Google Nexus 10 Vs Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1

Much before the web search giant unveiled its 10in Nexus tablet, Samsung announced its Galaxy Tab 2 series tablets including a 7in and a 10in version at last year's Mobile World Congress event. The Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 and the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 share several features including Samsung Apps, Samsung Hubs, Samsung TouchWiz and All Share Play.

A look at how the Google Nexus 10 stacks up against Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1:

Nexus 10 vs Tab 2 10.1: Display

Google's newest Nexus 10 features a 10.055in 'WQXGA True RGB Real Stripe PLS display,' which is covered by Corning Gorilla Glass 2.

The tablet carries screen resolution measuring 1600 x 2560 pixels with pixel density at 300 pixels per inch (ppi). The resolution as well as the pixel density of the Nexus 10 are higher than Apple's fourth generation iPad featuring a Retina display (1536 x 2048 pixels, 264ppi) with Google boasting its Nexus tablet has the world's highest resolution tablet display. With more than four million pixels, the Nexus 10 promises clear and vivid viewing.

Samsung's Galaxy tablet features a 10.1in PLS TFT display covered with Gorilla Glass.

The screen resolution and pixel density of the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 are similar to those of the original Galaxy Tab 10.1, at 800 x 1280 pixels and 149ppi. Although the resolution and pixel density of the Tab 2 10.1 neither match the high resolution Nexus 10 nor with the Retina display, the device offers a viewing angle that is wide enough, suggests a review by Engadget.

Nexus 10 vs Tab 2 10.1: Dimensions

The Nexus 10 is slightly wider and thinner, having a thickness of 8.9mm, compared to the Galaxy tablet. As far as the weight is concerned, both the Wi-Fi (581g) and 3G (583g) versions of the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 are lighter than the Nexus 10 (603g).

Nexus 10: 263.9 x 177.6 x 8.9mm

Tab 2 10.1: 256.7 x 175.3 x 9.7mm

Nexus 10 vs Tab 2 10.1: Operating System

The Nexus 10 was first shipped with Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). The latest software version of Jelly Bean bundles several goodies such as the camera app called Photo Sphere, Gesture Typing (a feature that allows users to glide fingers over the letters they want to type on the keyboard while increasing the typing speed), Daydream, enhanced Google Now, Google Search and Android Beam. The Android 4.2 adds support for wireless display allowing users to share movies, YouTube videos and other videos and images on their TVs.

A few bugs, including the missing month of December in the People app, were found in the Android 4.2. Google released an incremental software update (Android 4.2.1 JOP40D) for its Nexus devices fixing bug issues found in the previous build.

The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 was launched with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) software but Samsung recently released the Android 4.1.1 upgrade for the international Wi-Fi version of the device. The company is yet to come out with details on Android 4.2 rollout for the Galaxy tablet.

Nexus 10 vs Tab 2 10.1: Processor

The Nexus 10 uses Exynos 5250 chip featuring a dual-core Cortex-A15 processor with each core running at clock speeds up to 1.7GHz, paired with Mali-T604 graphics unit.

A range of CPU and GPU benchmark tests conducted by AnadTech reveals that the Nexus 10 indeed delivers faster performance as well as better graphics capability.

The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, in contrast, uses a Texas Instruments (TI) OMAP 4430 chip featuring a dual-core Cortex-A9 processor clocked at 1GHz, and paired with PowerVR SGX540 graphics unit. Some benchmark tests for the Tab 2 10.1 show that the device performed fairly well while beating its predecessor (first Tab 10.1) in the majority of the tests.

The Nexus 10 has 2GB of RAM as opposed to 1GB of RAM in the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1.

Nexus 10 vs Tab 2 10.1: Camera

The Nexus 10 has a five megapixel rear camera with technologies including auto-focus, LED flash, geo-tagging, touch-focus and face detection. The camera is also capable of recording 1080p video at 30 frames per second (fps). The tablet has a 1.9 megapixel front-camera which allows users to video chat with up to nine friends at once with Google+ Hangouts functionality.

The Tab 2 10.1's primary camera is of slightly less resolution compared to the Nexus 10's, at three megapixel, which can capture 720p video. The device has a VGA quality secondary camera, designed for video calling.

Nexus 10 vs Tab 2 10.1: Connectivity

The Nexus 10 offers 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi direct, DLNA, Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP and dual-side NFC. The tablet carries advanced MIMO Wi-Fi technology which reportedly offers web browsing speed up to 4x faster than normal Wi-Fi.

The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 also offers Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP. It supports data speed HSDPA up to 21Mbps and HSUPA up to 5.76Mbps. The Galaxy tablet is not NFC enabled like the Nexus 10.

Nexus 10 vs Tab 2 10.1: Storage

Both the Nexus 10 and Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 are available in two storage variants: 16GB and 32GB. The key difference is the Tab 2 10.1 supports microSD card for additional storage space whereas the Nexus 10 lacks in the storage functionality.

Nexus 10 vs Tab 2 10.1: Battery

The Nexus 10's battery stores 2000mAh more power compared to the battery of Tab 2 10.1 which uses a 7000mAh battery.

The Nexus 10, as claimed by Google, provides up to nine hours of video playback and more than 500 hours of standby time. The Tab 2 10.1 reportedly delivers talk time up to 10 hours and standby up to 2000 hours.

Nexus 10 vs Tab 2 10.1: Price

The 16GB Nexus 10 (priced at £319 Google Play Store) is approximately £40 costlier than the Wi-Fi Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 with similar storage capacity which is available at £279.