Note: The blog post below is merely my opinion and written to the best of my knowledge. Naturally, everybody is free to think otherwise!
Traveling is a great way to see new places and experience things you would never have experienced back in your home country, but more often than not traveling (particularly budget traveling) involves long hours spent in the back of a night bus or train, as many of you very well know. For this reason, I've been looking for what, in my opinion, is the perfect travel companion - a tablet. After reading many reviews and lots and lots of indecision, I finally managed to get my hands on my own second generation Nexus 7! The new Nexus 7 is a 7-inch Android tablet sold by Google and manufactured by Asus and comes in three versions; the 16 GB and 32 GB Wi-Fi version, or the 32 GB LTE version (which has additional internet options). I went all the way and got the LTE version and I feel as though Christmas came early!
Traveling is a great way to see new places and experience things you would never have experienced back in your home country, but more often than not traveling (particularly budget traveling) involves long hours spent in the back of a night bus or train, as many of you very well know. For this reason, I've been looking for what, in my opinion, is the perfect travel companion - a tablet. After reading many reviews and lots and lots of indecision, I finally managed to get my hands on my own second generation Nexus 7! The new Nexus 7 is a 7-inch Android tablet sold by Google and manufactured by Asus and comes in three versions; the 16 GB and 32 GB Wi-Fi version, or the 32 GB LTE version (which has additional internet options). I went all the way and got the LTE version and I feel as though Christmas came early!
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| Image courtesy of Google images/mikeshouts.com |
You could argue that a 7-inch screen is very small for a tablet and is not much bigger than most smartphones which are consistently being made in the 4.8- 5.3 inch screen bracket, so it would have made more sense to get a proper 10-inch tablet. However, the Nexus 7 is indeed the perfect tablet for me for many reasons. It easily fits in one hand and is much more comfortable to carry around when on the go, and I plan to use it for watching movies, reading books and playing games while traveling; not to mention being able to access Google maps and getting directions without getting lost (if you don't already own a smartphone). I am also currently trying to learn German, so having an electronic dictionary with access to internet to instantly translate a word, as well as some ebooks in German, will definitely help make my life easier and the learning process faster.
The new Nexus 7 happens to be the tablet with the best screen resolution so far at 323 ppi which will definitely improve the viewing and reading experience. it also comes with a 5 MP camera which also has cool features such as photosphere which lets you take photos at 360 degree angles, and also has a great battery life (around 10 hours). The similarity in size to a smartphone means that most Android apps configured for smartphones work very well for the Nexus 7, something which Android 10-inch tablets lack because there is a much poorer app ecosystem (compared to the app ecosystem for Apple tablets) since not enough apps have been configured for that size yet. Personally I believe the Nexus 7 provided me with the best compromise between the superior reading display of a kindle and the versatility of a normal-sized tablet. When compared to its Apple counterpart, the iPad mini, I guess the fundamental difference boiled down to price; the Nexus 7 is way cheaper. In addition, you either love Apple or you don't, and as my friends can vouch for me I fall into the second category. A second generation iPad mini is still in the pipeline though, so I guess it will be interesting to see if Apple steps up its game to compete with the new Nexus 7.
Funnily enough, electronics in Switzerland are probably the cheapest you will ever find in Europe. However, as I happened to be going to New York city I ended up buying it from the States since you won't find cheaper electronics anywhere else. My two main concerns when buying from the US where the difference in the mains voltage output (120 V in the US as opposed to 240 V in most of Europe) as well as the issue of non-compatibility with European 4G network providers. After some online searches I came to the conclusion that neither would be a problem. Most portable electronic devices such as laptops, mobiles and tablets (and other devices which require a charger) usually convert AC into a DC output and are tuned to operate in a range of voltages typically 100-240 V. If you do intend to buy from the US just make sure it is written down on your charger before you purchase it. The pins of the plug are obviously different but luckily it's a micro USB cable so I can actually charge the device with my phone charger or through my computer. Either way, plug adapters are readily available from any hardware store. As regards the second concern, as long as you buy an unlocked device (from BestBuy for example), you should be fine.
Below is the product's advert called 'Fearless' and I have to admit has got to be one of Google's best adverts ever. I just love how they managed to combine their marketing which such a sensitive topic and common problem. I also found this review posted by the Verge really useful when deciding whether to buy the tablet or not, and the fact that it got a Verge score of 9 (a very rare occurrence) really did tip the scale in its favour.
The tech specs for this device as well as more information can be found on Google. I really hope you found my opinion helpful if you are also considering buying a tablet!
Now I have to go and continue discovering what this device has got to offer! Take care!
The new Nexus 7 happens to be the tablet with the best screen resolution so far at 323 ppi which will definitely improve the viewing and reading experience. it also comes with a 5 MP camera which also has cool features such as photosphere which lets you take photos at 360 degree angles, and also has a great battery life (around 10 hours). The similarity in size to a smartphone means that most Android apps configured for smartphones work very well for the Nexus 7, something which Android 10-inch tablets lack because there is a much poorer app ecosystem (compared to the app ecosystem for Apple tablets) since not enough apps have been configured for that size yet. Personally I believe the Nexus 7 provided me with the best compromise between the superior reading display of a kindle and the versatility of a normal-sized tablet. When compared to its Apple counterpart, the iPad mini, I guess the fundamental difference boiled down to price; the Nexus 7 is way cheaper. In addition, you either love Apple or you don't, and as my friends can vouch for me I fall into the second category. A second generation iPad mini is still in the pipeline though, so I guess it will be interesting to see if Apple steps up its game to compete with the new Nexus 7.
Funnily enough, electronics in Switzerland are probably the cheapest you will ever find in Europe. However, as I happened to be going to New York city I ended up buying it from the States since you won't find cheaper electronics anywhere else. My two main concerns when buying from the US where the difference in the mains voltage output (120 V in the US as opposed to 240 V in most of Europe) as well as the issue of non-compatibility with European 4G network providers. After some online searches I came to the conclusion that neither would be a problem. Most portable electronic devices such as laptops, mobiles and tablets (and other devices which require a charger) usually convert AC into a DC output and are tuned to operate in a range of voltages typically 100-240 V. If you do intend to buy from the US just make sure it is written down on your charger before you purchase it. The pins of the plug are obviously different but luckily it's a micro USB cable so I can actually charge the device with my phone charger or through my computer. Either way, plug adapters are readily available from any hardware store. As regards the second concern, as long as you buy an unlocked device (from BestBuy for example), you should be fine.
Below is the product's advert called 'Fearless' and I have to admit has got to be one of Google's best adverts ever. I just love how they managed to combine their marketing which such a sensitive topic and common problem. I also found this review posted by the Verge really useful when deciding whether to buy the tablet or not, and the fact that it got a Verge score of 9 (a very rare occurrence) really did tip the scale in its favour.
The tech specs for this device as well as more information can be found on Google. I really hope you found my opinion helpful if you are also considering buying a tablet!
Now I have to go and continue discovering what this device has got to offer! Take care!
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