iPad vs. Nexus 7

AdamZ said:
Apps schmaps! My DroidX has more apps than I could ever want or use. There are probably 3 apps that I can't get on my droid that I'd like and first is Jesse's W&B Pro and the others are cloud ahoy and FlyQ which I hear will be developed for Droid.
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Jay Honeck said:
What doesn't make any sense to me, as a user, is this: I've owned both the iPad (now sold and shipped) and Android products. I have not noticed any shortage of apps for either one.

As a user, looking in from the outside, this "shortage of apps" seems to be an illusion. I could spend every day, all day, just exploring possible apps for the Nexus 7. How much is "enough"?
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Really, this all reminds me of Mac OS vs. Windows back in the day... Ironically, with iOS being analogous to Windows and Android to the Mac! But in both cases, it's basically a matter of the apps you want being available, but both of them have most of what you'll need. "There's no software for xxx" is a moot point when 95% of users will do nothing more than word processing, email, and web browsing and there are plenty of options for all of the above on any platform you choose!

Both iOS and Android have a ton of apps, and I wouldn't make the selection based on availability of apps in general, only specific ones. If you really want ForeFlight, you'll need iOS. (Looks like WingX must have made the jump recently.) But there are similar apps on both sides, and only the specialty apps will make the difference. Luckily, on the desktop side of things, we can run virtualization software which makes the software availability issue even less important.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Luckily, on the desktop side of things, we can run virtualization software which makes the software availability issue even less important.
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If you own a Mac. If you own a Windows PC, and you want to run Apature for example, you're out of luck (legally anyway).
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Well, OK, those of us who own Macs can run anything. So buy a Mac. ;)
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But when it's time to add a new device or 2, you are SOL. Good luck adding 2nd hard drive. Or 2nd video card. Or try running 3 monitors and span them.

Macs certainly became more versatile, but even doing bootcamp and loading Windows on it is a huge PITA. Friend's Mac refuses to setup bootcamp without asking to back everything up on the mac and erase it.
 
I own both an iPad 3 and a Nexus 7. They are both great devices, just a little different. I use the iPad a lot sitting on the couch, or if traveling. But if I need something that I can just put in a pocket and carry anywhere, the Nexus makes more sense.

You can't go wrong with either, just pick your poison.
 
Meanee said:
But when it's time to add a new device or 2, you are SOL. Good luck adding 2nd hard drive. Or 2nd video card. Or try running 3 monitors and span them.

Macs certainly became more versatile, but even doing bootcamp and loading Windows on it is a huge PITA. Friend's Mac refuses to setup bootcamp without asking to back everything up on the mac and erase it.
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odd, I have installed/uninstalled bootcamp 2-3 times this year, and it's always a snap. he might have an older OS however.

To your first point, your right. iMacs are not really good for those who wish to upgrade, however it really only hurts if you are a hardcore gamer. My two year old iMac with build in 27" 2560x1440 display, will run another external version of the same monitor nicely. Outside of gaming, I find it a rare application where you would need more screen real-estate then that.

You can always add ab external drive.

If money is no object, then the Mac Pros (not iMacs) will do what your talking about. Those are really built for businesses, as there price point is not in the consumer range.

P.S. Check out what there flagship laptop can do :)

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/20/3104640/macbook-pro-retina-display-three-external-monitors

4 monitors from such a small computer. Really impressive stuff.
 
bullwinkle said:
I own both an iPad 3 and a Nexus 7. They are both great devices, just a little different. I use the iPad a lot sitting on the couch, or if traveling. But if I need something that I can just put in a pocket and carry anywhere, the Nexus makes more sense.

You can't go wrong with either, just pick your poison.
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Best post of the 7 page thread.
 
bullwinkle said:
I own both an iPad 3 and a Nexus 7. They are both great devices, just a little different. I use the iPad a lot sitting on the couch, or if traveling. But if I need something that I can just put in a pocket and carry anywhere, the Nexus makes more sense.

You can't go wrong with either, just pick your poison.
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I've been told that the iPad3 corrected nearly all the deficiencies of the iPad1. As has been pointed out, that would have made a more competitive comparison with the N7.

After my experience with the beta version of the iPad, however, I just couldn't pull the trigger on that $600 trick again.

Same thing happened to me with General Motors cars in the 1980s, BTW. After buying an '86 Fiero, I've never owned another GM product. I'm sure GM makes some good vehicles now, but...I just can't force myself to consider them again.

