Nexus 10 Test: Follow Up Review

I've had my Nexus 10 for one month and I'm still happy with my decision to forgo the iPad and pick Google. For those of you who read my earlier review, you may remember my lamenting one app which I would really miss from the iPad, the USA Today.

Well, that problem has been solved! Last weekend, a new app was released by Gannett which has optimized their paper for the Nexus 10! I am now happy. Here are a couple of screenshots. Click to maximize any image. (note: I'm actually posting this entire article ... screenshots, links, and words via my Nexus 10. I have a basic $12 USB keyboard hooked up to my Nexus, and my finger is my mouse).

Scroll down for my thoughts on some other apps (photo management and browsing)

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USA Today

The main items these two screenshots show is the ease of navigation, and the "Day in Pictures". The high resolution photos for each section (news, sports, etc) category are my favorite USA Today feature.

Continuing my review of other apps on my Nexus 10, we now address photo management and browsing. Google's native photo album app, Galley, was a real disappointment. This photo app does not allow proper sorting of albums (for instance by alpha), and also displays every album you have ever shared via Picasa and other web services. A few quick searches via the web revealed may folks had installed QuickPic. This app solved my photo management problems. It not only provides for many sorts, including alpha, but also allows any album to be hidden. In my case, I actually turned off photo syncing to the web. Here are two screenshots from QuickPic followed by an explanation on how to turn off photo syncing to the web in case you only wish to display and cache what is actually on your Nexus 10.

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QuickPic

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Removing Online Photo Syncing via the Nexus 10

The default for the Nexus 10 for the Galley App (or any other photo mgmt app) is to display all your online folders. If you are like me, and you prefer to only display what is actually physically stored on your tablet, in this order take these actions (remember, you can view your online photos via your brower):

Via the Galley App Settings
- Turn Off Photo Sync (all relevant accounts)
- Turn Off Wifi Syn
Via the Nexus 10 Apps Settings for Google+
- Force "stop" for the app
- Delete all data

This should remove any online albums (cached data) and prevent them from reappearing. Here are two screenshots (click to maximize) of the relevant settings screens.

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My final big change over the past month has been to move away from Google's Chrome browser. Although I tested a number of different browsers, including Firefox, I settled upon Dolphin. The obvious question is Why? The answer is simplicity, speed and control. Please maximize any of the Dolphin screenshots for more information, but using Dolphin I was able to do the following: (important to me)

Configure the browser to always open all sites in a desktop PC mode. It seems all web sites with a mobile app or site insist you look at an advertisement for their app before connecting to their main web page; and if that connection forces you to their mobile site, much of their content is not present. Mobile sites are often optimized for smartphones with their smaller screens, not tablets. With Chrome and Firefox I had to configure the desktop mode each time I opened a new tab or browser session. It was a pain.
Dolphin allows me to insert a very small menu bar at the base of the screen. This makes the ability to access my bookmarks, settings and add-ins a breeze.
Dolphin was as fast as Chrome. With the iPad, Apple always made certain that only their native browser, Safari, had the best access to the device and thus would run faster. Thankfully, Google has made their Nexus a more open environment.

Here are my Dolphin screenshots ...

Bookmarks & Add-In Views

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