New Nexus 7 offers top-notch specs at rock-bottom price

SINGAPORE — The first Google Nexus 7 took the world by storm with its great price point, smooth performance and sleek design. Google and Asus have teamed up again to build another device — also called the Nexus 7 — that could be the best tablet on the market right now.

The new Nexus 7 looks a lot like an oversized Android phone, but it is easy to hold on to and use with one hand. It is also lighter and slimmer than its predecessor, being only 8.65mm thick and tipping the scales at 290 grams.

The textured back from the older Nexus 7 has been replaced with a smooth finish that does not hold onto fingerprints.

The best feature of the Nexus 7 is definitely its amazing screen. The tablet still has a 7-inch IPS display like its predecessor, but the resolution has been boosted from 1280 x 800 pixels to 1920 x 1200, and it boasts a mammoth pixel density of 323ppi (pixels per inch).

As a result, watching videos and browsing picture galleries on the Nexus 7 is a real joy and it will be interesting to see how this matches up to the iPad Mini 2, which will come with Apple’s trademark Retina display and is expected to be launched next month.

The Nexus 7 also comes with a 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM.

This combined with the latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system means the Nexus 7 is extremely slick and responsive. The device boots more quickly than most of the other Android tablets I have tested.

The Nexus 7 is also great when it comes to battery life. It lasted for about eight hours on a single charge after a test, which included watching HD videos and playing online games via Wi-Fi.

The tablet also comes with two cameras, a 5-megapixel one at the back and a 1.2-megapixel one in the front. The rear camera does take crisp and clear pictures, but the auto-focus is not very accurate and you may need a few takes to capture the perfect picture.

Only the 16GB Wi-Fi version of the Nexus 7 — which does not have an expandable storage slot — will be sold in Singapore for now. Despite that, the tablet still offers great specs, one of the best displays on the market now and a sleek design at a very affordable price, making it a great option for those who are not willing to wait for the new iPad Mini.

The Nexus 7 will retail at S$379 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model is now available at all ASUS stores and authorised retailers. The LTE version of the Nexus 7 (32GB) will be available from tomorrow at the retail price of S$529.