Hasta La Gadget!

It would appear that amongst the software and hardware releases Google has detailed this week is their first giant iPad competitor in the Google Nexus 10. At first glance the differences might not be abundant to an everyday average user other than the obvious Android vs iOS and feel of each device. As it turns out though, these two tablets, for the first time, create a battle between the iPad and an Android-toting tablet made not just by a major manufacturer, but Google as well.

Google’s first full-sized Nexus tablet

Some might argue that it was the Motorola XOOM tablet that Google first gave their highest attention to as it was indeed presenting a very vanilla look at Android 3.0 Honeycomb (made for tablets specifically). This means that Motorola provided the hardware, sure, but it was Google that took care of the entirety of the software, with no additions from Motorola as would otherwise be standard. But because the name of the device was no Nexus, it never was truly a Nexus family device – not by today’s Nexus standards and expectations, anyway.

Here with the Nexus 10, Google and Samsung are coming in full force. Unlike the Motorola XOOM, this device is branded with Google first and foremost. Samsung certainly put their work on in the hardware, but this is Google’s show. This is the closest Google has gotten to having the same control over a full-sized tablet the way Apple does with the iPad.

Legal considerations

Samsung clearly had practice with the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and the Galaxy Note 10.1 given the form-factor here. It’d be silly to assume that Google didn’t take into account both that Samsung built the Galaxy Tab 10.1N to avoid Apple wrath (the 10.1N being the precursor to the 2) and that this move effectively worked. With a tried and true – and legal – design on the books, Google must have seen this as an opportunity to work Samsung’s ever-evolving design sensibilities into their own Nexus family.

AirPlay vs Wireless Display Mirroring with Miracast

One of the most interesting additions the Nexus 10 adds with Android 4.2 is wireless display mirroring with Miracast technology. This update will eventually be on all new Android devices as it comes standard with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean+. Have a peek at our SlashGear 101: How does Android 4.2 Jelly Bean wireless display mirroring work? guide to see what it all means. Basically it uses a wireless standard technology that’ll be working on many, many devices in the near future.

With the iPad you’ve got AirPlay support which is quite similar to what Miracast offers, and like Miracast, it’s limited to devices that are compatible with it specifically. At the moment there appears to be more adoption of AirPlay out there in the 3rd party device world than there does Miracast, but given the adoption and promises we’ve heard around Miracast over the past few months, we’re expecting it to take hold very, very fast.

Display

With this Nexus 10 device from Samsung, Google brings a warrior to the battle and hits Apple right where it hurts – directly in the display. Of course it’s going to be all up to the end user deciding which unit has a “better” display, but the facts are these:

10.055 inches at 2560 × 1600 pixel resolution for 300 ppi PLS
9.7 inches at 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution for 264 ppi IPS LED

Apple brands their display as “Retina-quality” while Google says they’ve got the “highest resolution on the planet.” Apple’s “Retina” qualification was created by Apple, of course, while Google’s claim goes this far: if you’re considering every display on the planet, there certainly are a handful of units (smartphones, each of them) that have a higher number of pixels per inch : but when you consider the fact that this tablet has more pixels overall at 300 PPI, it does indeed have the most. If you had several HTC J Butterfly smartphones merged into 10.055 inches of screen space, Google would be beaten – HTC’s smartphone monster has 440 PPI and indeed the sharpest panel.

PLS stands for Plane-to-Line Switching, and was created by Samsung to be the next generation after IPS. It’s also known as “Super PLS” and is supposed to cost less to produce while providing better image quality, viewing angles, and brightness than previous generations – of course we’ll just have to see about that when the device hits our review bench.

Size, System, Cameras

The iPad 4th gen is 7.3 x 9.5 x 0.37 inches and comes in at 1.44 or 1.46 pounds depending on if you’re working with 4G LTE or not. You’ve got the new Apple 9-pin dock Lightning connector on the iPad while you’re using iOS 6 and a battery that Apple says will last you 10 hours for video playback. The cameras you get on the iPad 4th gen are a 5 megapixel rear-facing shooter capable of 1080p video and a 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera for video chat.

