Please name one company that has consistently flawless releases with no bugs? I won't both holding my breath, because the fact of the matter is that bugs always creep in and the mark of a great company is its ability to rapidly respond to its customers, which is what Google has done. In less than 30 days they fixed this software problem and are rolling out to its customers a fix.
Their stock hasn't suffered and the tech punditsphere isn't lambasting them so I am not sure where you came up with the "hurting sales/rep" line. Sounds like you are butthurt because your tablet suffered from a bug. I am sure Google is sorry that this happened to you, but as I said they have rolled out a fix.
If it had been a Samsung tablet you would be waiting for a fix five months from now and if it was an Apple bug first they would have denied it, then issued a fix complete with a snarky remark about "not holding it right".
Orwelian84 - In less than 30 days they fixed this software problem and are rolling out to its customers a fix.
Here I and all the rest of the other 2012 Nexus 7 owners are, with this multi touch issue, We have been trying everything, posting on Google's forums as well as androids, talking to support and even replacing products for OVER a year, to get this issue resolved or even acknowledged.
It took the media interest and possible loss of sales of a "new tablet" for them to put resources into action to fix the issue.
I love my Nexus7 (Despite the ongoing Bluetooth audio connection issues (which you won't hear about unless someone with a 2013 one has media clout)) and I expect bugs, but you really should understand the time frames involved before making a comment about 30day fix's
This post is about the 2013 version, and so far as I know, and all the reviews I have read, the issues you are describing with the 2012 version were much less widespread...e.g normal problems in the supply chain and not a specific bug in a significant proportion of the tablets shipped.
I highly doubt the "rest of" the 2012 owners had the problems you are describing because there would have been media coverage and the 2012 tablet was almost universally acclaimed as the best tablet money could buy.
And again I was posting a comment on a thread about an update to a brand new tablet, not last years version. I made no claims about the 2012 version and again so far as I know your experience with it is in no way generalizable to the whole.
First of all, you assumed the fix even worked (many are still reporting the issue despite the "fix" so they have yet to actually fix it in a timely manner). Second of all, Consumer Reports has said not to buy the Nexus 7 2013 tablet until they've addressed the multitude of issues with the 2013 version (again, which they haven't done yet fully) so I'm not sure how you can claim that there's been no reputation damage whatsoever. The Verge also has an article that not only outlines all the bugs of the current release but also of the 2012 release, many of them still unfixed as Transmitthis states. And I disagree with you. It's perfectly reasonable to question a company's commitment to support by their behavior with past products. It was YOU who made the generalized statement, "the mark of a great company is its ability to rapidly respond to its customers, which is what Google has done." He was bringing up a perfectly valid point, that just because they addressed an issue this time, doesn't make the company wonderful based on their past behavior...If someone slapped you every day last week but today they bought you an ice cream sandwich, it doesn't make them a nice guy either...if google releases one timely fix but fails to address numerous past problems, it doesn't make them a great company.
Then you summarily discount that his claims that there are issues with the original nexus 7 and even a cursory search on google itself brings up quite a number of people with complaints about the 2012 nexus 7.
But the most egregious thing you said is that the 2012 issues were less widespread and therefore normal problems in the supply chain. You have no basis or evidence to support that claim other than your survey of, what I'm sure, was the entire internet.
While I understand that there are always a few defective products that slip by, robust QC is supposed to catch a good deal of them. Something so basic as a number of consumers complaining that the device would not reliably turning on, or the casing coming loose (2012 version) or a touchscreen not correctly registering touches on a large percentage of devices (2013) is a QC failure, plain and simple. If you want to apologize for Google and Asus go right ahead, but basic functionality should be robustly tested and wasn't two devices in a row.
And look around more closely, neither then nor now is it just one or two people with the complaints.
Quite. I own many Android devices of various shapes and sizes and not one of them would be free from major bugs were it not for the hobbyist development community. I don't know of any modern, complex piece of technology that's released sans-bugs these days. At least Google not only bother to fix them, but do so in a timely manner.
The "not holding it right" comment was based on rumour, not fact, from the late Steve Jobs in June 2010 (that's right, over 3 years ago). Despite the story of the supposed email/tweet/text message, no-one was ever able to find evidence it was ever said and most concluded later that it was probably fabricated for whatever reason at the time. Using such remarks invalidates much of what you might sensibly have said, whether that was your intention or not!
Nice, I haven't even opened mine cause I've been away... Guess I might try updating it after rooted to see if root access survives (I'm not replacing the bootloader, just loading TWRP thru ADB after unlocking, precisely because I'd rather get Google's OTAs directly/immediately).
I seem to recall reading of a similar issue with another phone or tablet in the past, had something to do with the way capacitive displays work and the way the particular device was built.
I just updated to JSS15Q and definitely have a single touch problem on my 2013 Nexus 7. I felt like there may have been a touch issue before the update, but I can confirm that JSS15Q did not fix it and may have made it worse. I fired up Angry Birds and when I pull a bird back and it randomly launches (pretty often, like 2/3 birds) without me releasing a finger. Also, when I scroll on websites it will randomly zoom in and out as if it registered a ghost click. Running YAMTT reveals both single touch inconsistency and ghost clicks during single touch. Just a guess, but I think JSS15Q messed with touch sensitivity settings and exposed some issues with my unit. There's plenty of posts on Google groups, XDA, and Android Police that reveal many people having the same problem.
