and installed Groove IP on my N7. I am able to keep up with almost everyone-- almost. Swipe as an interface is ingenious and Android has embraced it. If you use a tablet to take notes swiping is the most effective method to get words on the screen. The inclusion of GPS was an unexpected bonus for me. I like Navigation but I paid for Co-Pilot because I don't want to burn my data plan.
With Google Voice I don't get MMS. When most people send group SMS most carriers turn them into MMS. I'm now out of the loop. I tell people their carrier is at fault but that argument seems to be lost on everyone but me. With no rear camera Skitch is mostly useless to me. I want to take pictures of issues I need resolved by my support engineers. Then there's the reliability of Android. Constantly I find myself waiting for an app that stutters. For speed I only keep up a three widgets-- a clock, my calender, and greader. The idea of widgets is great but there is a performance price to pay. Compared to iOS, Android feels sluggish when I move to different screens. My N7 suffered from the well documented issue of slowing down to almost uselessness when my data storage reached the 10 gb mark. I had to reset my device to factory settings more than once. To add insult to injury Microsoft doesn't seem to be in a hurry to port Lync to the N7. I guess I'm one of the few that care but this is my review.
The Mini is a very good device. The haters are wrong. The hardware may not be as top notch as the iPad 3 or N7 but the experience is still top notch. There doesn't seem to be any performance loss in the apps I use on the Mini vs the iPad 3. iOS seems to be inherently smoother than Android. The icons seem to snap in place when I move from screen to screen. Apps written for iOS seem to be better coded because the same apps I use on both crash far less often. There are more apps for iOS for my needs. Evernote is well supported in iOS. Skitch is meaningful because of the rear camera. Microsoft has graced iOS users with Lync. Support for iOS has been easy for me. I had an issue with the Mini's wifi radio. I simply made an appointment at the Apple store and the issue was addressed. It took hours of searching the Googleverse for the slow down issue I had with the N7.
The Mini hasn't won me over yet. I've taken both on work trips but I'm still trying to figure out which one meets more of my needs. The lack of a top notch notification system means I have to constantly open an app to see if I have new mail or IM's. Even though iOS has great Evernote support the lack of a swipe keyboards means I have to thumb type everything. Having a connector that isn't 30 pin or micro-usb means more cables to buy. Thankfully I don't have any 30 pin docks or I'd really be mad. No GPS is a bummer. My experience with Siri for navigation has been HORRIBLE<-- really, really bad.
In the end I don't know which one I really like better. I love the thoughtfulness of the Android features. I love the attention to detail iOS has towards the experience of the user. I really wish Android had magazine apps like Wired and Bon Appetit for the KF and iOS. (The same two mags on the N7 make me feel like I'm flipping through a big PDF.) I wish Amazon Prime Instant Video was released for Android. I wish the N7 had a rear camera. I think the only way I'll get the smooth and reliable Nexus device I want is if only Google made Android tablets. If there were only 2-3 models it would be easier for developers to make certify their apps would work as intended. Then again, the closed model of iOS is the reason Swype isn't available in iTunes. Siri has led me astray for navigation but I don't like to burn my data on mapping so I'd choose a app anyway but no GPS makes it not an option.
Maybe there's a Surface Pro Mini in my future...
The N7 fits in my suit coat pocket without a case but I still love the form factor. What I love most about the N7 is it runs Android without all the bloat. My HTC Incredible suffered memory leaks due to HTC Sense and I had to reset my device every 5-6 months. Android 4.2 is the operating system for someone who needs to stay connected. The feature that makes Android superior to iOS is the notifications. I use a Google Voice number and installed Groove IP on my N7. I am able to keep up with almost everyone-- almost. Swipe as an interface is ingenious and Android has embraced it. If you use a tablet to take notes swiping is the most effective method to get words on the screen. The inclusion of GPS was an unexpected bonus for me. I like Navigation but I paid for Co-Pilot because I don't want to burn my data plan.
With Google Voice I don't get MMS. When most people send group SMS most carriers turn them into MMS. I'm now out of the loop. I tell people their carrier is at fault but that argument seems to be lost on everyone but me. With no rear camera Skitch is mostly useless to me. I want to take pictures of issues I need resolved by my support engineers. Then there's the reliability of Android. Constantly I find myself waiting for an app that stutters. For speed I only keep up a three widgets-- a clock, my calender, and greader. The idea of widgets is great but there is a performance price to pay. Compared to iOS, Android feels sluggish when I move to different screens. My N7 suffered from the well documented issue of slowing down to almost uselessness when my data storage reached the 10 gb mark. I had to reset my device to factory settings more than once. To add insult to injury Microsoft doesn't seem to be in a hurry to port Lync to the N7. I guess I'm one of the few that care but this is my review.
The Mini is a very good device. The haters are wrong. The hardware may not be as top notch as the iPad 3 or N7 but the experience is still top notch. There doesn't seem to be any performance loss in the apps I use on the Mini vs the iPad 3. iOS seems to be inherently smoother than Android. The icons seem to snap in place when I move from screen to screen. Apps written for iOS seem to be better coded because the same apps I use on both crash far less often. There are more apps for iOS for my needs. Evernote is well supported in iOS. Skitch is meaningful because of the rear camera. Microsoft has graced iOS users with Lync. Support for iOS has been easy for me. I had an issue with the Mini's wifi radio. I simply made an appointment at the Apple store and the issue was addressed. It took hours of searching the Googleverse for the slow down issue I had with the N7.
The Mini hasn't won me over yet. I've taken both on work trips but I'm still trying to figure out which one meets more of my needs. The lack of a top notch notification system means I have to constantly open an app to see if I have new mail or IM's. Even though iOS has great Evernote support the lack of a swipe keyboards means I have to thumb type everything. Having a connector that isn't 30 pin or micro-usb means more cables to buy. Thankfully I don't have any 30 pin docks or I'd really be mad. No GPS is a bummer. My experience with Siri for navigation has been HORRIBLE<-- really, really bad.
In the end I don't know which one I really like better. I love the thoughtfulness of the Android features. I love the attention to detail iOS has towards the experience of the user. I really wish Android had magazine apps like Wired and Bon Appetit for the KF and iOS. (The same two mags on the N7 make me feel like I'm flipping through a big PDF.) I wish Amazon Prime Instant Video was released for Android. I wish the N7 had a rear camera. I think the only way I'll get the smooth and reliable Nexus device I want is if only Google made Android tablets. If there were only 2-3 models it would be easier for developers to make certify their apps would work as intended. Then again, the closed model of iOS is the reason Swype isn't available in iTunes. Siri has led me astray for navigation but I don't like to burn my data on mapping so I'd choose a app anyway but no GPS makes it not an option.
Maybe there's a Surface Pro Mini in my future...
