[Nexus 7 General] Dragooon123:
Well, given that everyone seems to be giving their opinions, why should I be left behind?

The background: Thought I'd start by giving an introduction of myself. I'm 17 and my first ever touch-screen smart device was an iPod Touch 2G back in 2009. The next year I bought an iPod Touch 3G (and a white MacBook which is still my primary laptop, although I do own 2 more far more powerful desktops and another HP laptop if anybody gives a damn). The same year, I stepped into Android by purchasing a HTC Desire (actually a Galaxy S but replaced it with a Desire since I bricked it first thing). I wasn't new to ROM flashing and all since my father had owned a HTC Herald and I used to flash ROMs to it for fun, hence I was pretty familiar with XDA since 2007 or so. Subsequent months later I exchanged the Desire for a Galaxy S (in early 2011), then I went on to purchase a Galaxy Note on launch (imported from Germany) and Google gave me a Galaxy Nexus when I went to Googleplex as a reward. So currently I own a Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Note and Galaxy S all running in their top condition. The Nexus is running stock Jelly Bean with franco's kernel, Galaxy S is rocking CM10 and Note is currently running Samsung's stock ICS.

The iPad 2: As far as tablets goes, I imported an iPad 2 (I know I know, call the cavalry) right on launch and so far that has been my only tablet to date. So, yes. I will be comparing this with the iPad 2, I'd say I'm not very inclined on either camp, although I prefer Android over iOS.

The Nexus 7: Long story short, I wanted this. Plain and simple. I've always wanted to own an Android tablet, and 7" form factor is something I've been willing to try. Came Nexus 7, I simply wanted this. It seemed like the best idea. So I got one, made a deal on XDA with GarJones27 and got the thing imported, arrived within 3 days on Friday and been using it since then. So let the opinions begin.

The build: It feels damn sturdy for a 250$ tablet (I have the 16GB edition), the grip and feel is quite nice. The rubberised back coupled with the gloss of the front feels fairly good in my hands. I'd say it feels better than an naked iPad which feels kind of cold and metallic. Thankfully I don't have any defects that have been plaguing a good number of people. If I have one complaint, I'd say that I prefer the power and volume rockers on opposite sides. I keep pressing the power button when trying to increase volume, apart from that it's great and has a nice and heavy premium feel to it.

The display: First thing one notices when he/she fires the tablet. The display on Nexus 7 is pretty good. I'd say it's better than the one on iPad but slightly worse than the one on Galaxy Nexus/Note when it comes to colour reproductions. Although mine Galaxy Nexus has colour corrected through franco's app, so there's still a pretty good hope. But it's still quite good. The brightness is okay, good for indoors but can be not enough for outdoors. Overall I'd say it's a pretty usable display.

The JellyBeans: The greatest Android OS to date, and it is truly one of the best mobile OS I've used. It's much faster than previous iterations of Android, whether on Nexus 7 or my Galaxy Nexus. It just feels fast. The notifications are quite a treat as well along with general improvements throughout the UI. Up until Gingerbread, I've more or less hated the stock Android experience, I've been more inclined towards HTC Sense or MIUI. But since ICS, I've been keeping as stock as I can. With JellyBean it's the same story, it's just a better ICS with no (real) downsides. On Nexus 7 we're presented with a new "hybrid" UI. Can't say I'm happy or sad about it, it feels a little bit to phone-ish but the tablet experience is still their and well. The slimmed notifications look good. I've also tried the true tablet UI on Nexus 7 (DPI 160), and it's pretty good as well except maybe the font's a bit too small in some cases. Can't say I really prefer that over Google's hybrid UI although I love the bottom status bar. I still have to try the patches to enable tablet UI on this DPI, will try those as well. At this point though I'm pretty content with the hybrid UI and in more ways than not, it makes sense on a tablet this size.

My only other tablet OS experience has been iOS, and it's also been a pretty good one. Although limited, it still works quite well and has a lot of capabilities. iOS can still be considered smoother overall although not by much. Plus given the trade-offs one makes and the fact that the tablet itself costs half of the iPad, it's not bad at all.

The apps: This is one area where iOS beats Android hands down, especially when it comes to quality apps (even more so games) for tablets. Since I'm a big gamer, my primary concern is and always has been games. Although the scene on Android isn't bad with plenty of big-name games coming on Android with nice graphics, the situation over iOS is simply better. I own a lot of games on both platforms, more so on iOS (~300$ worth of games) than Android. But I see the situation improving, and am hoping with time things will be even better (especially with the Tegra 3 games coming around). This tablet is especially great if you game a lot and want Android, because of Tegra exclusive games out their. I'd love to see more games optimised for Tegra, as the ones which are are simply great when it comes to graphics (and I own a whole bunch of them)

The performance: It's a 200$ tablet made by ASUS...and has a bloody Tegra 3 in it! That's the second best SoC available in the market (after Exynos Quad) and it simply shows. Although it has a downclocked version of Tegra 3 when compared to bigger guns, the downclocking isn't much and if felt, can be simply overclocked (this is what this entire site is about!). The tablet is pretty smooth throughout, even when playing games and constantly shifting back and forth tasks. Can't say much, if you want benchies then I guess you can just Google them.

The camera: Couldn't care less...

The microSD slot (or lack thereof): Perhaps my only biggest gripe with the N7 is the lack of a microSD slot, I got a 64GB card on my 16GB Note and it still isn't enough. I've already got 8GB worth of apps on my N7 and still need to download a couple. Although with USB-OTG the situation isn't as bad but I could definitely use a microSD card slot.

The other things: The speakers are okay. They work but nothing to be proud of. I know it doesn't have 3G and while it can be a disadvantage for some, I always have my phone with me. So I can always tether.

The summary: It's a great tablet, period. Short of the lack of microSD slot and perhaps the potential build problems (which I don't have BTW), I can't really flaw it. If you're in the market for a tablet, get it. Just make sure the 7" form factor is for you.