Unveiling the Secrets of Nexus 7 - The Definitive Guide

Nexus 7 101: Everything You Want to Know about Nexus 7

Posted by Jonny Greenwood on 5/14/2021 10:12:12 AM.

Months ago, I wrote an article about how to read eBooks on Nexus 7 , which I can see is widely liked by you readers, alright, to be honest, a bit more popular than my imagination. And from our site’s visits reports, I can see the amount of Nexus 7 users is coming up with iPad users and has already pulled away from Kindle Fire users.

So it is very natural for me to think, wow, this is pretty the time of Nexus 7, and maybe I should make some more awesome and useful stuff about Nexus 7 for you - here comes the Nexus 7 101!

I hope this article can answer your questions about Nexus 7 as much as possible and make it an evergreen article. This also requires your help. Please leave your unsolved question in the comment, and I will find the answer for you and add it into this article to help more people.

Frequently Asked Questions about buying Nexus 7

Q: Is Nexus 7 worthy to buy?

A: This is the most frequently asked question. And if you search the internet, you can get thousands of “XXX reasons you should/should not buy a Nexus 7” posts. So believe me, leave them alone, if you need a tablet, if you didn’t get an Android 7-inch one, you won’t be regret for having such a device.

Q: Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD?

A: It depends, in my private point of view. If you deeply rely on the official store and purchase contents(apps, music, videos, ebooks) there, you should choose Kindle Fire HD, as Amazon store is much superior and cheaper than Google Play (Amazon has a larger capacity of eBooks, Music, Videos, not including apps). If you get contents from varieties of channels, Nexus 7 would be your choice as it has a stronger hardware..

Q: Nexus 7 or Nook HD/Kobo Arc?

A: ~~Don’t hesitate, choose Nexus 7.~~ Just a little joke, after all, it is a device which will cost you around $200, so you need to be careful. Alright, let’s make it short, the only element prevents you from choosing Nexus 7 is the appearance because Nook HD and Kobo Arc’s appearance is outstanding among the Android tablets. Therefore, if you are not that care about the appearance (in fact, Nexus 7 is also beautiful), then choose Nexus 7; if you like Nook HD or Kobo Arc’s appearance, and it is exactly what you care most, you can choose them.

Q: Nexus 7 or iPad Mini?

A: This question is pretty simple for me. If you haven’t got an iPad yet, please choose iPad Mini, which will bring you almost everything a tablet can do (no one is perfect, iPad Mini doesn’t support Flash and Live Wallpaper). And if you already have an iPad, I think it would be a good idea to choose Nexus 7. And the price is also an aspect you should consider. The iPad Mini costs you $329, while the 16GB Nexus 7 costs you $199, which is a gap of $130, more than a Kindle Paperwhite.

Q: Nexus 7 or Microsoft Surface?

A: This is hard to compare as they are totally different. Nexus 7 is a pure tablet while Microsoft Surface is more like a Ultrabook, the former only costs you 499. If you value entertainment and portability more, you should choose Nexus 7, and if you want your tablet to help you more with your work and productiveness, you can choose Microsoft Surface as you can install Windowns desktop software on it if you purchase the pro version ($899).

Q: Nexus 7 or e-ink eReader?

A: This is pretty simple. If you are a huge fan of reading, please get both of them. As a person reads more than 1 hour per day, I deeply feel that only on e-ink device I can devote all myself into the book, and the e-ink screen can protect your eyes as much as possible.

So if you are not that deeply engaged to reading, just a Nexus 7 will make you satisfied, or you’d better get both of them.

Q: Where to buy Nexus 7?

A: Your first choice will always be the Google Play Store, but the Nexus 7 is only available for people living in these countries: Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Canada, United Kingdom, and United States. For those people living in other countries, you can only ask some third party online-stores for help, such as Amazon , Staples , and eBay .

Q: Where to buy refurbished Nexus 7? Is there official refurbished or pre-owned Nexus 7?

A: There does not exist an official version refurbished or pre-owned Nexus 7, but there are some second-hand or personal refurbished Nexus 7 to buy. I cannot give you the accurate site as the product won’t always be there, just search “buy refurbished Nexus 7”, you can get them.

In the comparison part, I mixed many of my own feeling about which should buy. Because in my opinions, none of them is absolutely better than another as everyone has a different pursuit for a tablet.

Searching on inernet, you can get thousands of comparisons and reviews. How much can they help us? I bet most of us will be still in a loss after reading through dozens of detailed comparions and reviews. Therefore, I will make it short in the comparions and just go for the throat.

