Nexus 10: How Google's New Tablet Stacks Up Against iPad, Surface - Wired

For the first time, Google has a big-tablet of its own in the Nexus 10. But can it dethrone Apple’s iPad? Photo: Ariel Zambelich/Wired

After years of 10-inch Android tablets that have failed to make a meaningful dent in Apple’s market-defining iPad sales, Google has taken matters into its own hands. With the new Nexus 10, the company behind the Android OS is finally pushing a large-sized tablet of its own, albeit one produced in collaboration with Samsung.

So now that the device has been unveiled, how will it stack up against the new fourth-gen iPad? And how about Microsoft’s Surface tablet, which seeks to add a bit of PC flavor to the tablet world? The competition won’t be easy, and Google knows that.

One major weakness for Android thus far has been a lack of tablet-optimized apps. To remedy this, Google is making a major push to get more of these apps from developers. But just how much the dev community is listening remains to be seen. Microsoft’s Windows 8 RT operating system has even fewer tablet-optimized apps. Future versions of the Surface tablet will be able to run traditional PC apps, but it’s unclear whether or not consumers want a keyboard-and-mouse desktop experience on a touch-friendly tablet. Regardless, for now, iOS still clearly dominates in terms of number of tablet-specific apps.

We got our hands on the Nexus 10 earlier today, and there is plenty of testing to be done before our full review. In the meantime, check out the main spec-sheet differences between the Nexus 10, the fourth-generation iPad and the Surface below to see how these tablets stack up against one another.

• Google Nexus 10
• Apple iPad (4th gen)
• Microsoft Surface RT

• Price and Storage
• $400 16GB, $500 32GB
• $500 16GB, $600 32GB, $700 64GB
• $500 32GB, $600 32GB with touch cover, $700 64GB with touch cover

• Availability
• Nov. 13
• Now
• Now

• Operating System
• Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
• iOS 6
• Windows 8 RT

• Dimensions and Weight
• 10.4 x 6.9 x 0.35 inches, 1.33 lbs
• 9.5 x 7.31 x 0.37 inches, 1.44 lbs
• 10.81 x 6.77 x 0.37 inches, 1.5 lbs

• Screen Size
• 10.06 inches
• 9.7 inches
• 10.6 inches

• Screen Resolution
• 2560 x 1600 pixel, 330 ppi
• 2048 x 1536 pixel, 264 ppi
• 1366 x 768 pixel, 148 ppi

• Speakers
• Dual, Stereo
• Single, Mono
• Dual, Stereo

• Average Battery Life
• 10 hours
• 10 hours
• 10 hours

• Processor
• 1.7 Ghz Samsung Exynos dual core
• 1.5 Ghz A6X dual core
• 1.5 Ghz Nvidia Tegra 3 quad core

• RAM
• 2GB
• 1GB
• 2GB

• Expandable Storage
• None
• None
• MicroSDXC card slot

• Cameras
• Back: 5MP photo/1080p video, with LED flash; Front: 1.9MP photo/720p video
• Back: 4MP photo/720p video; Front: 1.2MP photo/VGA video
• Microsoft hasn’t yet said what the photo resolution of the Surface’s cameras are, but both shoot 720p video

• NFC
• Yes (front and back)
• No
• No