For $200, however, I can afford to experiment. Buying the Nexus was something of a shot in the dark, but thankfully, amazingly, it is everything I've ever wanted in a tablet, doing everything I wanted the iPad to do, and more. It goes everywhere with me now. Judging by their sales figures, and their inability to keep them in stock, I'd say Asus and Google have hit the sweet spot.

And, since I was able to sell my old iPad1 for $200, it was essentially FREE. Better yet! :D
 
Jay Honeck said:
I have now had the Nexus for several weeks, and continue to be amazed at what it can do, and how well it does these tasks.

I've got live traffic and weather in my plane, for free, yoke mounted on the N7. Try THAT with an iPad.
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Where does the "free" weather come from? Do you have some add-on device <not free>?
 
My Galaxy Nexus has a barometer. I thought that the Nexus 7 did not.

Someone today told me the Nexus 7 does have a barometer. The website doesn't mention it if it does.

Can someone that has a Nexus 7 please let know for sure?
 
Jay Honeck said:
Yoke mounting an iPad is like wall mounting a 106 inch HDTV in a dorm room. It might be possible, but I've not been able to pull it off. The N7 fits perfectly.
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Thanks to this thread, I have been looking for a Nexus 7, for the last four days. It's just that no one around here has one in stock. My wife has an I-pad 2, and I just want something larger than my I-phone, and smaller than the I-pad.

IMO, as to yoke mounting..............Ipads are a purely terrible piece of aviation equipment, when it comes to screen brightness, as compared with my Garmin 696 or a new 796. There is just NO comparison. It's like night and day. The 696 is always very easy to see, even with full sun, and a clear canopy. For my basic GPS moving map, weather overlays, etc.............I just won't use an Ipad device.........period. They have there place, but until sunlight readability is not an issue, then it will just serve as a secondary piece of equipment, or for pre-flighting.

L.Adamson
 
L.Adamson said:
Thanks to this thread, I have been looking for a Nexus 7, for the last four days. It's just that no one around here has one in stock. My wife has an I-pad 2, and I just want something larger than my I-phone, and smaller than the I-pad.

IMO, as to yoke mounting..............Ipads are a purely terrible piece of aviation equipment, when it comes to screen brightness, as compared with my Garmin 696 or a new 796. There is just NO comparison. It's like night and day. The 696 is always very easy to see, even with full sun, and a clear canopy. For my basic GPS moving map, weather overlays, etc.............I just won't use an Ipad device.........period. They have there place, but until sunlight readability is not an issue, then it will just serve as a secondary piece of equipment, or for pre-flighting.

L.Adamson
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Then the Nexus may disappoint you. Side by side the Nexus is noticeably less bright than the iPad, with both at max. And the screens on both are highly reflective. Anti glare coating on devices like the Garmins give them much better readability, even if technically the tablet screens have similar brightness levels.
 
bullwinkle said:
Then the Nexus may disappoint you. Side by side the Nexus is noticeably less bright than the iPad, with both at max. And the screens on both are highly reflective. Anti glare coating on devices like the Garmins give them much better readability, even if technically the tablet screens have similar brightness levels.
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I figured that. I don't intend to use it as a panel or yoke mounted aviation device. Good to find out about the Nexus "brightness", though.
 
L.Adamson said:
Thanks to this thread, I have been looking for a Nexus 7, for the last four days. It's just that no one around here has one in stock. My wife has an I-pad 2, and I just want something larger than my I-phone, and smaller than the I-pad.

IMO, as to yoke mounting..............Ipads are a purely terrible piece of aviation equipment, when it comes to screen brightness, as compared with my Garmin 696 or a new 796. There is just NO comparison. It's like night and day. The 696 is always very easy to see, even with full sun, and a clear canopy. For my basic GPS moving map, weather overlays, etc.............I just won't use an Ipad device.........period. They have there place, but until sunlight readability is not an issue, then it will just serve as a secondary piece of equipment, or for pre-flighting.

L.Adamson
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I am sure something like this for the iPad or Nexus should help.

http://osxdaily.com/2010/07/19/anti-glare-ipad-screen-protectors/
 
kyleb said:
Where does the "free" weather come from? Do you have some add-on device ?
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The Garmin GDL-39 displays ADS-B weather on the Nexus 7. Its free.

