OTG Cable for Nexus 7 Makes Moving Files Easy

As mentioned in a previous post, there is a USB cable you can purchase for your Nexus 7 that will allow you to read from USB Flash Drives (and write to them if you are rooted), use game controllers, etc.  But keep in mind that this cable is not a standard USB cable.  It is called an "On-The-Go Cable" or "OTG Cable" for short.  They are fairly cheap to buy, and in my opinion are well worth the investment for any Nexus 7 owner.  Does it work?  Do you have to be rooted to use it?  Why even worry about it?  The answers (respectively): Yes, No, and It's Awesome. See below.

Does it work?

In short, yes the OTG cable works marvelously.  Seeing as how it is just a cable, there aren't many ways it wouldn't work.  It fits the small connection on the bottom of the Nexus 7 where you plug it up to charge.  The opposite end of the OTG Cable, is a female USB connector.  This allows you to hook up pretty much any USB Flash Drive or game controller to it.  This makes it possible to watch movies or play music or even just access files directly from a USB Flash drive without the need of transferring these files directly to the Nexus 7 using either a PC or services like Box.

If you are using your Nexus 7 as it is straight out of the box (i.e.: not rooted) then you will need an app from the Google Play store to be able to read the USB Flash Drives.  And without Root access, that's about all you can do.  There have been some reports of certain apps allowing play with a PS3 gamepad without root, but not every app supports it.  So if you aren't rooted and just want to be able to access other files using flash drives:

-Visit the Google Play Store and download the Nexus Media Importer by Homesoft ($2.99 USD)
-Hook up the OTG Cable and a flash drive.
-The Nexus Media Importer app should launch automatically.
-Select your files and have fun!
*Just note that without root access you can only read from USB Flash drives, you can't write back to them.

Do you have to be rooted to use it?

No you don't.  As mentioned above, you can use it without root access.  However, you're somewhat limited to what you can do with the OTG Cable unless you do have root access.  With root access you can read and write to and from USB Flash Drives.  You can also hook up a PS3, Xbox 360, or even Wiimote to your device for gaming.  Using these devices does typically require an extra app to make it easier to setup (for PS3 controllers use Sixaxis).

And for reading/writing files I use the Stickmount (FREE) app and ES File Explorer (FREE) app to access and transfer files as needed.

Why Even Worry About It?

So why even worry about it.  In short, if you have no plans to root your device or you are completely happy with your Nexus 7 as it is out of the box, you may not even care about using an OTG Cable.  But if you're like me and you like to read books/comic books digitally, or watch movies and videos offline, or even play games with a gamepad; then the OTG Cable is a great workaround.  The Nexus 7 is a slick device, no doubt about it.  But one of the complaints have been the lack of an SD Card slot (or even a full sized USB Host port).  Pretty much, whether you bought the 16 or 32GB capacity versions, that's all the space you get.  With an OTG Cable you not only get the internal storage of your device, along with as many USB Flash Drives you could possibly want.  This really opens up your devices storage options especially if you get tired of using your PC to transfer files to and from your device.

Get Your's!

I use the IVSO Nexus 7 Tablet Micro USB Host OTG Cable from Amazon which cost me after shipping: $4.97 (USD) which is pictured above.

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Nexus 7 Review

Shortly after Christmas, I found myself purchasing a Nexus 7 tablet.  And believe me when I say they were few and far between in our local brick and mortar stores.  In early December I saw them on sale at a two of our local Walmart stores.  But apparently they were a pretty hot item this year.  I ended up finding one at a Gamestop about 30 miles away.

Needless to say, it was well worth the near 60 mile round trip.  So here is my quick review.

First up, like most tablets or mobile devices; there are several different versions of the device.  The Nexus 7 was made by Asus for Google (as Google doesn't produce hardware themselves).  The Nexus 7 is a 7 inch, Tegra 3 tablet and it comes in three flavors.
- 16GB Wifi only                               (MSRP: $199.00)
- 32GB Wifi only                               (MSRP: $249.00)
- 32GB Wifi & 3G (3G via AT&T)     (MSRP: $299.00)

Most of the local brick & mortar stores around here carry the 32GB WiFi only model for $249.  At first, $249 may sound a little steep.  But when compared to the price of devices like the Kindle Fire HD or the Nook HD it's still pretty much in the same price range.  And from the software perspective, the Nexus 7 is quite a bit more open (out of the box) than either Amazon or Barnes & Noble's offerings.

