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Google Nexus 10 Review: Is 2560x1600 High-Definition Enough?

Google Nexus 10 Review: Is 2560x1600 High-Definition Enough?
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Google's Nexus 10 enables a 2560x1600 resolution on a 10" display, and features a powerful Samsung SoC. Can the affordable tablet take down Apple's iPad through superior hardware and better value? We apply our benchmark suite to answer those questions.

We've had a lot of fun watching tablets evolve, starting as toys and slowly turning into devices we could actually imagine ditching our notebooks for. Interestingly, when there was only one real player in the space, Apple, we knew exactly what to do on our iPads. We'd tote them around with us as complements to the rest of our digital armada of smartphones and laptops. The tablet could keep the kids busy. It was better for Web browsing than a phone thanks to its big screen. And, for the same reason, it was great for watching video.

As the space started crowding with Android-, QNX-, webOS-, Windows RT-, and finally, Windows 8-based competition, the purpose of a tablet really started getting a lot more difficult to pin down. Today, the spectrum runs from glorified e-book reader to bona fide notebook replacement. We love having a ton of devices to choose from, without a doubt. But now more than ever, it's important to pick the right device for what you want to do, else you find yourself frustrated.

Nexus 10: Back To Basics

It was only recently that Apple deviated from its original trajectory with the iPad Mini (Apple iPad Mini Review: Our New Favourite Size, But...That Price?), shrinking its form factor in an apparent shot at Google's Nexus 7. Before that, it was making steady improvements to the iPad. The third-gen iteration introduced a 9.7" IPS screen with a resolution of 2048x1536, which works out to 264 pixels per inch. The company called its high-pixel-density display Retina.

Google's Nexus 10 returns fire with a larger 10" screen boasting an even higher 2560x1600 resolution (that's right, the same resolution we use to test high-end graphics cards on 30" panels). Its resulting pixel density (300 pixels per inch) is even higher than that of the third- and fourth-gen iPads.

Truly, the Nexus 10 is out to get Apple's incumbent tablet. It doesn't try to be the svelte little handheld at an incredible price that the Nexus 7 was. It doesn't try to be the productivity-oriented notebook alternative that the Surface attempts to pull off. Rather, the Nexus 10 gets us right back to where we started: an iPad competitor that evolves the content consumption concept by incorporating the latest internals with more screen space.

But Google doesn't just arm the Nexus 10 with better hardware. It also goes for the iPad's biggest vulnerability: its price. It costs £319 to get your foot in the door with a 16 GB Nexus 10. Meanwhile, Apple wants £400 for the same amount of memory.

If you're happy with the dimensions of a third-gen iPad, you'd be happy with the Nexus 10. Its larger screen naturally translates to more width (it's almost an inch wider, in fact), but it's also narrower and thinner, if only by a touch. Moreover, the Nexus 10 is lighter, and that's a more palpable attribute, we think.

Specifications
Length
Width
Height
Screen Size
Resolution
Aspect Ratio
Weight
Amazon Kindle Fire HD
7.6"
5.4"
0.41"
7"
1280x800
16:10
0.87 lb.
Apple iPad (3G)
9.5"7.31".37"9.7"
2048x1536
4:3
1.46 lb.
Apple iPad mini (4G)
7.9"
5.3"
0.28"
7.9"
1024x768
4:3
0.69 lb.
Google Nexus 7
7.8”4.7”0.41”7”1280x80016:100.75 lb.
Google Nexus 10
10.4"
7.0"
0.35"
10"
2560x1600
16:10
1.33 lb.
Motorola Xoom
9.8
6.6"
.5"
10.1"
1280x80016:10
1.5 lb.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
10.1"
6.9"
0.34"
10.1"
1280x80016:10
1.3 lb.


The Nexus 10 is well-built. The plastic case features a rubberized coating that resists fingerprints, and the material is thick enough that it doesn't give when you press on it. Many folks are going to prefer Apple's more industrial feel, but we've had plenty of issues with scratched-up enclosures, so that's not necessarily a universal winner, either.