Nexus 7 Specs/Features

For a detailed specs table, please refer to Google’s official specs table .

Want some neat reviews? These Nexus 7 reviews are pretty helpful: TechRadar , Cnet , The Verge .

# How to operate my Nexus 7 in landscape mode?

First you should make sure your Nexus 7’s operating system is at least Android 4.1.2, then pull down the notification bar and tap the lock icon to unlock the landscape mode. Also, if you want to make your Nexus 7 always in portrait mode, just tap the same icon to lock it.

# How to get free cloud storage on Nexus 7?

8GB storage is indeed too limited for a tablet, but the 16GB version is always out of stock. To get more spaces, you need cloud storage for help. Google has their own cloud storage service called Google Drive, which offers you 5GB free space. It is big enough for most of us to store your important documents and files in it, $5 per month you can get extra 100GB.

Besides Google Drive, DropBox and Skydrive are also available on Nexus 7. Just search their name in Google Play, and you can get them installed. Microsoft’s SkyDrive offers you 7GB free space and you can upgrade to 25GB for free (make some invitations and help them spread out); DropBox provides you 2GB free space and you can enlarge it to 20GB by completing some tasks.

# Can Nexus 7 stream 1080P HD movie?

Of course, Nexus 7 is one of the strongest Android tablet, which can stream 1080P video perfectly with its quad-core CPU and the HD IPS screen. The only flaw is the Nexus 7 support limited video format: H.263, H.264 AVC, MPEG-4, VP8. If you want to play more formats, you can install some third party video player app, like MX Player .

# I want to get the actual size comparison between Nexus 7, iPad Mini and Kindle Fire HD.

Most of us only know that these 3 tablets are 7-inch in size. The 7-inch means the screen size or the entire size? Are these 3 tablets totally in the same size? An image can solve your problem:

Photo Credit: CNN

# Can I play Farmville on Nexus 7?

Theoretically no, as Farmville requires a Flash function but it is not default supported by Android. So if you want to play it, you should get the Flash to work. By installing a browser which supports Flash you can play Farmville on Nexus 7. Here recommends Dolphin Browser .

# Can I play Words with Friends on Nexus 7?

Absolutely yes , Words with Friends is a standard Android app you can get it installed in Google Play App Store for free.

# Can I play Nexus 7 through TV?

No, because Nexus 7 doesn’t offer you the HDMI port (while Nexus 10 has got one which means you can do it with a Nexus 10).

# How to wake up the Google Now feature?

Simply hold any of the bottom buttons then slide it toward the Google logo. And if you are in the lock screen, you can also wake up it easily, just slide the center icon to the Google logo instead of sliding to unlock the screen then you can make it. Although the Google Now function is not that capable yet, but I am keeping enough faith in Google’s engineers. :)

# Can I install Kindle or Nook apps on Nexus 7?

For the Kindle and Nook eReader apps, they are absolutely available for Nexus 7.

# Can I get apps from Amazon App Store?

Yes, you only need to install an app called Amazon Appstore , then you can get apps from Amazon Apptore. So if you happened to receive an Amazon gift card, you can also use it for your Nexus 7.

# Can I get iTunes on Nexus 7?

In any situation it is impossible.

# Why should I get apps in Google Play but not other apps market like Amazon App Store?

1, Google Play is the largest android apps market in the world, and you can find almost all the apps showing up in other apps stores in Google Play.

2, Nexus 7 is produced by Google, and the apps in Google Play have the best compatibility with Nexus 7.

Nexus 7 Tips and Tricks

#How to root Nexus 7?

For many Android geeks, the first thing is to root the device. But for the others, root might be a project for them. I used to be lost in so many guides, videos, and tools. Here I recommend you this post in XDA forum , this post contains the tool you need and how to use it, you also need to follow this video guide:

# How to set up home page on Nexus 7?

We always put the most important and frequently-used apps and widgets in the home page of our smart phones and tablet, to set up your home page on Nexus 7, just press the home icon in the center of the bottom dock, then browse your installed apps and widget then hold & drag them to your home page.

You can set up 5 home pages with the Nexus 7 and switch them by swiping left and right. To remove the default set apps and widgets in homepage, please hold on the app or widget and drag it to the delete icon showing up at the top of the screen. Notice: By this way you are just deleting the app’s access icon from your homepage, not deleting the entire app from your device.

# How to read eBooks on Nexus 7?

For this issue we have written a super-detailed guide for you, which nearly covers all the aspects related to read eBooks on Nexus 7. Please visit this guide here: How to read eBooks on Nexus 7 .

