PC Advisor examines Google's motivation for launching the Nexus 7, and asks whether the Nexus 7 is a good deal for consumers.
The Nexus 7 is a great device at a killer price - but why?
The birth of the iPad breathed life into the tablet market. It also killed it dead.
At the same time as making tablets the most desirable tech objects around, Apple's iPad dominated the market to such an extent that it hasn't yet endured a decent rivalry. We hope that the Microsoft Surface will bring something new to the market - the RT should in principle match iPad-like specs with the world's most ubiquitous computing platform. But to date Android tablets have been blown-up budget smartphones, Windows tablets shrunk-down laptops.
The former is better than the iPad at nothing, may be prone to malware, and usually costs more. The latter is... well, there's a reason Microsoft doesn't shout about X86 Windows tablets, and it relates to the fact that in use my Samsung Series 7 Slate stretches to about four hot-and-heavy hours of battery life before it keels over. (And the Series 7 is the best Windows tablet I've tried.) The Surface Pro may be in the public domain only because Microsoft doesn't want to annoy Intel.
Things recently changed in the tablet world, however. Google has taken Asus' putative MeMo tablet, rebranded it as the Nexus 7 and is selling it for less than half the price of an iPad. This is, as they say, disruptive.
Now when people ask me what tablet to buy I can honestly give them a more interesting answer than 'get an iPad'. At 7in the Nexus 7 is a more portable device than the iPad, and retailing from just £159 it's a massive bargain. It's not an iPad killer, far from it. The iPad is closer to a full-spec PC in its functions, whereas the Nexus 7 is a consumption device. It's a souped-up iPod touch or Amazon Kindle Touch, designed to be your greatest tech toy. So if you want to spend £500 on an iPad you'll be getting the best tablet you can buy, but at less than half the price the Nexus 7 will be a bargain for those who don't require the creative capabilities of Apple's slate. See also: Group test: what's the best tablet PC?
Is the Nexus 7 a good deal?
I've been using the Nexus 7 for a couple of weeks now, and it's the first non-Apple tablet I've liked without reservation. It's a high-quality web-browsing and email device - but you'd expect that. What's interesting is that I have spent more money in Google Play in two weeks than I did in two years of using other Android tablets. In part this is because the Play Movies, Play Books and Play Music apps make it easy and desirable to do so. But also it reflects the generally slick and consumer nature of both Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and the hardware itself, and the fact that I just want to use the Nexus. All the time. It's a great device at a fabulous price. See also: Google Play Movies & TV review.
There are things missing: cellular connectivity, storage, a proper camera, to name but a few. But you don't miss them if your principle reason for using the Nexus is to watch movies, play games, listen to music and read books, on the move or on the couch. If you're on a train you’d more likely Tweet and email from your phone, anyway. Within reach of your home network, the Nexus 7 is ideal for social networking, email and browsing.
How can Google sell the Nexus 7 so cheaply?
Various publications have pulled to pieces the Nexus 7, and suggest that the parts alone would cost in excess of £100. so when manufacturing, marketing, distribution and software licensing costs are taken in to account there is no doubt that Google is taking a hit on every Nexus 7 it is selling - and given the sold out signs on display in the Google Play store that is a lot of units. Google has deep pockets, but it seems strange that it would sell a new product at a loss.
It's not unheard for good tablets to be sold at knock-down prices. Both the BlackBerry PlayBook and HP TouchPad are good examples. And although they are cheap because they failed, they do offer a clue as to what Google is up to.
The problem for both the PlayBook and TouchPad is that although they are both excellent hardware devices, they are the only tablets on their particular platforms. As a consequence the BlackBerry App World is a lonely place, and WebOS is no more. One of Apple's undisputed strengths is the quality and breadth of the content on iTunes, both apps and media. And with Microsoft's Windows Store about to come on stream with a potential audience of billions, and the Amazon Kindle Fire soon to bring Amazon's deep well of movies, music and reading matter to UK tablet users, Google needs to get its tablet users spending money in its own app store, the recently rebranded Google Play.
