Google Nexus 10

Available now
31st October 2012

The Google Nexus 10 is Google's first full-sized Android tablet, created in collaboration with Samsung. Where some previous Nexus devices have simply been rehashes of existing handsets and tablets, the Nexus 10 is a significant step up from anything currently in Samsung's own range of tablets.

Compared to the Galaxy Note 10.1, and especially when compared to the Galaxy Tab 2, the Nexus 10 is a much more powerful beast. Indeed, when looking at the competition as a whole, the very few tablets come anywhere close to the Nexus 10 in terms of specification.

Perhaps the best feature of the Nexus 10 is the display – a 10" 2560 x 1600 pixel panel that boasts 300 dpi, making it the highest resolution display on any production tablet (according to Samsung), and it has an even high pixel density than the "retina" display on the current iPad.

Inside is a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, with a generous 2GB of RAM. Internal memory is 16GB or 32GB of non-expandable flash memory. On the back is a 5 megapixel camera with a 1.9 megapixel sub-camera on the front for video calls. The Nexus 10 is capable of 1080p HD video recording and playback at 30 fps.

This is a WiFi-only device, but it does support MIMO connectivity which should boost wireless network speeds. Despite being tethered to a WiFi network, the Nexus 10 does boast a full set of sensors including GPS, GLONASS, a gyroscope, barometer, digital compass and accelerometer, and the Nexus 10 also has dual-sided NFC support. If you have an Android smartphone then you should be able to tether the Nexus 10 to that fairly easily. The Nexus 10 also has Bluetooth 3.0 support, a microUSB connector and a microHDMI port for video

The operating system is Android 4.2, which retains the "Jelly Bean" moniker from the previous version. One very neat feature is that the Nexus 10 supports multiple user profiles, although to be honest it is surprising that it has taken so long. The advantage of this is obvious is you've ever had to share a tablet with someone else, so each user's mail profile, web favourites and high scores can the their own, although we don't know if these profiles are PIN protected.

At 603 grams, the Nexus 10 is about 50 grams lighter than the current iPad, although physically it is rather wider at 264 x 178 x 8.9mm. Inside is a 9000 mAh battery which is more than 25% bigger than the one in the Galaxy Note 10.1.

Overall, the hardware is certainly competitive with the current iPad, but the key factor here is price. The cheapest model with 16GB of storage is just $399 in the US, compared to $499 for the iPad – 25% cheaper. In the UK, it's a similar story with the Nexus 10 being 25% cheaper than the iPad at £319 for the 16GB model and £389 for the 32GB model. The Nexus 10 will be available in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Australia and Canada from 13th November onwards.

So, the Nexus 10 is arguably better than the iPad, and it is certainly cheaper than the iPad. That sort of competition tends to make Apple unhappy, and their usual solution is to take Samsung to court, but this time Samsung are making a Google product, and so far Apple have avoided fighting Google head-on. Although the Nexus 10 is a good tablet, it probably won't persuade Apple fans to switch, but it should get some reasonable market share in the run up to Christmas, and Apple's lawyers will certainly want to spoil that party.