Well, we borrowed money from the Chinese to build the system, so really your grandkids are paying for it.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
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L.Adamson said:
I figured that. I don't intend to use it as a panel or yoke mounted aviation device. Good to find out about the Nexus "brightness", though.
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Side by side with my iPad, I could not discern any difference between the screens. Both are gorgeous.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
L.Adamson said:
Thanks to this thread, I have been looking for a Nexus 7, for the last four days. It's just that no one around here has one in stock.
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Yeah, they are sold out everywhere. My sister can't find one, either, and the store I bought mine at (Sam's Club) has been out of them since three days after I bought mine.

Asus/Google have hit a home run with this thing.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
Jay Honeck said:
Yeah, they are sold out everywhere. My sister can't find one, either, and the store I bought mine at (Sam's Club) has been out of them since three days after I bought mine.

Asus/Google have hit a home run with this thing.
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Which may be bad for them. It's a loss-leader.

http://www.itproportal.com/2012/07/10/google-nexus-7-tablet-teardown-confirms-loss-leader-status/

There is no profit in them until online purchases are factored in. I'd expect the shortages to continue for a while.

Google Play really has to pay off for them on this. Razors and razor blades, printers and ink.

The real competition is with the Amazon Kindle Fire 2. Whether people will jump ship from Amazon and their already purchased content there to move to Google, is unlikely.

So it's really up to the small market niche that says they want a "generic" Android 7" tablet. And if that niche doesn't buy content from Google, they're losing money on it and it'll eventually be shut down. Similar to the Google Phone project.

Google has a marketing problem. No one thinks of them as a content provider. Whether they bought YouTube and their scale technology behind the scenes or not, I don't associate Google with "I want to buy a movie/book" in my head. Most don't.

They fix that, they might have a chance. Otherwise the Android stuff will be a wash on the books. Probably won't lose them as much money as the Google Phone. They've tried this before.
 
L.Adamson said:
I figured that. I don't intend to use it as a panel or yoke mounted aviation device. Good to find out about the Nexus "brightness", though.
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Don't get me wrong, the screen is great, just not as bright as the iPad, which is really insanely bright when cranked up.
 
bullwinkle said:
Don't get me wrong, the screen is great, just not as bright as the iPad, which is really insanely bright when cranked up.
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FWIW: Just read a review of the two tablets that states that "80% of webpages load faster on the Nexus 7 than on the iPad3." They go on to say that this is because of the Nexus 7's screaming fast NVidia processor.

I have no way to verify that test, since I don't have an iPad3, other than to say that everything loads nearly instantly on the N7, with very little lag.
 
Jay Honeck said:
FWIW: Just read a review of the two tablets that states that "80% of webpages load faster on the Nexus 7 than on the iPad3." They go on to say that this is because of the Nexus 7's screaming fast NVidia processor.

I have no way to verify that test, since I don't have an iPad3, other than to say that everything loads nearly instantly on the N7, with very little lag.
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I believe that, but hard to know how much is hardware. N7 uses Chrome, which is a much faster browser tha Safari. N7 is no doubt very fast, and not just in browsing.
 
I just ordered a Nexus 7 from google for school. I find the iPad too big and expensive to lug around from class to class. I also have a free six month subscription for garmin pilot which I will be using on the nexus.

I also have an iPad3 which I use for aviation, hopefully I can do a good write up on n7 vs new iPad .
 
loudbagel said:
I just ordered a Nexus 7 from google for school. I find the iPad too big and expensive to lug around from class to class. I also have a free six month subscription for garmin pilot which I will be using on the nexus.

I also have an iPad3 which I use for aviation, hopefully I can do a good write up on n7 vs new iPad .
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I just searched for the Nexus 7 on EBay, and there does not appear to be a shortage of them there.

