Dropped my Nexus 7.. twice!

Without intending to, I have tested the Nexus 7 with the 'drop test' and the saddest part is that I have done it twice! In both instances, it was a carpark with no soft landing than pure unyielding bitumen! Both times, the device was in the Poetic case that I was posting about a few weeks ago and I think if it wasn't for that case, I probably won't be keeping this blog any more!

This is when you can be happy that the Nexus7 doesn't start its active screen so close to the edge. As you can see, there is a pretty clear hairline fracture on the bottom right corner of the device. I didn't see this until I took off the Poetic case. So the question is, how is the device now? Everything seems to be working fine. There doesn't seem to be any effect on the device. However, my habits of bringing this along with me to shops to do research will now be revised. Both times, I was heading into a shopping centre when such damage was sustained.

Have you dropped your Nexus 7? Leave a comment below and perhaps a link to images of the damage sustained.The photos were taken by my Galaxy Nexus 

Controlling with a Bluetooth Keyboard

Controlling your NNexus using a bluetooth keyboard is just one of those little hacks we all enjoy having a go at even if it is just for the fun of it. Here are some shortcut keys you can remember when using your Nexus 7 with a bluetooth keyboard.

ESC = BACK
ALT+TAB+TAB = Switch between open programs like in PC
ALT+SHIFT+TAB = Go back switching between programs
Mail Button = Starts program launcher for Email
ALT+ESC = Switch to home screen

In Chrome
CTRL+F = Find
And all the other shortcuts for Chrome in your usual browser

Feel free to post more that you discover and find useful.

How to get Jelly Bean 4.2 NOW (it works!)

Many of you especially here in Australia would have heard that the 4.2.0 update for the Nexus 7 is out but could not get the update. There is a little trick that will have you downloading the update over the air in two minutes. Just follow these instructions now! 

1. Go to Settings -> Apps -> All

2. Find Google Services Framework.

3. Tap on Force Stop.

4. Select Clear Data.

5. Head back to the Nexus 7′s Settings, go to About, and check for a System Update.

EDIT: Just installed the new update. When you reset your you may be concerned with the scren going blank. The first thing you need to do is go to Settings and change the Display, "Sleep" settings. You will notice that nothing is selected for the timeout for the screen. Choose a delay and if in doubt, I prefer to have the timeout at 1 minute. 

The keyboard now has swipe as we mentioned earlier. Does it mean faster typing. It sure does! 

The Google Now now has the automatic sensing of hotel and flight bookings however it picked up an email from the Mantra Hotels group advertising some specials and assumed that I was going to stay at the Cavill Mantra Hotel in Surfers Paradise. 

Swiping down from the top right corner where the notification bar is will give you a shortcut to do a few useful things

• Adjust brightness
• Go to Settings
• Turn on / off Auto-rorate
• Go straight to the Battery settings.
• Turn on Aeroplane mode

Photo Spheres does not work on the Nexus7. Why would you anyway?

What have you noticed?

MORE Google Now Cards!

I am not sure whether you noticed but Google has been hard at work making the Google Now feature on your Nexus 7 even more interesting. Here are a few Google Now cards that are already available

• Birthday Card - On your birthday, it shows you interesting facts about your birthday. 
• Nearby Restaurants / Concerts - If something is going down nearby you will be told
• Upcoming Flights searched - if you happened to google a flight, it will appear as a card in Google Now. This will allow you to see which terminal the flight is arriving and whether the flight is delayed. This seems to also read your emails to find confirmation numbers for hotels and flights. 
• Packages arriving - if you receieved a notification in your email about a package on its way, Google now brings this information to your screen straight away.

• Statistics on your movements! This is somewhat scary. Google will track down where you have been and tell you how far you have traveled and even by what mode of transport it thinks you did this by. 
• Updates on news articles you read - Google detects that you were reading the news on the US elections. Is there a result? It will show you a card. 
• Stocks you watch - if you are using Google Finance, stocks that you have been monitoring will also show up on your home screen here. 
• Whilst traveling - Google now will give you cards about what the time is at home. It will also show you the currency conversion rate for where you are at compared to your home country. It may also show you public alerts but this is something still rolling out and probably only available in the USA.

So.. are you having fun yet??