back to article Brits get to fondle Google Nexus 7 slab in just a fortnight

Now that Google is in tablets, it's clearly hoping to make its mark quickly, lining its Nexus 7 tablet up for shipping in the UK in two to three weeks. The Nexus fondleslab was spotted lurking in pre-order form on the Play store at £159 for its 8GB version, but no sign of the 16GB one yet. According to the site, the gear is …

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  1. SteveK

    "The Nexus fondleslab was spotted lurking in pre-order form on the Play store at £159 for its 8GB version, but no sign of the 16GB one yet."

    Sorry? Did you actually look? The Nexus 7 page on the UK Play store has a big button to toggle between 8Gb and 16Gb versions. £199 for the 16Gb, inc VAT but + delivery (was a tenner for the 8Gb so assume the same for 16).

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yeah, I tried to make this point too, maybe I was too blunt because I used the phrase "clicking fail", and my post seemed to vanish :)

      (This particular author doesn't seem to do very much research- maybe files from the pub on a mobile browser, and misses these details? :D)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Thumb Down

        Oi, smartarses

        There's a button for sending corrections. Did you actually look?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Probably looked it up on an Ipad with the "special" version of Safari that has subtle Google blocking to stop people suggesting tech other than Apple's to their mates who don't yet have a tablet!

    3. Cosby

      Correct Steve, I ordered the 16GB last night

  2. probedb

    "but just a 1280 x 800 HD screen and no rear camera."

    You've seen the price right?

    And the dot pitch of the screen is the same/similar to the retina display on the Macbook Pro.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "but just a 1280 x 800 HD screen and no rear camera."

      The latter being a pointless argument since you'll use a 7" tablet at much closer distance than a 15" laptop.

  3. Cuddles
    Thumb Down

    $249 = £159

    Delivery will cost a little more, but once again it's far cheaper to order from the US than to buy in the UK.

    1. vulcan

      Re: $249 = £159

      You did include duty and VAT in that price didn't you Cuddles

      1. Maxson

        Re: $249 = £159

        $199 is the £159 version.

        $199 = £128

        £128*1.2 to adjust for VAT = £153

        A 23% (20% due to VAT) or so price difference between UK and US is pretty fucking great compared to most things where it's 40-60%

        Depending on your state in America, you'll pay sales tax there too, which can bring the price in some places in the US for the 8GB version to $230 or so.

        Good deal, shame about the lack of card slot. I'd happily pay £10-20 more for a card slot on it than £40 for another 8GB of storage built in.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: $249 = £159

      At least it wasn't $249 and £249

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Touch Paper

    I can't see this taking off, people expect to pay much more for hardware and will want new Windows 8 RT and Metro.

    SB

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Touch Paper

      Ha ha good one. you are being sarcastic aren't you?

    2. This post has been deleted by its author

    3. DrXym

      Re: Touch Paper

      I don't personally like things about the tablet but I think it will offer a superlative experience within its limitations and at a price which is pretty compelling.

      Whether it sells well or not is up to Google. Previously they've sold hardware through crappy website which were hard to find and actively discouraged buyers by telling people to get lost if they were outside the sales region.

      If they want to sell the device in large quantities they'll have to sell through retail chains like Tesco. It has the qualities that would make it a great impulse buy but it needs to be seen in order to do this.

      1. Ben Tasker

        Re: Touch Paper

        @AC "people expect to pay much more for hardware and will want new Windows 8 RT and Metro."

        Almost expected to find that on Snopes.com it's so laughable!

        People wan't to spend the minimum, and it's already quite clear that almost no-one wants Metro!

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Touch Paper

          I want Metro. Have been using it since early previews and it's good. The new Start menu that is Metro is much more productive than the old style Start menu.

    4. Wild Bill
      Thumb Up

      Re: Touch Paper

      Upvoted because I can recognise sarcasm, even on the internet.

  5. Robert Caldecott

    Ordered mine already

    £159 for this is a great price - and Amazon will lose out seeing as their equivalent Fire tablet isn't even available in the UK. This is just what I have been waiting for.

    And kudos for not simply changing the $ sign to a £ when converting the price like so many other US companies do. $199 = £130 + 20% VAT = £153. Close enough.

    1. AlexQPR

      Re: Ordered mine already

      Hi Rob,

      Were you able to order this through the nexus website? or Play store? as I am currently getting a message saying this is not available in your country. This could be because I'm in the Isle of man but doubtfull.

