Putting Down the iPad; Nexus 7 in Real Life

Recently I wrote a lengthy comment/review on the Skooba Weekender bag Dan reviewed last July. During that review, I mentioned that I am a road warrior and generally spend at least one or more nights out of town 40+ weeks of the year. A few weeks ago was one of those rare times where I was working in my NYC office all week. Being in the office allowed me an opportunity to spend some quality time using the Google Nexus tablet I had purchased some time ago. In the past, I’ve made an attempt at using the original Samsung Galaxy Tab, but found the 7″ design was not for me. I decided that, with the introduction of Jelly Bean and the passage of time, it was time to give the 7″ form another try. Overall, I agree with the prior comments on the tablet’s shortfalls discussed by Dan and Mike in their video chat.

By way of background, I am a huge fan of the iPad and have been since its inception. I generally only bring my iPad on my weekly trips. There are some longer, or special trips, where I feel a laptop is necessary. At those times I usually bring my MacBook air. I am much more of an information consumer than content creator, although I do mark up PDF’s regularly. The iPad is excellent for the way I work on the road.

During my commute from the suburbs to NYC, I usually have a briefcase with my iPad. I have a desktop computer that I use for work throughout the day in the office, but I have my iPad with me for meetings as a means to take notes and look up files.

I decided to leave my iPad at home and only bring my Nexus Tablet to the office. Since I am mostly paperless, I was able to leave my briefcase behind. I immediately found this to be … liberating. I wear a suit to the office every day, and the Nexus fits perfectly in the inside jacket pocket. In order to do this I did have to remove the case I was using. I liked it and, as a result, I have grown quite fond of using the Nexus with no case.

During the day, I found the Nexus provided a similar consumption experience to my iPad. I was able to load files onto the device and the PDF’s were simple to read. I was able to sit in meetings and mark up PDF’s using the same or similar apps to those I use on my iPad. While it worked fine, I will admit that the larger screen of the iPad makes it a little easier, but I quickly got used to the smaller screen of the Nexus.

Overall, I enjoyed using the Nexus all week, but did not realize its true value until the fourth night of my experiment. I was out to dinner with my family and received an important email on my iPhone. The person asked if I had access to a computer to review something that could not be done on a phone. I started to reply to the email that I was out to dinner and would not have access to a computer for at least an hour, when I realized the Nexus was sitting inside my suit jacket pocket. I quickly deleted the email and responded that while I was not at my computer, I did have access to a tablet. The person emailed me the file and details and, ten minutes later, I finished handling an important issue. Oh, and I also had a very happy client.

I am not ready to give up my iPad; I will still use it for content creation and when sitting on the couch. The Nexus, however, is now my go-to companion device when I leave home. In the future, I’ll write a bit about the apps I am using on the Nexus vs. those I use on the iPad. Yes, as many have commented, the apps are generally a bit better on the iPad, but Android has definitely come a long way.

By the way, I enjoy using the Nexus so much that I am writing the initial draft of this article on my Nexus while using my new Logitech Bluetooth keyboard.