The market definitely has no shortage of tablets and mobile computing devices, so what makes the Nexus 7 stand out?  For me, it's the software that jumps out at me.  The Nexus 7 runs Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) out of the box.  So big deal, it runs the latest version of Android... Who cares?  Well, most Android based devices include apps that aren't used of wanted.  Smartphone's are the same way.  My Galaxy S2 from Sprint came preloaded with Sprint branded apps and even a couple games that I didn't really care to have on my device without my choice.

This doesn't happen with the Nexus 7, reason being it runs pure Android without any vendor UI overlay or without any Vendor specific apps preloaded.  What you do get preinstalled on the devices are the apps from Google that are run of the mill on Android devices:
-Google Play Store (and associated apps)

So what about the specs:
- Tegra 3 Quad-Core Processor
-1GB of RAM
-Storage Capacity: 16GB or 32GB
-WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
-Bluetooth
-NFC
-3G only available is the 3G model
-Front Facing 1.2MP camera
-4325 mAh Battery (rated at approximately 8 hours of battery life)
Screen Specs:
-7 inch (1280 x 800) at 216ppi
-Back-lit IPS display

Other Features:
-Microhone
-Accelerometer
-Magnetometer
-GPS
-Gyroscope

You may have read through those specs and said: "What a minute, where is the SD Card slot or the rear facing camera?!".  And you'd be right, the Nexus 7 does not sport either of those.  And to be honest with you, I haven't even missed them.  Here's why.  My phone has a 8MP camera on it.  The majority of my pictures are taken while I am out and about in the world on a daily basis.  I have a 10 inch Android Tablet that sports both of the Nexus 7's missing features and I rarely use them.  I have taken less than 10 pictures with my 10 inch tablet's rear camera.  I use the SD card slot only to load a small collection of ROM's to play.  That's it.  So not having these two features didn't hinder me from picking up the Nexus 7.

And if these missing features might deter you from checking out the Nexus 7, then don't let it.  Because there is a work around for the missing SD Card slot.  You can pick up what is called an "On the Go" USB adapter.  There are a couple types of these available on Amazon.  The popular one basically splits the micro-USB connector on the bottom of the device into two USB ports that allows you to connect Flash Drives for extra storage of file transfers (although some of the file transfer features will require ROOT access).  That means it is still possible to swap files on the fly.  Albeit, with an extra cable.  The good news is that most of these adapters are really dirt cheap.  And there is even one that has a card reader/USB/HDMI Output on it as well.

So enough about the specs, how does it perform?  So far I have read books on the Nexus 7, watched quite a bit of Netflix programming on it, surfed the web and social networks, and yes; I have indulged in quite a few games as well.  Everything works just as smooth as silk.  The games I have played so far include:
-Need for Speed Most Wanted
-Dark Meadow: The Pact
-Sonic 4 Episode II THD
-Beach Buggy Blitz
-Marvel's Avengers Initiative

And every game has been fast, no lag, responsive and an overall fantastic experience. I am excited to load up the multiplayer version of Shadowgun to see it in all it's glory.  One of the common complaints tends to be more with the apps from Google Play; as not all of them are designed to work on a 7 inch display.  What I mean is the Facebook app downloaded from Google Play is essentially the same as the phone version of the app.  This has been an issue with Android pretty much since Day 1.  They call that "fragmentation" and is one of the large reason's Apple fans slam Android fanboys.  For me, there are so many other awesome apps out there, I can't let the quirks with just a couple hinder my overall experience on something that really isn't the tablet's issue in the first place.