      Alex

      1. Robert Caldecott

        Re: Ordered mine already

        I ordered it through the Play store. I'm in Wiltshire. :)

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Ordered mine already

        Not available in the Channel Islands either, not sure if this is intentional by Google or if it's the same situation as for apps published as UK only where Google does not include the Channel Islands, which whilst technically correct for the definition of the UK is not very helpful as most of the UK apps are relavent here too.

        1. AlexQPR

          Re: Ordered mine already

          re channel Islands reply.

          I note some Online retailers will be able to sell the nexus tablet online so we may have to go through those channels to get our greasy mitts on it. I think the retailers are carphone warehouse, pc world, comet & ebuyer so hopefully we will buy and get them delivered from there.

          I'm in complete agreement re; uk specific apps! Frustrating!!!

          Alex

  6. Gashead

    It's a shame it won't make the most of that enormous catalogue 2048x1536 resolution movies the fanbois slobber over.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Or those 1920x1080 movies either :(

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      What 2048x1536 resolution movies?

      There aren't any. Apple fanbois are iewing 1920x1080P SCALED up. I'd rather have 1:1 pixel mapping and no caling artefacts, even if they are almost invisible.

      1. ACcc

        Re: What 2048x1536 resolution movies?

        I refer you to the fine gentleman quoted below:

        Posted Thursday 28th June 2012 15:36 GMT

        Wild Bill

        ....I can recognise sarcasm, even on the internet.

        *sigh*

  7. sugerbear

    Too much ?

    Price point - anyone think it is too high ? At nearer to £100 it is worth it, once it starts moving up to the £200 level it is no longer such a good deal.

    I have a 7 inch android tablet that is pretty good for reading/emailing, had hdmi out, plays games etc, ok the battery isnt great but it only cost me £80 and has a micro sd card slot thrown in.

    Why include NFC then exclude a microsd slot ? No one is going to pay for stuff using NFC on this device because it isn't a wallet sized phone/card. and you can pick up a microSD card with NFC built in.

    Looks a nice display and I am sure it will be quick, just doesn't tempt me at the price.

    1. Martin Marv

      Re: Too much ?

      NFC isn't just for payments (/stealing credit card and passport details). It's also used to communicate between devices (like the new Nexus Q)

    2. dotdavid
      Thumb Up

      Re: Too much ?

      On balance I think you're right. I think Google have been pushing their own agenda a little too much with this tablet (must have NFC, must not have expandable memory) even though that might not actually tally with what people want.

      It's nice to see them pricing it at lower than the £1=$1 exchange rate that is the norm, and I bet it won't be a sales disaster being from an established brand at a reasonable price, but a lot of the cheapo Chinese tablets are very very close to this and literally half the price.

      It does absolutely kick Amazon's arse though - why buy a Kindle Fire when you can have this not-cut-down version, and run the Kindle app on it if you like?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Too much ?

        Exactly, I was considering getting a Fire and whacking ICS on it so it becomes a standard android tablet (why would I want to buy apps through amazon when i've got an android phone and already purchased apps?) there seems little point when this is the same price and faster.

        1. Dr. Mouse

          Re: Too much ?

          I have to say I agree with other comments here.

          A tablet is not as serious a device, IMHO, as a phone or laptop. A laptop needs to be able to cope with at least semi-serious work, and a phone is going to be used all the time because you have it with you anyway. I see a tablet as a bit of a toy, mostly. It can't replace a laptop as it's not capable enough, it can't replace a smart phone as it's not portable enough. It's great for ebook, watching movies or surfing on the go.

          For these tasks, an £80 tab as you can get from the likes of eBuyer/eBay etc. is more than adequate. Sure, the Nexus 7 has better CPU/GPU, and will likely be more responsive & perform better, but £80 better?

          Had they included a 3G modem and an SD slot it may have been worth it at that price. Without, I'd go for a cheaper model.

          BTW, this is the tab I'm thinking of by comparison: http://www.ebuyer.com/386278-sumvision-astro-7-tablet-pc-astro-7

          OK, the processing and graphic capabilities are much less, but it's half the price. I've seen one in action and it performs more than adequately for the sort of use I'd expect people to put it to.

          1. Afflicted.John

            Re: Too much ?

            You pays your money...

