The Google Nexus 7 has arrived at last! I took my time in ordering one, and glad I waited due to all the out of stock issues which would have only lead to disappointment and frustration. In the end I ordered from very.co.uk and used a £30 off voucher which made the16gb version only £169.99.
So first impressions are that even for the full retail price this is a very nice tablet. It is about the same size as the original Kindle so it is very portable. In fact I am typing this post on it. I changed to TouchPal keyboard to really improve the speed of input. I haven’t had much of a chance to really play with it yet, but Skype works really well, as do many games (GTA, great little war, dead trigger) and social media apps (Twitter, facebook). I am having great success with k9 mail for my imap email as well.
I will do a more up to date review after I have had a chance to use it in more depth.
04/10/2012 Update – OK I have used the table quite extensively since it was delivered, and I have to say as a laptop replacement for general internet browsing it is quite pleasant to use. I am using TouchPal keyboard which is pretty good, but does have a few bugs. Typing a long email does get tedious, and although the glass is smooth I am sure too much swiping would eventually wear away your fingerprints! I bought a right angled USB to go adapter so I could plug in my small KeySonic wireless keyboard with track pad which I normally use with XBMC on my media PC. I also purchased a case – Mofred (comes with stylus). I tested mounting a USB stick with StickMount and it works perfectly (I have rooted it). Of course I have also been playing some games – my favourite so far is Haunted House and Fifa 12.
The Google Nexus 7 is so small I can even fit inside my jacket pocket in the case. Admittedly it is a tight fit, but also it doesn’t stick in to me too much which considering its size is quite impressive. This means it comes out of the house quite a lot.