**Newly Updated For Android 4.2!**

The Official Nexus 7 Guidebook is a 177 page guide to the Nexus 7 as well as most of the functionality of the Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) operating system.  If you're a Nexus 7 owner...or want to be one soon... it's a 'must read' as it will enable you to learn how to fully use your device and understand the amazing potential of both the Nexus 7's hardware and software. 

It's absolutely free and you can just head on over to HERE to download it to your Android device or even see the full tome as a 'preview' online.    Inside you'll get all the Jelly Bean and Nexus 7 goodness you can throw a tablet at including the inside scoop on new Android 4.2 features like Multiple User Accounts, the new Quick Settings and Notifications menus,  Google Now, new Favorites Tray, and more! 

We recommend you keep this guide downloaded on your device at all times and that you consult with it frequently.  Many if not most of your questions are contained in this Nexus 7 Guidebook.

Installed nCode Image Resizer so large images will be automatically resized in posts.   I set the parameters to 700 width or 800 height as max sizes whichever is greater.  Would prefer people to keep images at 640 x 480 or smaller if possible.  We'll see how the forum looks at these 700/800 max settings but I may adjust them downward if images start to look too cluttered in the boards.   Thanks.

BFM

Well you know it had to happen.  Murphy's Law rears its ugly head and we've got our first smattering of reports about some limited build-quality issues inherent in 'some' Nexus 7 Tablets.  Apparently a small number of early adopters have found that after a few days of use when they lean or press on one side of the front screen of their Nexus 7s that the other side lifts up.   Now to be sure this is a relatively small number of tablets that apparently have this flaw and if it happens to you the most obvious remedy is to simply exercise your 15 day return window and contact Google support so you can get your defective Nexus 7 replaced. 

Now using this warranty period is certainly what I would recommend but some more entrepreneurial and hands-on owners have instead decided to figure out a fix on their own so that they wouldn't have to part with their beloved new tablets.   Originally discovered by XDA-Forums member jam10238, the fix involves gently removing the back of the tablet and tightening several loose screws that appear to be at the center of the problem.  Apparently some of the fastening screws in the Nexus 7's suffering from this screen separation issue have only been tightened about 80%.   A few turns of a screwdriver to tighten these followed by the re-attachment of the back cover seems to return the tablet back to new and fix the issue. 

Several sites have issued step-by-step instruction on how to perform the fix and how to remove the back cover without marring the perfect finish of your new tablet including Droid-Life.  Now while there's no 'warranty tape' that was seen that would automatically void your warranty if opening the back, common sense tells us that if you scratch up the insides or otherwise break something you might have a hard time getting your tablet replaced under warranty.  For this reason we do recommend that if you have one of the few Nexus 7's with this issue you call them up and get an RMA to get a new unit.   But for those that like to take things into their own hands you can use the fix above. 

Now just to put any rumors to the contrary it is very common, in fact almost universal that when a new piece of hardware like a tablet or laptop is first introduced to the market that some manufacturing snafoos inevitably come up with some of the early models.   Asus, the manufacturer of the Nexus 7 has a generally stellar reputation regarding build quality and we wouldn't make any more of this than it is.  Considering the hundreds of thousands of Nexus 7s that have been projected to have been sold during this introduction we've only seen a smattering of a few dozen instances of this screen lifting happening.  In other words it's probably much smaller than 1% of tablets sold.   

With that said let us know if any forum members have had this issue.  We haven't seen it in ours and we've asked around to several associates and so far none of us have seen it ourselves.   But if you do let us know, provide some pics and tell us if you plan on sending it back to Google for a replacement or fixing it yourself.

UPDATE:  There are now several reports that the 'fix' above doesn't always work and the screen 'might' become loose again (but others apparently say it fixed theirs).  Therefore, if you do have one of the few tablets with the screen lifting issue we still stand by our recommendation you should contact Google for a replacement tablet.

The Taiwan based technology newspaper and website, Digitimes, known for it's dubiously inconsistent but sometimes correct predictions on most asia based hardware manufacturing has an editorial out tonight discussing how Google's Nexus 7 Tablet will affect Android competitors.   Leading off the essay is a statement that industry sources have estimated Google will sell between 2.5 to upwards of more than 3 million Nexus 7 Tablets in FY 2012.   This is the first time we've seen any hard number estimate of how many Nexus 7s might be sold.  Previously a 600,000 number was bandied about as the number of Google's initial order of tablets for the launch.  If accurate the company plans to sell a lot more before year end.

The report goes on to discuss the implications of Google's low priced success with their new 7 inch tablet.   Most competing Android tablet makers are dropping prices in order to compete and the author surmises that an unintended effect of the Nexus 7 might be that hardware manufacturers decide that since Google is making virtually no profit on their device which is priced at just about BOM, that it might not be practical for them to compete in the market.  Now whether this would just be 7 inch tablets or larger 10 inch versions as well is unclear. 

