Nexus 10

scottishtv · Tue 27 Nov, 2012 14.09

So, I got the Nexus 7 with 3G. It arrived a few hours ago, and I'm instantly in love with it. For the price, it really is a no-brainer.

Being an Android phone user (HTC Sensation running ICS), I'm amazed by the improvements that the stock version of Android Jelly Bean includes. I'm not bowled over by apps etc yet as none of that is really new, but the stock e-mail app is nice, browsing is a dream so far (still not entirely sure about Chrome), and I'm sure I'll get into the music, books side of things shortly.

A few 'freaky' things did surprise me:

1. I took it out of the box, switched it on, gave it my WiFi password, then it greeted me by name and asked me to enter my Google Account password - it already had my email address on-screen. They must have 'guessed' it was for me given I ordered it using the same Google Account online?

2. I wasn't expecting it to pull down all the apps I already have on my Android phone and install them onto this. I know you can configure the devices separately and I'd rather do that. I can only assume it was trying to be 'helpful'. Likewise, it's pulled down (from the Google Account cloud) photos from years ago that I forgot I'd saved on Picasa Web Albums, with tight sharing settings. I'm now struggling to get pics of an ex off my new tablet. A little bit awkward.

3. Google Now is the 'wow' feature, and I can almost see this as becoming the culmination of what Google is about. Super predictive search, with it reminding you of all sorts of stuff and nudging you to try/see things round about where you are. If you're not familar with it, some more info on The Verge (amazing).

The bit that's pissed me off a bit is the OS's peer pressure on you to disclose your location (to Google - not others mind you), and keep your location being disclosed even when apps like Maps etc are no longer running, pushing you to define your locations (set up 'home', 'work' etc). It also enabled Web Search History across my Google Account even though I specifically switched this off a few months back. I realise this is all about a 'tailored' more predictive search/prompting experience, involving them rummaging my calendar and GMail emails for things coming up in my life, but it does seem like I'm finally surrendering somewhat.

That said, I'll give it a bash, and if it freaks me out too much, I suppose I can switch off all the personalising things again, and they do make that quite easy.

Inspector Sands · Wed 28 Nov, 2012 11.19

ITV Player is not compatible with Jelly Bean yet. However, given that most of the reviews are 1-star, that's probably no big loss.

Can't it just be used on a web browser?

marksi wrote:I'm still with my HTC Desire, and it's about time for an upgrade. The Nexus 4 is a good price, and I'm highly likely to be ordering one from Google Play.

I'd be more tempted by the Nexus phones if they had a replaceable battery. Without that it's a no-go for me. I'll be upgrading from a Desire to a Galaxy S3

Alexia · Wed 28 Nov, 2012 22.16

As Flash is not supported by Android any more, in order to use web-based media players, you would need to side-load a Flash apk and then use Firefox Beta.

APK : http://d-h.st/x4v
More Info : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthr ... ?t=1774336 and http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-575 ... n-devices/

Dr Lobster* · Fri 30 Nov, 2012 17.47

still loving mine, i agree chrome is a bit disappointing which is a shame because the integration with the desktop is great. The new version which got pushed out a few days ago seems a bit smoother, but i'm with Alexia... firefox beta is buttery smooth, its also nice that you can use addons - adblock works a treat.

its my dads 65 th in a week or so and he is always impressed with my gadgets so i have decided to get him an ipad4.... will let you know how the screens and browser compares.

Alexia · Fri 30 Nov, 2012 20.35

I'd forgotten about addons!

Also 4.2.1 has been rolled out this week, reinstating December in the calendar.

My dad also has one (albeit the 32GB GSM one!)

Dr Lobster* · Sun 02 Dec, 2012 21.21

i've actually gone back to chrome now. although i love the way firefox works on mobile (and addons), it seems to slow down to a crawl after a while using it. clicking a link inexplicably takes ages. killing the browser and starting again, all is nice and quick.

anyway, what are your most have tablet apps?

here are mine:

> JustReader - a feed reader that's just a little bit nicer than Google Reader (syncs all the google reader feeds)
> KingSoft office - great viewer/editor for quickly tapping up documents
> MD.emu - Sega MD emulator. Works and looks great on that screen
> Sonic CD - an enchanced version, again looking and sounding very nice
> NoNonsenseNotes - this syncs the notes and todo tasks from your google account across devices - i use it on my phone too so if i need to jot down a note it's on my tablet too - very useful.
> SunSurveyor - gives you all you need to know about where the sun is going to be, sunrise/sunset times, moon phases and so on. i'm a bit of a nerd for that sort of thing, nice to know where the sun is going to be for photography.
> ConvertPad - very useful for converting currancies and units. Great little app.
I've got all the Angrybird games on there too, they all look lovely and are fun to play.

That's about it really. What about you?

Alexia · Sun 02 Dec, 2012 21.51

I have Kingsoft Office - agree, v.g.

ES File Explorer - easy access to my network drive

Bus Scout and the First Great Western apps for travel - FGW covers anywhere in the UK and is slightly more user friendly than the National Rail app.

Pubdar and Nandos Finder - uses GPS to find..pubs and Nandos...

TuneIn Radio

TVCatchup (as mentioned earlier in the thread, turns your tablet into a mobile Freeview box)

Plus the usual ones - BBC News, Sky News, Sky Sports News, Shazam, The Weather Channel, Facebook, Twitter etc....

bilky asko · Sun 02 Dec, 2012 23.38

Dr Lobster* wrote:

i've actually gone back to chrome now. although i love the way firefox works on mobile (and addons), it seems to slow down to a crawl after a while using it. clicking a link inexplicably takes ages. killing the browser and starting again, all is nice and quick.

Opera Mobile is your friend.

Dr Lobster* · Mon 03 Dec, 2012 18.55

I love Opera, but those twin url/search boxes drive me potty.

Even Apple seem to have finally got it with the desktop version of safari having a unified url/search bar. Shame they haven't got around to carrying it over to the iPad yet.

bilky asko · Tue 04 Dec, 2012 22.59

Dr Lobster* wrote:I love Opera, but those twin url/search boxes drive me potty.

Even Apple seem to have finally got it with the desktop version of safari having a unified url/search bar. Shame they haven't got around to carrying it over to the iPad yet.

You can search from the URL bar, you know.