Google's new Nexus 7 tablet held up better than the iPad Mini and the original Nexus 7 in durability tests performed by Square Trade.
Square Trade, a provider of tablet and gadget warranties, performed drop, slide and dunk tests on all three 7-in. tablets, and then showed the results in a YouTube video.
Square Trade drop-tested Google's new Nexus 7 tablet against two rivals to see how it holds up.
The iPad Mini sustained the most damage to its cover and screen in a five-foot corner drop. The new Nexus 7 took some corner damage and a couple of screen scratches in the same drop, but was not damaged as severely as the iPad Mini. The drop left the original Nexus 7 with more damage than the new one.
In a slide test on a smooth-surfaced table, the iPad Mini slid completely off the desk after a short push, while both Nexus 7s stopped a couple of feet from the start of the push due to the matte and textured panels on the back case.
In the dunk test, only the new Nexus 7's audio continued working after a brief dunk in water. The iPad Mini lost audio even after a restart following the dunk, while the old Nexus 7 completely reset itself and didn't have audio, at least right away.
Square Trade provides a $49.99 warranty for two years for a new tablet in the $200 to $249.99 range.
A 16 GB version of the new Nexus 7 began selling last week for $229, while a 32 GB version costs $269, which would incur a $59.99 two-year warranty from Square Trade.
Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen, or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed . His email address is mhamblen@computerworld.com.