The Google Nexus 10 by Samsung comes in at 1.33 pounds pounds (wi-fi only) and is 10.39 x 6.99 x 0.35 inches across the top, side, and thick. The Nexus 10 connect with standard microUSB and has a microHDMI port as well, works with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and Google says it’ll have 9 hours of video playback. The back-facing camera on the Nexus 10 is 5 megapixels strong with 1080p video capabilities while the front-facing camera is a 1.9 megapixel machine made for video chat as well. Both devices have Bluetooth 4.0 and wi-fi capabilities, while the iPad currently has versions on the market with 4G LTE capabilities as well.

Apple has boosted the processing capabilities of the iPad 4th gen over its predecessor with a new chipset by the name of A6X. This chip only exists in Apple products and has been detailed as Apple’s top of the line model surpassing even the iPhone 5′s chip. The Google Nexus 10 comes with the Samsung Exynos 5250 with dual-core A15 Eagle CPU and Quad-core ARM Mali-T604 GPU – that’s the same as the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook we reviewed – rather powerful indeed; though again, we’ll see once we bring on the full review

Both Apple and Google currently have smaller devices like these on the market as well, Google’s being the Nexus 7 (made by ASUS) and Apple’s being the iPad mini. Have a peek at them as well if these 10-inch tablets are too rich for you blood.

Cost

The iPad comes in many different variations, and now that the iPad 4th generation is out, there are also iPad 3rd gen units floating around out there in the wild without Apple to sell them directly. Thusly the following list must suffice:

$499 for 16GB
$599 for 32GB
$699 for 64GB

The iPad 2 is also in your local Apple store and its prices essentially match that of the Google Nexus 10. The specifications, on the other hand, are far less grand than either the Nexus 10 or the iPad 4th or even 3rd generation devices. The Google Nexus 10 is about to be for sale (or already is, depending on when you’re reading this), for the following prices.

$399 for 16GB
$499 for 32GB

Each of these units are wi-fi only, while it’s expected that mobile data connected iterations will be out in the future. Google just released the Nexus 7 with wireless data, so it’s likely that the Nexus 10 won’t be far behind. The iPad 4th gen has 4G LTE connectivity units out right now that are the same prices as listed above +$130 USD regardless of internal storage size.

Wrap-up

We’re not going to choose for you, of course – it’s up to you: but given the prices, the displays, the wireless technology, and of course the operating systems, it’ll have more to do with your preference than anything else. With these manufacturers creating the devices, it’s certainly not a question of hardware build quality – and with the software on both devices being evolved to the point they’re both at, it’s also not about which system is more mature. Stick around for our full review of the Google Nexus 10 in the near future and check out our full review of the iPad 3rd Gen right this minute – and of course we’ll have the 4th gen on the way as well.

Nexus 10 vs iPad 4th Gen is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Dealzmodo! If you’re looking for the cheapest full-sized iPad available, it’s not the iPad 2 which still costs $400 brand new. Instead, the best deal on an iPad is the third-generation iPad with Retina Display. You can get it for only $380. More »

Today Apple had an event that blasted forth with a collection of smaller, thinner, and much more powerful devices including the iPad mini. This event started with the massive sales of the iPod family as well as the iPhone 5, the new fastest selling phone in history. They moved on with iOS 6 adoption with a 200 million iOS devices mark for the ecosystem – that’s quick! UPDATE: Check our hands-on with the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, iMac 2012 refresh, and iPad mini now!

This event showed iBooks app updated to a new version with Continuous Scrolling for the page-turn-weary. The Appstore that Apple releases this app in has reached 35 billion downloads while the Apple Mac is mentioned as taking the top spots in both notebooks and desktops across the USA.

