Hands-on review: Google Nexus 10

Powerful processorHigh-res screenAndroid 4.2No 3G/4G optionNo expandable storageMuted colours for media

The Google Nexus 10 was only announced around a week ago but in many circles it had been anticipated since the announcement of the Google Nexus 7. After all, if Google was entering the tablet field directly then how could it resist the potentially very lucrative 10-inch market?

And here we are, just a few short months after the Nexus 7's launch and Google is taking the fight to Apple, going head to head for tablet supremacy.

It's not going to be an easy fight for Google; the iPad has always been in a league of its own and has a serious head start, but Google isn't entering the fray unprepared.

At £319 for the 16GB model the Google Nexus 10 is £80 cheaper than the equivalent iPad 4. In fact even the 32GB model, with its price tag of £389 comes in at slightly under a 16GB iPad 4 and a whole £90 cheaper than a 32GB one.

Don't think that just because it's relatively cheap it's not a premium, powerhouse device either. With a retina-searing 10.05-inch 2560 x 1600 Super PLS display, it's even higher resolution than the latest iPad, with 300 pixels per inch against the iPad 4's 264ppi.

That makes it the highest resolution tablet in existence. With a display that beautiful it's reassuring to know that it uses Corning Gorilla Glass 2 to keep it in pristine condition.

It's no slouch under the hood either. With a dual-core 1.7GHz Samsung Exynos processor and 2GB of RAM it should have no problem keeping pace with the fastest Android devices. It comes with Android 4.2 out of the box and being a pure Google tablet it will be one of the first devices to get the next version of Android too, keeping it up to date and future proofed for as long as possible.

It's the same tactic used for the Google Nexus 7 - produce top end hardware at the lowest price possible to get people buying. It's even learnt a few lessons from the Nexus 7, as this time is isn't bothering with a cripplingly small 8GB model and making a 32GB version available from day one.

Despite having only just been officially announced, the Google Nexus 10 will be available to buy from the 13 November in both 16GB and 32GB flavours. Right now it's Wi-Fi only, but if you want 3G or 4G you might not have to wait too long, as the Nexus 7 has just been made available with 3G, so we expect the Google Nexus 10 will follow suit.

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Hands-on review: Google Nexus 4

Google's Nexus (ten points to anyone who can tell us if Nexi is the correct plural) smartphones have always set the standard when it comes to a pure Google experience.

The first Nexus One was a true geek device. Sold only through Google directly (apart from a brief flirtation with Vodafone), it never achieved massive sales. But it gave the world the true raw power of Android without the bloatware of other variants. As of January 2010, the ball was well and truly rolling.

We've had several now – and everyone, it seems, had a go: HTC, Samsung, Asus and LG – though strangely, not Motorola, which is now part of Google itself.

Some handsets we look forward to with much anticipation – only to feel deflated when we actually use them. Others, we wait for with little expectation – and they absolutely blow our socks off.

A stealth surprise. We'll lay our proverbial cards on the table here from the outset. The Nexus 4 is one of those rare devices.

LG's not had the best track record of late. Sure, we thought the Optimus 4X HD was a pretty decent offering, but too little, too late compared to what was already out there by the time LG got it to market.

And whereas LG did have good form when it came to innovation back in the day (who remembers the Chocolate, the Shine – and even the dubious widescreen BL40?), the mojo seemed to have passed.

That's not a dig at the South Koreans – far from it. But just to set the scene to show why we weren't expecting much from the Nexus 4.

Perhaps the worst kept secret since the iPhone 5, the Nexus 4 even got left in a bar in true cliché style. And from the pictures, we weren't alone in thinking it looked like a copy of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

The difference is, when we took the Samsung model out of its box this time last year, we thought it was nice. When we took the Nexus 4 out of its box last week, we thought it was beautiful.

Size wise, the Nexus 4 comes in at 133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm – which means it is similar to its predecessor. But it is far more stunning to look at and hold.

The front is all glass in piano black. Extra tough too thanks to the Corning Gorilla Glass 2. Think iPhone 4 territory, but just a little nicer looking (we are aware that is a matter of opinion, iFans!)

The whole front is set within a dull chrome bezel and the shininess even extends to the rear of the handset, which has an attractive, though unusual sparkly pattern adorning it.

Think the glittery kind of jacket that you could see Cilla Black, Joan Rivers or Shirley Bassey in at an awards ceremony, and you catch our drift.

At 139g, the Nexus 4 isn't the lightest handset in school – but it's just about solid enough to get away with carrying that extra weight and puts those who say Android devices look like toys firmly in their place.

The screen is invisible when off – but when it lights up, you're treated to 4.7-inches of True HD IPS Plus beauty. That's 768 x 1280 pixels with a pixel density of 318. It is razor sharp – blowing Retina out of the water and we'll venture it is one of the best we've seen on a handset.

