Google’s Nexus 7: Great Learning Support at an Affordable Price!

July 26, 2012 by Paul Hamilton | 0 comments

I like the iPad. It offers learners of all ages an intuitive platform for an extensive range of learning tools and activities. I’ve written about numerous iOS apps that have great potential to benefit all learners. The iPad’s biggest drawback is cost. Only a small privileged minority of the world’s learners and their families can afford iPads. When schools commit to purchasing iPads, it means that significant sums of money must be diverted from other priorities. (With Apple sitting on over 100 billion dollars in cash, things could be different!)

So, the advent of Google’s Nexus 7 tablet is most welcome! It’s a 7 inch tablet with the potential to facilitate the same range of learning activities as the iPad. Accessibility features built into its Android operating system are excellent. The most significant difference is cost. Google’s Nexus 7 is available in Canada for $209. That compares with $519 for the least expensive version of the new iPad and is less than half the price of Apple’s older iPad 2! I believe educators, as well as learners and their families, need to think long and hard before paying Apple’s price for the iPad!

I haven’t had a chance to take one for a test drive, but early reviews for the Nexus 7 have been almost universally positive. I’ve embedded a video by Google introducing their tablet. Immediately below the video are links to several written reviews, followed by two embedded video reviews. I also recommend Ryan Bretag’s helpful post entitled 10 Tips for Getting Started with Google’s Nexus 7 .