Samsung or Nexus?

July 30, 2012 9:51 AM

Samsung Galaxy tab 2.7.0 v.s Google Nexus Tab either. Which one to chose?

Help me decide. I am in the market for a tablet and like both the Samsung 2.7.0 which is 8GB and the Nexus which is cheaper. Besides the price and the GB (8 or 16), I am trying to decide which one to chose. My need is pretty basic-read a book and get on the web. I however do like the streaming video and music abilities.

Which one is better? Would love your thoughts and experiences with it. Thanks

posted by pakora1 to computers & internet (19 answers total)

The Nexus has the newer OS (4.1) and a better screen and processor. The Samsung has an additional camera and micro SD card slot. If you don't need a regular camera and don't plan to load up your tablet with hours and hours of offline video, then the Nexus 7 is just much better.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:55 AM on July 30, 2012

I have the Nexus 7. It's an excellent tablet and you can't really beat reviews like this. A couple of things to consider: (a) it doesn't have expandable memory via microSD, so you'll be stuck with 8GB forever - you might want to consider getting the 16GB and (b) it doesn't have a rear camera.
posted by puritycontrol at 9:58 AM on July 30, 2012

Nexus 7. It'll be updated directly by Google without having to resort to hacking, it's got faster everything and higher resolution, it supports a lot of streaming services (Pandora, Netflix, Spotify, Hulu+, etc.), and if you get the 8GB version it's cheaper. Either will let you sync your mobile Chrome with your desktop/laptop Chrome, install the standalone Kindle and Nook apps if you already use either or both, and record/stream as a webcam.
posted by zombieflanders at 10:09 AM on July 30, 2012

The only way to expand the Nexus 7's storage is to hack it to gain unrestricted access to the system (this is "rooting" - it's pretty simple but requires you to be comfortable mucking around with specialized software). That allows you to plug in a flash drive via a "USB OTG" cord, which are cheap (under a buck) online.

If you're just looking for book-reading, web-browsing and video-streaming (which doesn't require storing the movie on your tablet) then an unhacked Nexus will do you just fine. You still might want to go for the 16GB option, though - it's entirely possible to fill a good part of that 8GB just with apps and games from the market.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:11 AM on July 30, 2012

The Nexus also comes with "cloud" storage for movies, music etc I've uploaded a HUGE bunch of music from my old CD collection and am finding the streaming of the music and movies through Google play very smooth, but then it's a whole new experience for me so I might be super chuffed/happy about something that is old old news to everyone else.
posted by wwax at 10:25 AM on July 30, 2012

I think they're both pretty good.

I'm on my second Samsung tablet, having owned the original 7" Galaxy Tab and now the Galaxy Tab 10.1" 4G. In my neck of the woods in Canada, I like to be able to get accessories as needed - and I've always been able to find OEM Samsung stuff at a reasonable price. Samsung make some really great cases and accessories.

The Samsung tablet will have the ability to add a Keyboard Dock, a Regular Audio Dock, HDMI dongle, USB host dongle and SD Card dongle (the last two sold as a kit). The connector is proprietary, but at least common across all the Samsung tablet gear thus far. Most of the kit can be used on any of the Samsung Tablets.

I can easily (and without needing to root) plug in the SD card out of my camera and browse my photos on a bigger screen. I can also plug in a USB drive and access media. I've even plugged in a cheap Sansa Clip MP3 player and transferred media over to it!

The hacking and modding community seem to love all the Samsung tablet gear and I've never had a problem finding the latest and greatest ROMs and mods for any of them. Clearly NOT as quick and painless as the Nexus 7 route, but still I've never been without - and I generally don't run stock anyway.

The Samsong rig also has an iR blaster so you can use it as a huge universal remote. Neat, I guess. :)

Anyway, both are cool, but I feel the Samsung is better backed on the accessories and usability. My original Tab 7 is still going strong too. :)
posted by Fat Elvis at 10:27 AM on July 30, 2012

As as aside here:

don't underestimate the value of getting your updated directly from Google:

I've got year and a half old Xoom thats already on Jelly Bean because it's a "Google Experience Device" and they push out updates seamlessly as soon as they're available. Sure, you'll probably be able to flash a custom ROM on the samsung at some point well before Jelly Bean is officially available, but man, it's going to be a hassle.
posted by Oktober at 10:44 AM on July 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

