Look at all the new toys! Getting to grips with a new laptop and the Nexus 7

comments 25
Technology

In the last couple of weeks some new tech has landed in my lap. Well, when I say landed, I mean it was ordered and eventually delivered. It didn’t land in some magical way. Sadly.

Firstly, maybe less exciting, is my new laptop. The smallest laptop I’ve ever had. Yet, it’s still a 15″-er. A beautiful Dell XPS 15z. Which I so nearly didn’t get thanks to some idiotic UPS delivery man.

Shiny, new and it’s got wings

Dell XPS 15z

My fantastic new life saving machine.

With a lot of help from a very helpful brother, I’ve got my solid state drive and extra memory all installed and this little machine is flying. Takes less than 20 seconds to boot up. No waiting for anything! I love it. Certainly made my workflow a lot quicker. Well, until I have to work. Then my brain slows things down.

Dell XPS 15z

Ok, I wasn’t too keen on the speaker grill, but it’s definitely grown on me.

Dell XPS 15z

Backlit keyboard! It’s all bright and shiny. Yes, I’m like a bloody magpie.

My Beautiful Nexus 7 – Yet to be named

Secondly and the more exciting bit of tech that I’ve got my hands on is the new Nexus 7. There was this whole thing going on in my mind where I’d be patient. Wait and see what people are making of the Nexus 7. Have a nosey at my brother’s. Wait and be patient.

Ha! That got thrown out of the window. A couple of days after orders started shipping and I placed an order for one. (Just in time too – a day later and they stopped selling the 16GB version!).

Nexus 7

Nexus 7 in the house! Or in the garden…

Nexus 7

The Nexus 7 out of the box. Unlike the whole of the Internet, I really didn’t have a problem unboxing the baby.

The Nexus 7 is the first tablet I’ve owned. I’ve been waiting for one that felt just right. And this one does. It’s not too big. Feels great to hold. So very smooth. And yes, I have been spending more time than I should be admitting asking Google Now what the weather is like and other rather mundane questions. The Google Now voice man is so very well spoken.

Nexus 7

My Droid called Cupcake fully approves.

Nexus 7

Cupcake takes Google Now for a test drive.

Nexus 7

Feels lovely to hold. No slippy-ness! Very important with me being a butter fingers.

I have no doubts I’ll be blogging about this little beaut again in no time. It’s just that damn amazing.

Now I’m going to stop writing and go back to playing with it. Now that I’ve got it I’m just trying to figure out what I want on it, what I should have on it and what nots. So if any of you have any tips, please pass them on. For now – I’m going to keep talking to it.

25 Comments

  1. Love the lil droid props. They are so cute! Love the garden bokeh and congrats on new purchases. The keyboard on the Dell is so sleek, so un-Dell like ;). Nice touches with solid state drive and more memory. 20 sec start up? Dang. Jealous!

    • I just wish I had more driods! I’ve got 3, but would love them all.

      Dell’s XPS range are just beautiful. It’s not their regular stuff, and I love it for that reason. I’ve always had Dells, and funnily enough, they’ve been the most reliable machines I’ve ever had. My last laptop, the Sony Vaio, had a meltdown after just 2 years. That’s ridiculous!

  2. Nice pics, Jaina! Nexus should pay you to use these shiny pics for their promo 🙂

  3. OOH…nice toys!!!!

    I’ve been wanting a tablet for blogging and stuff. I don’t know which one to get. Will you be doing a more in depth review on the Nexus? I was kinda leaning towards the iPad, but it’s waaay too much money.

    Cool toys. I’m so happy for you!

    • I’ll definitely do something a bit more in-depth, especially if there’s call for it. I’m going to have a proper play around with it before I make any radical decisions. But for the money you pay, the Nexus 7 is astounding.

      Will post more soon! Thanks, Jen.

  4. The laptop is a nice bit of kit, though there are two things that would drive me nuts with that one: 1. No numberpad, and 2. Those speaker grills, whilst pretty, aren’t the most practical I’ve ever seen. I can see those being a dust trap.

    I wish I could afford a Nexus, however the cheaper Android tab I have has impressed me with what it can do, given what I paid for it.

    On a totally unrelated note: YAY! Your ‘continue reading’ links are working again.

    • I am struggling with no numpad. I’ve always had one, so yes, tough! The speaker grills are going to be a haven for dust. Have to make sure it’s closed whenever not in use to minimise the dust amount.

      Thank god they’re working! I was trying all sorts to get them working and just gave up. Good news!

      • That good news lasted for one post – they’ve stopped working again with your post about the Olympics. (They’ve probably got the same apathy for Voldesport that we have.)

        • Charming. I would deactivate the plugin, but there’s no other LJ cross poster. Sucks.

          I reserve the right to blame the Olympics for anything that stops working from now on.

  5. Although I already own an iPad I really want to get a Nexus 7 too. Unfortunately they are not sold over here till September. So I guess I will have to wait till then to get my hands on one. The size seems perfect to take along with you. I always leave my iPad home, but this one would be something I would bring and probably also use to watch movies on the go…

    I’ll admit I’m a bit envious of you already being able to play with one 😉

    • The size of the Nexus 7 is perfect and was one of the biggest selling points for me. So now in my handbag I can carry around my camera with one large lens, kindle, phone and Nexus 7. Perfect travelling tablet.

      Don’t worry, September’s nearly here, Nostra!

  6. Nice photos! (and nice toys, too) 😀

    I have steered away from the tablet craze, but the more I hear about the Nexus 7, the more I want one. Looks like an awesome little device.

    • I’ve steered away from tablets too. I either didn’t see the point or didn’t think there was anything decent out there for me. The Nexus 7 just suits me perfectly. Great size and amazingly smooth!

  7. You had me at solid state drive. And backlit keyboard! My current laptop lacks both. Are the SSD’s all they’re cracked up to be? The short boot up time sounds dreamy 🙂

    • Definitely. Plus SSD prices are roughly half that of what they were a year ago, so now’s a perfect time to get your hands on one. Go on!

  8. enjoy the Nexus, Jaina, and congrats. I love the Droid OS. I bought a tablet last year and even “jailbroke” it to put Android ICS onto it. Love it. (not much of an Apple OS guy, can ya tell?)

    btw, again, some fanTASTIC photos!

    • I have never owned anything Apple. Not even an iPod. Nothing. Android is a beautiful OS. Just wait until you get your hands on Jellybean – it is a gorgeous upgrade to the OS!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.