Another reason for this is because there is such little space between the glass and the display. So where we berated the Optimus 4X HD for leaving enough room here to park a small car, the Nexus 4 leaves no gap at all.

It exudes a clarity that has to be seen to be believed. Colours look beautiful, icons and text are razor sharp and everything floats perfectly.

We find it hard to see how this could be beaten. When you're looking at icons on a black background (like in the app drawer), you can't even see the black, if that makes sense. It is so deep, that icons just float. Beneath the screen, in the centre, but hidden until needed, lies a pulsating notification light.

Another element worth pointing out here is the way the phone curves at the sides, from the main panel into the bezel. It seems to make the screen look even more realistic and beautiful. It's one of those things you really have to experience to appreciate.

Round the edges, you'll find the usual adornments. A 3.5mm headphone jack on top, volume rocker and micro SIM tray on the left, micro USB port plus a few dubious screws on the bottom, and a perfectly placed lock/unlock/power button on the upper right hand side.

It's just in that sweet spot where it's easy to press with the thumb if you're right handed and not impossible if you're a leftie.

There's no way of getting the back off – so you know what that means, peeps. No removable battery and no expandable storage. The former doesn't faze us too much since the 2,100mAh battery pack is no slouch but the lack of memory card allowance is annoying.

Yes, we know that ever since the Nexus S, expandable memory is out. Google's said that it doesn't offer it because it's confusing. But for those with lots of content who can't or don't want to stream, it's a real pain. We don't quite buy Google's argument.

As for the innards, LG has cut no corners here. Make no mistake, this is a premium handset. DC-HSDPA, the very latest iteration of Jelly Bean 4.2, a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, quad-core 1.5GHz processor, A-GPS with GLONASS, NFC and so forth.

But what makes this so sweet is the price. Let's just point out that sim-free, a HTC One X with similar specs will set you back around £399 (around $637/AU$611) – even the 18-month old Samsung Galaxy S2 retails at £329 (around $525/AU$503).

And while last year's Galaxy Nexus will leave your wallet £299 (around $477/AU$458) lighter, this brand new model, the Nexus 4 is priced – almost unbelievably – at £239 ($299/AU$349) for the 8GB version and £279 ($349/AU$480) for 16GB. Yes, the newer Nexus is cheaper than the year old Nexus. Word!

We can't overestimate just how revolutionary this is and it leaves us open-mouthed at how Google is doing this. Either it's selling the Nexus 4 at a loss – or the mark-up on handsets is now shown up as being ridiculously high. Whichever it is, it means the Nexus 4 has a distinct advantage over the competition.

Bizarrely, in the UK Google has promised O2 that it can sell the Nexus 4 as an exclusive for the first month. We can't understand why – especially because you could end up paying £800 for the device over the course of the contract.

Most people with sense (and a bit of spare cash) will buy the Nexus sim-free and get themselves a cheap as chips sim-only plan.

But anyway, with an early November release, that means there'll still be plenty of networks marketing this heavily pre-Christmas once that month-long deal with O2 expires. And we can see the Nexus 4 being on a lot of Christmas lists.

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Review: Updated: Google Nexus 7

Update: We've now included new info on features within the Google Nexus 7, thanks to our longer-term tests, as well as a look at how the tablet was created in just a few months. We have also added in some commentary on updates and how the tablet performs over a longer period

Undoubtedly tired of watching OEMs make little headway in their uphill struggle against Apple's iPad, Google executives took the stage at this year's Google I/O developer conference to announce a branded 7-inch tablet of their own: the Google Nexus 7 by Asus.

Like other Nexus-branded devices, the Nexus 7 tablet isn't actually hardware manufactured by Google (as you may have noticed, thanks to the suffix). As the Mountain View company has done with Samsung, HTC and Motorola in the past, it paired with Asus to design and manufacture its slender tablet.

It's a smart move: among Android tablets, Asus makes some of the best around, but matching the rock-bottom £129 price of Amazon's Kindle Fire while exceeding its meagre specs would be a challenge for any manufacturer.

And make no mistake: the Nexus 7 by Asus is more of an effort to stomp out Amazon's unwelcome (and forked) version of Android more than an attempt to dethrone Apple's reigning tablet champ.

That thrown-down gauntlet has been picked up by the Amazonians already though, thanks to the emergence of the Kindle Fire HD, which is offering more storage and the same specs for the same price. Winning.

The good news is that very little has been sacrificed along the way, unlike with Amazon's initial offering. According to Android boss Andy Rubin, Google's profit margin bears the brunt of any sacrifices made, from selling hardware at cost and from tossing in generous perks such as £15 of Google Play credit for every Nexus 7 owner.

That cheeky treat has now ended though, but that hasn't stopped the phone selling in droves on our fair shores - millions of the things have shifted, with more to come in the pre-Christmas rush.

