Asus Google Nexus 7 tablet review - is new 2013 model better than last year?

You get the Nexus 7, and as an added bonus you get the likelihood you won't find another better equipped or better value tablet computer in the 7-inch market.

I had the great pleasure of testing the first Google-Asus tablet collaboration last year and was mightily impressed with it in almost every department.

Things move on fast in computing and barely a year later I've been putting the second generation of the Nexus 7 through its paces - and have found it's even better.

The first striking thing about it is its new sleek all-black design. Gone is the metallic-looking strip around the perimeter and now it's just one gorgeous slab of darkness, both its glossy glass screen and its mostly smooth rubbery rear.

The older Nexus was a decent looking device but this one takes the appearance to a new level and is even more refined.

The next noticeable change is how the new Nexus is 6mm narrower, 2mm slimmer and about 50g lighter than before. It's very marginally taller too.

The new dimensions are 200 x 114 x 8.7mm, with a weight of 290g. The effect is its sits even more comfortably in the hand, in either portrait or landscape mode.

So the look and feel of the 2013 Nexus are more pleasing, but what's really impressive is the quality of the screen after you switch the tablet on.

Google claims Nexus features "the world’s sharpest 7" tablet screen". Nobody seems to be disputing this, and certainly I'm not going to because it's the finest example of touchscreen eye candy I've personally ever seen.

The headline figures for the screen are 1920 x 1200 for the resolution and 323 pixels per inch for the density, but really seeing is believing.

The bright screen is full of crisp print and rich, vibrant colours. Text and photos look crystal-clear, while videos can be viewed in vivid 080p HD.

Asus has tuned up the Nexus' engine to make it run faster, with a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and 2GB of RAM.

Everything on the device runs smoothly and loads speedily, with no stumbles or slowdowns.

Being a Google device means the tablet runs on the Android 4.3 operating system and allows the internet giant to show off the full array of its talents. The Nexus 7 comes packed with Google-crafted apps and widgets, such as Chrome, Gmail, Google+ and Maps to name just a few. Currents, which provides quick access to a large range of news sources, is one tool I particularly like.

I never really understand why people are so partisan about their preferred operating system. Android and iOS are both great systems in their own ways, though obviously one takes getting used to if you normally use the other.

One thing I think is in Android’s favour is the amount of customisation it allows. It’s very easy to make the device your own by arranging the screens how you want them. It’s also possible to set up user profiles so the tablet can be shared between different people, each with their own appearance and content, and parents can set access levels for their children who use it.

Although apps such as Drive and Keep can be very useful for work purposes, I think the tablet to best suited to what I expect most people will use it for - and that's the consumption of entertainment.

The Nexus 7 is a capable music player as well as a fantastic lightweight and well-equipped bit of kit for watching TV and movies on, whether you're at home or out and about.

Sound quality with headphones in is pretty decent but when you want to watch or listen to something without cans on your head there are stereo speakers which also offer good audio quality. The speakers are located at the back and are either top and bottom or left and right depending how you're holding the Nexus.

Magazines and books can also be read with ease, with these and the other media all readily available for purchase from well-stocked Play stores.

Any portable device needs to impress with its gaming capabilities if it’s going to win me over, and the Nexus 7 achieves this.

Thanks to the razor-sharp screen and the power inside the device, games look brilliant and run superbly well, even the complex 3D titles.

Most of the well-known games you may have seen on iPhone or iPad are available on Android. With the new Game Center-like Play Games facility and greater focus on tablet-optimised apps, Google seems to have put a concerted effort into the gaming department with the new Nexus 7.

Something else new this time is the 5MP rear-facing camera which produces passable if unspectacular pictures. This is in addition to the 1.2MP camera on the front.

There is a huge amount to do on and with the Nexus, so it would be a real pain if the battery kept draining. Fortunately, that’s not an issue and you should be able get a full day’s use out of it before needing to juice-up again. There’s also an option for wireless charging.

There are a couple of areas where the Nexus 7 doesn’t impress quite so much.

One small complaint is the screen is a magnet for fingerprints, meaning that lovely shiny sheet of glass very quickly becomes covered in smudges.

The other issue is storage, in that there isn’t very much of it.

Even as I took it out of the box for the first time, my 16GB model only had 12.2GB total space and 11.5GB available thanks to everything that was already loaded on to it.

The remaining space got quickly eaten up when I started putting my own entertainment on there. With no external memory options, the situation won’t be much better for people who have the 32GB tablet. Other than constantly chopping and changing what you store on the device, the only solution is to make use of cloud services such as storing your music there and then streaming songs.

Your connectivity choices are wi-fi or 4G LTE.

Overall, the Nexus 7 is a fantastic tablet. While I think Apple devices such as the iPad Mini still have that ineffable ‘cool’ factor that raises them slightly above the competition, the Nexus 7 has a lot of things going for it.

Chief among them is the great value it offers, still coming in at under £200 for the 16GB model.

It would still be an excellent choice if it cost the same as the much higher-priced Apple offering, but with such a low cost the amount of features, the design, the build quality, the specs and that incredible screen are even more impressive.

If you got a Nexus 7 last year there perhaps isn’t quite enough about the new model to make you need to rush out and buy the new one. But if you’re a first-time tablet buyer or you’re looking to get one as a Christmas present for someone, the new Nexus 7 comes highly recommended.

The new Nexus 7 is available from Misco