Of course, most are selling at a premium, well above actual retail. It seems the market is alive and well. lol

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
I saw some N7s at Walmart last night here in San Antonio. There wasn't a display, but you could see them in the lockup case below the other tablets. Mine came from the play store, and we bought a second one for my wife at Sam's Club a few weeks ago.
 
bullwinkle said:
I believe that, but hard to know how much is hardware. N7 uses Chrome, which is a much faster browser tha Safari. N7 is no doubt very fast, and not just in browsing.
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It's also somewhat broken, per standards, but most web developers know how to get around its problems, and standards mean absolutely nothing anymore on the web. All web coders custom code for virtually every browser these days. The standards are an utter failure.
 
denverpilot said:
It's also somewhat broken, per standards, but most web developers know how to get around its problems, and standards mean absolutely nothing anymore on the web. All web coders custom code for virtually every browser these days. The standards are an utter failure.
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FWIW all our software developers develop using Chrome and test in other browsers.
 
jesse said:
FWIW all our software developers develop using Chrome and test in other browsers.
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Heh. That's because it's fast and if it works in Chrome's broken parser, it'll work with little work in the others. It basically sets the standard by being the lowest bar to jump over. ;)
 
Huh? It is very easy to add more hard drives or video cards.
Monitor spanning? Very easy. These are macs, of course you can span monitors LOL.

I run boot camp on both desktop and mac book pro. No issues at all.

Meanee said:
But when it's time to add a new device or 2, you are SOL. Good luck adding 2nd hard drive. Or 2nd video card. Or try running 3 monitors and span them.

Macs certainly became more versatile, but even doing bootcamp and loading Windows on it is a huge PITA. Friend's Mac refuses to setup bootcamp without asking to back everything up on the mac and erase it.
Click to expand...
 

I'm no expert, but I have a hard time following most of what you've written here.

denverpilot said:
The real competition is with the Amazon Kindle Fire 2. Whether people will jump ship from Amazon and their already purchased content there to move to Google, is unlikely.
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I doubt that converting Kindle Fire users is a fundamental part of the plan. The Nexus 7 blows the Fire out of the water, and is probably more in competition—whether intentional or not—with the iPad.

And can't you access your Amazon content on any Android device?

denverpilot said:
So it's really up to the small market niche that says they want a "generic" Android 7" tablet. And if that niche doesn't buy content from Google, they're losing money on it and it'll eventually be shut down.
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What will eventually be shut down? The Nexus 7's production? Eventually they all are. It won't be a loss leader for long. It won't even be the hottest new thing for long. The rate these devices are coming out at is unbelievable.

denverpilot said:
Similar to the Google Phone project.
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Which project is that?

denverpilot said:
Google has a marketing problem. No one thinks of them as a content provider. Whether they bought YouTube and their scale technology behind the scenes or not, I don't associate Google with "I want to buy a movie/book" in my head. Most don't.
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They've had content for a little while, but only recently have really tried to push it. Turning the Android Market into Google Play was a fundamental part of that. I've been seeing a lot of positive things about the music support. Not much the video yet. For music and video I would think that iTunes, not Amazon, is the service in Google's sights.

denverpilot said:
Otherwise the Android stuff will be a wash on the books. Probably won't lose them as much money as the Google Phone. They've tried this before.
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LOL... What? I'm trying not to be rude, but either I've completely misunderstood what you're saying, or you have no clue what you're talking about.
 
Mafoo said:
Unless you have a Mac Pro, not sure how you are going to add a video card to any of them.

However, I think the model linked in that article also came with thunderbolt.

There is nothing that prevents you from installing an external drive on the far faster thunderbolt, and never using the one installed again.

That's what I would do anyway with a desktop.
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So, if I wanted to install an SSD on SATA6 interface...
 
bqmassey said:
I'm no expert, but I have a hard time following most of what you've written here.
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That's because it's hard to see from the consumer side of things if you haven't followed the insides of the tech biz for a couple of decades...

There have been a *lot* of really cool tech "widgets" throughout the years that people clamored for and wanted and liked, that were dead VERY quickly because they didn't make a profit. Way cooler and desirable than the 80/20 solutions that always seem to survive.

Businesspeople don't sell loss-leaders for very long unless it's making them money some other way. The profitability of the Google store for media is key. If it falters, the entire product line will be orphaned, fast.

It's a competitor to the Kindle Fire for that very reason. Anyone buying media from the Apple ecosystem isn't switching. Same with Amazon. And that is the business problem for Google to attempt to solve. How to get enough purchases thought the Google store to support the losses on the device and still turn a profit.

Google can't afford to sell devices used to buy media from Amazon at a loss forever. They have to make a go of their media store, or they'll kill the entire product line. It'll be the wildly short-term successful but long-term dead Commodore, Tandy, Atari or Texas Instruments personal computers of the 80s.