The 7 inch screen size is perfect for reading books, as it feels like using a paperback sized book.  And the tablet is pretty light (weighing in at 340g) so you can easily hold it with one hand and not tired of holding it.  And when paired with books from Google Play (or as I prefer to use Aldiko), it really feels great kicking back on the couch with a good book on the Nexus 7.

Battery Life
Sure, it's got great specs with a great screen size and can run movies and games without a problem.  The battery life must be terrible, right?  Nope.  In fact, the battery life is the best I have seen on an Android device this size.  For example, over the weekend I pretty much carried the Nexus 7 with me everywhere I went.  I haven't altered any of the display or power settings from their default settings.  At the end of the day Saturday, I looked at the Battery usage and it had been off of the charger for a little better than 9.5 hours and I was still showing around 32% battery left.  My usage that day was connecting to three different WiFi connections, web surfing/Facebooking for a while on each.  Did some lite reading, used the web surfing to find resources and information on PC repair for a friend, watching YouTube, playing Need for Speed Most Wanted, and later that evening watching an episode of "Sons of Anarchy" on Netflix.

That is way more activity than my phone could handle without begging for a charge midway through the day. So you shouldn't have to worry about battery life.  If you can charge it up before bed, you'll not have much to worry about.  The only issue I can forsee is that the battery is enclosed (much like the iPad devices).  So you can't replace it when it's charge cycles are used up.  Hopefully, by the time that happens; it'll be time to upgrade devices anyway.

Cons
The Nexus 7 only has one downside that I have found thus far and I wanted to save it for last.  And really, it isn't that big of a deal (it can be resolved); but out of the box it may be an issue for some people.  The Nexus 7 has one speaker bar in the bottom of the back of the device.  Out of the box with the volume turned all the way up, it is still somewhat difficult to hear the audio anywhere but in a semi-quiet room.  You can however download a Speaker Booster app from Google Play that will fix this.  So not a serious issue by any means.

Overall Verdict: Must Buy!
Today marks 1 week spent with the Nexus 7, and I haven't regretted purchasing it yet.  It is a great device, offering the latest and greatest that Google has to offer on the software side.  And the awesome specs that Asus slammed into the Nexus 7's casing.  I honestly gave thought to initially purchasing the iPad Mini.  But with it's price point higher than the Nexus 7's, and the fact I really didn't like the idea of having to use iTunes again.  So I veered away from Apple's offering.  And honestly, I'm glad that I did.

For more information on the Nexus 7 please visit:
Google Play's Nexus 7 Product Page

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Kindle Fire sells how many preorders?!

As expected Amazon's Kindle Fire seems to have taken off; if nothing else, the pre-order numbers seem to look good for Amazon's tablet.  Sitting at 95,000 day one pre-orders!  And spinning the tech-retail world into a tailspin by kicking off what appears to be the first of the tablet price wars that I predicted a few months back to start hitting about now.  Is it just getting warmed up?

It's kind of funny that in the same week that Amazon announces the Kindle Fire, Best Buy drops the price of the HTC Flyer to $299.  Will the other tablet manufacturers follow suit in fear of the Kindle Fire?  Do I think the Kindle Fire will dethrown the iPad as the king of tablets?  Probably not, because Apple has enough money to ramp up ad campaigns and sell more of their devices too.

But as far as casual tablet buyers, looking for a basic entry level tablet to get them into mobile computing.  Yep, I think those people will definitely bypass the iPad.  But time will tell!

And word of advice, if you're looking to get a Kindle Fire before the end of the year, it might be a good idea to go ahead and pre-order with numbers like those.  It wouldn't surprise me at all to see a shortage of Kindle Fire tablets before they even hit the street.

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Yes, there are other Kindles too

Last week one of the biggest stories in the headlines covered Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet/e-reader.  But what seemed to fall through the cracks were the stories of what other Kindle's were also announced.  Amazon announced it will also be releasing two more versions of the monochrome Kindle r-readers for those who aren't ready for the tablet experience.

So what's new with these?  Well, they are still sporting the monochrome e-ink screen; but now they include multi-touch features as well.  One of the other changes about the Touch versions of the Kindle, is that user's will no longer have to 'swipe' their finger across the screen to turn the page of the ebook.  Instead, a simple screen tap will handle page turning as well.

