Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Reporting From Google I/O 2012: Nexus 7 And Jelly Bean (Android 4.1)
By ,
1. Will Google's Nexus 7 Put Out Amazon's Fire?

Google I/O 2012 - Nexus 7 Announcement

There were two gadgets announced at Google I/O 2012: Nexus Q and Nexus 7. We covered both announcements yesterday, and we'll dig deeper into the hardware once we get back down to Southern California. In the meantime, though, we wanted to share some of our thoughts on the 7.

As Google's first branded tablet, the Nexus 7 is an impressive device. We've always considered tablets complements to the digital experience; they don't really replace anything, though. To that end, the 10" tablets cycling in and out of our lab seem to come across as neat gadgets. But a piece of hardware with a 7" screen is a lot smaller, and thus more manageable.

Manufactured by Asus, the Nexus 7 is much more portable than many of the company's own branded products. Google is clearly going after customers tempted by the Kindle Fire (not an altogether bad piece of hardware; read The Amazon Kindle Fire: Benchmarked, Tested, And Reviewed). With both priced at $200, Google has this one in the bag. To recap, the Fire is chunkier, uses a version of Android that prevents you from accessing Google Play (previously Android Marketplace), lacks a camera, and employs a lower-end OMAP 4430 SoC.

In contrast, the Nexus 7 is slimmer and only weighs 340 grams (Kindle Fire is ~415 g). It actually feels a lot more like our E Ink-based Kindle Keyboard (third-gen) than the Fire. There are no app installation restrictions, and it runs Android 4.1, rather than Amazon's more tightly controlled Android 2.3-based ecosystem.

The Nexus 7 also includes a decent front-facing camera/mic, which will let you Skype to your heart's content. This was a feature lacking from the Fire. Performance should also prove to be impressive, since the Nexus 7 employs a version of Nvidia's Tegra 3,.

GLBenchmark 2.1.4
Transformer Pad (TF300T)
Transformer Prime (TF201)
Nexus 7
SoC
Tegra 3 (T30L)
Tegra 3 (T30)
Tegra 3 (?)
Android
4.0 (ICS)
4.0 (ICS)
4.1 (Jelly Bean)
Egypt Standard
5752 frames (51 FPS)
5720 frames (51 FPS)5968 frames (53 FPS)
Egypt Fixed
62.768 s (45 FPS)
65.250 s (45 FPS)59.279 s (48 FPS)
Egypt Offscreen (720p)
7178 frames (64 FPS)
7122 frames (63 FPS)7073 frames (63 FPS)
Pro Standard2796 frames (56 FPS)
2744 frames (55 FPS)2830 frames (57 FPS)
Pro Fixed22.982 s (54 FPS)
23.599 s (53 FPS)22.515 s (56 FPS)
Pro Offscreen (720p)
4006 frames (80 FPS)
3827 frames (76 FPS)4095 frames (82 FPS)


According to Google, Jelly Bean makes this tablet faster than Asus' Transformer Prime. While the Nexus 7 doesn't have a clear lead, you can see in the scores above that GLBenchmark seems to support that claim to some degree

Amazon didn't set out to make the Fire a fast, sexy chat-enabled tablet, though. It's a content purchasing and delivery mechanism. Google clearly has nice hardware, but without the same retail presence, its Google Play store might not realize the same level of success.

2. Benchmarking The Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) Performance Gains

Jelly Bean: 41 Flavor Mix

Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) includes the following enhancements to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich):

  • Faster performance
  • Improved predictive keyboard
  • Easier photo sharing
  • Voice dictation (called Voice Typing) and search (ala Siri)
  • Improved notification
  • Google Now (uses Google data to anticipate your wishes)
  • Revamped Google Play


In our opinion, the significance of the improvements are in-line with what we'd expect from a .1 release, with the exception of Google Now, which may raise some privacy concerns.

What really gets us stoked, though, is how Jelly Bean improves CPU utilization. As part of a demo, Google showcased a Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.0 next to one using 4.1. The difference was clear. The Jelly Bean-based Nexus looked a lot more responsive. What, exactly, did Google do?

According to GeekBench, we're getting a slight improvement in memory performance, but the processor score doesn't really look any better. Moving on...

A boost to graphics performance is much more quantifiable. In each GLBenchmark sub-test except for one, frame rates increase. This has two effects. One, the UI feels much smoother. Second, better GPU-oriented optimizations lessen the workload handled by the CPU, making it more available for running apps.

3. Google+ Enhancements: History And Events

We still have mixed feelings about Google+. With Facebook and Twitter so prolific, it's hard to get excited about sinking time into another social network. That aside, its new features do look a lot more Facebook-eqsue.

The new Events feature, as its name suggests, allows you to collaborate on an event. You can send and accept invites, and see feedback live as folks discuss. Google then goes a step further and sorts the image you see cleverly. When you go to browse pictures from any given Event, the most commented-on shots are located up top. Then, you see pictures that others have tagged with you in them. After that, Google analyzes the degree of previous interaction you've had with friends attending the event and orders them appropriately.

Google+ History is in beta at this point, but it looks interesting. You're able to post your current activity, similar to Facebook. But you then use circles to designate permission levels. Let's say I'm reading "Cold War" by John Gaddis during work hours. I can put this in my Google+ profile, but I don't have to let my boss know.

4. 3D Google Maps And HTML5 Gaming

3D Google Maps: Google I/O 2012 Demonstration

Google is still touting the benefits of 3D mapping, and its map update is going to look spectacular. You really get a sense for how detailed the maps are when you look at them on a large screen, though most of us will use the feature on a smaller scale.

Strike Fortess (by EA) - HTML5 Game Demo

We also wanted to weigh in on gaming. Unfortunately (depending on how hardcore you consider yourself), many of the demos at Google I/O 2012 looked an awful lot like Farmville. However, EA showcased a really cool HTML5-based game called Strike Fortress. It's just a demo, and the company has no plans to release it. But with that said, the graphics looked close to something out of Total Annihilation.

More to the point, this was perhaps the first time we've seen a compelling 3D Web-based game. Cooler still, EA created a demo that allows multiple people to interact on Android-based devices. It's like playing at a LAN event with a big spectator screen, except everyone uses mobile devices.

There are other cool happenings at Google I/O, and we'll be back with more. Stay tuned!