Google Nexus 7 (2012) VS HP Slate7 Extreme Specs Comparison

Not many people know that, despite having fast and smooth performance, Google Nexus 7 – the 2012 edition - apparently is not that great and powerful especially after a few months of using that tablet.

(Google Nexus 7 (2012) VS HP Slate7 Extreme Specs Comparison)

So according to many of its users, Google Nexus 7 suddenly became really laggy and buggy when users kept pumping a lot of contents on its internal storage.

Many argued about the quality of its flash storage is the culprit of that problem, probably given its low price point ($199 at its first launch).

But apart from that, i think Google Nexus 7 is still a hot affordable tablet, of course in the days back in 2012.

I mean, it has a powerful Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 12-core GPU, 720p HD display and buttery smooth performance.


And this is the reason why today I’m still interested to bring up this tablet into my next comparison review.

Meanwhile, the opponent for this Google’s tablet is coming from a company mostly known for its printer and computer-related products, HP.

And one of HP’s tablets that has been my favorite (even until now) is definitely HP Slate7 Extreme.

Its Tegra 4 processor is actually not the only one that makes me impressed a lot with this tablet, but I’m also a big fan of its stylus, its cameras, its design, its dual-front-speaker grilles and of course, its gaming performance.

Okay then, if you’re eager to know more about how these 2 devices fare against each other in this review, especially their gaming performances as well, then here you go, my comparison review between Google Nexus 7 and HP Slate7 Extreme.


Ever since Google introduced Google Nexus 7 to the world, many people especially tech geeks were really impressed especially at how smooth its performance and how great it was in handling 3D gaming.

However, that changed quite a bit ever since NVIDIA made its Tegra 4 processor official.

One of the tablets powered by this powerful chipset back then was HP Slate7 Extreme. And it is definitely a beast when it comes to playing games. In fact, it is a far more powerful performer than Google Nexus 7 (both 2012 and 2013 editions)

Talking about hardware and software, both of Google Nexus 7 and HP Slate7 Extreme actually have some in commons like 720p display, 1GB of RAM, NVIDIA homemade processor, stock Android OS and some other similar things.

However, if pitted side-by-side against each other, of course HP Slate7 Extreme is more superior here than Google’s tablet.

It has a far more powerful gaming performance, it has a great digital pen, it has better speaker quality (thanks to dual-front-speaker grills), it has a rear-facing camera (which takes great pictures by the way) and of course, there’s microSD card slot support for up to 32GB if users want to expand the storage of this device.

But the questions remain, with all of the great things found one both devices, the questions are:

Which one between Google Nexus 7 and HP Slate7 Extreme that is better for gaming?

Which one between these 2 tablets that has what it takes to be a great tablet in the whole aspect?

Is it worth it to buy HP Slate7 Extreme over Google Nexus 7 (2012)?

You’re gonna find out the answers of these questions at the end of this review. So be sure to read on.


When it comes to design, HP Slate7 Extreme is hugely inspired by NVIDIA’s homemade Tegra Note tablet.

And that can be clearly seen from the entire design of this device, which has dual-front speaker grilles and digital pen along with its slot on the rear side.

As a matter of fact, these 2 tablets are basically the same device because NVIDIA Tegra Note is actually the reference device that NVIDIA creates for other manufacturers if they want to make the same exact Tegra Note tablet but with their own branding.

Meanwhile, Google Nexus 7 is originally manufactured and assembled by Asus.

So it has that “Nexus” looking design that Google has been using on its Nexus line. There is also some textured pattern finish found all over its rear cover, making it really comfortable to hold, not as slippery as those tablets with glossy plastic finish.

Between HP Slate7 Extreme and Google Nexus 7 (2012), I think HP’s tablet is the clear winner here, when it comes to design.

And it’s mostly thanks to its dual-front speaker grills, which gives a better and louder sound quality to this device, compared to Google Nexus 7.

Not to mention, there’s also a specific slot for the digital pen provided on this tablet on the rear side.

So you can keep the stylus in its slot when you no longer need it anymore.

And last but not least, there’s “HP” logo on its back, which in my opinion really makes it look so cool and professional.