Google's wealth is built on giving things away for free and then charging advertisers to talk to its audience. It's rubbish at extracting cash from punters. But by the end of this year Microsoft and Amazon will join Apple in doing exactly that via tablets, and Google cannot afford to miss out.
Although Android smartphones proliferate in huge volume, their users tend to spend a lot less money on apps and media. App developers find the wide variety of Android operating systems different to write for, too. This means that although Google claims that there are 600,000 apps in the Play store, this is a lot fewer than Apple claims for iPad and iPhone, and it's a fair bet that very few Android apps are optimised for tablets.
Lack of apps and media is in turn a reason to turn away from Google and toward Apple (or Microsoft or Amazon). This makes Google Play even less desirable to app makers and media owners, and so the vicious cycle continues.
What Google wants from the Nexus 7
Google is hoping that the Nexus 7 will not only drive sales of Android devices, but kick start app and media sales via Google Play, in turn attracting developers and media owners, creating a more attractive market for other hardware makers. It's not generosity on Google's behalf that purchasers get £15 of Google Play credit any more than is a free joint from a drug dealer - you're being invited to try spending in Android's store, and with the Nexus 7 you may find you like it.
The Nexus 7 is that rare thing - an unmitigated bargain. Buy it and you may find yourself spending much more on movies, music and books. But if my experience is anything to go by, you won't mind overmuch.
Comments
Matt Egan said: You are not the first to make that observation
Matt Foot said: LOL Matt Egan Karl Pilkington An Id-jut Abroad
Britta H said: I just bought the Nexus 7 and now that we are back in Spain for 2 months I learned that I can neither download books or movies from Google Play that arent in Spanish nor can I pay with a credit card to download content that is not registered in Spain I have to say I am pretty disappointed as I bought the device mainly because I travel a lot
Anonymous said: I agree with many of your points Bacon I appreciate that you keep a cool headI think you made a really good point where you said Saying that Android tabs have been blown up budget smartphones implying that the iPad is different is not necessarily a fair comparisonApple and Google products are no more or less powerful although I would argue that Android offers morecustomizability and freedomthan iOS But anyway they are bothdefinitelynot full operating systems The only tablet with atrulypowerful OS is the Surface Pro running the full Windows 8 Unfortunately someone in the market for a Nexus 7 would not be looking for something so pricey
Anonymous said: Wow somebody has some strong opinions about technology
The Grice said: Dear Matt EganAfter reading this ridiculously bias and one sided review I have one question for you Did you manage to get your penis in and out of the headphone socket okayNexus 7 is good enough for me It does everything it says on the box and it looks smart too Ipads are to big and clumsy I would rather stick my dick in a blender than pay 500 for onePeace
Matt Egan said: Its 199 for the 16gb model as reviewed 159 for the 8gb from Google Play
Chris Martin said: httpsplaygooglecomstoreSimple
Chris Martin said: 159 is 8GB199 is 16GBSimple
Still waiting for where to buy said: Suddenly in your latest comparison the Nexus price has risen to 199 - any news on where these bargain 159 tablets are hiding
Ian Sandeman said: The parts cost 100 ha ha I very much doubt that the Chinese companies that make these pay anything like that One of the main problems I found was the battery would go flat in about 3 hours just on standby when wifi was turned onWifi connectivity is also a problem from time to time many times have to restart the tablet because it crashes and locks upThese problems aside I think the Nexus 7 is a fine tablet for everyday use I think the screen is too small for watching films I would have liked to have seen a SD and a HDMI port Seems a pity also flash from Adobe will not work on it but thats not Googles fault
Matt Egan said: Bacon one thing I am an Apple user in that I have an iPhone but Ive never owned an iPad and I have multiple Android tabs
ooommm777 said: Bacon agree with you 100 Keep going
JH said: Heres an exampe of how I use my ipad as a creation deviceI have three vector drawing applications two which are also on the Mac I throw together notices posters images for articles etc on the ipad I can dropbox them and get them on the Mac should I need to or export them to say Keynote on the ipad for a presentation or print them directly to paperI create presentations using Keynote completely on the ipad no PC involved I find it easier to do that than use Powerpoint Plug the ipad into a projector and use the iphone as a remote with cue cards and a mini representation of the current slide Very simpe setup and effecive I persuaded our board to spend money on the strength of the presentation recently
