The Nexus 7.2

Since the debut of Google's Nexus 7-2 / 7.b / Nexus 7 (2013) or whatever, the reviews have all mentioned the stunning screen.  At $229, Google has placed it at $100 under the dated iPad mini and $30 over the Amazon Kindle Fire.  You could also opt for the Nook HD being liquidated for $129, but we all know where Barnes and Nobles technology is heading. Here's Marco Arment's take.

I’d be tempted to get the new Nexus 7 “to play around with”, but last year’s model sitting in my closet reminding me I’ll never use it is a very effective deterrent.

I'm enamored by the pixel density of the screen and a good friend tweeted to me that he's in love, but is it worth upgrading my Nexus 7 (2012)?  Being that it's been sitting idle in my bag for just under a year with an occasional here and there "wake" I'm much more along the lines of I don't care.  Every time I hold my 2012 Nexus 7, there's complete apathy but with my 2012 iPad mini, I'm overcome with warmth.

I also love his second footnote with an emphasis on the last sentence.

I offered to give my Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire to Betaworks in the Instapaper acquisition, but they had so many of both sitting around already that they declined. Tech companies with mobile apps can practically tile walls with outdated Android devices. They’re the new AOL CDs.

Playing Offense and Defense

Farhad Manjoo on the iPad mini.

Launching the iPad mini may be purely a reactive, defensive move for Apple. But when you’re as big as Apple is now, you can play offense and defense at the same time.

I whole heartedly believed that the 7" market was going to fail but with the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire's selling at $199, those devices captured an audience. Heck, I even bought the Nexus 7 but I'll admit, it'll be up for sale when my iPad mini comes in. Is the $129 premium worth the ecosystem of apps to you?