The N7 lacks hardware features

[Demache]

I wonder though how some of the $60 tablets can afford to include such items as SDreader, charging plug and real buttons. Those are penny items. I agree on the rear camera. That costs probably a bit more.

If at least they could make a charger that uses the pogo attachment. Then the USB port would not be so much at risk.

I doubt not including the SD card reader is cost related. Google has made it quite clear that they do NOT want SD cards on any Nexus device. Google has given their reasons (unifying the file system, file systems are not user friendly, etc), there is some speculation that it may be to push Google cloud services, who knows.

They want to use virtual buttons. In my opinion, not really wasted space and they are able to be customized. And the Nexus 7 resolution was adjusted for that (its 1280 x 800), so it comes out to 720p in landscape or 1200 pixels high in portrait.

The charging plug is probably because they want to adhere to the using microUSB as the connection standard. Its cheaper because they don't need to add and make room for a DC jack. And its better for the user, because it eliminates proprietary chargers and cables. I wouldn't be too worried about the USB port. I left the charging cable in there and I put it in my backpack (woops) and the cable connector got bent up pretty nicely, but the port is still find and dandy. I wouldn't recommend beating it, but its definitely not going to destroyed without some significant pressure.

 

[PlayfulGod]

Because I am afraid that the USB port will break one of these days. The heavy usage with the frequent charging is not a good scenario.

I've never had a usb/charger port go out on any of the devices I own, and I have a bunch of em. lol

Only way I could see one going out is if someone swung the device around by the usb cable while it was plugged in or some kind of accident which could break any type of plugin port.


And yea on the no sdcards, it to move to cloud based services, which isnt a bad idea, but is dependent on data plans and/or wifi connections, both of which could not be available at all times. I've not had a real issue not having a sdcard, but the option would be nice. But with OTG I can connect a 1TB hdd if I like though.

 

[lvt]

Using the USB port as charging port has many advantages :

- Keep the tablet as thin as possible, less parts required (by elimining the plug and cable), simpler circuit board design.

- The included cable can be used for charging or data transfer, simplifying the packaging process.

I had a lot of old mobile phones and PDAs without separate charging plug, using the USB port for charging and data transfer has been industry standard several years ago.

About the SD reader, I don't know for those who have 8GB or 16GB version, but mine has 32Gb of storage and I don't have the need for bigger storage space as I use my N7 primarily for web browsing and gaming, I think if I need more than 32GB of storage then I should buy a mini laptop with real hard driver, not a tablet.