But the article goes on to say that the Nexus 7 could very well make  inroads on Apple's iPad but at what cost to other Android tablet makers is unclear.   A successful Nexus 7 tablet could surely entice more app makers to make Tablet-optimized apps and eat market share from Apple and conceivably other hardware vendors could then capitalize on this by making attractive larger form tablets.   You can read the whole article at this link.  So what do you think?  Is the Nexus 7 a blessing or a curse for Android tablet makers?   Will the success of the Nexus 7 expand the market for Android tablets or will it cannibalize it's own Android brothers?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

If one of the cool features of Jelly Bean and your Nexus 7 Tablet that's gotten you excited is NFC (Near Field Communication) then you're in luck.  Google is currently pushing an update to your new tablet that enables 'Google Wallet' on your device.   So for those not familiar just what is 'Google Wallet'?  In a nutshell, it's a 'smart' 'virtual wallet' that enables you to pay for goods and services simply by tapping your device against an in-store payment transmitter.  It can also be used online at thousands of merchants.   It's basically a way to take you closer to a 'cashless' existence. 

With Google Wallet your credit card information is securely stored on your device and in the cloud and your 'Google Wallet' account is also combined with 'Google Offers' that are automatically synced where applicable.   You'll no longer have to sign in individually for all different kinds of online stores and sites.  your 'Google Wallet' account let's you pay and go without the fuss.   For security your 'Google Wallet' account is easily password lockable with all the data encrypted.  Now granted typically 'Google Wallet' is something you'd have on your Android phone but since the Nexus 7 is so light, the company is projecting that enough people will carry their tablet around with them in their backpack or jacket pocket that you can simply use your Nexus 7 as your 'Google Wallet' device.  Of course you can have the service on both your tablet and phone so no matter which you grab before you go out the door you have it with you.   Leave your credit cards and cash at home...just use 'Google Wallet'. 

Google Wallet For Nexus 7

Now that many in the forum are starting to receive their Nexus 7s we want to encourage people to share their experience of first opening their tablets with the community.  We also want to transition people away from posting these experiences in the 'shipping' and related threads so we'll start to lock some of those as more and more tablets arrive and we can get down to the fun business of playing with and exploring our tablets!  Please use this thread for all 'first impressions' and 'unboxing'  kinds of comments with your new Nexus 7.    If you need help with something please post on the 'Help' board.  Thanks!

An interesting article appears in today's Forbes titled "Mossberg, Pogue, Siegler: Google's Nexus 7 Trifecta Is Complete".  In it, reporter Brian Caulfield discusses the unusual and unprecedented watershed of having three of tech's biggest Apple cheerleaders, Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal, David Pogue of The New York Times and Venture Capitalist/TechCrunch columnist MG Siegler all heap praise on Google's new tablet.

Here's some sample of quotes by the three about Google's new baby:

Pogue-

[T]he iPad still makes a far more compelling total package (hardware, software, store). But at 9.7 inches, you’ll never fit that puppy into your breast pocket. If something smaller and lighter and far less expensive appeals to you, you’ll be thrilled by the Nexus 7, even if you have to wait awhile before you can find everything you want to read, watch and play on it.

Mossberg-

“After testing the Nexus 7 for a couple of weeks, I consider it the best Android tablet I’ve used. It’s a serious alternative to both Apple’s larger $499 iPad and to a more direct rival: Amazon’s $199, Android-based, 7-inch Kindle Fire. I prefer the Nexus 7 to 7-inch models from Google partners like Samsung, whose comparable product costs $250.”

and finally Siegler-

Having used a 7-inch tablet for the past week, I now see it as an absolute no-brainer that Apple has to make an iPad with this form factor as well. Of course, such rumors have been swirling for a while — and now the smoke seems too thick for there not to be a fire. It’s coming — but when it does, Apple will find itself in a position it hasn’t been in for some time: being a second-mover to a good product already on the market

Now interestingly this all coincides with reports of course that Apple is working on a device that former (and now deceased) CEO Steve Jobs said would never happen;  An iPad Mini.  Mr. Caulfield concludes that with all the usual Apple mouthpieces lauding the strengths of the Nexus 7 Apple will have no choice but to enter a market it all but wrote off as unnecessary and in a strange turn of events will be entering a market that it probably didn't intend to until others proved it worthwhile. 

So what are your thoughts about a Nexus 7 vs. iPad Mini?  Is the Android onslaught all but inevitablet (after all Android OS phones now outsell iPhones 54% to 36%) or could an iPad Mini put a halt to the Nexus 7's success?   Has Google caught Apple sleeping on the 7 inch tablet watch?



Full article:  Forbes