            I for one would prefer (and clearly do prefer as I just ordered a 16GB model) the IPS display with Gorilla Glass. My kids are going to go nuts playing with this thing. Tegra 3? A gaming sensation! Well, certainly daft throwaway games such as Angry Birds etc...

            Since Daddy's last Funny Computer (The HP TouchPad) died, I have been in the mood for a new Funny Computer. Looks like Google came to the rescue.

            1. Zolko Silver badge
              Thumb Up

              Re: Too much ?

              My Dell Streak (a 5 incher) died also, kids complaining. I've though about a Samsung Player 5, but this one might actually take the business. I wonder though if I'll have to do all those Angry-Birds levels again, or if the Google account will have remembered it...

              Great idea to drop the rear camera.

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Too much ?

              Giggle, the Nexus 7 is primarily designed as a "funny computer" offering decent performance and a sane price. It's a brilliant term, made me grin.

              (I hope that you and your kids have fun with it XD)

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Too much ?

            You're not just paying for hardware with these things; you're paying for future support.

            A cheapo chinese ebay knockoff will run the version of android it's currently got, if you're lucky. You may struggle to get updates because not enough people own it to support it properly (even in dev communities). A Fire / Nexus will be snapped up by enough people for it to be supported by communities as well as google / amazon (until they release a new model and refuse to support the old one).

          3. get off
            Thumb Up

            Tell me you bought this too with your Astro-tablet. Please?

            the Wifi pillow. ! No I'm not quite sure what it does yet, but I sooooooooooo want one....

            "Yea, I've got a wifi connected pillow, right"

            http://www.ebuyer.com/337259-imusic-pillow-wireless-wikiimuspilwless

            !

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Disappointing, but maybe that's good?

    I found this a bit 'meh'. It's just another 7" android tablet, nothing particularly new or interesting. The screen is ok, but could have been higher res, and the tegra 3 is a bit underpowered for graphics.

    But then again, it's a pretty solid tablet for an excellent price (and I've just seen it mentioned that google makes zero margin). If google can sort out the android tablet apps dearth then this could be a very easy recommendation. I'll give it a weak thumb up that could get a bit stiffer with app support :)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Disappointing, but maybe that's good?

      "and the tegra 3 is a bit underpowered for graphics"

      Pardon?

    2. Zolko Silver badge
      WTF?

      Re: Disappointing, but maybe that's good?

      "The screen could have been higher res"

      pardon ?

    3. Durdy

      Re: Disappointing, but maybe that's good?

      You do realise the screen res is more or less the same DPI as the new "retina" (eugh) macbook? And that graphics wise, you can't do much better than tegra 3 for ARM?

      This will be great with the inbuilt GPS and offline maps, could make a very handy satnav as well as all the other tablet functions.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Flash price

    Interesting seeing Google charging as much for extra storage as Apple:

    8GB = $50

  10. DrXym

    $49 for 8GB

    It's a nice looking tablet. It's just too bad Google cynically omitted a SD slot card so people who want more memory are compelled to pay a ludicrous $49 or more to get it. $49 for an extra 8GB is taking the piss.

    Even my el-cheapo Chinese tablet manages to include an SD slot, and a mini HDMI port in a tablet selling for $55 wholesale. If they can do it then there really is no excuse for Google or any other brand from deliberately excluding these ports for something costing a lot more money.

    So while I think the tablet looks excellent in other regards, the base model's poor 8GB storage , lack of expansion and lack of HDMI just sours the experience.

    1. Lunatik
      Megaphone

      Re: $49 for 8GB

      "Even my el-cheapo Chinese tablet manages to include an SD slot"

      Give me unified internal storage any day, the myth of SD cards being a solution to limited storage needs to end. This is one area where Apple have it right.

      The whole Apps2SD thing. Usability fail.

      Turn on? SD apps not available for x seconds after main boot.

      Remove SD Card? Apps disappear.

      Don't unmount/remove SD correctly? Files can get corrupt.

      SD fails? Tough luck, all your app config files are gone and you may not even be able to reinstall apps properly without a system reset, and we all know how much fun they are.

      Pity Google didn't see fit to offer a 64GB version out of the blocks. I'm sure one will be along at some point, even if it is on a mk2 version.

      1. Jyve
        Thumb Up

        Re: $49 for 8GB

        Read an interesting reason to exclude it was that by having it there, it opens them up to MS knocking on their door asking for royalties for FAT, something the Nook fell foul of. Not having that in reduces costs a fraction, gets people going for the bigger tablet, and stuffs MS asking for cash. It's a pain it's not there, but with that point, understandable.

