Google's Nexus 7 product is the newest competitor. Designed by Asus, the Nexus 7 has much of what you'd expect from a high-end tablet: It features a wonderful, high-definition touchscreen display screen, a zippy processor processor and a highly effective design processor that makes video look amazing. It's compact but seems strong in the hand, and it's simple enough to use.
Yet its low price -- $199, in comparison to $499 for the newest iPad -- leaves the Nexus 7 directly against the lower-end of the product market, particularly the Amazon Amazon kindle Flame. The Nexus 7's small, seven-inch display -- plus Search engines popular position of applications for video clips, guides, films and newspapers -- places it head-to-head with the in the same way priced Flame.
If this were just a components fight, the Nexus 7 would win hands down. Its display crams in about 28% more p per inches than the Amazon kindle Flame. It has a front-facing camera (the Amazon kindle has none), Wireless connection, a twice-as-fast processor processor and twice the storage. All that comes with the same power supply in a device that is two oz. brighter.
But picking a tablet isn't just about specs. Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) proved that by unveiling its Surface tablet last week, whose most talked-about feature wasn't its speed or screen, but an innovative case that doubles as a keyboard.
So how does the Nexus 7 compare to its rivals in terms of usability?
Like the Kindle Fire, the Nexus 7 offers seamless access to digital content. The new "My Library" widget on the main home screen places all of your most-recently viewed books and videos in big, easy-to-navigate tiles. A tap on a tile will bring up the content right from where you left off.
The Nexus 7 features similar libraries of movies, books and magazines on its four other home screens. An Amazon-like "recommended content" feature practically begs you to buy new things from Google's Play store.