For those who are curious as to what e-ink screens are: they are monochrome screens for mobile devices that allow no-glare visibility in daylight and brightly lit rooms.  They use no backlight; instead they use ambient light in the room to produce the vibrant image on the screen.  E-Ink screens are great on battery life due to the lack of a backlight necessary to light the display (unlike standard tablets).  One of the drawbacks to e-ink screens is that in low-light/dark rooms or areas; you will need to use a booklight (they make booklights that attach to most e-readers) to create ambient light in order to see the image on the screen.

There are two versions:
-Kindle Touch (WiFi) for $99 (USD)
-Kindle Touch 3G for $149 (USD)

You may want to note that the 3G version of the Kindle Touch will limit 3G access to the Kindle Store for buying ebooks and searching Wikipedia.  The 3G version does include WiFi access as well.

For more information on the new Kindle Touch swing by: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005890G8Y/ref=famstripe_kt

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A little more on the Amazon Kindle Fire

In this post we don't know anymore specific details on the device (or specific hardware contained therein); however, a recent study/teardown by HCS iSuppli reveals an interesting point to mention.  Looks like the cost to make the Kindle Fire Tablet is $209.63 (and this includes materials and manufacturing costs).  That's a loss of right around $10 dollars.

Wait a minute!  Amazon has set the price point at $199, so they are going to immediately take a loss?!  What kind of business plan is that?  Well, if you're expecting your devices to really take off, it's a genius business plan. The concept here isn't to make a bunch of money on a sale of a single device.  But to sell many of their new devices, and build profits by selling quantity.  Plus, I know some people personally who would buy it for the sole purpose of getting it cheaper than what is was manufactured for.

Not only will they make that $10 dollars or so back in the long run.  But they are selling digital goods for the devices.  Access to streaming media (if you go with Amazon Prime), apps, ebooks, etc.  And that extra $10 dollars lost in manufacturing will be more than recovered.

So it's a smart idea for Amazon.  By pricing the tablet at $199 they already have a jump on competition at being a modestly priced, reasonable tablet offering.  It will be interesting to see how it fares.

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Why will the Kindle Fire sell like crazy?

Amazon's Tablet Offering: Kindle Fire

With all of the rage in the tablet world right now buzzing around the announcement of Amazon's Kindle Fire, I wanted to discuss why Amazon's first attempt at a full fledged tablet will be a crazy success for them.  First up, is the price.  I mean for $200 bucks you get a fully functional tablet.  Now granted, it isn't a crazy powerful device but it is very practical for what it aims to do.  It's rocking a dual-core processor (not sure which one of speed); and only 8GB's of storage on the device itself.  And they are boasting about 8 hours of battery life.  All on a rather nice, and comfortable 7 inch screen.

What does the Kindle Fire not have?  Well, pretty much everything most tech folks look for in a tablet by the market standards nowadays.
-No 3G
-No expandable storage.
-No front or back cameras.
-No bluetooth.
-No HDMI
-And no GPS.

So, if it basically has a handful of features when compared with other tablets; why will it do so well?  In one, simple word: content.  What is one thing we all have in common, and we all soak as much of it up everyday as possible.  Whether it be news, internet sources, television, music, media, etc.  It is all considered some form of content.  And what better way could Amazon jump into the tablet market than by providing a small window into the heart of the entire business?  Whether it be selling ebooks, merchandise, mobile apps, or streaming video via the new Amazon Prime offering.  All made accessible with device that simply builds upon what the Kindle name is already good for: e-reading.  No doubt, they will already have a bunch of Kindle fans who are looking to upgrade, that is a given audience right there.  Without even having to sell the concept to those fans.

Personally, if this tablet does as well as I think it will.  I will start to recommend this device to those new to the tablet scene.  Seriously?  Since most people aren't going to harness the full processor power of their devices anyways.  I saw a demographic the other day that suggested most people use mobile devices for:
1- Web access and communicating via the web while on the go (social media).
2- Media consumption (YouTube, streaming media, etc.)
3- Apps.