        1. DrXym

          Re: $49 for 8GB

          "Read an interesting reason to exclude it was that by having it there, it opens them up to MS knocking on their door asking for royalties for FAT, something the Nook fell foul of. Not having that in reduces costs a fraction, gets people going for the bigger tablet, and stuffs MS asking for cash. It's a pain it's not there, but with that point, understandable."

          It's a fair point but if the Nexus 7 supports mass storage through USB host mode I don't see how they would be avoiding a patent by excluding SD. The device would still be capable of reading and writing FAT and possibly NTFS files.

          I still believe it's a cynical attempt to "sell up" to people - to advertise that the Nexus 7 is $199 while ensuring that most people end up spending $249 to get a model with acceptable storage. I just hope by seeding the market like this that we start seeing other tablets come along which offer those things.

      2. James Hughes 1

        Re: $49 for 8GB @lunatik

        I don't want the SD card slot for that stuff, I want it for data files (e.g. movies). And not having said SD card slot for movies means I probably won't buy one.

        All the stuff you mention is what the internal flash is for.

      3. nemo20000
        Pint

        Re: $49 for 8GB

        “Give me unified internal storage any day, the myth of SD cards being a solution to limited storage needs to end.”

        Here’s the reality of unified storage: Drunk knocks pint of beer over ‘unified’ device, all photos, videos, books, music, notes, child’s favourite drawings, game saves etc DISAPPEAR.

        The pint of beer thing just happened to the wife’s HTC Desire. She’d been hankering after an HTC One X until the moment the beer flowed and the lights went out. Fortunately the SD card from the Desire slotted right into a new Galaxy S3 and hey presto.

        ‘Unified memory’ devices are for the “it won’t happen to me” brigade, and good luck to you.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Beer

          Backup.

        2. Lunatik

          Re: $49 for 8GB

          "Here’s the reality of unified storage: Drunk knocks pint of beer over ‘unified’ device, all photos, videos, books, music, notes, child’s favourite drawings, game saves etc DISAPPEAR."

          All of this is backed up though, surely? Use something that autosyncs over wifi to networked storage when charging (plenty of options on Play), or some cloud service and you never have to worry about that.

          Understand some would want loads of media on such a device when travelling etc., but that's just not what I see the Nexus 7 being aimed at. This is for a bit of surfing on the couch or letting the kids play games on.

          If you want a full media tablet then surely something like an Archos packing an HDD is more suitable?

        3. ShadowCopy
          Facepalm

          Re: $49 for 8GB

          Sync everything to your google account/cloud services then? hardly rocket science, that's what "the cloud" is there for. I left my phone in a taxi a weeks ago, new one on insurance arrived, set my google account and sync apps up...hey presto everything is back and i have a nice new phone (Without a big dent in the top...which was an added bonus)

        4. 27escape
          Facepalm

          Re: $49 for 8GB

          surely you back all your important memories to some sort of NAS device (also backed up - to the cloud maybe?) rather then relying on a phone/tablet/laptop to hold them all.

          I think the reason not to have the sdcard slot is manifold, cost, FAT patents, content from google store and push people to use google drive.

          If your device is mostly always connected to the internet and Drive (dropbox, cx, box etc) then why do you need extra on device storage?

      4. Maxson

        Re: $49 for 8GB

        I'm a real bastard for wanting a lot of files on a device so I can access them, say a whole series of Family Guy to watch while in several long journeys without going back to my storage at home....nope, won't fit on 8 gig. and I don't want to pay £40 for 8 gig more storage so a £13 32GB micro SDHC card would've done me fine.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: $49 for 8GB

      I'm sure the quad core CPU, GPU and screen in your el cheapo tablet are entirely equivlent, too, giving an almost identical Bill Of Materials.

      Sigh.

      1. DrXym

        Re: $49 for 8GB

        "I'm sure the quad core CPU, GPU and screen in your el cheapo tablet are entirely equivlent, too, giving an almost identical Bill Of Materials."

        I wasn't comparing the performance of the devices just the fact that a really cheap tablet can manage to include an SD slot. The only reason I can think of for Google excluding a slot is so they can rip people off for another $49 to get more memory but it's not an acceptable one from a consumer standpoint and they should be called out for it.

