Is cheap memory killing off Google Nexus 7 units before their time?

The older the Google Nexus 7 tablet gets, the worse it runs according to a number of the tablet's owners who are complaining about things like a terribly long 10 second lag just to orient the tablet correctly. One owner of the tablet complains about problems including lagging in the browser, lagging when multitasking and having the device experience one crash and reboot per hour. The owner of that Google Nexus 7, which is built by ASUS, said, "I’m amazed at how quickly the Nexus 7 deteriorated."

Other users have complained about their Google Nexus 7 becoming a paperweight and some are having issues with other ASUS built tablets as well. Some blame Android for the problem. With that in mind, one suggestion for Google Nexus 7 owners is to download a utility app which will manually "zero out" installed memory on the tablet which is a 20 minute process on a 16GB device. That seemed to work for a Nexus 7 owner whose tablet started working again, until the lagging returned and once again the tablet became unresponsive.

Some are pointing their finger at the SSD memory on the slab, which is wearing out early. Unlike drives that move, SSD's wear down over time. And while higher quality Solid State Drives would last longer, the trade-off is a more expensive cost which would raise the price of the tablet. But that would go against the whole idea of the Google Nexus 7, which is to offer buyers a great tablet at a great price.

One Android app developer says that the problem with the Google Nexus 7 is a known "bug in Samsung's flash controller firmware." He says that this bug usually goes into effect once there is less than 3GB of storage remaining. When that happens, the tablet starts running slow, practically locking up the slate for a few seconds. An update sent out by Google for the Nexus 7, with Android 4.1.2, gives the tablet a way to avoid triggering the slow down.

Hearing about these problems might give ASUS and Google the incentive to speed up the oft-rumored refresh version of the Google Nexus 7, which would offer a higher resolution screen, a thinner bezel and possibly Android 4.3 on board. Recently, an ASUS tablet was spotted at the FCC wearing Android 4.3 and this could be the new version of the Google Nexus 7. If Google does offer a new version of the slate, let's hope that whatever is causing the early demise of the tablet is fixed.

If you're a Google Nexus 7 owner and you've noticed the tablet getting sluggish over time, let us know by dropping us a comment in the box below.

source:AppleInsider