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Google Nexus 7 (2012)

Asus MemoPad 7 HD

Released in July 2012 7.0 inch LED-backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 800 x 1280 pixels, (~216 ppi pixel density) 1.2 MP front-facing camera Quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 CPU ULP GeForce GPU 1GB RAM Android OS 4.1 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to 4.4.2 Android KitKat 8/16GB/32GB Internal No microSD card slot Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n NFC Infrared No GPRS No EDGE No Radio No Java Non-removable Li-Ion 4325 mAh battery

No SIM Released July 2013 7.0 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 800 x 1280 pixels (~216 ppi pixel density) Quad-core Mediatek MT8125 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 CPU PowerVR SGX544 GPU 1 GB RAM Android OS, v4.2 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) microSD card slot for up to 32 GB Internal 16 GB 5 MP rear-facing camera with autofocus 1.2 MP front-facing camera No GPRS No EDGE Wi-Fi 802.11 No Radio GPS Java MIDP emulator Bluetooth USB Non-removable Li-Po battery

HP Slate7 Extreme is powered by Tegra 4 processor along with a staggering 72-core GPU, while Google Nexus 7 comes with an old-gen Tegra 3 quad-core processor with 12-core GPU.

So on paper, that already shows how powerful HP Slate7 Extreme really is when it comes hardware specs, compared to Google’s tablet.

And that’s true because HP Slate7 Extreme has a lot of things to offer than Google Nexus 7.

It has a decent 5MP rear-facing camera, microSD card slot, awesome digital pen/stylus, better sound quality, better design, better build quality and pretty much everything on this HP’s tablet is just so much even better than Google Nexus 7.

Impressively, you can grab this tablet for just $199 (but it's now cheaper to buy), which is the original price of Google Nexus 7 when it came out in 2012.

But even so, there are some great things to be liked from Google Nexus 7, like good gaming performance, smooth experience, complete Google apps and longer battery life than HP Slate7 Extreme.


Both HP Slate7 Extreme and Google Nexus 7 are sporting the same 720p resolution on their 7-inch displays. They have the same screen size, screen resolution and of course, pixel density.

So there’s not much to talk about when it comes to sharpness.

Both tablets have sharp looking screens and they are great for media-consumption purposes, like for reading books, watching HD movies, browsing the web or playing games.

The great thing is, thanks to this medium quality display, this really boosts a lot their overall performances, making them run smoother and faster, plus more efficient with the use of battery.


On the software side, I think it’s great to see that both HP Slate7 Extreme and Google Nexus 7 come pre-installed with pure stock Android UI out of the box.

Not only does this stock version make their performances much faster and smoother, but they're also not consuming a lot of power and memory as well.

So you can expect both of these devices to perform fast and smooth, with great solid battery life.

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Tegra processors have been well known to have great performance, especially for gaming. And Tegra 3 and Tegra 4 processors are no exception.

With these 2 chipsets, it’s not shocking if Google Nexus 7 (2012) and HP Slate7 Extreme are really powerful for playing games.

They handle Modern Combat 4, NOVA 3, GTA Vice City and Dead Trigger all smoothly in full highest graphics.

However, when pitted side-by-side against each other, of course HP Slate7 Extreme will come out as the winner here because its Tegra 4 processor along with its 72-core GPU is just far more powerful than Tegra 3 processor (12-core GPU) found inside Google Nexus 7.

And that can be clearly seen when both devices are thrown with some graphically-demanding games.

On Nexus 7, despite running in full graphics, Asphalt 8: Airborne apparently doesn’t perform so smoothly on this Google’s tablet, although still playable.

It goes the same with GTA San Andreas, which runs so laggy and not playable on Google Nexus 7 in full highest graphics.

This really contradicts with HP Slate7 Extreme.

Thanks to its Tegra 4 processor, both Asphalt 8: Airborne and GTA San Andreas run really smoothly even in full highest graphics.

The other thing that makes HP Slate7 Extreme a more ideal gaming tablet than Google Nexus 7 is its sound quality.

So with the dual-front speaker grilles found on the front side of the device, HP Slate7 Extreme amazingly is capable to deliver loud and clear sound quality, making the experience of playing games and watching movies more immersive and enjoyable to do than on Google Nexus 7.

So overall, I think HP Slate7 Extreme is a far better gaming tablet than Google Nexus 7, although Google’s tablet is still not too shabby at all for gaming.

However, it’s worth noting that Tegra 4 tablets (including HP Slate7 Extreme) usually have an overheating issue.

So if you use it intensively like for playing games or watching HD movies, the rear side of this tablet gets hotter and becomes uncomfortable to hold in long hours.