  11. Jim Wormold

    Why no microsd?

    And why stop at 16GB, where are the 32 and 64GB versions.

    And it's less than £1 per GB for class10 cards retail, so why is the additional 8GB costing £40?

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    USB Question

    Anyone know if this will support USB on the go, i.e external USB storage via the mini USB.

    Be interesting to know if it can be used with a 3G USB (with a bit of hacking) ?

    On the whole I think this is a good device (on paper) but a disappointment that there is no SD slot.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: USB Question

      Maybe with a custom ROM like the HTC One X.

      When will we have Jelly Bean ROMs however is another question. Is the source out yet?

    2. Tom Sparrow
      Go

      Re: USB Question

      Just been looking this up - the (rather pathetic) user guide says you can connect USB keyboard/mouse/joystick etc 'with an adapter' (and recommends powered hub for multiple peripherals) so I guess host mode is available.

      I'm unsure whether host mode and OTG adapter = USB storage support, but I'm one step closer to an impulse buy.

      For 3g, I'd stick to wireless tether via my phone, 'cos it's simple and I already pay for bandwidth.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Interesting little device

    Will have a think once reviews come out, but right from the go:

    - No SD card

    - No replaceable battery

    - No Flash player

    - Proprietary dock connector

    will surely put off a lot of people around here who are very keen on those features.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Interesting little device

      Dear "Metavisor",

      Micro-USB is not proprietary, it's actually something of a standard on our planet.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Interesting little device

        Micro-USB is not the dock connector on the Nexus 7.

        Go look at it again.

        1. Pooka

          Re: Interesting little device

          Did you just describe the Nexus or the iPad with your list of flaws?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Interesting little device

            Both. Did I say they are flaws? I meant they were frequent complaints around here.

            Personally I'm interested in the Nexus 7.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Stop

              Re: Interesting little device

              @AC: The dock connector is shown here: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/06/nexus7hnandson03.jpg

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: Interesting little device

                The dock connector is microUSB, you plonker:

                http://reviews.cnet.com/2300-3126_7-10012770-3.html

                1. Anonymous Coward
                  FAIL

                  Re: Interesting little device

                  No, the dock connector is those 4 contacts.

                  Hint: Have you seen how the Galaxy Nexus connects to its dock? It's not microUSB either.

                  1. Anonymous Coward
                    Paris Hilton

                    Re: Interesting little device

                    And here's the Galaxy Nexus dock:

                    http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones-accessories/EDD-D1F8BEBSTD

                    See those 3 pogo pins? Now they're 4. Again, that's the DOCK connector.

                    1. Maxson

                      Re: Interesting little device

                      I'm confused...the "dock" you linked is just a charging stand it seems, however you can still use the standard "dock connector" the micro USB one, there's a choice of one or the other, see? So while there is a proprietary dock connector, there's also a STANDARD one too.

                      1. Anonymous Coward
                        Anonymous Coward

                        Re: Interesting little device

                        Fandroid handbags at 10 paces.

                        Look out everyone!

                  2. MikeS

                    Re: Interesting little device

                    please everyone stop confusing those three little pins with the USB connection, they are completely separate,

                    the pins are primarily there to provide a power connection when the device is placed in the dock, exactly the same as on the galaxy Nexus phone, so that you do not need to plug the us cable in simply to change the devices (so you can still plus in USB for something esle if needed)

                    1. Anonymous Coward
                      Boffin

                      Dock connector

                      Not just power, I was looking into this the other day and there's several threads over on XDA.

                      The three pins on the Galaxy Nexus are: Ground, Data (1.8v), Power (+5v).

                      The Data pin is bidirectional and used to communicate with the dock to determine charging speed, audio sending and the type of dock. If agreed with the dock, audio can also sent in SPDIF format through the data pin.

                      It is very much a fully grown dock connector, only without the USB data part. Do wonder what Google are doing with the 4th extra pin for this one.

                      1. MikeS

                        Re: Dock connector

                        yes thats true & why i said primarily for power, the (current) dock has no other 'data' output connections tho so its not to be confused with the separate USB connection as some posters were seemingly doing.

                        and yes the fourth pin in intrugiung.....

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Interesting little device

          Yes it is. You seem to have difficulty differentiating between the Nexus 7 and an iPad.

          http://reviews.cnet.com/2300-3126_7-10012770-3.html

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Interesting little device

      Someone with more than three braincells can still install flash and a compatible browser from the Play store, but hey, don't let facts get in the way of a good whine.

