Google nexus surfplatta

The Google länk eller koppling 7 was the first great small Android tablet

Today marks the eighth anniversary of Google releasing the original länk eller koppling 7 platta and it’s easy to forget the impact that it had on the industry at the time.

Sure, many phones today are approaching that 7-inch screen size and tablets have become more niche products since then, but it wasn’t always the case.

A very different tablet world

Android Developers

Back in , Apple’s iPad was reigning supreme, with the iPad 3 launching in March that year. This was back when there was only one iPad range — no iPad Air or iPad Pro.

The Android platta world was also in a state of flux, as Google had launched a dedicated version of Android for tablets in dubbed Android Honeycomb (seen above). Prior to Honeycomb, Android platta manufacturers had to simply use Android as it was intended for phones. This predictably led to scaling issues, less than ideal UI elements, and other technical gremlins.

Google then chose to unify the phone and tablet platforms with Android Ice Cream Sandwich released later in By the time of the länk eller koppling 7’s reveal in June , Android tablet software was finally coming into its own.

The templa
  • google nexus surfplatta

    • The Nexus 7 was Google’s only great tablet, and it has never tried to replace it

    The Nexus 7 was as close as Google (or, arguably, anyone) ever got to the platonic ideal of a small tablet. It was inexpensive but not cheap; it wasn't underpowered; you didn't have to put up with a mediocre low-resolution screen. It's a balance Google rarely manages to get exactly right.

    Google never seemed interested in re-creating this combination of virtues in its subsequent Android tablets. The Nexus 9 was much larger and more expensive and had all kinds of weird problems; the Pixel C was also big and expensive, and it felt off because it might not have been designed as an Android tablet in the first place. The Pixel Slate was a ChromeOS tablet trying to be a Microsoft Surface clone. And at the risk of pre-judging hardware I haven't seen or used, the bland $ Pixel Tablet has much more in common with Google's tablet failures than its tablet successes.

    A Nexus 7 replacement arguably isn't necessary today. Most phone screens are now well over six inches, making small tablets feel less necessary than ever (though with more modern screens and bezels you could easily take the exact design of the

    History of Google tablets: Nexus and Pixel slates - and a look to the future

    Google's hardware division announced a move away from tablets in , saying it was going to concentrate its efforts on laptops instead. The news came from Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of devices and services at Google.

    At Google I/O , however, Google announced that it was moving back towards tablets, with the Google Pixel Tablet. This wasn't a launch announcement, more of a long-term tease with the tablet finally expected to be launched at Google I/O

    Here's a run-down of the tablets that have graced Google's shelves through the Nexus and Pixel programmes in the past, as well as a look to the future.

    Google Nexus 7 -

    Android tablets existed long before Google directed its Nexus programme at it. The Nexus 7, built by Asus, was launched in , looking to show Android tablet manufacturers how it was done. Priced cheap - as was the Nexus way - at $ or £ the 7-inch tablet had a lot to offer for the money. It was also powered by Nvidia Tegra hardware and came with Android Jelly Bean. At the UK launch there were plenty of holes - no Flash support meant many streaming services didn't work - and