One of my favorite applications to use on my Nexus 7 is 'Pulse' news reader.  The reason Pulse is so great is that it lets you customize the news experience to show you just the topics that you're interested in and it lays everything else in an elegant and accessible 'scrollable' format that let's you browse the latest news at a glance while also letting you easily access the full story with a tap of the finger.  It works by pulling RSS news feeds from any of thousands of sources including your favorites like Time Magazine, Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post and even your Facebook Feed.  The latest version had been updated to work perfectly on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean devices like your Nexus 7 and frankly once you use it 'Pulse' will become one of your most often used apps.

Features:
☆ All your content in one place: So easy to add any content you want, from Huffington Post, Time Magazine and Vanity Fair to your Facebook feed.
☆ Dual view: For each article on Pulse, you can switch between a clean summary of the article or go to the website directly. When you tap on an article, both are ready to view, almost instantly!
☆ Offline sync: No internet? No problem. Pulse loads the news stories you read, and makes them available wherever you are.
☆ Save Stories: Collect your favorite stories using your Pulse.me account. Send to Instapaper, Read it Later, Evernote and Google Reader, all in one tap.
☆ News discovery: Pulse features new publishers each week. You can also search for a news source by simple keywords.
☆ Easy share: Found an interesting news article? Sharing a news story on Pulse via Email, Facebook, and Twitter is as easy as two taps.
☆ Source Syncing: With your Pulse account, sync your favorite sources across your all your devices and platforms.
☆ Integration with Google Reader: Pulse allows you to directly import all your RSS feeds from Google Reader. Your stories are synced with your Google account.

In addition to bringing you your own customized news what's great about 'Pulse' is it gives you lots of other convenient options.   First off...Pulse gives you two options to read each news article.  There's a 'summary' version as well as access to the full version on the original website.  Both are available with a tap.   You can also share a specific news story via email, Facebook or Twitter with just a couple of taps.  Another cool feature is the ability to configure Pulse to download your favorite news stories to be read offline when you don't have internet access.  Synchronization is another strong point and with your Pulse account you can have your news stories and customized feeds synced on all of your devices such as tablet, phone and desktop or laptop and on any operating system Pulse runs on.  You can even import your feeds from Google Reader right into your Pulse account as well as have them synced.

Overall 'Pulse' is one of those 'must have' apps that will quickly become part of your daily routine.  It's a time saver...and a great way to stay informed without having to constantly scour the web for stories that interest you.  It's all there in 'Pulse'.  'Pulse' is free and you can grab it in the Google Play store at the link below.
 

One of the cool features of the Nexus 7 that isn't fully explored in the included documentation is USB OTG or 'On-The-Go' and the ability to use a USB OTG adapter.  Now an OTG adapter is basically a female micro-USB connector  that plugs into the micro-USB connector of your Nexus 7 and provides a full-sized USB 2.0 or 3.0 connector on the other end.  You can then plug this into a 'hub' which can provide multiple USB connectors so you can hook up multiple different USB devices to use with your tablet.  Even better these connections are actually powered by your Nexus 7 so you don't need separate power for each device connected making it perfect for mobile use.

Now the variety of devices that will work with your Nexus 7 and a USB OTG cable and/or hub is actually pretty impressive and includes keyboards, mice,  game controllers, USB-to-ethernet adapters and certain proprietary devices like a DSLR Remote control Android app.  What doesn't work with the Nexus 7 without a little work however are mass storage devices such as USB sticks, card readers or external hard drives of any sort.   This can be rectified however by installing the app 'StickMount' which we've linked below although keep in mind this does require root access to your device.


Once your device is rooted and 'StickMount' is installed you can use USB drives and card readers to easily move large files to and from your Nexus 7.   You'll want to use a file management and explorer app like ES File Explorer to find and select your files.   You can stream movies and music directly from the USB mounted drive to your Nexus 7 so in essence it becomes a mobile hard drive that you can take with you and your Nexus 7 anywhere.  For those interested in exploring this functionality you can pick up one of a variety of Nexus 7 Compatible USB OTG Adapters On Amazon and we've also linked two 'how to' sources below,  CNET's 'How To' section and a video made by tech guru 'Reverand Kyle'.