      BTW, it has a micro-USB port too.

      Still, facts, eh?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Facepalm

        Re: Interesting little device

        @AC number 2: Flash is not support in Android 4.1 or the Chrome browser.

        You'd know that if you had more than three braincells.

        1. Jaques Croissant

          Re: Interesting little device

          Whether it is "support" (sic) or not, you can download it from Google Play.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Thumb Down

            Flash

            @Jaques: Not for Android 4.1 you can't. The Flash player installer is OS specific.

            Adobe said Android 4.0 was the last version that would have Flash and again said that the Android Chrome browser was not going to get it either.

            The Nexus 7 runs Android 4.1 and Chrome is now the default system browser. So no it won't run Flash.

            1. Jaques Croissant

              Re: Flash

              Hmm, are you totally sure that it's not just the last one that *comes with* flash?

              Not, I have to say, that it's a huge loss. I keep it turned off on my Android devices, good riddance to bad rubbish and so on.

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Flash

              @metavisor

              It may work on 4.1 but the results could be unpredicable:

              https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.flashplayer

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: Flash

                Thanks AC for posting that link which says at the very top:

                "*** NOTE: FLASH PLAYER IS NO LONGER BEING UPDATED FOR NEW DEVICE CONFIGURATIONS. FLASH PLAYER WILL NOT BE SUPPORTED ON ANY ANDROID VERSION BEYOND ANDROID 4.0.x ***"

                You'll find that the OS included on this tablet is Android 4.1, which IS beyond 4.0.x.

                Buy hey there's always miracles and wouldn't be the first time Adobe changed direction. But for now it's very unlikely.

                1. Anonymous Coward
                  Anonymous Coward

                  Re: Flash

                  @metavisor

                  Supported does not mean work, you could install another browser that supports flash and I'm sure there will be custom ROMs (assuming it is rootable) appearing that will support flash.

      2. Frank Butcher
        Happy

        Re: Interesting little device

        I thought you said someone with more thaN three bracelets .. is this a new reg std for inetlligence?

        I like the look of this .. but maybe I should spend the money on a haway g300 and a new CPU instead? pat certainly thinks so, but ricky and bianca want one of these ..

  14. StrictlySocial

    When Surface was announced people in my office were talking about it. Not heard a peep about this announcement. I don't want to be either an MS or Apple fanboi, but as somebody else said - meh, another 7" tablet.

    Probably going to be the best 7" available for the price/quality, but what people really want is an iPad alternative (good build quality, tablet specific apps, and expandable memory!).

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      this is 2012

      There are quite a lot of tablet-specific Android apps.

      (Which always catches me out when I want the same things on my Android 4.0 phone as on my iPad 3, find them on the app store, and ne dice pas)

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    better than I thought

    as the original "leaks" suggested this toy wouldn't even come with BT and GPS.

    That said, it pisses me off they - clearly for profit reasons - didn't include the sd / micro sd / whatever expansion. So if I go for it, it will definitely be an 8 Gb.

    As to the arguments about removability of sd cards, this is nonsense, sd slot is not to fiddle with the card, it's there to provide a lot of cheap storage.

    It's also a shame they didn't include a 3G /sim card slot. This would have cost more than a couple of quid, but still, wifi coverage - sucks - unless you stay within the range of your home router.

    Overall, not as bad as I thought. And, on a more general note, this tablet will force other manufacturers to react. The prices of cheapo tablets, generally with poorer specs, should drop soon, as they're going to have to clear the stock, to make room with something with better specs, to compete with google tablet. And then, for the same price, they should offer us, those whingers, what google wouldn't, i.e. sd slot and built in 3G. The only issue is quality, I don't expect that to get better ;)

    1. Gordon861

      Re: better than I thought

      3G/sim card slot

      With a slot you need two contracts (phone and tablet), much simpler and cheaper to just teether to your phone and pull the data from there.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: better than I thought

      Why do you need a 3G card in a tablet? Use your Android phone, set up a Wifi hotspot and feed your tablet from there on the go. The most solid reason I had to drop my iPhone when the contract ended and go Android, just so I had the ability to supply a Wifi hotspot to any device I had on me that needed it. I sometimes go away for a few days at a time shooting landscape photos and I am not paying the stupid prices motels want for Wifi access just so I can lookup a few maps.

