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"The tablet is $199 with 8GB of storage and $249 for 16GB. The tablet runs on a dual-core Cortex-A9 processor" Dual-core? Really?

All competitors listed use 1024x600 for the display. The Nexus 7's 1280x800 is just barely sufficient at this size (I'd prefer 1920x1200). True, no rear camera, but it has GPS (which most of the competitors in this price range don't have either), so it makes a good mapping unit. I'm getting one (and I have an iPad3 too).

The Nexus 7 has an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, according to Google and every other review I've read today.

tvsegon, on 03 July 2012 - 11:08 AM, said:

No, it has a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor.

Where do these guys get their information from? PCWorld, you should really revise your article. The Nexus 7 does NOT run on a Cortex A9 Dual Core, it runs on a Tegra 3 4+1 Quad Core.

Woo! PlayBook FTW! I have a PlayBook and an Acer Iconia A200 and the PlayBook is by far the most used of the 2.

Darao27n, on 03 July 2012 - 11:26 AM, said:

A couple of weeks ago, I spent about 15 minutes comparing the current iPad with its predecessor, going through the series of screensaver images that are shipped with iPads by default. At first, I could distinguish almost no difference between the two; only when I took my glasses off and put my eyes right up to the screen could I see the fine pixel grid of the earlier iPad, which has a 132 ppi pixel density, vs 264 ppi for the iPad Retina display. The Nexus 7 comes in at 216 ppi. Perhaps your eyes are sharper than mine, but for me, 216 ppi more more than sufficient.

MY CUSTOMERS REFUSE TO EVEN CONSIDER ANY TABLET THAT DOESN'T HAVE BOTH DUAL CAMERAS AND AN EXPANDABLE microSDHC MEMORY CARD SLOT! (They also immediately order a 32GB microSDHC with every tablet/phone no matter whether it is 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB on with the exact same order.) HEED MY WARNING IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A PROFIT!

no wifi

Darao27n, on 03 July 2012 - 11:26 AM, said:

So how many tablets do you know that ship with a resolution of 1920x1200 and up?

By my count, of all tablet models (which probably number in the hundreds by now), only 3, yes three, ever announced with that high range of resolution. And as of today, only two are already on the market, the third still hasn't reached end consumers. Those 3 of course are the 3rd gen iPad, Acer Iconia Tab a700 and Asus Infinity 700.

And those are premium tablets, you won't find one for $200.

In the $200 - $250 price range, 1280x800 is the best you can get. Not to mention this resolution was previously only available on high-end tablets, 10-inchers.

For me, I find the lack of rear camera a bit annoying and the lack of a microSD expansion slot really frustrating, but other than that the Google Nexus 7 pretty much rules the budget tablet price range.

tvsegon, on 03 July 2012 - 11:08 AM, said:

++no dude this is a quad core tablet!

tvsegon, on 03 July 2012 - 11:08 AM, said:

After all it is PCWorld the leaders in tech review.

SaidHamideh, on 03 July 2012 - 01:56 PM, said:

Yes Wifi 802.11 B/G/N

SD cards are so yesterday and they are not reliable. You don't know how many people I know that have lost important documents and data do to faulty cards. So, I see no significance in that there is no expansion slot. The biggest story here should be that the Nesus 7 is the only tablet made in the U.S., supports American jobs and who in the heck would want to use a rear facing camera this big anyway. Not to mention who does'nt have a phone that's much better equipped for this exact function. So get real people and know your technology befor you start posting rubhish.

SebastianYakovac, on 03 July 2012 - 05:54 PM, said:

That's a great point. Whatever you can't save on the onboard memory should be offloaded to the cloud, anyway. These tablets are designed for content consumption, not production. I'd use the onboard storage ONLY for transitive storage (like if I'm not connected to WiFI) for things like photos, any created content, etc. that I intend to archive permanently to cloud storage. Unless you're securing the data at rest on the SD card, it's a security risk to put any sort of personal data that contains anything you wouldn't want used by your worst enemy anyway. SD cards have a notoriously high failure rate and shouldn't be relied on as a primary storage source for any sensitive or important data. The rear camera issue I don't get either - who actually uses their tablet as a camera? Odds are that the rear camera on your phone is far better than the one on the tablet anyway, not to mention the awkwardness of shooting photos with a device the size of a book. Might as well use a Polaroid if you're shooting pictures that often on a tab! I honestly have yet to ever see someone at a youth soccer match waiting to immortalize the game-winning goal with a photo taken on their tablet.

SebastianYakovac, on 03 July 2012 - 05:54 PM, said:

Lack of any form of an external storage capability is definitely a problem in the product. SD cards or a usb thumb drive slot are the two possible solutions in design, and can make a difference for many folks as to whether to buy it. Your comments about phones is wrong. Not everyone owns a smartphone, to say the least, and there are still plenty of folks out here who don't have cell phones at all.

JosephTeller, on 03 July 2012 - 06:25 PM, said:

But how many tablet buyers don't have phones with cameras? Admittedly, a 7" device would be less cumbersome than a 10" one for photos, but the absence of a fifth wheel rear camera is a plus as far as I'm concerned. It's one reason I decided to give the Nexus a shot alongside my iPad.

crosswordbob, on 03 July 2012 - 06:33 PM, said:

For your information, I can testify JosephTeller's claim. I own a Nook Tablet, which obviously doesn't have any cameras, rear-facing or otherwise, and I have what you people would probably call a "dumb" phone without any camera, it's a phone I have used for years and there have been nothing wrong with it, of course I'm talking about its main and admittedly only function is to make phone calls. I don't know why there are people who would drop hundreds bucks to pickup a phone with extra functionalities that can be enjoyed more on tablets, since tablets have bigger screen, and off-contract phones can easily cost more than a decent tablet. I say "smart phones" are crazy! A phone should just be what it is, a phone to make phone calls. And before you start to say that it's just me, I'll tell you up front many of my friends also have "dumb phones". I'm not going to pay hundreds to get a smart phone and I'm not getting a contract to get a smart phone for, say, $30-40 a month. I use my dumb phone with a prepaid phone card, a $10 phone card like that last 2-3 months for me.

I was honestly really looking forward to the Nexus 7, but it's kinda disappointing that it comes without the rear facing camera. The Nexus 7 remains a decent tablet, but for now I'll wait for another sub-$200 alternative that comes with rear camera and comparable screen, I can sacrifice the quad-core Tegra 3 if there is that option.

As it stands right now, personally, I don't have enough incentives to move from the Nook Tablet to the Nexus 7.

This post has been edited by jhenkinson: 03 July 2012 - 07:50 PM

JRThro, on 03 July 2012 - 11:44 AM, said:

Hello--PCWorld copy editor here. You (and all subsequent commenters pointing out the same error by the IDG News Service reporter) are correct. I have changed the processor description for the Nexus 7 to reflect reality. My thanks to all readers of this story who pointed out and corrected the error.