My First Non-Kindle Tablet: The Nexus 7!

Despite working in the technology field for the past 15 years or so, I'm admittedly a slow adopter of new technology.  I love my tech toys, don't get me wrong, but you'll never catch me waiting in line at midnight at an Apple store (or any other retail outlet for that matter) forking over big coin to play beta tester just so I can say I had something first.

I've had my eye on Tablets for some time, but I refuse to be Glen, the guy from THE WEDDING SINGER, bringing home his $500.00 CD player simply because it was a shiny new toy he couldn't live without, even though he had no real use for it.  I don't NEED a tablet.  I have been content to sit back with my Kindle, my PC and my smart phone and watch everyone buy their $800 iPads, only to turn around and get pissed off when the new, improved model comes out a year later.

Well, I've waited long enough.  After much deliberation, I finally went out and bought my first Tablet this week...a Nexus 7!

I've been reading about the Nexus 7 for quite a while now and I had high hopes for it.  I love my Android phone and the Samsung Galaxy Tabs were (and are) really nice, but as I said before, I just couldn't justify spending the money on a tablet.  That's why the deciding factor for me with the Nexus 7 was the price...just $249.00 for the 16 GB model.  Awesome!

I had a bit of trouble finding one.  It seems everyone and their brother went out and bought one when it was released.  I went from store to store for weeks trying to find it in stock, but every place was sold out.  It reminded me of the old days, before the Internet and eBay of hunting from store to store for certain comic books or toys from a wave of action figures.  It was both exciting and frustrating!

Finally I happened to go to Microcenter and the manager suggested I check the website on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for inventory and then do a store pickup option.  I checked Monday and there was nothing, but Wednesday I hit the jackpot!  By Wednesday afternoon, the Nexus 7 was mine!

So far, I love it.  The display is beautiful.  It's fast and responsive.  It has great battery life.  It doesn't run too hot.  It's sturdy and not cheaply constructed.  As with all Android devices, it has tons of cool apps and games available for it.  AND, it came with $25.00 in Google Play money to buy new premium content!  What's not to love?


It's great, but don't get me wrong...it's not perfect.  I started writing this post using the Android BLOGGER app, but I was getting frustrated with their picture integration, so I decided to finish the post on my PC.  Now that I'm an early adopter of the Nexus 7, I have no doubt the Nexus 7 2.0 will feature a better Blogger app to go along with more memory, a rear facing camera, more storage and an SD Card slot. 

Unlike the $800.00 iPad, though, if a newer, better Nexus 7 comes out in a year, I'll actually be able to afford an upgrade.

I'm hoping to use it to get organized at work.  There seem to be a ton of productivity apps, so I've been testing them out, looking for the best ones.  If you have any suggestions for great apps, productivity or otherwise, please e-mail me or post them in the comments!

Amazon Kindle - I Joined The Dark Side...

Thanks to a wonderfully thoughtful Christmas gift giver, I am now the proud owner of the 3rd generation Amazon Kindle (in graphite, no less)! I did it. I joined the dark side. I joined the eBook revolution!

I admit I was skeptical. I was reluctant to try it, like many people, because I just love books so much. I love how they look and feel and smell. I love everything about them. But honestly? So far I love it!

Despite my tactile love for and emotional attachment to the physical nature of books, it's my greater love for READING in general that ultimately makes the Kindle so awesome!

The visual quality is great. I haven't suffered any eye strain and I'm not having any difficulty reading the text. The battery life, from what I hear, is close to a month! Be sure to turn off the built in wireless when not in use, though, if you want to test out that claim.

Speaking of wireless, the new Kindle 3 that I have has built in WiFi and 3G support, so you can browse the Amazon Kindle store anywhere you can get a cell phone signal. How awesome is that?

But the best part? I have TONS of books (and classic literature) downloaded to my Kindle and so far, it's all been FREE! I've managed to find The Complete Works of Shakespeare, H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe along with classic novels like Dracula, Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, Treasure Island, Huckleberry Finn and A Tale of Two Cities!

Want thousands of free books for your Kindle (or other e-reader)? Try:

- Project Gutenberg - The original source for over 33,000 free eBooks!

- Many Books - The best eBooks at the best price: Free!

- Planet eBook - Literature galore!

- Amazon's Kindle Store - Hundreds of free titles from the Kindle source!

- Ultimate Guide To Free Books - The title says it all!

It's amazing what's out there!

And when you start buying books, check out Amazon's Kindle Deal of the Day!

I honestly don't think the Kindle (or devices like it) will ever make me abandon physical books entirely, but in the meantime I am very much enjoying catching up on all of the literature I could ever hope to have...

Technology is amazing: thousands of books and all in the palm of my hand! And best of all? I won't have to box them up the next time I move...