      1. Andy ORourke
        Meh

        Re: better than I thought

        Why not do the same with your iPhone? I got a £10.00 SIM from T-Mobile and can tether whatever I like to it......

  16. Gordon861

    If I didn't already have a Transformer and a One X I would be looking at one of these, looks like a great bit of kit.

    For storage there are a number of wifi/bluetooth battery powered hrd drives coming onto the market soon (or already here) which you can keep in your bag and read from whilst using the tablet.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      At the risk of being accused of being a lazy bastard, do you have some links for devices like that? Interest piqued :)

      1. Gordon861

        Saw them at the gadget show, not cheap yet and you cannot write to them via wifi, but this should be changing with updated firmware. I was most interested in the idea of using a wifi sdcard in a camera to auto copy the snaps to the hard drive whilst I took photos, but that's not possible yet.

        http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/16/seagates-goflex-satellite-portable-hard-drive-streams-content-o/

        Scan have them at £175

        http://www.scan.co.uk/products/500gb-seagate-goflex-satellite-wireless-25-external-hdd-wifi-and-usb-30-black-ipad-iphone-android-pc

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Thanks for the links to external wireless storage, you guys have a much better natural language parser than Google <3

      2. tybalt

        you are lazy bastard: http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/wireless/goflex-satellite/

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What would be nice is a root user hack that allowed it to run as a USB host- thoug of course, that would need a slightly fancy lead rather than the standard MicroUSB-USB that you normally use with the thing.

    At that price, and not as your main phone, it would be a lot less worrying to root, at least :)

  18. Cosby

    Correct SteveK, I pre-ordered the 16GB last night

  19. MarkL
    FAIL

    Yeeaaahhh. I think I'll way for the Surface.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      -1

      Shamelss MS fanboi troll

      1. Spearchucker Jones
        Go

        Re: -1

        Which makes everyone here who wants a Nexus a Google troll. YEAH.

  20. BkS
    Thumb Up

    Really want one!

    I reaaaaaaally want one. I honestly don't care if it only has 16GB at max, because I probably won't use all that space anyway. Most of the stuff I listen too, or read is either in the cloud or on the web.

  21. JaitcH
    Happy

    Is ASUS handling distribution and service?

    ASUS VietNam is a little closed mouth about this device.

    Does anyone know the distribution channel being used and who will do repairs?

  22. TheDude
    Unhappy

    My 16GB tablet is already full, and it's all apps- no music or video!

    Not sure how 16gb could be enough for a tablet: my 16GB Asus Transformer is full of apps and without an external drive or SD card I cannot load any music or movies! All it takes is a few large games, a decent bit of email and you're done, the latest gameloft titles and Max Payne are over 1GB each.

    Google Play music is a dumb idea for a tablet that doesn't have 3G.... No idea why you'd want to mash all your nice FLAC audio through a transcoding step either.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: My 16GB tablet is already full, and it's all apps- no music or video!

      Given the quality of the headphone amp, I wouldn't sweat FLAC anyway. I every much doubt you could reliably tell the difference in a blind A/B with 320k CBR mp3 anyway.

      (A lot of people are sure they are above average listeners, just as they think they're above average drivers- this rarely stands up to empirical testing)

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Next question

    The GPS.. real or AGPS? Anyone? Bueller?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Next question

      What's NOT real about AGPS - it's GPS with extra data over the net (that it can work without) to speed up acquisition times etc.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Next question

        Well, typically, the GPS receivers found in the baseband chipsets of mobile devices are really dreadful- they are half-blind and take ages to get a lock, often failing terribly.

        This becomes achingly apparent when you need to turn off your data roaming abroad, and want to use your offline mapping; sometimes turning data roaming back on to get the assist is the only way you'll get a cold start lock.

        Some AGPS systems also lack the capability to operate autonomously altogether too; it can be a bit of a pain in the arse to discover this when you're out of network reach for the first time- I think this often happens with MSB-style AGPS, but I could be wrong.

        I spent twenty quid on a Bluenext BN-902MM, which is keyring-sized, and works really well. To make it work on my Android devices, you need a bit of software to help; I use "Bluetooth GPS" (crazy name), which is free on the Google Play marketplace. This makes everything happy under Android 2.3 and 4.0 for me- can't be bad.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Next question

          Faff faff faff. Turn on roaming you tight wad.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Next question

            Yes, because that is always an option, and you always have coverage. Tool.