But I think this can be tackled by using an extra protection case/rubber case or lowering the clock speed of its processor (which requires rooting process and not recommended for non-tech-savvy users).


Too bad the 2012 edition of Google Nexus 7 is not equipped with a rear-facing camera, as opposed to HP Slate7 Extreme that has it on its back.

So it’s really obvious that HP Slate7 Extreme is the definite choice if you love photography.

The great thing is, according to many reviews, the 5MP rear-facing camera of HP Slate7 Extreme is capable to take some decent quality shots, even slo-mo videos.

Not to mention, thanks to its digital pen, you can also do a lot creative things with the stylus, like adding text or making funny mustache or beard on your face.


Google Nexus 7 may not have the rear-facing camera, however, in terms of battery life, this tablet is actually more efficient than HP Slate7 Extreme. It’s capable to last around 9 hours and 49 minutes, while HP Slate7 Extreme will give you around 315 minutes (or around 5 hours 15 minutes) for moderate use.

This is actually not too shocking given that HP Slate7 Extreme comes with Tegra 4 processor, which is more power-hungry than Tegra 3 processor inside Google Nexus 7.

So if you're type of power user, its battery life could drop drastically to probably just around 2 or 3 hours if you use it entirely for gaming without stopping.

But even so, I think HP Slate7 Extreme is still an ideal tablet either for gaming or watching movies.


So in conclusion, from all of aspects that i’ve reviewed on each of these 2 devices, I think HP Slate7 Extreme is definitely the clear winner here, in the whole aspect.

I mean, it has more powerful gaming performance, it has a digital pen (which according to many reviews, has great note-taking experience just like S-Pen on Samsung Note), it has microSD card slot, it has a 5MP rear-facing camera (which takes decent quality shots) and pretty much everything on this tablet is really superior compared to Google Nexus 7.

Besides, many users have experienced that Google Nexus 7 suddenly became laggy and buggy after a few months of use.

Many believed that its flash internal storage was the one to blame because its quality is not very good.

So I think it’s really easy to take the conclusion that HP Slate7 Extreme is just a far better tablet than Google Nexus 7, especially for gaming.

So to sum this up, I’ll try to answer some of the questions i’ve already asked above:

Which one between Google Nexus 7 and HP Slate7 Extreme that is better for gaming?

It’s definitely HP Slate7 Extreme. It has a more powerful Tegra 4 processor and it handles almost all heavy games perfectly.

But even so, Google Nexus 7 is also a pretty good gaming tablet though, as it handles games like Modern Combat 4, Dead Trigger, Horn, NOVA 3, GTA Vice City and Asphalt 8: Airborne perfectly iin full highest graphics.

But of course, if compared to HP Slate7 Extreme, no doubt that this HP's tablet is just far superior than Google Nexus 7.

Which one between these 2 tablets that has what it takes to be a great tablet in the whole aspect?

Again, it’s definitely HP Slate7 Extreme.

The reasons are: it has microSD card slot, it has a 5MP rear facing camera, it has a digital pen, it has better sound speaker quality, it has better build quality and pretty much everything about this HP’s tablet is just better than Google Nexus 7.

Is it worth it to buy HP Slate7 Extreme over Google Nexus 7 (2012)?

Yes, absolutely.


Google Nexus 7 (2012)

Pros:

• Regular software updates from Google
• Powerful gaming performance
• Super smooth experience with stock Android UI
• Great battery life
• Good build quality

Cons:

• NO microSD card slot
• NO rear-facing camera
• Some users experienced that this Nexus 7 tablet became laggy over the time especially when the internal storage is loaded with many files
• For today’s standards, it’s not so powerful anymore for playing heavy games

HP Slate7 Extreme

Pros:

• Extremely powerful for any graphics-related tasks and especially gaming
• Smooth performance thanks to stock Android UI
• Awesome stylus/pen called DirectStylus (that matches the quality of S-Pen on Samsung GALAXY Note
• Many great stylus-dedicated features like lasso, note app, etc
• Decent quality cameras
• Good sound quality thanks to dual-front-firing speaker grilles
• It has microSD card slot and a rear-facing camera (which Google Nexus 7 doesn't have it)

Cons:

• Most of Tegra 4 tablets are plagued with overheating issues
• No cellular support

Have any question? Leave your comment here!