It's funny how he makes a reference to 1984 and yet is the first person to defend a corporation's defective product, attack individual people claiming that there may actually be issues with it, and displays a lack of skepticism to anything that doesn't fit his "google is god" mindset. After all...Ignorance is strength...
Hate to sound polyanna but i don't think this is a gripes-only forum, is it? I just want to say that I got my N7 2 on July 30 and have used it extensively every day. It has performed flawlessly (with one fairly rare issue, below) and has never had the problems most commonly discussed, including here. Updating to the newest build has not changed the - already fine - performance in any discernible way.
The only problem I experience about 5% of the time is a touch not registering on a web page - though never have this problem within an app or native screen. I've begun to wonder how much this may be related to the web page programming or the browser in use (I seem to vacillate among 4!) or maybe a combination of the two. I have at times found the same web page to fail to respond to touch-clicks in other browsers though at times it worked fine on the new browser, and still failed upon return to the original browser. I'm not sure this is any worse than mouse clicks on a pc browser. In any event, it does somewhat agree with far more severe problems with unresponsive screen clicks, but it doesn't happen often enough or lack quick easy workarounds to rise to the level of a "problem."
As so many identical complaints can't be wrong, QC would appear to be the cause, though I don't know how this explains the large number of 100% successes with the late August update. I think of QC as being a hardware issue, not software. Asus has a very mixed track record on QC. One its most outstanding products, the Zenbook UX31A ultrabook experienced return rates/one star reviews from about 1/3 of all customers for the first year of that model's life. Still, over 50% found it to be flawless from day one.
My point: it seems I was lucky with my N7 2 and while that pleases me, luck should not be required to get a perfect product the first time at least 90% of the time.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
18 Comments
Back to Article
noeldillabough - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
Very nice to see they're updating, I'll wait for the OTA.dyc4ha - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
An undeniable advantage of a Nexus device, timely updateswintermute000 - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link
Bzzzt wrong, this fixes glaring issues that should have been caught in round 1 of QA.... goog really dropped the ball on this one.Nice to have a fix (yes mine's affected by the multitouch bug) but really sloppy and hurting sales/rep.
Orwelian84 - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link
Please name one company that has consistently flawless releases with no bugs? I won't both holding my breath, because the fact of the matter is that bugs always creep in and the mark of a great company is its ability to rapidly respond to its customers, which is what Google has done. In less than 30 days they fixed this software problem and are rolling out to its customers a fix.Their stock hasn't suffered and the tech punditsphere isn't lambasting them so I am not sure where you came up with the "hurting sales/rep" line. Sounds like you are butthurt because your tablet suffered from a bug. I am sure Google is sorry that this happened to you, but as I said they have rolled out a fix.
If it had been a Samsung tablet you would be waiting for a fix five months from now and if it was an Apple bug first they would have denied it, then issued a fix complete with a snarky remark about "not holding it right".
Transmitthis14 - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link
Orwelian84 - In less than 30 days they fixed this software problem and are rolling out to its customers a fix.Here I and all the rest of the other 2012 Nexus 7 owners are, with this multi touch issue,
We have been trying everything, posting on Google's forums as well as androids, talking to support and even replacing products for OVER a year, to get this issue resolved or even acknowledged.
It took the media interest and possible loss of sales of a "new tablet" for them to put resources into action to fix the issue.
I love my Nexus7 (Despite the ongoing Bluetooth audio connection issues (which you won't hear about unless someone with a 2013 one has media clout)) and I expect bugs, but you really should understand the time frames involved before making a comment about 30day fix's
Orwelian84 - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link
This post is about the 2013 version, and so far as I know, and all the reviews I have read, the issues you are describing with the 2012 version were much less widespread...e.g normal problems in the supply chain and not a specific bug in a significant proportion of the tablets shipped.I highly doubt the "rest of" the 2012 owners had the problems you are describing because there would have been media coverage and the 2012 tablet was almost universally acclaimed as the best tablet money could buy.
And again I was posting a comment on a thread about an update to a brand new tablet, not last years version. I made no claims about the 2012 version and again so far as I know your experience with it is in no way generalizable to the whole.
misterv - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
First of all, you assumed the fix even worked (many are still reporting the issue despite the "fix" so they have yet to actually fix it in a timely manner). Second of all, Consumer Reports has said not to buy the Nexus 7 2013 tablet until they've addressed the multitude of issues with the 2013 version (again, which they haven't done yet fully) so I'm not sure how you can claim that there's been no reputation damage whatsoever. The Verge also has an article that not only outlines all the bugs of the current release but also of the 2012 release, many of them still unfixed as Transmitthis states. And I disagree with you. It's perfectly reasonable to question a company's commitment to support by their behavior with past products. It was YOU who made the generalized statement, "the mark of a great company is its ability to rapidly respond to its customers, which is what Google has done." He was bringing up a perfectly valid point, that just because they addressed an issue this time, doesn't make the company wonderful based on their past behavior...If someone slapped you every day last week but today they bought you an ice cream sandwich, it doesn't make them a nice guy either...if google releases one timely fix but fails to address numerous past problems, it doesn't make them a great company.Then you summarily discount that his claims that there are issues with the original nexus 7 and even a cursory search on google itself brings up quite a number of people with complaints about the 2012 nexus 7.
