Of course the Nexus 7 put a dent in iPad sales. In Japan, for instance, the iPad dominated the tablet market, to something like 90%, if memory serves. When the Nexus 7 came out, though, it alone jumped up to over 40% of the tablet market.

It is OK to mix iOS and android devices. I’ve thought about replacing my carrier encumbered Galaxy Note with an iPhone. As long as it could do WiFi tethering better than what I have now, I could continue using my Nexus 7 and ThinkPad Tablet (1) as usual, er, better than usual. I’d probably go light on apps for the iPhone, but still, variety is nice. Don’t cheat yourself by not tasting what the competition has to offer.

You can also get a ruggedized, waterproof, used android phone for GPS tracking and bluetooth audio playing (using a micro-SD for local music storage). You can’t do this with an old iPhone. And you don’t have to buy any apps to make it work.

The New Nexus 7, though, has a 30% increase in its color reproduction over the original. It’s also brighter, much higher resolution, and has dual stereo speakers. Plus wireless charging, which is actually a very nice feature. You don’t realize it until you use it (like the MagSafe on the MBs).

As sales; the Nexus 7 made up approximately 10% of all Android tablet sales according to Google. Since Android has approximately ~50% tablet market share, that’s about 5% of all sales. I’m betting that the iPad Mini made up ~20% of all tablet sales? So still, quite a large margin. (iPad Mini sales are estimated by me from general memory, though).

If it’s anything better than the Nexus 10, it’ll be great. The Nexus 10 is an awesome display, although the colors are apparently not fantastic (Android 4.3 seems to improve colour reproduction, though). If the Nexus 7 is better, it is a solid display. You simply cannot discount a high resolution display like this one: it’s like jumping from the original iPad to the retina iPad. It’s an insane improvement. Then again, personal preference does tie in and I cannot ignore the near-perfect colour representation on the iPad and iPad Mini. But this big of a jump in resolution is just so much better than better colors, at least for me.

Not that the iPad Mini isn’t a solid tablet, but it’s still a first-generation product. The Nexus 7 is simply more mature. The build on the Mini is absolutely fantastic, one of the best out there, but again —all reports for the new Nexus 7 say that it’s build quality is much better than its predecessor. Plus, the SoC is multiple times more powerful, and the storage is faster, to boot!

I look forward to what Apple puts forward next, but even CNET agrees that the Nexus 7 is the best small tablet out there. Until the new Mini!

(side-note: I don’t plan on getting the new Nexus 7. I already have other devices, and my 10″ tablet suits my needs fine at the moment.).

Why isn’t it a good screen?

As for a Retina Mini, I don’t think it is a big concern. The original Nexus 7 sold descent numbers, but didn’t even put a dent in the iPad’s sales. This one won’t either. Apple needs to make sure the battery life, size, and weight are right before that release a new model.