I just got my Nexus 7 today and have been playing with it throughout work. So far, it's been a nice, solid device. 2 things: speed and size. I love this smaller format.

I do notice that the physics of Android aren't up to iOS level, yet. Scrolling/rubber banding all feel slightly awkward, with the exception of the home screen "holo-tilt".

What have you guys noticed? Also, know anyone else who has played with them? Let me know so I can invite them to the conversation!

Despite my bias against Android, I very much liked the device. I liked the Kindle before and I think their form factor works quite well for media consumption. Of course, against the Kindle it's miles ahead in terms of speed and quality.

But I still find the overall UI and interaction design quite disorienting. There are so many arbitrary screens that seem and function like a home screen but each one is barely not good enough to keep it as the permanent home screen.

Absolutely. I will say that the on-boarding process is incredibly complex. Too many things are hidden, such as settings. Widgets are also a bit confusing when you are adding them – the previews in the menu are woefully not representative of the actual manifestation on the screen. Some of the widgets are pretty gross, too: Facebook/Twitter large widget has this awkward empty space below. Also not too sure why you can't scroll within widget.

But, Android issues aside (this is my first Android device), I'm impressed that the Android apps and interface can sort of scale up from the phone size and be somewhat functional.

What do you think of Google Now? The voice search is super fast and nice. I also love the idea of cards (duh, cause Project Modai had those kind of context-sensitive widgets). I also like the aesthetics of it, but the it doesn't really fit the Holo theme.

I think Google has all of a sudden become really interesting. I love the aesthetic choices and beginnings of the design and engineering side of Google merging; look at the voice search and Google Now. There are many things that need more polish and the list is quite long. Some things that come up to mind:

- Icon sizes are inconsistent. This angers me greatly.
- I still don't like/understand the option of having app icons on both the home screen and app drawer.
- The Google Play store is confusing and ugly.
- App quality is still not on par with iOS.

I like how Google Now is proactive. Siri is nice but you have to ask it to do stuff for you. I want Siri to have the initiative and know what I'm looking for before I ask for it.

With ICS, it seemed like Google was attempting to go full digital like the Microsoft's Metro UI but now it seems like they're in a limbo with the play store, google now, operating system, and other 1st party services.

Operating system should be a stable, fertile ground with consistent design language and a standard to encourage well-designed apps but seems like Google themselves are having trouble figuring it out.

It's like at one side there's Windows Phone with strict and consistent design language that severely restrict the freedom of design (but keeps the quality of 3rd party apps fairly consistent), and there's Google at the other side encouraging people to do whatever they feel like.

Having said that, seeing how nice Nexus 7 is it would be funny (and sad) if Jelly Bean overtakes ICS in terms of version share.

developer.android.com

cdn.pocket-lint.com

I love the full digital mindset, but it needs to be focused. I don't think it needs to be as rigid as WP7 – that actually ends up being too cold and restricting.

Agreed that Google needs to be setting the standard. I think most of the core apps aren't refined enough, especially, as Andrew said, the Play store (terrible name) and the widgets. Both of those are huge interaction points and are pretty disgusting. How many of you immediately removed this widget:

The real test of Android OS is not just the default apps that come on the phone, but the ones that you download from the app store. I have downloaded a few and I'm genuinely satisfied in the way *automatic* app upgrades work. I get notified when they are ready to upgrade. That's cool. What's not cool is how to do manual upgrades. It takes ages to get to them and the process is completely counter-intuitive. Also, on a slight aside, if you want to view the photos that you've taken, you have to go to "My Files" and then "DCIM" folder. Again, counter-intuituve, and actually quite bad, given that Android phones have really good cameras on them. Overall, mixed views on ICS. Widgets are good enough but navigation needs some work.

The play store has always been stayed outside Androids branding efforts. The same could be said for some of their core apps. Services like Gmail, Chat, Calendar seem to be under one direction while they have now changed Chrome to the default browser which follows it's own brand and visual guidelines. One thing they have tried to do with some success is unify the UX. Swiping horizontally to switch between panes in apps, the new menu button, etc. It's better than it has ever been, but still lacking in overall consistency.

The big changes for me coming from ICS (Galaxy Nexus) to Jelly Bean is more about the subtle refinements. Down arrow on keyboard pop up, changes from blue to white in notifications. Widgets in the app drawer boxed in. Etc.

