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Google Officially Discontinues Nexus 7 Tablet
An anonymous reader writes: Google's 7-inch tablet has disappeared from the Google Store, where a note in red type simply states that the device is no longer available for purchase. "The Nexus 7 was first released back in 2013, so it's fair to say it had a good run. The Android-based tablet received great reviews, but what really made it a long-term success was the fact that it was affordable and continually received updates from Google. Manufactured by Asus, the Nexus 7 was even treated to Android Lollipop, the latest version of the operating system, although not with bug-free results. The discontinuation shouldn't come as a big surprise, however, as Google pulled a similar move back in March with the Nexus 5 smartphone, not to mention the Nexus 9 tablet's release last fall."
If Google can't even make Lollipop work on its own hardware, how much of an endorsement is that for other manufacturers to put their efforts into Android? Clearly it's not because Google is underfunded.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
I purchased a 2nd gen Nexus 7 in late 2013 after it became available. I loved it. It was very affordable. The performance, graphics, and battery uses was amazing. Using a purer version of Android was nice. Integration with the play store, etc, was great.
The build quality however.... some of the plastic trip was cracking off the side. But that's ok, that showed that I used it daily.
What WAS very disappointing was that the device lasted just over a 1 year, around 14 months. *14* fucking months. One bad charging episode and the device would not longer charge. I contacted google and asus, and to my surprise, asked that I send it for evaluation. I was then presented with the option to fix ("the mainboard needs to be replaced").I was contemplating buying a similarly refurbished tablet but didn't want to be let down again.
When I realized that my 2009 ipad2 was still being used daily (albeit with lack of updates not as secure and running slowly) I realized that you can't beat apple hardware longevity, and went with a ipad mini2, and never looked back.
Good bye google android tablet.
As I remember it, the Nexus 7 was part of a strategic campaign by Google to ensure that "tablet" didn't mean "iPad" by introducing a high-quality Android device supported by Google itself to the masses. Now that that mission's largely been accomplished (e.g., if you're just looking for a tablet to browse the Internet and run a couple of simple apps, would you really shell out the extra money buy an iPod?) and there are many high-quality Android tablet alternatives in every form factor imaginable, the Nexus 7 isn't needed so much.
I own a first gen Nexus 7. IMO, it's the ideal size for a personal video-watching device--not large enough to be cumbersome but with a big enough screen to make TV show watching thoroughly enjoyable. It's also ideal for reading articles and great at viewing "full web" (non-mobile) pages. The price (under $200) was the main selling point to me, and I really did feel like it was amazing bang for the buck (especially compared to my wife's similarly-priced Kindle Fire).
Lollipop rendered my N7 basically unusable (would randomly shut itself off--mine, luckily, wasn't one of those whose device got caught in the infinite reboot cycle), but Thank God there's Cyanogenmod, where my N7 is a big sluggish but still perfectly functional. The sluggishness would probably have been enough to make me consider buying a replacement, and I'm sad that there isn't one (I will never buy another Samsung mobile device, and I hate the Kindle Fire series).
Ah, well. I'm used to being part of an unpopular and unprofitable niche market--I'm still waiting for someone (anyone) to release a new full QWERTY keyboard phone.
The Nexus 7 was first released back in 2013
Which is why the first ones are known as Nexus 7 (2012)
I always thought he Nexus 7 was a good combination of specs, size, and being supported by Google.
I don't want a 9" Nexus.
One does wonder if they're not killing a popular product because they just want to focus on a more expensive version.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
if you're just looking for a tablet to browse the Internet and run a couple of simple apps, would you really shell out the extra money buy an iPod?
Because an iPod touch is small enough to put in an armband so you can listen while you jog. Android tablets typically don't run smaller than 7 inches without being designed (and priced) for use with a cellular network. Or should people just buy an entry-level Android phone and use it without a SIM?
How did this make the front page? I think the OP neglected to realize that Google I/O is just around the corner. Devices are discontinued every year right before I/O (after months of steep discounts to clear stock) to make way for the new device(s) that are about to be announced.