They all had machines with better specs than the competitor IBM-PC by far, but not sold at profitable prices to deep pocket buyers. Their users were fanatical and still are to this day. But the products died along with the companies behind them, when they failed to turn long-term profits.

Google may be able to bluff for a while and divert profits from other business lines into the loss-leader devices, but ultimately they'll need solid profit numbers tied to the devices, or they're going the way of better-but-not-profitable great gadgets of the past.

Apple IIgs, and Apple III died, for example. No buyers. Good machines. Fanatical users. If it weren't for Jobs ripping off Xerox PARC, the company wouldn't be here today. Mac wouldn't have ever started.
 
Perhaps Google can run their Nexus division as well as they've run Motorola Mobility... it only cost them $12 billion to play.

4000 people's lives screwed by their lack of knowledge of how to build and sell successful electronic gadgets...

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/08/google-plans-to-slash-jobs-at-cell-phone-maker/

THAT's what I meant when I mentioned the Google Phone fiasco.

The bad decisions didn't hurt Google, only the 4000 people they're dumping to save their books from showing clearly what idiots they are in the phone biz...
 
denverpilot said:
Perhaps Google can run their Nexus division as well as they've run Motorola Mobility... it only cost them $12 billion to play.

4000 people's lives screwed by their lack of knowledge of how to build and sell successful electronic gadgets...

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/08/google-plans-to-slash-jobs-at-cell-phone-maker/

THAT's what I meant when I mentioned the Google Phone fiasco.

The bad decisions didn't hurt Google, only the 4000 people they're dumping to save their books from showing clearly what idiots they are in the phone biz...
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Google didn't buy Motorola to build phones. They bought it for the Intellectual Property portfolio. An IP portfolio is a weapon, and large companies with large IP portfolios engage in a tactic better known by it's Cold War name: mutually assured destruction.

You see, even when a company tries it's best to design something that does not infringe on the patents of another, it probably has some element that encroaches on said patent. Having your own large portfolio means that *if* you get sued for infringement you can sue back for some infringement that the other guy makes of your patent (all bets are off if it's a patent troll doing the suing).

So, as Apple has sued Samsung for infringement involving Android phones, it's widely believed that this is a test case - if they win, it's expected that they'll then sue Google. By having this portfolio, Google can be in a position to potentially countersue. More likely, A & G will settle with a mutual licensing agreement. Whether or not G will step up to defend Samsung is an unknown question. It's also interesting that Samsung is a significant supplier to Apple.

Once that is considered, the purchase price is easily rationalized. That they get the ability to design & build phones is icing on the cake (and provides a way of ensuring that they can still build/sell devices even if Samsung goes down).
 
wsuffa said:
Google didn't buy Motorola to build phones. They bought it for the Intellectual Property portfolio. An IP portfolio is a weapon, and large companies with large IP portfolios engage in a tactic better known by it's Cold War name: mutually assured destruction.

You see, even when a company tries it's best to design something that does not infringe on the patents of another, it probably has some element that encroaches on said patent. Having your own large portfolio means that *if* you get sued for infringement you can sue back for some infringement that the other guy makes of your patent (all bets are off if it's a patent troll doing the suing).

So, as Apple has sued Samsung for infringement involving Android phones, it's widely believed that this is a test case - if they win, it's expected that they'll then sue Google. By having this portfolio, Google can be in a position to potentially countersue. More likely, A & G will settle with a mutual licensing agreement. Whether or not G will step up to defend Samsung is an unknown question. It's also interesting that Samsung is a significant supplier to Apple.

Once that is considered, the purchase price is easily rationalized. That they get the ability to design & build phones is icing on the cake (and provides a way of ensuring that they can still build/sell devices even if Samsung goes down).
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Fascinating insight. Thanks for sharing it.

This is why I still come to this site, BTW. Every now and then, a gold nugget like this post appears from the sludge in the bottom of the pan...

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
Jay Honeck said:
Fascinating insight. Thanks for sharing it.

This is why I still come to this site, BTW. Every now and then, a gold nugget like this post appears from the sludge in the bottom of the pan...
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wow.

btw, everything wsuffa said is 100% accurate. It's why Microsoft, Apple, Google, and several others step all over each others patents. They get away with it, because they have enough ammo to fire back if they ever get sued.

However while I am glad this is news to you, and you have learned something, it didn't require such an insult to the rest of the community in order to say thank you.

I find the sludge to be the exception here, and not the norm.
 
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