          2. Jaques Croissant

            Re: Next question

            "Faff faff faff. Turn on roaming you tight wad."

            I will bear your searing insight in mind the next time the AGPS can't get a lock, can't get the almanac and I have no coverage because I am outside of a major city. Moron :)

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    No surprise - Google f's the manufacturers as they probably will in phones as well - owning Motorola was the first step. Samsung and HTC how do you feel now for trying to sell your own branded hardware??

    I wonder who will get all the latest software / features first?

    1. lurker

      I don't see Samsung having had a problem with smartphones, despite Google having done exactly the same thing with the Nexus One smartphone.

      Google do this basically to get the ball rolling, and then pretty much leave the game to the other manufacturers.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Title should have been "Google Shaft Android Partners".

  26. Infernoz Bronze badge
    FAIL

    Brain Dead design omissions 'to save costs', so poor value now.

    This is very disappointing, Google have gone the same way as Amazon, just with higher spec. hardware; what a shame.

    1. WTF, 8GB and 16GB are pathetically tiny and a bad joke now; 32GB microSD cards are only £13 now yet can't be used with them.

    2. No GPS or 3G; this is so stupid, because this size tablet would be great for navigation and occasional 3G messaging and internet use.

    3. Useless camera support.

    4. WTF does it have NFC for unless the tablet is intended for public use?

    It doesn't matter if the screen and CPU are much better if the poor storage and communions make it unsuited for proper public use, given a 10" tablet is a far better size for home/office use.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Brain Dead design omissions 'to save costs', so poor value now.

      Why do you need storage when Google is giving you cloud storage? 3G hardware and SD card hardware would've bumped up the price, I'm glad they didn't include them. NFC is used for more than just paying for stuff.

      1. Spearchucker Jones
        FAIL

        Re: Brain Dead design omissions 'to save costs', so poor value now.

        *Why do you need storage when Google is giving you cloud storage?*

        Because not all of us want our personal documents/images/email indexed by Google. Some of us like to retain a semblance of control.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Brain Dead design omissions 'to save costs', so poor value now.

      It has GPS.

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Tegra 3 underpowered?

    I don't think so. That's a powerful CPU/GPU combo. Google said their aim is to run Jelly Bean at 60 FPS. I've ordered mine fter playing with one last night at I/O and I can confirm the performance is excellent, it's very responsive and fluid. HD video played fine too.

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Are Amazon going to stock it <lol>

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    iPad 3 is around the price but better / larger screen - basically this will be a fight with the 'Fire' - I like having 16Gb+ and 10 inches - you may be happy with 7 inches??

    People I know have been buying refurb iPads from Apple online store for about 20%+ off yet practically 'new' - if I was cash strapped I'd rather pay just a bit extra for a 16Gb / 10" iPad (refurb) than this.

    1. ShadowCopy
      WTF?

      20% off the most basic £400 ipad is still £320-ish. Hardly "just a bit extra" on top of a £159 device is it?

    2. MikeS

      > like having 16Gb+ and 10 inches

      the ipad doesnt have a 10in screen, or are you just bragging its bigger than it really is ;-)

      you'd need to buy a Samsung Galaxy Tab or motorola Xoom for an actual 10in or larger screen

  30. Jigr69
    Alert

    Conversion rate

    So a $199 8GB version equates to a £159 UK price, therefore how come the $25 credit only equates to a £15 UK one? Sure it should be either £119 for an 8GB version, or £20 credit?

  31. rich0d

    Seriously? How are people moaning about the lack of storage. I have a 16Gb iPad 2 - and I don't have any issues with storage, admittedly - I don't lug around my entire music\film collection on there, I simply drag\drop what I want onto my iPad when the urge takes me when leaving the house. I personally feel 8\16Gb is fine, I would get one of these (getting one for the Mothership instead - who I already showed her it and she loved it) but I am actually holding out for a Surface Pro, as it's the ultimate in sys admin goodness, the ability to be on the network (private APN) all the time, and RDP into anything I want and with a tablet optimized UI? Yes please.

  32. stuartnz
    Thumb Up

    Delighted to see it go on sale up here in Aotearoa today - just 18 days to wait for mine now!

  33. Andrew James

    I'm tempted. Would have to be a 16gb version, I've got an iPod touch at home thats full with 8gb capacity and I'd probably want the same music selection, plus room for a couple of movies and some apps.

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