Here is why we think the Google Nexus 7 is the best seven-inch tablet out there.

Unboxing

Thankfully, the Nexus 7 does not come in fancy packaging; you know, the kind that would require you to solve a Rubik’s Cube before you can lay your hands on the device. Moreover, you cannot always figure out from which end of the box should the unboxing be done.

I remember a store assistant once using her nail extensions – as forceps – to unbox my current phone. The box had such tiny crevices that made it almost impossible to pull the flaps out without tearing off the cover. It had very little wiggle room for even a newborn’s finger to coax the box to open.

Unboxing the Nexus 7 is a breeze compared to the stress that the store assistant’s nails went through. Push your hand through the Nexus front cover and the box slides out of its pocket, like a turtle poking its head out from a shell. Now, lift the second cover to access the contents inside. See, It is simple.

First impressions

I did not beat my chest and jump around the Nexus 7 like the apes in Stanley Kubrik’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Though, it does look like a miniature version of the mysterious monolith that falls out of the sky in the film.

I, however, was intrigued by its size; for I have never seen or held a seven-inch tablet before. Yes, tech geeks, this is your cue to close the browser window and trawl the internet for updates from the Mobile World Congress, which is currently underway in Barcelona, Spain.

The Nexus 7 felt light as a feather when I first picked it up. When you wrap your fingers around its smooth edges, you will realise that it has a good grip; props to its semi-rubbery backside with the word Nexus elegantly stenciled on it. It is, definitely, not something that you would put down immediately without toying with for a while.

I powered up the Nexus 7 and then deferentially synced my Google account, since it is standard procedure for first-time boot ups. If you do not have a Google ID I think it insists that you create one, like Microsoft eggs you on to create a Windows Live account for devices powered with Windows 8.

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App installation

Once you are sorted with the sign-in process, your tablet will be up and running within seconds the next time you use it. Readwhere was, probably, the first app that I installed from the Google Play Store. For the uninitiated, it is digital newsstand that provides access to e-papers, magazines and books. The Indian Express e-paper was a joy to read on the Nexus 7. The images were sharp, the text was crisp, and I must begrudgingly accept that it felt better than