Asus Nexus 7(Released July 2013)

Introduction

A year after the original took the tablet market by storm, the second generation ASUS Nexus 7 has arrived to take part in an altogether different ballgame. With the first generation of the compact slate having established the Nexus 7 brand as the most popular Android tablet available on the market, it is up to the newcomer to elevate it even further and sway potential users away from the Apple iPad Mini and Amazon's Kindle HD.

    

ASUS Nexus 7 (2013) official photos

At a first glance, the new ASUS Nexus 7 appears to be everything a tablet sequel is supposed to be. It is thinner, lighter, more powerful, and better put together. And naturally, in a fashion befitting the release of a new Nexus device, the compact tablet sequel comes with a new Android version out of the box.

Here goes the list of talents, which the second generation ASUS Nexus 7 has to offer.

Key features

• 7" LED-backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, 16M colors
• Android 4.3 Jelly Bean out of the box with the best update support in the business
• 1.5 GHz quad-core Krait CPU, Adreno 320 GPU, 2GB of RAM, Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset
• 5 MP autofocus camera with face detection; 1080p video recording @ 30fps
• 1.2MP front-facing camera
• 16/32GB internal storage
• Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n support
• Optional LTE support
• NFC connectivity
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity
• Bluetooth v4.0 LE
• microUSB port with USB host and TV-out (1080p) support, MHL, charging
• Accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
• Wireless charging (Qi charging standard)
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Built-in stereo speakers
• 3950 mAh battery
• Thin and light construction; solid build quality

Main disadvantages

• Awkwardly positioned stereo speakers
• Poor video codec support out of the box
• Stock Android does not allow manual re-arrangement of app icons or folder creation
• Memory not expandable
• Limited availability at launch

Unlike the first Nexus 7 whose spec sheet sported some notable hardware compromises, the second generation of the slate appears to be a much more balanced product with no major omissions. The tablet ticks all the right boxes to find a spot in the Android tablets' top league - from the ultra-sharp display, through the capable chipset, all the way to the latest OS version, with timely updates guaranteed by Google itself.

Google has also ramped up its attention towards the tablet realm recently, so the long-standing lack of quality apps for tablets may finaly be taken care of in the year ahead. This would certainly help the cause of the 2013 ASUS Nexus 7 in expanding its reach beyond the current Android users.

    

ASUS Nexus 7 (2013) live photos

Naturally, considering the success of the first Nexus 7, our expectations towards its sequel run quite high. As always, we'll kick the review festivities off with an unboxing, followed by a design and build quality inspection

Specifications

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - all versions
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
	4G Network	LTE 800 / 850 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600
		LTE 700 / 750 / 850 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100
	SIM	Micro-SIM
	Announced	2013, July
	Status	Available. Released 2013, July

BODY	Dimensions	200 x 114 x 8.7 mm (7.87 x 4.49 x 0.34 in)
	Weight	290 g (Wi-Fi), 299 g (LTE) (10.55 oz)

DISPLAY	Type	LED-backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	1200 x 1920 pixels, 7.0 inches (~323 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes, up to 10 fingers
	Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass

SOUND	Alert types	N/A
	Loudspeaker	Yes, with stereo speakers
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	No
	Internal	16/32 GB, 2 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Yes
	EDGE	Yes
	Speed	HSPA+, LTE
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band
	Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, LE
	NFC	Yes
	USB	Yes, microUSB (SlimPort) v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus
	Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection
	Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps
	Secondary	Yes, 1.2 MP

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.3 (Jelly Bean)
	Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon S4Pro
	CPU	Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait
	GPU	Adreno 320
	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity
	Messaging	Email, Push Email, IM, RSS
	Browser	HTML5
	Radio	No
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	No
	Colors	Black
		- Wireless charging - HDMI port - Google Wallet - SNS integration - MP4/H.264 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player - Organizer - Image/video editor - Document viewer - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa - Voice memo - Predictive text input (Swype)

BATTERY		Non-removable Li-Ion 3950 mAh battery
	Stand-by
	Talk time	Up to 9 h (multimedia)

Asus Padfone 2 Plug and play

Introduction

In today's rapidly-growing market, it's the push for more CPU cores and (mega)pixels that has been driving the industry forward. But every now and then, an extraordinary gadget emerges to explore new and exciting dimensions. Devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note and the Asus Padfone dare to go against the tide and remind everyone that there's more than one right way to make a phone. Or a tablet. Or both.

