Google Nexus 7 tablet review

Update: The Google Nexus 7 has been named Gadget of the Year at the annual T3 Gadget Awards, eating the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S3, theiPhone 4S and the Sony PS Vita.  Be sure to check out the full list of T3 Gadget Awards 2012 winners...
The Google Nexus 7 by Asus is the world’s first 7-inch quadcore tablet to run on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
Unveiled at the Google I/O developer conference, the search engine giants worked with Asus to build a device that packs premium specs, but a not so premium £159 price tag.
As speculation continues to intensify around the possibility of Apple announcing an ‘iPad mini’, we find out if the cheap Android tablet can help Google gain ground on the Cupertino company and rain on the hotly anticipated Amazon Kindle Fire's parade. When you take the Nexus 7 out of the box, it looks and feels like a tablet you would not be ashamed to take out in public. Having successfully launched the Samsung Nexus smartphone range, Google has chosen well again for its foray into the tablet market by working with Asus which has made some of the best Android tablets on the market, notably theAsus Transformer Prime.

Google Nexus 7: Build

The black bezel display seems to be the standard for Android tablets these days, but Asus has given its surroundings a more aesthetically pleasing feel particularly the textured dimple-like back that sits snug in two hands making it ideal for prolonged use.
Weighing in at 340g, the Nexus 7 is lighter than the Amazon Kindle Fire (413g) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (345g). At 10.5mm thick it’s not the most slender, but this is barely noticeable in the grand scheme of the overall design of the Nexus 7.
Physical buttons-wise it is much the same as other Android tablets, with on/off button and volume rocker situated on the edge of the device and the micro USB charging and syncing port found at the bottom next to the headphone jack.

Google Nexus 7: Screen

If you’re expecting a new iPad 3-style Retina display quality in the screen department, then you’re going to be mildly disappointed.

While the 1280 x 800 HD display with 216 ppi might not put it in the same category in terms of clarity and vibrancy as the Apple tablet, it easily surpasses the 1024 x 600 resolutions sported by its closest 7-inch tablet rivals and proves excellent for watching movies and browsing.

There’s a corning glass coating to give the screen more durability and a magnetic layering which means the Nexus 7 has the capabilities to support SmartCover-style cases.