Full Tablet UI Comes to Google Nexus 7 with a Build.Prop Hack

There’s not a doubt that the 7-inch Nexus 7 tablet unveiled by Google at Google I/O this year is an amazing device with its quad-core Tegra 3 processor and yet an affordable $199 price tag. However, one thing that disappointed many when the Nexus 7 was demonstrated was that the tablet was using the phone interface in some parts of the OS, such as the homescreen or the settings menu, instead of the tablet-optimized interface as seen on all Honeycomb 3.0/Ice Cream Sandwich running tablets.

However, as is always the case with those curious beings over at the XDA Developers forum, a quick and simple fix has been found for the problem. The fix includes changing the value of the LCD Density in the build.prop file in /system to a lower value, then rebooting the tablet. This hack is often used on phones to achieve a tablet interface, so it’s no wonder the same hack comes to the rescue to get a full tablet interface on the Nexus 7 tablet. The hack does require you to have a rooted Nexus 7, and the BuildProp Editor app available on the Play Store can be used to easily edit the build.prop file.

Of course, the Nexus 7 still hasn’t made its way to the market and is only in the possession of those that got it for free at Google I/O, but it’s nice to know that the hack exists already. Head to the official XDA page for more info and to get proper instructions on how to obtain that full tablet interface on the Nexus 7.

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