Interesting review; especially the fact that the app store works overseas (with family and friends in Brazil that is an important thing).
I would love to have one of these, since to me the $199 price feels right for a tablet. However, I still need to find a real use for me, as my small 11 inch windows-based netbook still is a great lab companion as "datasheet display", "Rigol's screen capture" and the eventual TINA circuit simulator and small schematics adjustments in Kicad...
In this week's Amp Hour you seemed to have a similar concern to find a good use for fully featured tablets... What changed? Was that the peer (wife) pressure? I got a similar scenario here...
A few interesting comparison points between this and the Kindle Fire review:
- Interesting to see how certain innovations change us bit by bit... Back in the Kindle Fire review you were talking about "the cloud" with a bit of suspicion/caution, but with the Google you are now completely immersed in it (Google Docs, Google mail, Google this, Google that...)
- In the Kindle Fire review you were upset by the fact the damn thing pulled 1,6A (or something like that) to charge itself, but your impression was milder with the fact the Nexus has a 2,0A charger... Just like me, I guess we all end up "giving in" to the fact these little things are true power hogs! How wouldn't they? All in all they are multi-GHz-core-HD-accelerated-GB-crammed supercomputers!
- The weight of the Kindle Fire is only 70g more, but it is very interesting to see how it affects the impression of a product... Obviously when we get used to something as light as the regular Kindle, anything above that becomes very annoying.
- The "real" buttons for volume control are definitely a big plus when compared to the Kindle, as well as the position of the power button and the main screen (I wasn't convinced by the bookshelf screen of the Fire as well). Also, it is nice to see the rotate window can be disabled so easily (only in rare occasions I like the gyroscope to take control).
Anyways, great stuff. Thanks!