On that desktop note, the iMac mini 2012 edition was revealed with Core i5 processors inside and starting in at $599 USD. The MacBook Pro with Retina display line was given a new Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro to take on another size market, now the 2nd highest definition display holder in the notebook segment as well. The entire MacBook family was priced as well. The iMac was refreshed with prices starting at $1,299 and busting out with a brand new super-thin body. This update works with a brand new Fusion Drive, a bit of the ol’ fabulous new-age technology on the innards.

The iPad was next on the blocks, of course with a sales number of 100 million units since the beginning. The next generation iPad 4 (or iPad 4th gen) will be working with an updated Apple A6X chip. The whole iPad family will benefit from the update to iBooks Author for authors joining the fun club.

Then of course there’s the iPad mini. This unit will be coming out for $329 for its wi-fi edition and $459 for 4G. Apple went directly for Google’s throat once the iPad mini was revealed with a straight up Nexus 7 vs iPad mini all-out fight on stage, and a full list of iPad wireless carrier partners was revealed as well.

Stay tuned to our giant Apple portal for more news as it pops up, including hands-on action with most or all of the devices listed above!

Apple iPad mini event full round-up [UPDATE] is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve already heard rumors that Tuesday’s Apple event will include not only the fabled iPad Minis, but a refreshed version of the big guy, perhaps with new internals, and a lightning port. This maybe could be it, maybe. And who doesn’t love to speculate? More »

Now that Apple has announced that it will hold a special event on Tuesday, just about everyone believes that the show will be used to unveil the iPad Mini. That device, which has been rumored for months, will complement the current iPad and take on the Nexus 7 from Google and Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD.

As with every other Apple announcement, the excitement surrounding Tuesday’s event is palpable. Both Apple lovers and haters are wondering what the company will offer up, and chances are, many of those folks are getting their wallets ready to plunk down cash to preorder whatever it is the iPad Mini becomes.

I recently held impromptu discussions with iPad owners I know to see if they’ll be buying an iPad Mini. I figured that they wouldn’t, since they already own an iPad, but thought it was worth asking. The results of my informal survey were shocking, to say the least.

Nearly every person I spoke to, including those who bought an iPad just months ago, said that they would at least consider buying an iPad Mini. I was shocked. Why in the world would folks who own high-end iPads want to buy a cheaper, low-end iPad?

Surely thinking that it had something to do with my friend list, I surfed the Web to see if others in Apple forums held the same beliefs. Once again, I came across many folks who said that although they already own an iPad, they would likely buy the iPad Mini.

Those responses have led to me a simple question: how many tablets do we really need?

“Some said their kids constantly play with their expensive iPads, so a cheaper mini is worth it”

Admittedly, I understood some of the points the could-be buyers were making. A few respondents said that their children are constantly playing with their expensive iPads, and they’re concerned that more use might render it useless after a bad fall off the counter. To those folks, buying a cheaper iPad Mini for the kids is worth it.

Although that was the best reason I’ve heard, I was willing to accept that some folks like the idea of having a smaller, lighter iPad with them on the road, and then switch over to the bigger model at home. To those users, it’s about convenience. And as someone who enjoys convenience as much as the next guy, I can appreciate that.

But beyond those reasons, I can’t justify buying a smaller, underpowered iPad if I already own the larger model. What is the benefit? The device will ship with iOS 6 and its feature set will likely be sub-par compared to its bigger brother. Plus, it’ll cost at least a few hundred bucks, making the addition to the tablet family awfully pricey.

The way I see it, for the vast majority of customers, having a single iPad is just fine. The device is extremely capable and helps folks get work done without much fuss. To have another iPad handy for no other reason but to have it makes little sense.

It’s an amazing feat when a company can get customers to buy a product they don’t really need. But time and again, Apple has done it. And before long, Apple will be touting preorders or sales to current customers.

My hat’s off to you, Apple. If nothing else, you’re a capitalist inspiration.

How Many Tablets Do You Really Need? is written by Don Reisinger & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.