Bought The Nexus 7 (2013)

macgiobuin · Mar 2, 2014

I purchased my first tablet ever the other day and am trying to get used to having both a tablet and a phone. I went with the 16 gb version (no LTE) because I couldn't think of a reason to use the tablet as a phone, and I keep 80% of all my stuff in the cloud (Drive, Box, Play, Dropbox, Amazon, and even Real Player Cloud). So far I am impressed with how FAST the Nexus 7 does everything and how smoothly it works.

I have been skimming through all the reviews and "un-boxing" videos/articles, but am still unclear as to WHAT, exactly, everyone uses their tablets for. So, my request is for some ideas on how to best utilize this new gizmo for work and for pleasure.

Any suggestions are welcome. (I'm not a "gamer" but I do play some occasionally, BTW.) Thanks for any suggestions/responses.

Little Darwin · Mar 2, 2014

I use my tablet and phone in similar ways, but the tablet serves me better when I am not concerned with extreme portability.

For things like word processing or typing info onto flash cards I prefer my tablet.

tukatz · Mar 2, 2014

Think of the things you do with your laptop.
I bought (one of the very few apps I have paid for) Documents To Go some time back and it gives me Microsoft Office compatible word processing and spreadsheet apps. I've passed them back and forth between DTG on my tablet and Excel on my laptop.
I use the Swype keyboard on my tablet and it works really well. Speech recognition is so good that I dictate longer text and correct the very few errors.
I download books from my library and process them with Calibre on my laptop, then copy them onto my tablet to read with Aldiko without worrying about the checkout expiring.
I use CamScanner to scan documents into my tablet and save them as PDFs. Since my tablet can 'see' my home network, I can then move them to my Windows Home Server directly.
I have K9 Mail setup so I can see my email on my tablet if I am using it rather than my laptop. I set it up so when I delete a message on my tablet it does NOT delete it from the server. I can then download it to my laptop later.
I have hundreds of recipes loaded into My Cookbook so if I am traveling and in a place where we can cook our own meals I have a portable cookbook.
I installed the Sygic navigation app and bought a lifetime subscription to maps of most of the world and use my tablet rather than a GPS.
I hope these ideas help you. My tablet has all but replaced my laptop for most things.

macgiobuin · Mar 2, 2014

Thanks! Those are all great suggestions.

strollin · Mar 3, 2014

If you need to be able to work with MS Office files, I recommend Kingsoft Office Suite. It can create/view/edit ms office files and it's a free app. It also interfaces directly with apps like DropBox and Box.

macgiobuin · Mar 3, 2014

Thanks! Do these office document applications work well with Drive also?

BTW, another thread taught me to use the "Dolphin Jetpack" browser and change the settings from "android" to "desktop" which allows you to watch Amazon Prime TV & movies and then Chromecast them to the big screen. Watched "Jack Reacher" yesterday.

tukatz · Mar 3, 2014

macgiobuin said:
Thanks! Do these office document applications work well with Drive also?

BTW, another thread taught me to use the "Dolphin Jetpack" browser and change the settings from "android" to "desktop" which allows you to watch Amazon Prime TV & movies and then Chromecast them to the big screen. Watched "Jack Reacher" yesterday.

Ah yes, with 5' 7" Tom Cruise as 6' 5" Jack Reacher. What a joke!

ritchea · Mar 4, 2014

tukatz said:
Ah yes, with 5' 7" Tom Cruise as 6' 5" Jack Reacher. What a joke!

Totally off-topic, of course, but +1!

On-topic, I use my N7 as my book/email reader, tap-a-talk/web browser, at-home texter, video player, e-recipe catalog, PC connection when I'm away from PC or just too lazy to go to it. I also use the White Noise app to help drown out sounds when I'm trying to read. Were I still working, I would use my tablet in the classroom so Microsoft office programs and anything I wanted to display for students.
Even though N7FHD is fairly portable, I've never made google wallet purchases with it (use N5), but I've read some do.

tukatz · Mar 4, 2014

Good point about PC connection. I use Team Viewer to remote in to one of my Windows PCs and launch a backup of my Windows Home Server or get files from it when away from home.

Another use occurred to me. I got a USB OTG cable and use OTG Disk Explorer to download images from my digital camera to my N7. I then use Photo Editor to make any necessary changes before uploading them to Photo Bucket so I can post them on forums like this one.

macgiobuin · Mar 4, 2014

OK...the last two posts went a bit over my head.

Are you both saying that you can install an app on your Nexus 7 that will allow you to view your computer screen/contents? I have seen/heard the Carbonite commercials, but that is a paid service. I would like to learn how to do this....it would be VERY helpful.

I use Drive or Box or Dropbox to make document changes and then copy them to my work computer. Having a direct link would be awesome (assuming it is affordable).

tukatz · Mar 4, 2014

Here is the link to TeamViewer.
TeamViewer - Free Remote Control, Remote Access & Online Meetings
It's a free app that you install on your Nexus 7 (Android version) and on your Windows PC (Windows version). Each machine you install on gets a number and you can set a password for access. You launch TV on your PC and leave it running in the background. You can then launch TV on your Nexus 7 anywhere in the world where you have an Internet connection via WiFi. You select your PC by number and enter your password and your N7 will display the desktop of your PC. You have mouse functions via the touch screen and can enter data if needed. In theory, you could run any app that is installed on your PC, although the interface might be a bit awkward in some cases. You can pinch zoom in if needed to magnify a portion of your PC screen. You can also transfer files between the two.

TheAmazingDave · Mar 7, 2014

I use my tablet for everything. Work and play. It's hard to pinpoint tasks that I reserve for my tablet, because it is my go-to personal computer when I'm not at work using my laptop.

My Android phone is now just used as, well, a phone. Anything I can do with my phone, the N7 does better. I find the 7" form-factor entirely pocketable, and it goes with me everywhere.

I bought the LTE version so I wouldn't have to find WiFi, and all apps like Google Wallet, Maps, Play Music, GPS, etc work full-time, especially important when it's docked in the car.

tukatz · Mar 7, 2014

I play music from a USB thumb drive in my car and my nav app has the maps stored on the N7, so I don't need a connection. The LTE version was tempting, but I don't have an unlimited data plan.

macgiobuin · Mar 7, 2014

Thank you, everybody, for all these suggestions! They are very helpful. I am finding that the tablet is much better for many things....although my Moto X is still uber-cool.

bobb050 · Mar 7, 2014

tukatz--

What navigation app do you use that allows maps stored on the tablet?

tukatz · Mar 7, 2014

bobb050 said:
tukatz--

What navigation app do you use that allows maps stored on the tablet?

It's called Sygic. The app is free but you buy the maps. They are available in several different collections, but since I wanted North America and Europe I found it cheaper to buy the whole world. Map and POI updates are free forever. We used it on a road trip from Western Washington to Dallas and back and it worked great. You can have the turn-by-turn instructions read to you in a variety of languages and voices. The image below is how I have it setup in my Mustang.

strollin · Mar 8, 2014

Another app that stores the map data on the N7 is CoPilot, $15 buys the app and maps of US & Canada. European maps are additional. CoPilot has a free edition that does everything EXCEPT turn-by-turn navigation.

sfbloodbrother · Mar 10, 2014

There's s lot that you can do with a tablet. I have 3 tablets and use them all differently. Its up to you to figure out how you will use it. For me, I use my Nexus 7 to read.

Bought The Nexus 7 (2013)

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