But enough about why and how Google and Asus have released the Nexus 7: Is it worth even £159 of your hard-earned cash?

On paper, the specs for the Nexus 7 are quite impressive. Powered by a quad-core Tegra 3 processor with 1GB RAM and either 8GB (priced at £159 in the UK) or 16GB (£199) of onboard storage, this tablet runs circles around the Kindle Fire, rivaling many competing Android tablets at twice the price (or more).

The 7-inch 1200 x 800 HD backlit IPS display packs a respectable 216 pixels per inch onto the screen. Sure, it's not quite as impressive as a third-generation Retina Display iPad at 264ppi, but given the price, you will have little to complain about from the display.

The front of the Google Nexus 7 by Asus is devoid of hardware-based buttons, but a 1.2MP front-facing camera rests at the top of the tablet front, which is covered entirely by Corning glass (we're assuming Gorilla Glass, but Google isn't confirming).

Curiously, Google seems to buck the landscape trend made popular with most Android tablets.

While the Nexus 7 will indeed rotate for landscape use with apps, the home screen itself is fixed into portrait mode, as if Google wants to encourage users to hold it this way when not watching content designed for landscape views, such as movies or TV shows. Portrait mode even works when viewed with polarised sunglasses, while landscape mode goes black.

Unlike the Kindle Fire with its one lone button, Google has wisely opted for three basic hardware controls.

On the right side is a power/sleep button with a two-stage volume rocker just below; the rest is done using Android's on-screen software buttons for back, home and recent navigation, including rotation lock, which can be accessed via the notifications menu.

At the bottom of the unit is a micro USB port and 3.5mm headphone jack, while a thin speaker port is the only feature of note on the otherwise rubberised back, aside from Nexus and Asus branding. The top of the unit is devoid of ports entirely, although a small pinhole can be found here for the included microphone.

While the Google Nexus 7 is primarily made of plastic and glass, it certainly doesn't feel cheap. On the contrary, it feels almost as "premium" as one of Apple's tablets, with litte flex or other clues that Asus might have cut some corners in manufacturing - although we did notice some creakiness in our tablet sample between the bezel and the plastic cover.

Inside, the Nexus 7 packs the usual assortment of features, including an accelerometer, magnetometer and yes, even a gyroscope and GPS chip, nicely timed to take advantage of Google Maps' new offline mode for navigating when Wi-Fi isn't available.

It's almost hard to comprehend how small the Nexus 7 is until you hold its diminutive box in your hand. At a mere 198.5 x 120 x 10.45mm and weighing 340 grams, once out of the box, you can almost stack two Nexus 7 tablets side-by-side on one iPad, which is just one millimeter thinner.

Despite being so petite, Google and Asus managed to find space for a nice bezel around the screen itself (roughly 20mm top and bottom, 14mm on each side), making it plenty comfortable to hold without your fingers or thumbs getting in the way of the screen.

The pockmarked back recalls the same vibe as slipping on a pair of premium driving gloves, and this look and feel makes it quite nice to hold - and is devoid of camera. While our review unit arrived with a white back (similar to the ones gifted to developers at I/O this year), Google is only offering the black model to consumers.

Speaking of which, the Nexus 7 is available direct from the Google Play store, but the company has also rolled the tablet out at retail as well.

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Jelly Bean hits Sprint Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S 4G, not yet for Verizon

It took a couple months, but Sprint is finally rolling out Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to its Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S 4G phones.The roll out began on Tuesday morning, making these the first two Sprint phones to receive the latest version of Android. It's not clear how long it will take to reach all users.

Sprint hasn't announced any way to sideload or manually trigger the update. Users can try one method suggested by GottaBeMobile, though it isn't guaranteed to work: Under Settings, go to Apps, then All. Select Google Services Framework and force stop the app, then select Clear Data. Go back to Settings, go to About, then check for a System Update.

Google announced Android 4.1 in late June at Google I/O, and released it for the unlocked GSM versions of the Galaxy S and Galaxy Nexus in mid-July. Some wireless carriers, including Sprint and Verizon, have taken longer to deliver the update, as they test the software for potential problems. Verizon still hasn't said when its Galaxy Nexus will get updated to Jelly Bean. A leaked build for the Verizon update is floating around the Internet, but it's only usable on rooted phones.

Jelly Bean isn't a major update for Android, but it does add a layer of polish to the operating system. Animations and transitions are much more fluid, and new widgets automatically shift to find a place on the screen. Notifications can be expanded to show more information, and some of them allow actions directly from the notification bar.

Jelly Bean also comes with Google Now, a virtual assistant that tries to provide information automatically, including traffic reports and sports scores. Basic search is also spruced up with the ability to speak a query with natural language and receive spoken answers in return.

As of now, only 1.2 percent of Android devices that have accessed Google Play within two weeks are using Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The majority of devices—57.2 percent—are still using Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

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