I just got the Nexus 7 as my first tablet ever, and have been super happy with it. Interface with Google Books is seamless, and there are Kindle and Nook apps as well. Chrome browser on the tablet is very good too. I haven't tried the Google streaming movies/tv stuff, but the Netflix app works great. I opted for the 16 GB for the reasons cited above. Size of the tablet is very nice, and weight isn't an issue when reading one-handed, etc.
posted by gorbichov at 10:46 AM on July 30, 2012

Oh, and PS - buying the Nexus gets you a $25 credit to the Play store, so a 10% discount amount if you're looking at the 16 GB version. And some free content - nothing too exciting, but a free book, some magazines, and access to some movies/tv stuff.
posted by gorbichov at 10:52 AM on July 30, 2012

Also a free copy of Transformers 3, but that counts against the device.

Oh, and along with the store credit, if you register the device with Google's Wallet payment service, you get a $10 credit to your account that spends like cash.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:00 AM on July 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

they both sound great, but non-expandable memory and no rear camera are utter dealbreakers for me. 32GB chips are as cheap as dirt nowadays and the idea of spending money to host your data on some faraway cloud is absurd (...manufacturers love the cloud...it lets them charge you 'as a service' for something with almost no value.): 1)you're paying to rent a hard drive...which are practically free these days 2)you MUST have some sort of data connection in order to access it or you're SOL and 3) If everyone on a smartphone/tablet signed up there wouldn't be enough bandwidth...not 'until they upgrade the towers', not EVER...there simply isn't enough bandwith out there ....this miiiight change in the future (they are working on various methods for 'twisting' signals together to save bandwith, but not on any current hardware, and not anytime soon) but I'm not holding my breath...
posted by sexyrobot at 11:00 AM on July 30, 2012

#1 doesn't apply, at least for now, as all Google services are free. #2 seemed to be a requirement of the OP. #3 doesn't really apply as these are both wifi devices.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:20 AM on July 30, 2012

Who takes pictures with their tab, really?

I mean, I get the utility of the front-facing camera, but taking pictures with your entire tablet is absurd.
posted by Oktober at 11:33 AM on July 30, 2012

> Who takes pictures with their tab, really?

I do! It's a nice feature to have if you're already using the device and something photograph worthy happens. It wouldn't be a major factor in my decision to buy a new device, however.
posted by Burhanistan at 12:03 PM on July 30, 2012

Just bought a 16gb Nexus 7 for my mom today. I think unless the SD card or back camera are deal breakers, it's the way to go.
posted by juv3nal at 1:08 PM on July 30, 2012

Who takes pictures with their tab, really?

A LOT of people. Seriously.

As for the question at hand? It's been pretty well answered. For the requirements of the question, Nexus wins hands down. I might go for the 16gb for some future proofing, but otherwise the Nexus is a pretty clear winner in the tablet market right now for "reading books/surfing the web/watching streaming video"
posted by antifuse at 2:48 PM on July 30, 2012

Who takes pictures with their tab, really?

I'm constantly surprised to see people using iPads as cameras, but I see it all the time.

I have a Galaxy Tab 7", and would definitely rather have a Nexus 7.
posted by me & my monkey at 2:52 PM on July 30, 2012

gorbichov: "Oh, and PS - buying the Nexus gets you a $25 credit to the Play store, so a 10% discount amount if you're looking at the 16 GB version. And some free content - nothing too exciting, but a free book, some magazines, and access to some movies/tv stuff."

Plus $10 when you activate Google Wallet. Free lunch! (if you can find a place with an NFC reader)

I wasn't a fan of earlier versions of Android, but ICS and Jelly Bean have been good to me. I like my Galaxy Nexus, and thought it would be nice to have essentially the same thing scaled up and that's what I have with the Nexus 7. Web browsing on the phone is fine, but it's a lot better on the tablet. So is video chat.

And since I have a phone with no tethering restrictions, the Nexus 7 can easily be on the Internet over Bluetooth any time I'm away from wifi.

The one thing I don't like doing with the Nexus 7 is reading a book. I'd much rather use my e-ink nook for that. Surely someone will do a decent tablet with a Qi screen one of these days. Until someone does, there will be no convergence between the ebook readers and the tablets in my house.
posted by wierdo at 1:27 AM on July 31, 2012

Thanks all, i love both of them :(. Waiting as I have heard Samsung is going to make an announcement on the 29th. Hopefully it is a 3G cheaper tablet
posted by pakora1 at 7:16 PM on August 6, 2012