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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."
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.
The article was pretty poor.
There were two Nexus 7 devices:
1) The 2012 Nexus 7 (often referred to by its internal codename, grouper), using an NVidia Tegra3 chipset. This did get Lollipop, although it was kind of "meh", mostly with performance issues, showing that the hardware was getting a little on the old side. Google may have been trying to make up for the Galaxy Nexus getting dropped prematurely due to TI by keeping a different Nexus device supported for as long as absolutely possible. This device was discontinued in Summer 2013 when its successor was announced.
2) The 2013 Nexus 7 (often referred to by its internal codename, flo), using a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064), pretty much the same as the Snapdragon 600 at a slightly lower clock speed. This runs Lollipop well due to newer hardware. This is the device that was just discontinued.
grouper was always a bit "meh" - I don't know if it was the fault of Asus or NVidia, but Tegra3 tablets from Asus were always notorious for poor storage performance. I think other Tegra3 tablets had similar issues, but honestly - Asus was the largest Tegra3 customer by far thanks to grouper and the Transformer series of tablets, so it's hard to tell who was at fault.
The fact that flo didn't have grouper's storage performance issues (same device manufacturer, different chip inside) indicates it was probably the Tegra3.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
Came here to say the same thing. It's slow/unusable on the original Nexus 7, but on the 2013 version, it's fine.
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.
I'm not unaware of them. I'm completely fucking uninterested. There is a huge difference.
I don't want some device I have to build in a kit every couple of months. I'm beyond the point where I want to endlessly fiddle with technology. It's a waste of my time, and not something I do for fun.
I want something supported out of the box by the manufacturer, with as long of a shelf life as possible, and I don't want to enrich some corporation who feels they should give me a separate store or otherwise annoy me with non-standard stuff.
I have no interest in tracking my own CyanogemMod version, building it from a kit, hand bombing my install.
I like vanilla Android out of the box. I've seen the junk Samsung and others put on, and I have no interest in it.
But what I don't want is a device which is going to make more work for me.
Maybe the nerdy kids or the people with no lives feel some fulfillment out of endlessly fucking with their devices. But I sure as hell don't.
But I'll go back to Apple if the price points become similar. Only I'll go with a lower end device and treat it like it will only have a short lifespan. Especially if it means I know I'll have a device which isn't a pain in the ass to use.
For me technology is tools, not something to derive endless pleasure from tweaking it.
So, as usual, the open source solution of "yarg, just download this stuff, build this stuff, twiddle with this stuff" is advice that nobody else is interested in. I just want something which "just works" .. my original iPad did up to a point, and my Nexus 7 has so far.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.