Nexus 7 Book Review: 'Nexus 7 For Dummies'

[Babyfacemagee]

Now that the Nexus 7 has been out for a good 5 months or so and is considered a bona fide success story in the world of Android tablets, a number of publishers and individuals have come out with various guidebooks, users guides and other such tomes about the Nexus 7 Tablet.  As the admin of our forum I've actually been sent several of these publications and to be honest for the most part I've been fairly disappointed in the quality and value of what I've seen.   Through various phases of my illustrious (cough cough) career I've used the 'Dummies' guides to learn everything from using software programs, to getting a real estate license and even learned the basics of stock investing long ago through one of their yellow jacketed how-to's.   I recently stumbled on a fairly new release from the company which you see above...'Nexus 7 For Dummies' and so decided to pick up a copy.  What did I think?  Well here's my take...

As many of you who've used 'Dummies' books before and as you can probably infer form the title this series of 'how to' guides is designed for the beginner to learn and master the basics of different subjects, products or other such fodder.   One thing I like about the 'Dummies' series is that they typically hire a pro or at least very proficient person who can write on the subject at an 'expert' level and I'm happy to say the same has been done here with Dan Gookin who previously wrote a 'Dummies' book on another Android tablet, the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

The book is structured starting with 'Part 1',  an introduction introducing you to the hardware, software and basic care and feeding of your Nexus 7, setting it up, moving things on and off etc.  We then move to Parts 2 through 5 with each 'Part' targeting a specific general area of use such as 'Dealing with friends' which introduces you to using social networking(Google+, Facebook etc), email, video chat and phone calls.  'Part 3' moves to delving into Google Maps as well as talking about apps and the Google Play Store.  'Part 4' delves into wireless issues, connecting and sharing, taking your Nexus 7 on the road, customizing and trouble shooting.  Finally, 'Part 5' consists of some of the authors personal tips and tricks, things to remember and even a list of 'great' apps.

I have to admit that if I were a first time user of Android and unfamiliar with the Nexus 7, 'Nexus 7 For Dummies' would be a great way of learning how to use the device.  It's clearly written with a heavy (sometimes too heavy) dose of humor and the author does a really good job of simplifying what might be intimidating tasks and features for the beginner.   There's lots of pictures and screen shots as well as icons and figures to make everything clear.  There's even a series of original 'cartoons' included with a Nexus 7 'punchline'.  The book is fairly comprehensive and includes an extensive index that makes looking up certain questions and finding where they're answered in the book very easy.   Overall, I can't really think of any specific area that a new Nexus 7 user would need to know that this book does not cover.  More advanced users however, might want something more advanced as rooting, hacks and modifications of any kind are given very little if any time for discussion.

So my final verdict?  If you're a first time or fairly novice user of Android and have just gotten a Nexus 7 and are looking to have a handy, easy to digest guide for your new Nexus 7 that helps you get up to speed then I give it a glowing recommendation.   It's miles ahead of Google's own 'Guidebook' in my opinion and worth the cost.  Will it make you an 'expert'?  Well perhaps not quite super user level, no.  But it will give you a very firm grasp of what the capabilities of your new Nexus 7 Tablet can do and of course if anything advanced or arcane isn't handled in the book you can always come here and ask in the forums.  So there you have it.  I've put a link below to the book on Amazon.  Let me know if you get it and what you think if you do.

'Nexus 7 For Dummies' On Amazon

[bjs229]

Always something there to learn.  Thx BFM

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[Tiny]

I've always been a fan of the "For Dummies" books.  Somewhere in my Fibber McGee closet is a copy of the first one they published.  DOS for Dummies taught a lot of users like myself.  It was a reference for everyone else.

[MrFound]

Now that the Nexus 7 has been out for a good 5 months or so and is considered a bona fide success story in the world of Android tablets, a number of publishers and individuals have come out with various guidebooks, users guides and other such tomes about the Nexus 7 Tablet.  As the admin of our forum I've actually been sent several of these publications and to be honest for the most part I've been fairly disappointed in the quality and value of what I've seen.   Through various phases of my illustrious (cough cough) career I've used the 'Dummies' guides to learn everything from using software programs, to getting a real estate license and even learned the basics of stock investing long ago through one of their yellow jacketed how-to's.   I recently stumbled on a fairly new release from the company which you see above...'Nexus 7 For Dummies' and so decided to pick up a copy.  What did I think?  Well here's my take...

As many of you who've used 'Dummies' books before and as you can probably infer form the title this series of 'how to' guides is designed for the beginner to learn and master the basics of different subjects, products or other such fodder.   One thing I like about the 'Dummies' series is that they typically hire a pro or at least very proficient person who can write on the subject at an 'expert' level and I'm happy to say the same has been done here with Dan Gookin who previously wrote a 'Dummies' book on another Android tablet, the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

The book is structured starting with 'Part 1',  an introduction introducing you to the hardware, software and basic care and feeding of your Nexus 7, setting it up, moving things on and off etc.  We then move to Parts 2 through 5 with each 'Part' targeting a specific general area of use such as 'Dealing with friends' which introduces you to using social networking(Google+, Facebook etc), email, video chat and phone calls.  'Part 3' moves to delving into Google Maps as well as talking about apps and the Google Play Store.  'Part 4' delves into wireless issues, connecting and sharing, taking your Nexus 7 on the road, customizing and trouble shooting.  Finally, 'Part 5' consists of some of the authors personal tips and tricks, things to remember and even a list of 'great' apps.

I have to admit that if I were a first time user of Android and unfamiliar with the Nexus 7, 'Nexus 7 For Dummies' would be a great way of learning how to use the device.  It's clearly written with a heavy (sometimes too heavy) dose of humor and the author does a really good job of simplifying what might be intimidating tasks and features for the beginner.   There's lots of pictures and screen shots as well as icons and figures to make everything clear.  There's even a series of original 'cartoons' included with a Nexus 7 'punchline'.  The book is fairly comprehensive and includes an extensive index that makes looking up certain questions and finding where they're answered in the book very easy.   Overall, I can't really think of any specific area that a new Nexus 7 user would need to know that this book does not cover.  More advanced users however, might want something more advanced as rooting, hacks and modifications of any kind are given very little if any time for discussion.

So my final verdict?  If you're a first time or fairly novice user of Android and have just gotten a Nexus 7 and are looking to have a handy, easy to digest guide for your new Nexus 7 that helps you get up to speed then I give it a glowing recommendation.   It's miles ahead of Google's own 'Guidebook' in my opinion and worth the cost.  Will it make you an 'expert'?  Well perhaps not quite super user level, no.  But it will give you a very firm grasp of what the capabilities of your new Nexus 7 Tablet can do and of course if anything advanced or arcane isn't handled in the book you can always come here and ask in the forums.  So there you have it.  I've put a link below to the book on Amazon.  Let me know if you get it and what you think if you do.

'Nexus 7 For Dummies' On Amazon

i don't need this book but i have to say that all of their books are the best thing a beginner can read!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[nexusNovice]

Well, I fit the bill as a new owner of a nexus 7 and found it useful - -  as a newbie. So I agree with your review which I thought was right on the mark.

What I would like to now ask is which other books would you recommend to learn more? Not just about the nexus 7 -  which I think I have a good grip on now -  but to learn more about Android. Does one start by learning Linux or do you have a better suggestion?

Thanks for your many helpful comments through out the forum.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[matt]

I've got a three inch thick book on ubuntu linux that I keep glaring at. Linux for morons would be more my speed. And then there's java, if I want to be a dev. And adb. And C+++++.