A product only on the market for 2 years now counts as "a good run"? Amazing.
I'm still waiting for someone (anyone) to release a new full QWERTY keyboard phone.
Did they stop making clip-on Bluetooth keyboards for phones or something? Amazon still appears to have slide-out keyboards in stock for iPhone 6.
My 2012 N7 is still going strong (if a bit sluggish under Cyanogenmod 11). And I've heard from a few iPad owners who've had their devices die within months. Consumer electronics is a crapshoot--sometimes your device is essentially immortal (got a 2005 Dell Inspiron that's still doing great), sometimes it dies well before its time. I'd love to see aggregated statistics for median longevity for various tablets from various manufacturers. Would guess that the N7 wouldn't top the list, but would also guess it wouldn't be on the bottom either.
to free up the name name for the inevitable 7" smart phone.
What made the earlier Nexii (4, 5, 7) a success was, in no small part, the sticker price, way lower than Apple and other were selling similar products. With these, you were getting great devices (with shortcomings for sure, but not deal breakers) for a bargain price. You could get a nexus 7 for less than 200USD. That to me was the power of Nexus, to the point where I would easily overlook hardware/software issues. Now that those are gone for good, we are left with the Nexus 6 and 9. They are priced on the high end (really high end). At that point, it's only fair to compare it to the competition on equal grounds. The Nexus 9 is the forgotten child, still not updated to 5.1, and with performance that is not up to a iPad Air 2, nor its build quality. The Nexus 6 is monstruosly big (if you loke those sorts of things) but the performance is OK at best. Apple used to be blamed (correctly) for sticking to small screen size, when everybody else had plenty of choice. Now you can get bigger or smaller phones from them, but not for Google. I loveD Google's products, but I am no fanboi. With the passing of the Nexus 7, I can't say I feel the same way any more.
I didn't realize that they discontinued the Nexus 5. I would buy another in a heartbeat. I don't see any other phone on the market that I would rather have. Nexus? Check. Hi-res screen? Check. Not a phablet? Check. The Nexus 6 is just a bit too big for me. Hopefully they are just making room for the new versions. The Nexus 5 & Nexus 10 rank as two of my best tech purchases this decade.
the growth in cynicism and rebellion has not been without cause
Nexus 6 to big for be useful as a phone, costs 2x as much as the 5 did. Nexus 9 again size sucks, to big to carry around in front pocket to small to be a useful laptop and again 2x the price of the 7 it replaced.
Cyogen (sp) seems to be the only option to keep things close to stock android anymore.
No sir I dont like it.
Why shouldn't I be surprised? Shouldn't the article be explaining why they pulled the Nexus 7 and not telling me I already know?
2 years is a long run? Hard drives used to have 5 year warranty. Many still have 2 year warranty. Cutting off a people who use the device to store their personal info after 2 years is a "long run"? Aha.
Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
Two freaking Years is a "Good Run"
BS, I have socks older than that.
The person who took the decision to terminate the Nexus 7 series is called Rick Deckard.
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
How is this a story?
And Ford Mustang Production should have ended in 1967 too.
We can all list things that aren't made anymore too - like the Nokia N900 ... since MSFT f^cked that company up.
As for your jogging comment, you could just use the phone you currently have to listen to music. Or do you always carry around two overlapping devices?
The phone I already have doesn't support music. If I switched to a smartphone, the carrier would refuse to activate it on my present plan, instead putting me on a plan that costs $300 more per year than what I'm currently paying. Even in the GSM ecosystem, where a SIM is mandatory, carriers can and do automatically add a data plan to a voice-only SIM when it is inserted into a smartphone.
I have had 10 Nexus 7's given to me, every one with broken screens.
They needed to stop making the screen with potato chips. They need gorilla glass that is 2X as thick.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
When I spend money I worked hard for on a device, I expect to get more than a year of use out of it. Somehow you idiots have allowed the mobile device makers to condition you into accepting several hundred dollars of annual spend on a device.
