Surprise! Nexus 7 Has 'Smart Cover' Magnetic Sensor Feature

[Babyfacemagee]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/wx30f6XV-Bk" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/wx30f6XV-Bk</a>

So you've scoured this and every other tech site from head to toe.  You've poured over the specs of your pre-ordered Nexus 7 so much you've got every last detail from the Tegra 3 to the dual mics to the IPS display's manufacturer leaving ghost images on your eyeballs.  Well...surprise!  You won't find THIS feature written anywhere officially by Google in any of the materials we've seen yet for the Nexus 7.   It seems one curious owner of a Google I/O Nexus 7 stumbled upon a magnetic 'Smart Cover' Sensor when playing around with his device and a magnet.  As you can see in the video above when a magnet is held to the lower left corner of the device while the screen is on it turns the display off.   

Smart Covers On Asus Site

Now there's no word from Google if this is an official feature we can expect when using one of their official cases although if you scroll down to the covers on this Asus page it DOES call it a 'Smart Cover'.  Did Asus sneak a feature in there undocumented by the big G?  Does this mean the Nexus 7 is in for a copyright fight with Apple to use such a technique?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments.  Yay or Nay on the 'Smart Cover'?

AndroidPolice

[LanceJ]

Interesting...

[Drew]

Hopefully no Apple fight, but I now have to cancel my case order. 

Glad you posted this as a case with "auto-sleep" for the 7 will be great (and coming out soon?)

[birdastrompgman]

I've got a hard case ordered, but I won't send it back.  I'll glue a magnet to it, or drill a hole in the case cover & insert a magnet in the hole.

[samalex]

Nice!  This looks amazing! 

[radiocycle]

Is this the one that's being referred to?

 http://www.amazon.com/i-BLASON-Google-Genuine-Leather-Warranty/dp/B008GEHWWQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1342058414&sr=8-4&keywords=nexus+covers

And I've never used a stylus, what apps/programs would you use that with?  Is it a good thing to hve??

r

[LanceJ]

The case being referred to is the one on the Asus website... Also... A stylus can be used for anything you'd use your finger for, just more accurate and smaller touches... Lots of people use them with drawing apps, that sort I thing...

[halibaitor]

Well, it can't be  totally undocumented.  Google/Asus had to tell the manufacturers, or they wouldn't be offering the "smart covers" for sale.  They had to know ahead of time, that feature was coming.

Seems Google is good at keeping the consumers in the dark.  They are doing it with the ship date also.  Wonder what else they aren't telling us?

[radiocycle]

The case being referred to is the one on the Asus website... Also... A stylus can be used for anything you'd use your finger for, just more accurate and smaller touches... Lots of people use them with drawing apps, that sort I thing...

Ah, very good! I've never used a stylus but maybe I'll check one out, thanks.  I looked on the Asus site for NA and couldn't find any reference to an N7 cover but I'll look around some more.  My hunch is that it's a different site than you are finding...

r

[Babyfacemagee]

The link to the Asus page is in the article above.

[radiocycle]

Ah yes I saw that but I guess you can't really buy a cover from that page yet...(?)

[S.Prime]

Quoted from GeeksareSexy.net:

I have omitted the video as it is already posted, but GeeksareSexy.net says:


Nexus 7 Smart Cover is on its way

 



Those who (probably quite wisely) decided not to buy into the iPad “premium” product sell and instead went for the “cheap but good” marketing of Google’s Nexus 7 might have been lamenting the fact that there was no Smart Cover alternative for their nifty new tablet.

The Apple Smart Cover is a foldaway cover that is designed to automatically turn your device on and off as you remove and apply it to the surface. How? Magnetization that also handily gets the cover to sit quite securely on the surface of the iPad.

Apple has a patent in the design and Google is unlikely to want to get into any more legal lockdowns with their technological brother. However, it would seem that the functionality is there: the video below demonstrates how the Nexus 7 has a corner which responds to a magnet.



You can probably expect third party cover creators to be including this functionality in cases very soon (if they haven’t already).

[radiocycle]

Ah, tnx S.Prime!

[samalex]

Ah, tnx Sam!

[kyoo]

wish the cheapo cover i bought had a magnet there