We like the all-black scheme Google goes with, giving the Nexus 10 a business presence the Nexus 7 doesn't have.

There are very few physical connectors along the Nexus 10's edges. With that said, the ones Google chooses to expose are both valuable and standardized, which we certainly appreciate.

The top of the tablet hosts a volume rocker and power button. On the bottom, you'll find what Google calls its Magnetic Pogo pin charger. Although we don't have any accessories in-house that plug into it, rumour has it that a charger is coming with the ability to get the Nexus 10 back up to 100% battery capacity quicker than the micro-USB connector.

The left side of the Nexus 10 gives you the aforementioned micro-USB interface, along with a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The right side plays host to a Type D micro-HDMI connector. Unfortunately, Android still limits you to display mirroring. So, while we appreciate the ability to output to another screen, the utility of such an output is limited by the Nexus' operating environment. We're still hoping to see Google incorporate display extension support, similar to what Windows RT enables.

Nexus 10 Specifications
SoC
Samsung Exynos 5 Dual, Dual-core Cortex-A15 @ 1.7 GHz, Mali-T604 Graphics
Display
10.05" LCD, native 2560x1600 resolution
Camera
Rear: 5 MP with Flash, Front: 1.9 MP
Battery
33.75 Wh
Networking
802.11/b/g/n, 2.4 and 5 GHz bands; Bluetooth 4.0; Dual-side NFC
Memory
16 or 32 GB eMMC + 2 GB RAM
Sensors
Accelerometer, Barometer, Ambient Light, Gyroscope, GPS, and Compass
Physical Connectivity
Micro-USB, Micro-HDMI, 3.5 mm jack
Operating System
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
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  • 0 Hide
    tenshin111 , 5 February 2013 17:17
    I love it as it is and I'm going to get one soon. I'll never buy an iPad because I don't like Apple's policies and the whole App Store ecosystem. I prefer Android platform any day even though I have plenty of iDevices at work to play and work with.
  • 0 Hide
    swamprat , 5 February 2013 19:13
    The diagram showing the respective sizes doesn't tie up to the figures shown in the table on page 1 as far as I can see - 7.3" should be bigger than 7.0".
  • 0 Hide
    LePhuronn , 7 February 2013 04:21
    We may all debate and criticise Apple's marketing and pricing, but the quality of the Retina display is almost worth the premium, especially when compared to the Nexus 10. Google can cram all the hardcore tech they want into their tablet and undercut Apple's price, but it's all wasted if the thing you actually look at is sub-par.

    And that's something Apple always get right.

    I'd have no problem paying iPad money for the Nexus 10 if the display was iPad quality, because every other thing about is beats the shiny fruit.

    Once again, so close Google but no cigar.
  • 0 Hide
    patricksmash , 7 February 2013 18:41
    I hate Apple as much as the next man but there is no comparison to the Ipad4 here so the A6X has just been overlooked. I get the cheaper price with regards to screen real estate and better quality in some regions, however in terms of graphical benchmarking nothing tackles Apple's SGX stuff (as much as I would like them to). We need to see how the new Mali chips and or Tegra 4 respond.
  • 0 Hide
    molletts , 10 February 2013 05:07
    Am I the only person who looks at those pictures and thinks that the ones at the bottom (from the iPad) look terrible?

    The colours are far too heavily saturated (bordering on posterised in some areas) resulting in the loss of a great deal of detail, effectively "flattening" the image and rendering it featureless in places. The colours on the Nexus 10 look much more natural and the fine detail of the image can be seen even in highly-coloured areas.

    I used to find that Kodak film was a bit like this, especially for reds - I always used Fuji instead.
  • 0 Hide
    ITFT , 10 February 2013 22:19
    This is ridiculous such high resolution on the 10 inch tablet and most of the PC monitors are below Full HD resolution, no wonder the PC monitors market is not growing.
  • 0 Hide
    lxstuart , 15 February 2013 04:12
    molletts, thats exactly what I thought.

    Even people viewing those pictures on a cheap monitor should be able to see how bad the iPad screens look.