Bacon said: Ok I read the rest of the article because of your comment I guess my issue with it is that you are clearly coming from the perspective of ApplegtAndroid and the problem with that is that you arent stating things as your opinion youre stating them as fact Saying that Android tabs have been blown up budget smartphones implying that the iPad is different is not necessarily a fair comparison I could easily argue with the fact that Android tabs are LESS like their phone counterparts than the iPad is at least they were moreso when Honeycomb was out and phones were still GingerbreadSecondly yes iTunes has more apps and some killer ones that Android does not have But compared to when I got my first Android tab original Transformer that gap is GREATLY lessening The majority of killer apps are released for both OS now You also praise the Play booksmusicvideo which I dont purchase myself so I dont know how it compares to iTunes but then later you mention the lack of media If you feel there isnt enough musicmedia you should mention the lack of content after you praise it not in your final words where people will already have forgotten that you praised itLastly I do have an issue with the fact that you state that the iPad is a creation device whereas the Nexus is a consumption device implying it is not a creation device you dont mention your rational which is based on screen size which is a valid opinion that should be stated Other than that save for a few things that one could probably think of I dont see a whole lot of things that one can do on an iPad that they cannot do on Android In fact I would think that Android being open source can probably more easily deal with various formats and filetypes in a much better way than iOS For instance I can plug my 2TB hard drive into my nexus via a microusbgtUSB OTG cable which seems like it would be incredibly useful for creation BUT at the same time do people REALLY buy tablets to create stuff anyways If I were going to do something heavy with spreadsheetsphotoshopmusicetc I think Id grab my laptop 99 of the timeClearly I am an Android user I am not a personal fan of Apple products yet am surrounded by them in silicon valley So I am the same as you admittedly But you are stating a lot of stuff as fact that is merely your opinion and I would appreciate your article which yes is an opinion piece but you know as well as I that people dont keep that in mind much more if you didnt state your opinion as factSorry for calling your article terrible It is not It is interesting to read what you as an apple user think of the Nexus But your opinions do deserve a bit more clarification for the sake of your uninformed readers that you ARE informing And admittedly even though I probably wouldnt be as motivated to have ever commented if I were an apple fan Id have the exact same problems with your articleThanks for listening to my criticism I normally wouldnt have ever said anything so Im not sure why this was different but hopefully you can see some value in a point or two of mine so this wasnt a waste for me to write P
Matt Egan said: God bless you Bacon Most people skim read then make a judgement then troll At least youve admitted you didnt bother reding my article Im pretty confident I have an informed opinion You may disagree Please make a sufficiently coherent comment
Bacon said: Let me rephrase my last sentence Its relatively clear that Im not going to agree with your opinions anyway Sorry my original comment was rude
Bacon said: I find your article to be pretty terribleRT should in principle match iPad-like specs with the worlds most ubiquitous computing platform But to dateAndroid tabletshave been blown-up budgetsmartphonesWindows tabletsshrunk-downlaptops The ipad moreso than any other tablet is a blown up smartphoneThe iPad is closer to a full-spec PC in its functions whereas the Nexus 7 is a consumption device What Screen size ok but what elseUnfortunately I dont even know if youre liking the nexus 7 because after reading a few paragraphs its relatively clear that you dont quite know what youre talking about
X Phipps said: Can you tell me where I can buy this bargain tablet from for the price of 159
Simon said: Something i forgot to mention Another blog i read looked at the most downloadedhighest revenuing apps from the app store and between 7 and 10 of them were content creation apps depending on which figures you use That to me does not make the iPad a content creation focussed device