But the most egregious thing you said is that the 2012 issues were less widespread and therefore normal problems in the supply chain. You have no basis or evidence to support that claim other than your survey of, what I'm sure, was the entire internet.
While I understand that there are always a few defective products that slip by, robust QC is supposed to catch a good deal of them. Something so basic as a number of consumers complaining that the device would not reliably turning on, or the casing coming loose (2012 version) or a touchscreen not correctly registering touches on a large percentage of devices (2013) is a QC failure, plain and simple. If you want to apologize for Google and Asus go right ahead, but basic functionality should be robustly tested and wasn't two devices in a row.
And look around more closely, neither then nor now is it just one or two people with the complaints.
Azurael - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link
Quite. I own many Android devices of various shapes and sizes and not one of them would be free from major bugs were it not for the hobbyist development community. I don't know of any modern, complex piece of technology that's released sans-bugs these days. At least Google not only bother to fix them, but do so in a timely manner.Rob Sims - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
The "not holding it right" comment was based on rumour, not fact, from the late Steve Jobs in June 2010 (that's right, over 3 years ago). Despite the story of the supposed email/tweet/text message, no-one was ever able to find evidence it was ever said and most concluded later that it was probably fabricated for whatever reason at the time. Using such remarks invalidates much of what you might sensibly have said, whether that was your intention or not!Impulses - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link
Nice, I haven't even opened mine cause I've been away... Guess I might try updating it after rooted to see if root access survives (I'm not replacing the bootloader, just loading TWRP thru ADB after unlocking, precisely because I'd rather get Google's OTAs directly/immediately).flashbacck - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link
Bleh. A number of people are reporting (and a video on youtube) showing multitouch is still broken if you set the tablet down.Impulses - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link
I seem to recall reading of a similar issue with another phone or tablet in the past, had something to do with the way capacitive displays work and the way the particular device was built.Davidjan - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link
Cool! it supports to add storage with http://goo.gl/U6IyYcaleblloyd - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link
I just updated to JSS15Q and definitely have a single touch problem on my 2013 Nexus 7. I felt like there may have been a touch issue before the update, but I can confirm that JSS15Q did not fix it and may have made it worse. I fired up Angry Birds and when I pull a bird back and it randomly launches (pretty often, like 2/3 birds) without me releasing a finger. Also, when I scroll on websites it will randomly zoom in and out as if it registered a ghost click. Running YAMTT reveals both single touch inconsistency and ghost clicks during single touch. Just a guess, but I think JSS15Q messed with touch sensitivity settings and exposed some issues with my unit. There's plenty of posts on Google groups, XDA, and Android Police that reveal many people having the same problem.Nexus 7 2013 - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/mob...Update fixes some, has no effect on others, makes it worse on many.
Check out the above link to Google's own forum where you can follow the story as it unfolds.
Not pretty at all.....
wintermute000 - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link
nah, according to orwellian1984 they're all just 'butthurt'misterv - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
It's funny how he makes a reference to 1984 and yet is the first person to defend a corporation's defective product, attack individual people claiming that there may actually be issues with it, and displays a lack of skepticism to anything that doesn't fit his "google is god" mindset. After all...Ignorance is strength...Jeff Bellin - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
Hate to sound polyanna but i don't think this is a gripes-only forum, is it? I just want to say that I got my N7 2 on July 30 and have used it extensively every day. It has performed flawlessly (with one fairly rare issue, below) and has never had the problems most commonly discussed, including here. Updating to the newest build has not changed the - already fine - performance in any discernible way.The only problem I experience about 5% of the time is a touch not registering on a web page - though never have this problem within an app or native screen. I've begun to wonder how much this may be related to the web page programming or the browser in use (I seem to vacillate among 4!) or maybe a combination of the two. I have at times found the same web page to fail to respond to touch-clicks in other browsers though at times it worked fine on the new browser, and still failed upon return to the original browser. I'm not sure this is any worse than mouse clicks on a pc browser. In any event, it does somewhat agree with far more severe problems with unresponsive screen clicks, but it doesn't happen often enough or lack quick easy workarounds to rise to the level of a "problem."
As so many identical complaints can't be wrong, QC would appear to be the cause, though I don't know how this explains the large number of 100% successes with the late August update. I think of QC as being a hardware issue, not software. Asus has a very mixed track record on QC. One its most outstanding products, the Zenbook UX31A ultrabook experienced return rates/one star reviews from about 1/3 of all customers for the first year of that model's life. Still, over 50% found it to be flawless from day one.
My point: it seems I was lucky with my N7 2 and while that pleases me, luck should not be required to get a perfect product the first time at least 90% of the time.