And at it's very basic level the Kindle Fire seems to have those 3 features covered.  See their tv spot for a brief intro:

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Amazon's New Tablet Dubbed 'Kindle Fire'

Looks as though Amazon's new tablet that has taken the news by storm will be called the 'Kindle Fire' and should retail for $199.  It will feature a 7 inch screen and will be Android based.  If you check the article over on CNET: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20112714-94/amazon-unveils-kindle-fire-tablet-for-$199/?tag=mantle_skin;content

You may notice that the device seems to resemble the Nook Color by Barnes & Noble.  The release of the 'Kindle Fire' will be the first actual tablet offered directly by Amazon.  As the previous versions of the Kindle were strictly e-book readers sporting the e-ink screens (which are monochrome).  The device does not include a camera or microphone and will only connect to Wifi networks (sorry, no 3G this time around).

The Nook Color by Barnes & Noble

So, it looks like for $199 you will not be running Honeycomb on it, but for $200 bucks it doesn't look like a bad tablet.  And if you know someone who loves their Kindle e-book reader, than I would recommend the 'Fire' for them.  Essentially, you are getting the e-book reader everyone knows and loves along with a color screen and more tablet like features.

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This Week's News: The Cell Phone, Cisco, F2P Announcement, and Mortal Kombat!

This week we have several newsworthy topics.

The first public mobile phone call was made by Mr. Martin Cooper.  Mr. Cooper worked for Motorola and the phone was a really large brick looking phone.  It's amazing to see the how far mobile phones have come.  If you've done your math, that would place this iconic phone call on April 3rd, 1973.  So try to wrap your head around this, if Mr. Cooper hadn't made this phone call (and if Motorola hadn't developed the tech) than we more than likely wouldn't have the same mobile capabilities we have now.  And how did we ever get along before cell phones became all the rage?  Just something to think about.

Looks as though Cisco is closing down their Flip Camera divisions as part of a restructuring process.  If you aren't sure what the Flip Camera's are; then they are small, cell phone sized video camera's that store video in it's onboard flash storage.  These small camera's were intended for easy filming and uploading to the web.  I have not personally used the camera's for more than a few minutes at Best Buy, but I have heard mixed reviews on the quality of the devices.  No doubt a huge factor in Cisco's decision was the fact that it seems almost everybody already has a camera with them built into their cell phone or smart phone.  Not to mention competing devices like the Sony Bloggie.  Unfortunately, this restructuring will eliminate around 550 jobs from Cisco's staff.  One the upside, if you're in the market for a cheap digital video camera for your pocket or purse.  Be on the lookout as no doubt stores like Best Buy and Walmart may be trying to move these devices (just my speculation).
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-12/cisco-to-close-flip-video-camera-business-as-part-of-consumer-unit-revamp.html

In gaming/F2P news, Hi-Rez Studios online shooter Global Agenda is going free to play later this month.  For those who may remember, Global Agenda has maintained some Free to Play (F2P) aspects.  The free to play transition will bring such things to the table for F2P players as: no level restrictions, ability to earn all of the in game items without buying them, and access to all current playable zones.  Global Agenda was the game that campaigned it's extreme distaste for Elves.



Amazon decided they are trying something new with their flagship e-reader: The Kindle.  They are offering the "Kindle with Special Offers".  It's basically the same monochrome Kindle the world knows and loves.  But they will be pushing ad's and special offers to the user's devices.  The Special Offers version of the device will retail at $114 from $139.  If you don't mind looking at screensaver ad's than jump on the savings.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004HFS6Z0/tmo-20

The Mortal Kombat Legacy web series launched today.  Check it out at Machinima YouTube Channel.  This series is more or less a reboot of the Mortal Kombat story.  It features the acting talents Michael Jai White and Jeri Ryan.  This series was teased in a short video released mysteriously on Youtube by the name of Mortal Kombat Rebirth.  This take on the MK Universe looks to set a real world story to the iconic characters from the series past.  And tt definitely looks promising.  So, check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s6UiEuCYXA

Until next time, happy surfing!

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