It's Memorial Day weekend folks and along with wishing everyone a happy holiday weekend I thought it would be fun to introduce a really cool Nexus 7 accessory that could come in handy all summer long.   It's a waterproof case that let's you use your Nexus 7 while lying around and even IN the pool without any fear of damaging your tablet.  In fact you can use the touchscreen even while you're in...or under water!  Now this is terrific if you plan on reading, playing games or even watching a movie or tv show on your Nexus 7 while at the beach or perhaps while floating in that pool lounge in the backyard pool.

Now of course as those who know me...I'm ridiculously obsessive about my tech gadgets so of course I did a bunch of research while looking for a waterproof case and I quickly ruled out all of those cheap ones shipping in from China you find on Amazon or Ebay.  Not worth the risk and I'd rather spend a bit more for a quality item.  I wanted to find one that had some official certification of its waterproof effectiveness and the 'Beach Buoy' has it!  The Proporta Beach Buoy is fully BSI IP57 and IP58 compliant and tested by the British Standards Institute!  That means you can take your Nexus 7 up to 5 metres (approx 15 feet) deep and it'll stay perfectly dry!  The case itself features both front and back 'crystal clear' windows so you can see the display perfectly.  It's also amazing how responsive the touchscreen is with the case on so you can use all the functions.   The only thing you won't have access to of course are the ports since the case is sealed. 

Now I looked around and the Proporta Beach Buoy case is usually sold for $26.95 direct from the manufacturer but you can get it on Amazon right now for just $19.95 in the US with Free Shipping (the top link below) or for $25.99 in the UK (second link below).  Definitely a worthwhile accessory that's also great at keeping out dust and moisture on camping trips, etc as well as being waterproof.  It not only fits the Nexus 7 but also just about any 7 inch or smaller sized tablet including Kindles and Nooks, the iPad Mini and of course it'll be great to use when the new Nexus 7 comes out as well!   It also includes a neck strap and a Lifetime Exchange Warranty!  Hit the links below to grab one and take your Nexus 7 to the beach and pool this summer without any fear!

The magazine I'm assuming you mean?  Good higher brow read.  Grew up with it.

Similar but not the same one because you'll notice it has the 'coiled' cord which I find annoying for use with a tablet.  It's  always pulling on the connector due to the tension and usually ends up breaking pretty quickly.  Thus why I prefer the straight cord for a use such as this.

Now here's an accessory item I've found to be really useful and I bet a lot of you haven't thought of it.  It's a car charger for your Nexus 7 that lets you charge or use your tablet while in the car without worry of running out of battery power just buy plugging it into your car's cigarette lighter.  Particularly useful when using your Nexus 7's GPS for navigation or for a passenger using it to watch movies or surf the web if you have a HSPA+ model.   

Now I've gone through several car chargers over the years for various phones and tablets and there's a few things I look for when buying one, especially for a tablet.  First off, while those spiral twisty cords might look nice and save space, I've found that over time the pressure it puts on the Micro USB connection on the tablet by pulling down on it actually will either ruin the cord, ruin the connector or both.  Therefore I prefer a 'straight cord' charger so that tension isn't there. 

Next I want my charger to have a specialized IC chip built in that is able to detect when my tablet is fully charged so that it can go into 'standby mode'...oh and I want a bright LED indicator light to show me this too so that I'll get visual notification of when my tablet is all charged up.  Next...I want something that's inexpensive because as much as we try to buy quality gear inevitably cables occasionally go bad...although the 4mm thick cord here should last longer than many of the less flimsy ones.

The SM Wireless Nexus 7/Nexus 10 charger (it works with both) below fills all my requirements and in fact I've been using it over the past week.  It feels decently made and so far has been charging my Nexus 7 and letting me use it while on the road without any issues.  I'm especially liking the straight cord which gives me the easy mobility to pass my tablet over to my passenger in the driver's seat or even to the back seat with the 6 foot+ cord plenty long and with none of that coiled nonsense that ruins the connectors.  It's only $6.99 and that includes free shipping...so if you've been looking for a car charger for your Nexus 7 grab one or two...and let me know what you think after you use it.

'Temple Run' has been one of the most successful mobile franchies for awhile now with several variations of the original including 'Temple Run 2' and 'Temple Run: Brave'.   Having played all three I was a little hesitant to try the latest version based on the recent hit movie 'Oz the Great and Powerful'.  I'm happy to say though that this newest version is to me...the best one yet...with cool characters, music and graphics that all make you feel like you're right in the movie of the grand epic adventure movie.    The preview below gives you a taste.


In this latest installment of 'Temple Run' you find yourself...yep you guessed it...running down the yellow brick road!   As Oz himself no less but where this gets really interesting is instead of sticking to the tried and true run/slide jump off a path you get some cool variations such as the hot air balloon or even the middle of a twister.  The graphics are really exceptional and there's all kinds of stunning environments ripped right from the film that lift this 'endless runner' heads and tails above all others I've played.  It looks and plays simply fantastic on your Nexus 7.  Grab it at the link below.  It's 99 cents but worth it in my opinion.

During yesterday's Google I/O Keynote the company might not have introduced a new Nexus 7 (we expect that before end of summer though), but they sure did deliver when it came to new software features, developer tools and apps.  For the curious the entire nearly 4 hour Keynote is embedded above.  You'll see the new Google Maps, new Google Play Games, Hangouts  and much more.  It seems Google decided to make this year's Google I/O predominantly about software and is likely to hold a separate event this summer about hardware in which we'll probably see the new Nexus 7 and perhaps a new phone, tablet or two. 

I think that Google has decided to split hardware and software announcements into separate events perhaps.  We'll probably see some kind of hardware focused event later on in the summer perhaps in June or July.  That's my guess anyway.  I too was expecting to see at least a new Nexus 7 today but I'm sure we'll see it before fall.

Any last minute thoughts on what we'll see tomorrow at Google I/O?  In addition to the new Nexus 7 there's been a lot of talk about Motorola's 'XFON' as well as a Google Music service and the Google Play Games we've mentioned before.  Anything else?