Newsletter 
Here we go with another Tablet war. This time we are putting the best of Google up against the not-so-great of Apple. It’s the Nexus 10 in one corner and the iPad Mini in the other. Now you know how we do these things. We compare their specs then talk about each device individually with its strengths and weaknesses and come out with a winner at the end. So let’s get this thing started with the specs.
Specifications
Google Nexus 10
The Nexus 10, built by Samsung to be Google’s high-end Nexus tablet for the fall of 2012. The device is made out of plastic, and it feels extremely light. It also has a nice and big ‘Nexus’ logo on the back similar to the Nexus 4. Also on the back you have the power, volume rocker, and 5MP camera. Then on the front you have speakers on the left and right of the display. Now the display. That thing is just gorgeous. It’s sporting a 2560×1600 resolution, which is just under 300PPI. Thanks to Samsung’s weird measurements. So what about the software? Well no Nexus is a Nexus without the latest version of Android. So the Nexus 10 is running Android 4.2. And because it’s a Nexus, its pure Google. So no Sense, Touchwiz, or any other manufacturer skin.
Pros:
- The display. 10-inch, 299PPI is just amazing. It almost makes the Droid DNA look like crap
- It’s so light. Yea its plastic, but it makes the device extremely light compared to other 10″ tablets
- Android 4.2; the latest and greatest of Google
- The Price; $399 for the 16GB and $499 for the 32GB. Can’t find a tablet like this for that price anywhere else.
Cons:
- High resolution; shouldn’t be a con but it is. Due to the high-resolution, a lot of apps are incompatible with the Nexus 10
- Storage; it’s not expandable. Which means you’re stuck with either 16 or 32GB of space
- Battery life; its said to only last about 7-8 hours of use. That’s not idle, but actual real world usage
Apple iPad Mini
Apple’s answer to the Nexus 7. Well they kinda bombed it. Basically they took an iPad 2, shrunk it down to 7.9 inches and is selling it for $329/$429/$529 depending on the storage you need. But I gotta say the design is different from the iPad 2 and 3. It looks more like the iPhone 5’s design we saw launch in October. But having a half of a gigabyte of RAM is just aweful. Then only a dual-core A5 processor?
Pros:
- Smaller size; for those that love the iPad, but wanted a smaller size this will be perfect for you
- Light-weight
- A newer design compared to the last few regular-sized iPad generations
Cons:
- iOS 6; do we really need to get into the Maps fiasco?
- Two-year old hardware
- Closed source software; using iOS makes you feel like you’re in kindergarten again
Winner…
Well without a doubt, it’s the Nexus 10. A close to 300 pixel-per-inch tablet with the latest version of Android and 2GB of RAM has to be the best out there. It actually has 4-times the amount of RAM as the iPad Mini, now that’s just down right sad. What’s even sadder is that both of these devices were announced with a couple of weeks of each other. So you can either spend $329 for the iPad Mini, with Maps that might get you killed, or spend $70 more and get a display that was made in 2012 and a tablet that has Google Maps that will get you where you want to go.
The choice is yours.