@Yuri
Agreed on the 3rd party apps being important, but as @Allen says, Google needs to set the example.

@James
On that note, can I just say that I LOVE the notification drawer? iOS is so far behind on this thing. Maybe because I am a bit of a "power user", but I despise the tiny 'x' in Notification Center.

@Yuri - You shouldn't have to interact with the file system. They should all be in the Gallery app. As for auto updates, the manual ones are a pain because they are ones that are making permissions changes and forcing you to agree to those changes. A necessary evil.

@Julius - One of the most satisfying experiences for me is the swipe to close both in the notification bar and with recent apps. I much prefer it over the "x" and "clear" on iOS.

Was talking to a few people in the phone store, some of whom are quite casual users. They *all* converted from Nexus and Samsung phones to iPhones and were very happy. I doubt whether a casual smartphone user would have the patience for some Android ICS features.

@James: the first thing I see on any Android Desktop is "my files" and I tend to click on that link all the time if I want to view my files. However, the "my files" bit is the file system itself, rather than a gallery

Accessing permission changes and managing them is time consuming.

"My Files" still exists on Jelly Bean on the Nexus 7? That's surprising. I thought that was dropped a long time ago. I know OEMs include it, but can't recall the last time I noticed it on stock. Definitely something they should work to solve.

My Files feature? Sorry, I was talking about ICS 4 rather than Jelly Bean.

I don't think My Files is on JB on Nexus 7... or I can't find it. There's a "Gallery" app, though.

This is actually an interesting topic. If you read John Siracusa's review, specifically in the iCloud & Reality section (arstechnica.com), he talks about viewing documents via apps and viewing documents in a file system.

Anyway, that's getting off topic. So far I've been pretty happy with this tablet. I carry it around everywhere, and read it during my commute on the subway. Small and light enough to hold with one hand while I stand (I never sit or touch poles in the NY subway). The Instapaper app is a little janky, though, and keeps resetting my read position.

How do you feel about the build quality? My previous tablet was a Transformer (they got to find better names) also made by ASUS and although they are generally considered quality manufacturers, my tablet felt solid, but had build issues. It doesn't even come close to my iPad.

Kindle Fire, Playbook, even the Nook Color (kind of a competitor) all feel like a $200 device in an industry dominated by a $500 iPad. Most reviews I've read justify it by saying "it's good for $200". Similar thoughts?

I would say "solid but plasticky". The soft touch + metal trim seems to be difficult to get right. If I remember, RIM had a few nice ones in the Bold series (chrome trim, but similar idea with soft touch on the back) that felt nice. I can't quite put my finger on why it's not there yet. Maybe it's the balance of the weight, or it just doesn't weigh enough.

I like the grippy soft touch material on the back and really like the weight of the device. The glass material seems great too but not good as the 4S. Maybe the office one was dirty :/

One thing that I'm personally picky about is that I really wish they would remove the "Asus" logo and keep the Nexus brand as just Nexus. Same with the phone, Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a ridiculous name... But I guess the OEM needs some love too

Here are a few apps I've been especially happy with:

- Evernote: The android tablet version of Evernote is great. The widget that allows me to quickly create or search notes from the homescreen is especially great.

- Pocket: I've flip flopped between Instapaper and Readability for most of my iOS life. Pocket on the N7 is just hands down better.

- gReader Pro: I still love RSS and tried out just about every google reader client. gReader Pro is by far the best and good enough that I don't miss Reeder.

- Widgets in general are great. I have my calendar, mail, todo (AnyDo) and the weather on my home screen. Its great to hit the power button and glance at that stuff. I have a lot of apps organized in folders on the bottom bar.

It's interesting that the things we are saying today, are not too far off from the things we would say a year or two ago, especially regarding Android consistency and 3rd party apps... They're making progress, but there's too much baggage. Methinks a new start is necessary a la Windows Phone 7.

I think the more interesting thing is what's happening with Amazon. They have the tablet and will expand to various models. If they make a phone, which is the rumor, then you have a serious competitor forking Google and their ecosystem. If they have success a company like Samsung could do the same. Google might be forced into a position to take complete ownership and control of Android. You'd at that point see a much different concept of what Android is and could be.

That's where you might see the reboot.