We've previously posted photos of both iFixit and iSuppli's teardowns of the Nexus 7 and the tablet even got a thumbs up for pretty favorable 'fixability' compared to both the iPad and Kindle Fire with observations that the device was well organized, had a removable battery and a back cover that was so easy and clean to remove it almost begs you to do so.  If you're like me you might have been 'tempted' to see what the innards of your 7 inch friend looked like yourself but as a bow to caution you sufficed with staring at the static pics and let others do the daring stuff.   

Well now we have a new video from EEVblog (Electronics Engineering Video Blog) for their 'Teardown Tuesday' that dissects the Nexus 7 piece by piece in epic fashion for those that are really hankering to see every little bit of their newest tech marvel.   There's tons of amazing facts about your tablet...more details than you've ever wanted to know about the Nexus 7 in one shot.  Of course some of the design and engineering we're familiar with such as the technician noting the battery takes up a good 50% of the tablet's volume and the system board wrapped around the sides in an L-shaped configuration.  One interesting observation is the appearance of a recessed 'reset' button on the unit which doesn't have a hole in the cover to access.  Perhaps a last minute decision to keep away from the hands of users or an easy way for technicians to return the tablet to factory?

Overall it's really a very well made video with a lot of insightful commentary on your Nexus 7 which includes a surprisingly integrated case that helps provide the functionality of the NFC, GPS antennae, and much more. Those that really want to know the extent of the tech marvel they bought will want to give it a watch.  Let us know your thoughts afterwards in the comments. 

For all the great high-end features of the Nexus 7, the one that is probably most missed by many is the lack of any HDMI or MHL out to enable users to easily play video from the tablet on an external display.   Now Google does sell the 'Nexus Q'...which we'll be going into in-depth in a future article, that let's you play Google Play and YouTube content.   But what if you have some cool movies or family videos on your tablet that you'd like to share with others or watch in the comfort of your living room on that 60 inch 1080 HDTV that you took a second loan on your home for?  Enter Wi-Fi Media which offers a free app on Google Play that allows any Android device to play movies, music or still pictures on any tv or monitor when it's used with a Pure-Vu compatible hardware streamer. 

Engadget tested one such gadget, the $90 HTC Media Link HD and the result was beautiful HD video filling up their screen although there were a few limitations.  First off you're limited to only playing content certified via DLNA ((Digital Living Network Alliance) which means no games, YouTube or Netflix and there's also a lack of some file type compatibility most notably AVI.  You'll also need a phone or other HTC compatible device to configure the software in the first place for the HTC Media Link so this particular option might be limited to those with HTC handsets like the HTC One X, One S and EVO 4G LTE.   However there's no reason to believe that this approach to getting video out of your Nexus 7 and onto the big screen wouldn't work with any Pure-Vu compatible streamer so if you try it with another brand please let us know what kind of results you get.   Anyone interesting in trying this out themselves...let us know in the comments or the forum! 



Engadget

If you're gonna go with a screen protector you might as well go with the best.  Sure you can buy some cheap no-name brands on Ebay but the gold standard of screen protectors has always been ZAGG's 'Invisible Shield' line.   The company has sold over 30 million protectors worldwide, it's made of military grade material that reduces smudges, smears and glare, and has a lifetime replacement warrant for the life of your device.  In other words...buy it once and you'll never have to buy it again.  Many people swear by these and you can get them either for just the screen for $19.99 or the screen and back of the unit for $29.99.  Personally we went for the screen protection since we like to make sure our tablet stays nice and 'perfect' and we really like the slight tactile feel the cover gives the tablet. 