# How to put music to Nexus 7?

It is pretty easy to transfer files to Nexus 7 than to iOS devices as you are not forced to use the sync software like iTunes. Just plug your Nexus 7 to computer with the micro USB cable, then it will show up in your local drive as external storage device, then just drag the music file you want to transfer to Nexus 7 then play it with the music player apps.

# Can I sync my music and podcast from iTunes to Nexus 7?

Impossible in theory, but I know an app can help you do this. iSyncr is the app to help you sync your iTunes music, podcasts and videos to android device, certainly including the Nexus 7.

# How to take screenshots on Nexus 7?

You need not to install those screenshot apps which need your root permission, just hold the power button and volume down button, then you can take a screenshot in any screen.

# How to active the airplane mode on Nexus 7?

Just keep holding on the power button, then it will offer you several choice, including turn off the device, active Silent Mode, and active airplane mode. Operate the same action to turn off the airplane mode.

# How to make your battery run longer?

In fact the Nexus 7’s battery is strong enough to offer you normal daily usage, but if you are away and want it run longer, you should make some customization settings to realize the goal.

At first, if you temporarily need not to connect to WiFi, please turn the WiFi connection off, also turn off the Bluetooth and GPS functions. Except the connection modules, you can also turn off the vibration and virtual keyboard sound.

By the way, turn down your screen’s brightness and turn off the auto-sync feature will also make your battery last longer.

# How to install apps which are not coming from Google Play?

You can rarely disappointed by Google Play’s apps capacity, but sometimes, we indeed need the apps from other resources especially those ~~pirate~~ free .apk files. To enable your Nexus 7 to install other resource apps, please go to settings — security, then active the unknown sources permission.

# How to customize Nexus 7’s wallpaper?

Long press on any spot of the home screen to wake up the wallpaper menu, then you can customize your wallpaper settings including the live wallpapers, choose your downloaded image or photos as the static wallpaper, etc.

# Nexus 7 Voice Commands

You can use your voice to completely replace the text type, by pressing the microphone icon you can active voice input method, then just speak out what you want to type.

And you can use your voice do more:

Map of…
Directions to…
Navigate to…
Go to…
Send email…
Note to self…
Set alarm…
Listen to…

More voice commands…

Nexus 7 Accessories

I am not going to promote any accessory here as I am compiling this part to help you know how many kinds of accessories you can get to enhance your Nexus 7. For example, before preparing this part, I didn’t know we can get an external storage adapter for Nexus 7 (alright I am a bit noob in hardware..). So please don’t misunderstand my purpose here, I am just introducing you some useful and awesome accessories.

# Nexus 7 Cases

To avoid the advertiser suspicion, I can’t recommend you specific case here, however I collect some nice cases lists for you.

10 Stylish Nexus 7 Cases

# Nexus 7 Wireless Keyboard

There are several kinds of keyboards for Nexus 7: Integrated to cases or independent, bluetooth or WiFi connection. Choose what you want then search the keywords like “Nexus 7 Case with bluetooth keyboard” in Amazon, eBay, Best-Buy, etc, you can get plenty of wireless keyboards for Nexus 7.

# Nexus 7 Wireless Speakers

I used to think the wireless speaker is kinda ridiculous, we already have stereo on all the tablets, why we need an extra speaker? Until I try a bluetooth speaker on my iPad I realize how superior the wireless is than the built-in stereo. The most handy wireless speaker for Nexus 7 would be the bluetooth speaker, just search “bluetooth speaker” in those online stores you will get tons of them. No need to find the specific speakers for Nexus 7, just a bluetooth speaker will do.

# Nexus 7 Car Charger

There is rarely something to recommend about the car charger, they all look the same and as a charger you would not look forward to its appearance to be that beautiful.

Just notice: You should not choose the car charger less than 2 amp and don’t only seek bargain, a bad charger may destroy your Nexus 7.

# External Storage Adapter (OTG Cable)

We all know that Nexus 7 doesn’t provide you a SD card slot, but I believe there are still many people seek the method to enlarge the device’s storage space.

Is it possible to get external storage for Nexus 7? The answer is yes. Although the Nexus 7 doesn’t offer you SD card slot, you can get an external storage with OTG. With OTG, you can also equip your Nexus 7 with keyboard, mouse, and nearly all the USB peripherals.

So how to get external storage on your Nexus 7? First you need to buy a OTG cable, it’s pretty cheap and will costs you around $1, then you need get your Nexus 7 rooted, now install an apk to enable the external storage support like StickMount.apk, then connect your Nexus 7 to a Udisk or Portable Harddrive, now you need not to worry about the storage space is used up.

