Nexus 7 alternatives & tech specs query

gino_76ph

Hi there!

I am in the hunt for a 7"-8" Android 4/4.1 tablet. Currently my choices are the new Acer Iconia A110 (because of a microSD card slot), the Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition (because of the bigger screen, excellent build and virtual surround sound), the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 (again with a slightly bigger screen, a microSD card slot and an excellent AMOLED screen) and the top dog Google Nexus 7. But i am more interested with the Nexus 7 in terms of "Is it worth the investment" even on a small screen?. I will be using the thing mainly for checking email/news/weather, the usual Youtube, WIkipedia, Twitter, watching movies and also gaming. So, i'd like to ask:

1, Is the actual GPU dual or single channel? And what's the frequency? Does it matter?
2. Is the 1.3Ghz the base CPU speed? Or is it underclocked like what Apple is doing with its tabs?
3. Aside from connecting a mice or keyboard what other stuff can the Bluetooth 3.0 standard do?
4. Is it capable of wireless file transfer to & from a Macbook?
5. I'm aware that it doesn't have Flash but can i still install them via the Google Play?
6. Are they stereo speakers? Capable of surround sound? (some sound issues in some models i heard)

Please advice. Thanks.

almillar

I bet that virtual surround sound will be great out of tablet speakers. What a worthless spec, pay no attention to it.
Almost any tablet will dynamically adjust the clock speed of the processor, so I'd take 1.3Ghz as being the top speed. Not that relevant anyway.
The Nexus is the best there in terms of performance, so YOU have to balance that against the other features you get with the other tablets.

Cisco001

4. Is it capable of wireless file transfer to & from a Macbook?
No idea for Macbook. I use app call Airdroid and connect to PC. No problem. If you have android phone, you can try if the app work with macbook

5. I'm aware that it doesn't have Flash but can i still install them via the Google Play?
You can't install flash from google play any more. But you can certainly find it somewhere on web.


6. Are they stereo speakers? Capable of surround sound? (some sound issues in some models i heard)
Nexus 7 don't have good sound from speaker. If you want good sound, invest bluetooth speaker.

Don't buy Nexus 7 now. Wait until ipad mini/ microsoft surface out (end of Oct).There was rumours of reduce in price. Also, I expect 32GB version of Nexus 7 out soon.

gino_76ph

Would it matter if a tablet has dual-channel GPU and dual-band wifi? Would it make the tab "faster" and better in terms of gaming/graphics and internet speeds?

Sound is quite important to me either thru the main speakers, via a bluetooth speaker or via headphones. Amongst the other tabs what would be the best choice in terms of sound?

RobTang

gino_76ph wrote: »

Would it matter if a tablet has dual-channel GPU and dual-band wifi? Would it make the tab "faster" and better in terms of gaming/graphics and internet speeds?

It can do, although the chip itself its probably a better indicator.
Nexus 7 is a Tegra 3 chip which is a 4+1 core chip.

gino_76ph wrote: »

Sound is quite important to me either thru the main speakers, via a bluetooth speaker or via headphones. Amongst the other tabs what would be the best choice in terms of sound?

NO tablet gives decent sound out of its speakers (I would go as far to say no Laptop (even the ones with built in subs) has a decent sound either) you just can't drive a decent amount of air with the size of the speakers.

BT audio and the headphone jack are fine

gino_76ph

Ok between the choices i mentioned in the first paragraph when it comes to build quality and speakers sound which one at the moment would you put your trust....Acer/Google, Samsung or Motorola?

almillar

Gino - instead of taking someone else's opinion on sound and build quality, you'd do well to goto a PC World or something and have a play with your shortlisted tablets yourself. As I said above, I think the Acer/Google Nexus 7 is the best at 7 inches, just because the internals are so powerful, and it'll (hopefully) be kept up to date best. Already on Jellybean for example...

penrhyn

Updated my Nexus 7 to Jellybean 4.2.2, homescreen rotation, cool! Got me a nice little bluetooth speaker , 'cos as Sheldon says ' Everything works better with Bluetooth'

gino_76ph

There is no use telling me to go to a PC World or Carphone Warehouse because i would have done it millenia ago. The problem with those stores is either 1. They don't have anything on display or 2. There is a display but it is non-working or not even charged or 3. There is a display but the OS is not the updated one or 4. There is a display but its not connected to the wifi hence you are not able to fully test it. Believe me...i have tried and i've checked. Maybe my best bet is Tottenham Court Road.

Its a lose-lose situation. One way is to probably steal one in order to actually try it. I know its annoying and frustrating. So, like me i have to go thru forums and discussions like these or Youtube.

So, back to my question please.

jayme1

gino_76ph wrote: »

1, Is the actual GPU dual or single channel? And what's the frequency? Does it matter?
It matters and it doesn't, what matters is what the app is designed to run best on, if the developer of the app is using a Nexus 7 and tests the app on an Nexus 7 then the developer has designed it to run best on the Nexus 7, and you can bet that almost all developers will have a Nexus 7 to test their apps on

2. Is the 1.3Ghz the base CPU speed? Or is it underclocked like what Apple is doing with its tabs?
Again doesn't really matter any of those tablets will work perfectly well

3. Aside from connecting a mice or keyboard what other stuff can the Bluetooth 3.0 standard do?
It's a lot like WiFi if an app is designed to do something 'special' with bluetooth then it can but keyboard/mouse and transferring files are the uses that you will most likely ever see in real life

4. Is it capable of wireless file transfer to & from a Macbook?
there are apps that can access network shares ES File Explorer is one

5. I'm aware that it doesn't have Flash but can i still install them via the Google Play?
yes you can install flash even if it isn't in Google Play, just like on a computer you can find and install the apk and install it yourself if it isn't in the Play store

6. Are they stereo speakers? Capable of surround sound? (some sound issues in some models i heard)
as others have said surround sound is mainly just a gimmick as is stereo speakers, unless the stereo speakers are on opposite sides of the device while in landscape then there will not be enough space to properly convey the stereo sound, all the tablets have a stereo headphone port so you can have stereo sound via headphones or external speakers.

Please advice. Thanks.

see some answers in red.

I would choose the Nexus 7 it's the de-facto standard of Android tablets and is almost guaranteed to work the best with apps and the software is updated directly via Google meaning security updates and new features of Android without any waiting.

System

you've been asking about tablets for four months now, it's time to take the next step and try one out, you could easily buy one and return it if it doesn't meet your needs, but there's only so much second hand research can help you, and four months should be enough time to make a judgement call...
if you are going to kick start your career reviewing tech gadgets I don't think four months would be a good time to take to get the opinions out :money: