UPDATED 12:50 EDT / JULY 25 2013

NEWS

The New Nexus 7 vs. The Old One : Is It Really Any Better?

Google unveiled two new products in its press event yesterday.  One was the Chromecast, its new streaming device that we’ve already covered in some detail today, while the other, arguably more exciting line up to its hardware lineup is the new Nexus 7.

Earlier today we saw how well the Chromecast stacked up against its rival streaming devices,  and now we’ll be focusing on the new version of the Nexus 7.

What does this little device have to offer?  What makes it different from the older version? And how does it stack up to other small tablets out in the market?

Old vs. New

 

The new Nexus 7 doesn’t come with many surprises since most of its specs were leaked last week.  But that doesn’t mean it’s not an impressive looking device.  Still, the question remains, what does the new tablet have that the old one doesn’t?

Dimensions:

 

New: Height 200 x Width 114 x Depth 8.65, 290g for WiFi, 299g for LTE

Old:  198.5 x 120 x 10.45 mm, 340g

Display:

 

New: 7.02” 1920×1200 HD display (323 ppi), 1080p HD IPS, Scratch resistant Corning glass

Old: 7” 1280×800 HD display (216 ppi), Back-lit IPS display, Scratch-resistant Corning Glass

Camera:

 

New: 1.2MP front facing with fixed focus, 5MP rear facing with auto focus

Old: 1.2MP front-facing camera

Battery:

 

New: 3950 mAh, up to 9 hours of active use, built-in wireless charging – Qi compatible

Old: 9 hours video playback, 10 hours web browsing or e-reading, 300 hours on stand-by

Processor:

 

New: CPU – 1.5GHz Qualcomm snapdragon S4 Pro; GPU – 400MHz Adreno 320

Old: 1.2GHz Quad-core Tegra 3

Wireless and Networks:

 

New: Dual-band WiFi (2.4G/5G) 802.11 a/b/g/n, NFC (Android Beam), Bluetooth 4.0, Optional 4G LTE; North America – 4G LTE: 700/750/850/1700/1900/2100 MHZ (Bands: 1/2/4/5/13/17), HSPA+ – 850/900/1900/2100/AWS MHz (Bands: 1/2/4/5/8/10), GSM – 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; Europe – 4G LTE: 800/850/1700/1800/1900/2100/2600 MHz (Bands: 1/2/3/4/5/7/20), HSPA+ – 850/900/1900/2100/AWS MHz (Bands: 1/2/4/5/8/10), GSM – 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Old: WiFi only: 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, NFC (Android Beam); WiFi+Cellular: 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, NFC (Android Beam), GSM/UMTS/HSPA+, GSM/EDGE/GPRS (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 3G (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz), HSPA+ 21

Memory:

 

New: 16GB or 32GB internal storage, 2GB RAM

Old: 16 and 32GB internal storage, 1GB RAM

Audio, Ports and connectors:

 

New: Stereo speakers, surround sound powered by Fraunhofer, microUSB, SlimPort™ enabled, 3.5mm audio, Microphone, Power and Volume buttons

Old: speakers, micro USB, Microphone, NFC (Android Beam), 3.5 mm stereo jack

Sensors:

 

New: GPS, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Compass, Ambient Light

Old: NFC (Android Beam), Accelerometer, GPS, Magnetometer, Gyroscope

Operating system:

 

New: Android 4.3 Jelly Bean

Old: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

Price:

 

New: Starts at $229

Old: Starts at $199

No doubt about it, the ‘new’ Nexus 7 is way better than the old one – not only does it have a much faster processor, but its battery life doesn’t seem to have been compromised.  Moreover, while the new Nexus packs more powerful components, Google’s managed to make it thinner and lighter than the old version.  Not to mention, it also comes with that all-important (for some!) rear camera.  The one thing people might miss with the old Nexus 7 is that textured back, though that can be easily dealt with by adding sleeves if you want something grippier.

Compared to other small tablets:

 

The new Nexus 7 is the lightest of them all, has the fastest processor, and also boasts the latest operating system out of all the tablets listed above.  It’s front and back cameras are up to par with the iPad mini’s, but when it comes to battery life, the Kindle Fire HD 7” stretches further than any other device.

All in all, the new Nexus 7 takes the cake in today’s comparison, especially with its price tag. For a small tablet that’s packed to the hilt with high-end features and specs, you’ll find it hard to beat at that price.


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