Here's What I think Of Google's Nexus 7 Tablet After Playing With It For An Hour (GOOG)

Here's What I think Of Google's Nexus 7 Tablet After Playing With It For An Hour (GOOG):

I've been playing with Google's first-ever tablet, the Nexus 7, for about an hour now.
(By the way, big ups to Google for being super cool and giving me a tablet before most of the other developers and press here at I/O got a chance to see it. They're all waiting in a massive line to get one as I write this. Thanks!)
I'll have a full review of the Nexus 7 up in a few days once I've had a chance to thoroughly explore everything it has to offer. In the meantime, I thought it'd be cool to share some initial thoughts with you.
I really like the concept behind the Nexus 7. Like the Kindle Fire, it focuses mostly on content. As soon as you boot the device up, you get recommendations for music, movies, magazines, books, etc. I was happy to see Google finally lock down deals with major movie and TV studios to make that happen.
The Nexus 7 is incredibly well built. I'm not surprised. Asus made this thing, and it's the same company behind my favorite Android tablet, the Transformer Prime. The rubbery back makes the Nexus 7 easy to grip. And it's not covered in cheap plastic like many other Android tablets are.
Finally, the Nexus 7 ships with Android Jelly Bean, the next version of Google's mobile operating system. Jelly Bean is a minor upgrade to the last version, called Ice Cream Sandwich, so the look and feel is pretty much the same.
My favorite feature is the new search bar. It's a Siri-like companion that uses the power of Google to come up for the answer you're looking for. It's pretty good.
For example, I asked the Nexus 7 "When is the next Mets game?" Within a second, a voice told me "The Mets play the Dodgers tomorrow at 7 p.m." It felt way smoother than Apple's Siri or Samsung's S-Voice. Of course, I'll have to do a lot more testing before I can proclaim it better than either of those services.
I'll have a lot more on the Nexus 7 and the new home entertainment device, the Nexus Q, over the next few days. Stay tuned.
Don't Miss: Unboxing photos of the Nexus 7 >
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