Hardware

Slimming down

The first Nexus 7 was a soft, plushy device that felt both comfortable and almost disposable. With plastic edges and a dimpled back, it was more toy than machine. The new model trades up to a sleek, classy, all-black body that very clearly means business. This isn't a toy anymore; it's a tablet for serious people who do serious things.

The Nexus 7 has grown up

The matte black back no longer looks or feels like Steve McQueen's leathery driving gloves, but it's still soft to the touch and much nicer to hold than some of the glossy, plastic backs on devices like the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0. At 8.65 mm thick, it's slightly slimmer than the last model, and at 0.64 pounds slightly lighter as well. It's also about a credit card thicker than the iPad mini, and almost exactly as tall. Google shaved a quarter of an inch off the bezels on either side of the display, which makes the device fit much more easily into my hand as well. I can grasp it like a phone, holding the tablet in my palm and tapping on the screen with my thumb — the iPad mini requires two hands, one to hold the device and the other to use it.

Google opted not to shrink the bezels above and below the display, which now look comically gigantic in comparison. The mismatched bezels also make the screen look smaller, and the tablet looks asymmetrical — it's nice to have a place to put your hands when you hold the tablet sideways, but no one needs this much space. The Nexus 7's 16:10 aspect ratio already makes it look gangly and tall, but the huge bezels turn it into an eighth-grader that grew a foot without gaining a pound.

The Micro USB port on the bottom is used for charging and syncing, while the volume and power controls sit on the tapered right edge. From the front, you see no blemishes on the device save for the awkwardly off-center camera lens; there's another, larger lens on the back, plus a small Asus tag and a huge Nexus logo. The logo is readable only when you hold the device in landscape — Google demoed the device mostly sideways as well, and clearly imagines you'll mostly use the Nexus 7 for watching movies and playing games. Me? I mostly read. The Da Vinci Code is a long book.

The two cameras are both pretty unexciting, but they're what I'd want from a tablet — the new 5-megapixel rear shooter takes decent, accurate photos, and though the front lens is really hard to align with your face it works just fine. I still loathe anyone I see taking pictures with their tablet, but if that's your thing the Nexus 7 will serve you well.