When it comes to technology, we've been trained to expect more for
less. Devices get more powerful each year, as prices stay the same or
drop. With the new Nexus 7 tablet, Google hopes we're willing to pay
more for more.The new tablet comes with a $30 price increase over last year's model. At $229 for the base model, it is still a bargain - and 30 per cent cheaper than Apple's $329 iPad Mini. The display is sharper and the sound is richer than the old model. There's now a rear camera for taking snapshots.
The new Nexus 7 is the first device to ship with Android 4.3, which lets you create profiles to limit what your curious and nosy kids can do on your tablet when you're not around.
Amazon.com Inc.'s $199 Kindle Fire HD is cheaper, but it doesn't give you full access to the growing library of Android apps for playing games, checking the weather, tracking flights, reading the news, getting coupons from your favorite stores and more. The Nexus 7 does.
It's a fine complement to your smartphone if it's running Google's Android, the dominant operating system on phones these days - even as Apple commands the market for tablet computers with its full-size iPad and iPad Mini. Unless you tell it not to, apps you use on the phone will automatically appear on the Nexus 7, so you can switch from device to device seamlessly. When you are signed in, bookmarks will also transfer over Google's Chrome Web browser, as will favorite places on Google Maps.
If you were already eyeing last year's Nexus 7 model, then go ahead and pay $30 more for the latest.
Although screen dimensions are identical, the new Nexus 7 has a higher pixel density, at 323 pixels per inch compared with 216 on the old model. Trees and other objects in the movie "Life of Pi" look sharper, as do the movie title and credits on the screen.
Sound is much better with speakers on the left and the right side of the tablet, held horizontally. Although they are technically back facing, the speakers are placed along a curved edge in such a way that sound seems to project outward and not away from you. On the old Nexus 7, I can't even tell where the speakers are.
The new Nexus 7 also feels more comfortable in my hands. It's 17 percent thinner and 5 percent narrower when held like a portrait. The old model was a tad too wide to grip comfortably in the palm of my hands. The new device is also 15 percent lighter, at 10.2 ounces. And the rubbery back feels smoother on the new tablet.
The new Nexus ships with a camera app, something last year's model didn't really need because it had only a front-facing camera, for videoconferencing. With the new rear, 5-megapixel camera, you can take photos and video of what's in front of you. Expect to be ridiculed, though, if I see you doing that. Still, it's not as bad as blocking someone's view with a full-size tablet.
As for the restricted profiles that come with Android 4.3, it's a good idea, though it still has kinks. When you set up a profile for your kid, you pick which apps to enable. Don't want your kid to be surfing the Web unrestricted? Then keep the Chrome browser disabled. Don't want him or her on Facebook? Keep that app disabled, too. The app store is also disabled, so Junior can't go on a download spree. If you do allow access to a particular app, though, then it's full access. There's no filtering to block porn and other questionable material, for instance.
I found that some apps won't work with restricted profiles at all, including those for Gmail and other email accounts. If you want your kids to have access to email, then you have to give them full access or enable the browser to check email over the Web. You can't turn on just the email app.
And although the new tablet is the first to ship with Android 4.3, it's available to download on other devices, including last year's Nexus 7.
What the new tablet does offer is the promise of a longer battery life - up to 10 hours for Web surfing and nine hours for video streaming. Last year's model was rated at eight hours.
There's no question the new model is better and worth the price increase.
"It
is resolved to request the Central government to make steps in
accordance with the Constitution to form a separate state of Telangana
... Within a definite timeframe," said a resolution of the Congress
Working Committee, the highest policy-making body of the party.
At the CWC meeting, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the decision would help the entire Andhra region.
On his part, Digvijay Singh said that the Centre will urge the Andhra Pradesh Assembly to adopt a resolution on creation of Telangana. The Assembly will have to accept or reject the resolution, Singh said, adding, however, that either way it will not be binding on the government of India. - See more at: http://zeenews.india.com/weekend/the-week-that-was-august-02_113.html/1#sthash.LjpvcWcD.dpuf
At the CWC meeting, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the decision would help the entire Andhra region.
On his part, Digvijay Singh said that the Centre will urge the Andhra Pradesh Assembly to adopt a resolution on creation of Telangana. The Assembly will have to accept or reject the resolution, Singh said, adding, however, that either way it will not be binding on the government of India. - See more at: http://zeenews.india.com/weekend/the-week-that-was-august-02_113.html/1#sthash.LjpvcWcD.dpuf
"It
is resolved to request the Central government to make steps in
accordance with the Constitution to form a separate state of Telangana
... Within a definite timeframe," said a resolution of the Congress
Working Committee, the highest policy-making body of the party.
At the CWC meeting, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the decision would help the entire Andhra region.
On his part, Digvijay Singh said that the Centre will urge the Andhra Pradesh Assembly to adopt a resolution on creation of Telangana. The Assembly will have to accept or reject the resolution, Singh said, adding, however, that either way it will not be binding on the government of India. - See more at: http://zeenews.india.com/weekend/the-week-that-was-august-02_113.html/1#sthash.LjpvcWcD.dpuf
At the CWC meeting, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the decision would help the entire Andhra region.
On his part, Digvijay Singh said that the Centre will urge the Andhra Pradesh Assembly to adopt a resolution on creation of Telangana. The Assembly will have to accept or reject the resolution, Singh said, adding, however, that either way it will not be binding on the government of India. - See more at: http://zeenews.india.com/weekend/the-week-that-was-august-02_113.html/1#sthash.LjpvcWcD.dpuf
"It
is resolved to request the Central government to make steps in
accordance with the Constitution to form a separate state of Telangana
... Within a definite timeframe," said a resolution of the Congress
Working Committee, the highest policy-making body of the party.
At the CWC meeting, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the decision would help the entire Andhra region.
On his part, Digvijay Singh said that the Centre will urge the Andhra Pradesh Assembly to adopt a resolution on creation of Telangana. The Assembly will have to accept or reject the resolution, Singh said, adding, however, that either way it will not be binding on the government of India. - See more at: http://zeenews.india.com/weekend/the-week-that-was-august-02_113.html/1#sthash.LjpvcWcD.dpuf
At the CWC meeting, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the decision would help the entire Andhra region.
On his part, Digvijay Singh said that the Centre will urge the Andhra Pradesh Assembly to adopt a resolution on creation of Telangana. The Assembly will have to accept or reject the resolution, Singh said, adding, however, that either way it will not be binding on the government of India. - See more at: http://zeenews.india.com/weekend/the-week-that-was-august-02_113.html/1#sthash.LjpvcWcD.dpuf
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