Nexus 7 Freebies

# Free eBooks for Nexus 7

Like what I mentioned earlier, all the stuff about reading eBooks on Nexus 7 you can get in our another post, for the part of free books for Nexus 7, please click here .

# Free Apps for Nexus 7

We have also compiled a handy list for this subject, please click here to check the must-have free apps for Nexus 7 and other android tablets like Kindle Fire HD, Nook HD or Kobo Arc.

# Free Music for Nexus 7

Obviously I can’t offer you free music downloads, but there are some websites and apps allowing you listen to music for free.

Last.fm - The most famous free music radio website, where you can listen to all kinds of music radios for free. The radio channels are generated upon artists and genres. They have released their Android apps, which you can get in Google Play for free.

GrooveShark - Another nice website enables you to listen to music for free and I think it’s even greater than Last.fm. In Last.fm, you are not that convenient to get the access to an exact song or album. But in GrooveShark, you can easily search an artist, a song name, or an album to listen to the music you want. The interface is pretty beautiful and you can get all the access even without registration. Pity is that they don’t offer an app, therefore you can only visit it via web browser.

SoundCloud - Unlike the previous two sites, this one is more than a place to let you stream music. Most of music here are created by artist (maybe) who are not famous. Some just cover a popular song, some originally written their own music. And people communicate about their opinions on the track here. If you only want to get songs from Jay-Z, Kanye West, etc, this site may disappoint you, but believe me, take a visit to this site randomly, you can encounter lots of surprise.

# Free WallPapers for Nexus 7

Nexus 7 is a tablet with 1200*800 screen resolution. If you want to get the wallpaper for your Nexus 7, just find the image in the size 1200*800. Below are some free wallpaper download sites. I have set the size as 1280*800. You need not to worry about the image won’t suit your Nexus 7.

WallpapersWide - My Favorite Wall Paper download sites, you can find the images according to theme and resolution.

VladStudio - This site is created by a Russian artist Vlad Gerasimov and most of the images are created by him. If you like the artistic and stylish illusions, you can’t miss it. All the images under 1600*1200 are free, so you can download the wallpapers for your Nexus 7 as many as you want.

InterfaceLift - Nearly 300 free wallpapers available for Nexus 7’s resolution, and most of the images are landscape photography. I’ve set the filter as Nexus 7’s screen size, click the link to get them.

I missed the free video part? That’s because except the YouTube and ~~torrent~~ piracy way, I can’t find other methods to get videos especially hot TV episodes and movies for free. So let’s just skip this part.

To Be Continued… And help us to perfect this post!

These are all the points we can come up with to help you solve your questions about Nexus 7, and I do understand that it is far away from a real 101 course.

I hope you, our dear readers, can work with us together to make this post perfect.

If you have any question related to Nexus 7 not able to be solved by this post, please leave it here by comment, we will do our best to find the answer for you and add it to this post to help more people.

Jonny Greenwood joined Epubor since 2011, loves everything about eBooks and eReaders. He seeks the methods to read eBooks more freely and wants to share all he has got with you.

SHARING IS GREAT!

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10 Comments

Eric Burns

Re:Everything you want to know about Nexus 7

07/2/2014 20:15:14

Thank you! Great Job!!

Luke

Re:Everything you want to know about Nexus 7

07/22/2014 19:26:00

I cannot wake up our Nexus 7 from it’s sleep. It blinks to tell us it’s sleeping but will not wake up. I tried using a magnet but would only stick on it’s back side to no effect. Is this the slow death of my Nexus 7?

Jonny

Re:Luke

07/23/2014 19:01:10

Try to hold the power button for about 10 secs, to see if you can turn off the device, then turn on again.

Re:Everything you want to know about Nexus 7

01/2/2015 12:42:29

My nexus 7 has no default set, how do I change my defaults in my apps?

andre

Re:Everything you want to know about Nexus 7

02/22/2015 00:23:31

# Can I play Nexus 7 through TV? It can be done by plugging a Google Chromecast dongle into a usb port into your smart tv, installing the Chromecast app on your Nexus 7 and then ‘pairing’ the two. This has worked for me to cast whatever I’m playing on the Nexus 7 onto my TV. No cables required.

iris

Re:Everything you want to know about Nexus 7

05/27/2015 07:15:50

My nexus 7 is not recognised as ubs by my windows xp n

Nexus not recognized by computer. Tried 3 different cables

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Unveiling the Secrets of Nexus 7 - The Definitive Guide