Nexus 7 Tips And Tricks(Third & Final Episode)

 Get the best games

The Nexus 7 is equipped with the Nvidia Tegra 3 SoC. This chip can push pixels around like no one’s business, and many developers code games especially for this Tegra. You can get some of the best games on Android with the Nexus 7,such as:

Dead Trigger: Everyone likes shooting a few zombies,right? In Dead Trigger, you’ll get to take on a huge number of the undead while completing various survival missions. The graphics and controls are great. You can really tell this game was designed for Tegra chips by how incredible the effects are. Dead Trigger is free within-app purchases.

Puddle THD: This title uses the power of the Tegra 3 to generate some really awesome fluid physics. In Puddle THD you use the device’s accelerometer to guide various fluids through a level, avoiding various dangers unique to each fluid. Because the Nexus 7 is light and its smaller frame is easier to hold, accelerometer control works very well in this game. Puddle THD is $4.99, but it’s definitely worth it.

Osmos HD: While Osmos HD is not designed specifically for Tegra 3, it still looks and performs great on the Nexus 7. In Osmos, you maneuver your glowing mote around the screen absorbing smaller motes and increasing your strength. You have to watch your momentum and not overcompensate -- you have to actually eject some of your mass to move. This game is both beautiful and challenging. It will run you $2.99 in the Play Store.

Sprinkle: Sprinkle was designed to run on Tegra 2, but it was later updated to work on other chips. On the Tegra 3, though, it really shines. In Sprinkle, you have to put out the flames threatening the good alien people of Titan. You do this with a water spraying rig and a good grasp of physics. You’ll have to use the landscape to your advantage in this game in order to get all the fires put out. This game will run you $0.99 -- well worth it.

Shadowgun THD: Even though Shadowgun is a year old, it’s still one of the best shooting experiences on Android. This is a third-person game, and it has solid dual-stick controls. Shadowgun relies on a cover system, and clever enemy UI to hold your interest. The Tegra version has amazing graphics with lots of shadows, textures, and particle physics not available in the non-Tegra edition. Shadowgun THD costs $4.99 in Google Play.

 Design your perfect home screens

You’ve got five home screens to fill up with apps and widgets, but Jelly Bean also introduces some cool new features. In general, you should try to segregate things by use. Consider having a screen of entertainment apps, a screen of news content, a screen of social content, a screen of settings, and so on.

When you press the home button, the view will always snap back to the middle screen. You should put your most important data on that screen. Apps that you use often should go here, and a weather widget might be a good call too. Remember that you’ve got six spots on the launcher bar at the bottom that are visible on all the home screens. This should be reserved for the apps you open most.

You can build folders by dropping one app shortcut on top of another. These folders can also be added to your launcher bar at the bottom. If you end up with a lot of spots filled, you can still drag your apps and widgets around and the other items will move out of the way. This is a new feature in Jelly Bean, and it makes it much easier to organize things

Install ClockworkMod, Root, and backup

So it’s come to this? If you decided to unlock your bootloader earlier, you can take the next step and root your Nexus 7. This will allow you to play with some neat root-only apps, and even replace the operating system if you choose. This is a big step to take; it’s easier to break things, and you’ll have to do some work to return the device to “stock” for returns should something go wrong.

If you want to proceed, you’re going to need a few things. Get the current version of Clockwork Mod recovery for the Nexus 7; you’re probably going to want to Google around to find the most recent file. Place that .IMG file in the same directory you placed the Fastboot file earlier, and plug the Nexus 7 in with a USB cable.

Open the terminal/command prompt from the Android SDK directory containing Fastboot and ClockworkMod, and type “fastboot reboot-bootloader” (without the quotes). Once that’s done, enter the command “fastboot flash recovery CWM-grouper-recovery.img” making sure the Clockwork file name matches the one you downloaded.

Once the flash is done, type “fastboot reboot-bootloader” again. When the tablet boots back into recovery, you need to navigate (using the Nexus 7 recovery) to Mounts and Storage > Mount /system. Back on the command prompt on your computer, you have to enter the following commands, pressing enter after each one:

• adb shell
• cd /system
• mv recovery-from-boot.p recovery-from-boot.bak

These steps just makes sure ClockworkMod sticks and is not overwritten by the stock recovery. Reboot your device when this is done.

To actually root, you need to get the Jelly Bean superuser package. Again, you will want to make sure you get the most recent version from someplace like XDA or RootzWiki.   You will be looking for a .ZIP which you will then copy to your tablet’s internal storage. Again reboot into recovery, and navigate to “Install ZIP from SD Card.” Find the superuser ZIP and flash it. Then go back to the main menu, and reboot. Your Nexus 7 should now be rooted.

You can also boot into recovery at any time and do a backup, provided you have space. This is a good idea before you do any risky system modifications. If worse comes to worse, you can restore the backup from ClockworkMod.

Take some screenshots

 Maybe you have a high score to show off, or you just want everyone to see your masterful home screen design. You can take screenshots without any fuss by holding the power and volume down buttons down for a second.

All the images you take will go to the Gallery app for easy sharing. 

The Nexus 7 is a big deal for Android. Google appears to be selling the devices briskly, and the 7-inch form factor is a market the Nexus 7 can own at about 18.,000 INR. Anyone that was considering a Kindle Fire should immediately take a look at the Nexus 7. Even as just a reader and web browser, it isn’t a bad price. If you follow this guide, you’ll have a device that’s ready to take on any computing challenge you can throw at it.

Please share any tips if you have in the comments section below.

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