Now we know there's an ongoing debate between two firmly entrenched groups;  Should you or should you not invest in a screen protector for your Nexus 7 tablet?  On one side are those that feel the special Corning 'Fit' Glass is scratch resistant and made to withstand day to day use without chipping, cracking or scratching so why bother?   On the other side are those that say while that's all fine and great...it's not scratch 'proof'...just 'resistant'... and accidents can and will happen.  Using a screen protector gives you an added measure of security to ensure that your screen stays in perfect shape while having the added benefit of cutting down on some of the glare and fingerprinting of your tablet's glossy screen.   It's your call but we can't recommend the 'Invisible Shield' highly enough.  If you're gonna go for a screen protector and want the 'best'...this is it.  You can find out more at the link below.

What Kinds Of Front Page Articles Do You MOST Want To See On Nexus7Forum.com?  We want to make this site as valuable and inviting as possible for all our forum members and thus would like to hear what kinds of content you'd like to see on the site.   Any suggestions welcome and we'll do our best to accommodate.

So you've got your Nexus 7 in hand.  Perhaps you convinced your significant other (or yourself) that this portable tech powerhouse would be great for your productivity, keep you organized and even read and check emails when you're on that cruise.   But we know you have a dark little secret...you got it for the games!  Yes, the Nexus 7 Tablet is one AWESOME gaming device.  Packed with its Nvidia Tegra 3 Quad core plus one processor and 12 core GeForce GPU your little 7 inch pal is capable of some amazingly fluid graphics, realistic sound effects and music and eye popping action.   

Now there are a lot of great games out there and we'll be regularly reviewing and spotlighting many of the best each week here at Nexus7Forum.com but we thought we'd start things off today with some terrific games that are specifically optimized for the Tegra 3 processor and some for the Nexus 7 itself.  Starting off with the brand new movie franchise officially sanctioned 'The Amazing Spider-Man' that you can see below, we've collected 5 of the best Nexus 7 Optimized games and included gameplay video of each.   We know you can come up with some excuse to get some alone time with these over the weekend.  You can thank us on Monday.

The Amazing Spider-Man
In this brand new 3rd person web slinging game you play our favorite spidey as you swing your web and explore New York City.  With gorgeous graphics of the entire Manhattan skyline that have been specifically optimized by Gameloft to run beautifully smooth on your Nexus 7 Tablet. 



Dead Trigger
We've mentioned Dead Trigger before and this is the newest and latest game to be optimized for the Tegra 3.   You're one of the sole survivors of a zombie apocalypse and it's up to you to fight the hordes of undead and save mankind.   Dead Trigger features enhanced effects for Tegra 3 devices like the Nexus 7 like awesome water effects and increased blood and gore.   The company has just announced they are adding a bunch of new weapons to the game and souping up the graphics to make it even prettier...and nastier.



Riptide GP
Riptide GP is one of my all-time favorite games.  First off it's a blast to play...with you racing your jet ski against others in solo or team competition.   The graphics and action were already good before but now they've added extra detail and special effects for Tegra 3 tablets that make the game simply amazing to look at as well as play.   If you're a fan of water sports or racing games you get the best of both worlds in Riptide GP.



Dark Meadow
Dark Meadow is the game of the bunch that will appeal to those craving a bit of horror and mystery.   It's an action game as well but most of the fun is you exploring the abandoned and haunted mental institution and uncovering the mysteries of what went on there.  The atmospheric graphics in this game are terrific with beautiful and haunting lighting effects throughout and movie-caliber music that pushes you through the story.   It's so advanced it actually only runs on Tegra 3 devices like your Nexus 7.



ShadowGun
Last but certainly not least no Tegra 3 Nexus 7 game roundup would be complete without the one that started them all...ShadowGun.  ShadowGun was the first game that I know of released with a special edition exclusively for Tegra 3 devices.  Featuring added textures, more detail, added effects and gorgeous lighting...this action packed shooter is still the benchmark that all other Android shooters are measured against.   The game is a blast...but it's worth the download just to see what your Nexus 7 is capable of to impress your friends.



These are just the tip of the iceberg folks.  There's TONS more great Nexus 7 games out there.   We'll be spotlighting them pretty frequently here on the forum but let us know which are your favorites in the comments so we can put them on the top of the Queue!