I expect to get 3-4 years out of a phone, tablet, or notebook PC, and I expect to be supported by the manufacturer during that time with updates. I understand that hardware performance deflates with time as hardware makers give software developers more and more resources to waste in the name of saving time, but I expect at least security updates even if the latest resource-hungry apps won't be happy.
I don't know if the reasoning behind the original Nexus devices was to get people to buy into Android (and thus, be willing to sell them at a loss), but as a Nexus 4 and 7 owner I have absolutely no interest in the current Nexus lineup. The 6 is about 100% more than I'm willing to pay for a phone, as is the 9 for a tablet.
I'd have upgraded my 4 to a 5 eventually, but they cut that one out too. Hopefully Google IO involves a new 5 at a reasonable price point.
The new one doesn't fit in my back pocket...
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
Might be a good reason as to why they are discontinuing them.... http://s12.postimg.org/frwdfyw... http://s12.postimg.org/92ptzyb...
I'm sure they have enough stock to last for a while, but I wonder what they're gonna give to new Google Fiber customers in the future to use as their super-spiffy remote control when those Nexus 7s run out...
Its not surprising really, its them dipping thier toes in many things and seeing what works. Im fairly sure if they actually toss thier hat in the arena itl be hilarious.
I know that many will disagree with me, but I still think that the Nexus 7 (2013) was the best all around tablet ever made. I have owned 5 tablets (3 different 7", 2 different 10") and my Nexus 7 (2013) is the only one that I still use on a daily basis and I would recommend it to anyone to buy (if they still can). I just bought my mom one last month. It has been the perfect size for me, just small enough that I can easily throw it in a jacket pocket or palm it while walking down the hall to a meeting, and big enough that I can show a coworker some information on the screen during the meeting or a watch a movie on a plane. The price/performance ratio has been unmatched by any other tablet that I have ever encountered. Nice wide full HD high resolution screen and stereo speakers for movies, 2GB of RAM, plenty fast processor, and no unnecessary bloated custom software. My only complaint ever has been the lack of a MicroSD slot that 3 of my other tablets had. Due to the 4:3 resolution the Nexus 9 never interested me.
I really hope that Google will be announcing a suitable successor at I/O this year.
Nevermore.
They sure do then argue with you that the phone won't work without a supporting data plan. If I buy an unlocked smartphone and only want to use it with wifi data only then I damn well better be able to. Fuck you Cingular oops ATT.
Unless you buy a nice tablets because they look like something that you might like, then they abandon you for upgrades and refuse to unlock the bootloader so you cannot put a third party ROM onto it. Thank you Toshiba, my Excite is a nice piece of hardware but no way to upgrade.
In the comments, I frequently read that anecdotes do not equal data. Well, let me give you a corollary to that: Shitstorms do not equal data, either.
Sure, some people had bricked (or semi-bricked) N7's after upgrading to 5.1. But do we know how many? Maybe a bunch of reports are being blown out of proportion? I don't think we know. There have been millions of N7 devices sold. At this point, I think it's hard to say if 10%, 1%, 0.1%, or 0.001% of devices are affected.
Call me when they build something that outperforms my 120+ year old felling axe. Or my 200+ year old coin balance.
I bought one when they first came out, then bought the second gen. with a little bump in power. Still, it became very sluggish with each update until I just set it aside and finally traded it for a few bucks. Its really nothing new, Apple iPads get pretty slow and problematic with updates too. The trouble is that with tablets as well as phones the life expectancy is only considered to be around two to three years tops. Apple at least just stops supporting older iPads which is probably a good thing.
Its probably a better ideal to skip out on upgrading the OS on tablets.
Agreed. I loved my Nexus. Till I dropped it on a marble floor and the touch screen didn't touch no more.
I think he would be appointed head of Google's products division, if he applied.
First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win. -Gandhi