Asus obviously doesn't have Samsung's momentum, level of sales or, ultimately, an unlimited budget to really go all out on a project like this, but the first Padfone was successful enough to warrant another go-around. A year later, the sequel has a foundation to build upon, and the company has had time to learn and get stuff ironed out.

  
Asus Padfone 2 official photos

And going by the Padfone 2's specs, Asus are hoping to make a splash.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• 3G with HSPA; LTE (market dependent)
• 4.7" 16M-color 720p Super IPS+ capacitive touchscreen display with 312ppi density
• Android OS v4.1.1 Jelly Bean
• Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait CPU, 2 GB RAM, Adreno 320 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset
• Docking station with 10" 1280x800 pixel display, 5000 mAh battery
• Gorilla Glass protection for both displays
• 13 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geo-tagging
• 1080p video recording @ 30fps, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• 1.2 MP front-facing camera on phone, 1MP front-facing camera on docking station, 720p video recording
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
• 16/32/64GB of built-in storage
• MHL-enabled microUSB port
• Bluetooth v4.0
• NFC
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• SonicMaster loudspeakers on phone and tablet

Main disadvantage

• Non user-replaceable battery
• Mediocre screen quality of the docking station
• Non-expandable storage
• No camera key

With the second Padfone you have a properly-powered smartphone just a 1080p screen short of matching the 2013 flagships, and one that converts into an equally powerful tablet. The station screen is not quite up to Retina standards either, but considering the price of the whole package, Asus is still vastly over-delivering.

Sure, the Asus Padfone 2 is priced rather steeply for a smartphone, but it's actually a fraction of what you'd normally pay for a quad-core smartphone and a quad-core tablet. Not to mention the added convenience of having all your files, contacts and accounts at your disposal at all times, regardless of which screen you're using.

Which leads us to the catch. You are not actually getting a smartphone and a tablet here, it's simply two screens to work with and two batteries to power the same combo. The best thing is, the Padfone station (the tablet body) will charge the phone's battery too. Think: a tablet with an escape pod, or a phone that can more than quadruple its screen size when needed.

   
The Asus Padfone 2 at ours

It's a smart concept indeed, but we're yet to see how good the Padfone is at both jobs. The first impression it made on us back in October was very positive, so we're looking forward to exploring it in-depth and seeing how well the tandem performs

Specifications

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
		HSDPA 900 / 2100
	4G Network	LTE 800 / 1800 / 2600
	SIM	Micro-SIM
	Announced	2012, October
	Status	Available. Released 2012, December

BODY	Dimensions	137.9 x 68.9 x 9 mm (5.43 x 2.71 x 0.35 in)
	Weight	135 g (4.76 oz)
		- Optional Padfone Station with 10.1 inches IPS display, 1280 x 800 pixels @ 514 g, 5000 mAh battery.

DISPLAY	Type	Super IPS+ LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	720 x 1280 pixels, 4.7 inches (~312 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration, MP3 ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	No
	Internal	16/32/64 GB, 2 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
	EDGE	Class 10, 236.8 kbps
	Speed	DC-HSPA+, 42 Mbps; HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, LTE, 100 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP
	NFC	Yes
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0 (MHL)

CAMERA	Primary	13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection
	Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps, 720p@60fps
	Secondary	Yes, 1.2 MP, 720p

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), upgradable to v4.1.1 (Jelly Bean)
	Chipset	Qualcomm MDM215m/APQ8064
	CPU	Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait
	GPU	Adreno 320
	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	HTML5
	Radio	FM radio
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Black, White
		- SNS integration - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - TV-out (via MHL A/V link) - ASUS WebStorage (50 GB storage) - MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player - MP4/H.264/H.263 player - Organizer - Document viewer - Photo viewer/editor - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input (Swype)

BATTERY		Non-removable Li-Ion 2140 mAh battery
	Stand-by	Up to 352 h
	Talk time	Up to 16 h