Droid Life

Tag: Nexus 7

  • Yes, the Nexus 7 has Auto-Rotate – Just Not From the Home Screen

    When your Nexus 7 arrives this week, try not to freak out that it sits in portrait mode and won’t rotate to landscape from the home screen. The device was built to be a portrait tablet, just look at the back side and the front facing camera location. Think of the home screen UI as if it were a phone and not a two-hand holding tablet. It was created for media consumption that includes reading books, browsing the web, etc., things you would all do from a portrait view for the most part. If you want to go landscape though (outside of the home screen) to watch a movie, you can, just by rotating your device. It is really no different than your phone.

    If you notice that the device isn’t rotating, feel free to pull the notification bar down and hit the rectangular icon with the two arrows around it. Actually, if it’s not rotating, it’s probably showing up as a lock with two arrows around it. In order to get your device to rotate, it needs to have the box with arrows.

    And if you have to have the landscape tablet experience while on the home screen, there is a hack for that. Or you could install a third party launcher.

  • 16GB Nexus 7 Shipping Estimate Now at 3-4 Weeks

    Hopefully you placed your order for a 16GB Nexus 7 order already, as the shipping estimate is now showing as “3-4 weeks” instead of the “1-2 weeks” time frame for the 8GB model. This is just a guess, but I’d say that customers are realizing before purchasing that 8GB of storage is not enough, even if the device is cloud-focused. One HD movie and a couple of big games can take up 8GB of space in a matter of minutes, so going with the larger storage option of the two is probably the safest move.

    Most orders should arrive today, be sure to let us know your initial thoughts on the hottest little 7″ tablet to hit store shelves in some time.

    Via:  Google Play

    Cheers anezarati and Andrew!

  • Instagram Updated in Google Play, Adds Nexus 7 Support

    Your favorite hipster filter application has been updated today to allow for Nexus 7 support. Although the Nexus 7 does not have a back-facing camera, users like myself still like to peruse the galleries and stalk our friend’s activities. Along with the added support, you can share photos to Flickr, which is an added bonus. If you have been missing Instagram on your new Jelly Bean tablet, go grab it now.

    Play Link

    Cheers K!

  • This Nexus 7 Unboxing Video Montage is Hilarious

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32DD4DF7Qpo[/youtube]

    As someone that unboxes mobile devices for a living, I have to admit that this video montage of other writers having difficulty unboxing the new Nexus 7 is hilarious. As you’ll soon know when your pre-order from Google arrives, this thing is packaged up tightly. In fact, Tim and I unboxed it in our hotel room at Google I/O and quickly realized how big of a pain in the rear the tape job was. Finger nails can’t cut through this industrial strength stuff, you need something sharp.

    You may have noticed that we didn’t post an unboxing and instead went with the “hands-on with a demo device” followed by a device overview once we returned from San Francisco. We filmed an unboxing, but it wasn’t pretty and decided to pass on it, partly because of the issues we had. In some way, I feel like Google and Asus just played the ultimate troll trick on the tech reporting universe. This video shows that, oh so well. Imagine us struggling right along with these select reporters.

    “I don’t know if they taped it or what, but it’s in here tight.”

  • Nexus 7 Receives Tiny 859KB Update, This Time to JRO03D

    The Nexus 7 has an update rolling out to it tonight as build JRO03D. It’s still Android 4.1.1 and is tiny enough (859KB), that we aren’t even sure what it changes. The Galaxy Nexus received JRO03C last week, so if anything, it’s a slightly newer build. It doesn’t appear to be a dumbed down Search as I was able to search for contacts and apps from within. If we find out what was changed, we’ll be sure to let you know.

    In the mean time, jump into Settings>About tablet>System updates to pull it.  (more…)

  • Nexus 7 an Early Hit, Selling Out at Most Retailers Already

    Hopefully you pre-ordered a Nexus 7 and your retailer of choice is holding onto it for you if you have yet to pick it up. Reuters is reporting that stores like Gamestop, Sam’s Club, and Staples are all selling out of their first allotments of this hot little $199 tablet before it has officially gone on sale. All signs are pointing to next week being the official launch, since Google is just now shipping Play Store orders, however, pre-orders at many retailers have been available for pick up all day today. Online stores and brick and mortars have only a few left or none at all. If you had planned on trying to snag one this weekend, be sure to call ahead.

    And if you haven’t yet, be sure to read our Nexus 7 review. Spoiler alert! We love it.

    Via:  Reuters

  • First Wave of Google Play Nexus 7 Pre-orders Begin Shipping, All Will Ship Within 3 Business Days

    Finally, orders of the Nexus 7 have began to ship from Google. In an automated recording that can be heard through Google’s Support line, they announce that the first wave of Nexus 7 orders will ship today, with all pre-orders shipping within the next three business days. Once your tablet ships, you will receive a confirmation email straight from Google. Calling them will get you no where – you have to sit back and wait for the shipping email to arrive.  (more…)

  • Gamestop Sells Nexus 7 to at Least One Lucky Customer

    At least one lucky Gamestop pre-orderee is walking around with a new Nexus 7 today. After receiving a text that his pre-order was ready to be picked up, he went into his local store and came out a winner. It’s still not clear if any other Gamestop on the planet is selling the device today or if this reader of ours simply got lucky. Whatever the case may be, a quick call into your nearest store to see if they are able to sell isn’t a bad idea.

    Update:  From what we are hearing, Gamestop is allowing pre-orders to be picked up. If you did not pre-order, they likely won’t sell you one.

    Cheers J!