Nexus 10 vs iPad 4th Gen. Which one to buy?

[nitsuj3580]

My wife surprised me with a card for one of these tablets. I was just curious if anyone has made this decision yet and which one did he/she end up going with.

I know this is a very loaded question depending on what one wants to use it for, etc, etc but just interested in other's thoughts that might have made a similar purchasing decision.

Thanks!

 

[jpeyton]

What devices do you already own?

 

[Imported]

I went with the iPad (just purchased last week). I have an SGS2 as my phone. I prefer Android over iOS for phones, but not tablets. And battery life is outstanding on it.

 

[TuxDave]

I probably mentioned this before but for my use it would definitely be iPad. I'm app-centric and Android tablets is definitely not where you want to be for that right now.

 

[MrX8503]

The iPad is a better tablet. The N10 has more powerful CPU (weaker GPU), better screen, and an open OS. That's about it for its advantages.

 

[s44]

Actually, I'd probably get the Infinity + lapdock. Otherwise the smaller models are a nicer form factor.

Of course I'd probably also wait for the Tegra4 version.

 

[pm]

One other thing that a lot of people never mention is aspect ratio. Beyond software, beyond weight and battery life, there's also just the screen.

The iPad has a 4:3 (1.33) aspect ratio, the Nexus 10 is 16:9 (1.77). So the iPad display is more like a square and the Nexus 10 is much thinner and longer. It depends what you like, how many widescreen movies you plan to watch, etc. but it's something worth thinking about. Personally I like more square devices like the Touchpad and the iPad, and not the narrower ones... but I know people who say the opposite.

 

[bigrash]

I'd go with the iPad 4.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

One other thing that a lot of people never mention is aspect ratio. Beyond software, beyond weight and battery life, there's also just the screen.

The iPad has a 4:3 (1.33) aspect ratio, the Nexus 10 is 16:9 (1.77). So the iPad display is more like a square and the Nexus 10 is much thinner and longer. It depends what you like, how many widescreen movies you plan to watch, etc. but it's something worth thinking about. Personally I like more square devices like the Touchpad and the iPad, and not the narrower ones... but I know people who say the opposite.

The Nexus 10 is actually 16:10.

 

[zerogear]

I think at this point if you use a lot of 3rd party apps, iPad is the better choice for now. But I also think that with Nexus 7 and 10, devs are seeing that Google are serious about tablet development, and may ramp up their optimization for tablets in the near future.

If you only really use email/facebook/internet with tablet, I think either one will do. As for the screen, iPad is slightly higher in contrast, but Nexus 10 has higher dpi, for all intents and purpose, both tablet have awesome screens and isn't a major deciding factor against either. Though you may prefer one screen ratio vs another.

 

[Strk]

As someone else already asked: what do you busy currently for devices? Personally, I'd go for the N10. It's $100 less and I already use most of Google's services.

 

[ponyo]

I bought iPad 4. But it was for my wife and she prefers iOS. I was planning to buy N10 for myself but decided against it after reading the lukewarm reviews. N10 has too many flaws with both hardware and software for me to overlook and put up with for $450. Maybe Galaxy Tab 3 or next gen N10 will be better. iPad 4 is terrific and worth the money. N10 I'm not so sure.

 

[ew915]

The Nexus 10 is actually 16:10.

It is but it becomes 16:9 if you take into account the software buttons.

 

[Zink]

Get an iPad 3 from the refurb store and save $120 to $150 off of what you would pay for a 4th gen. There isn't much difference surprisingly even for web browsing etc.

 

[badb0y]

I would go with the iPad 4 but I use a lot of Apps so my opinion is a bit skewed.

The Nexus 10 is an exceptional device too so it really comes down to how you want to use the tablet.

 

[dagamer34]

iPad 4. There aren't enough Android tablet apps to make the Nexus 10 worth owning (and even if it were free, I wouldn't use it for that same reason).

 

[vshah]

multi user support and widgets are two things which I think are a big plus for the N10.

 

[lothar]

Neither.
Get a Nexus 7 and save your cash.

 

[zerogear]

People keep saying tablet apps tablet apps, but at the end of the day, most of the phone apps scales up fine to tablet on Android.

Also, for tablets, what do you guys use that you need so many tablet apps? On my iPad, I only use 5, and the equivalents on Android works fine

1. Safari
2. Email
3. Dropbox
4. StreamToMe (for Video)
5. iBook for PDFs

 

[jpeyton]

People keep saying tablet apps tablet apps, but at the end of the day, most of the phone apps scales up fine to tablet on Android.

Also, for tablets, what do you guys use that you need so many tablet apps? On my iPad, I only use 5, and the equivalents on Android works fine

1. Safari
2. Email
3. Dropbox
4. StreamToMe (for Video)
5. iBook for PDFs

Ditto. I would be using:

1. Browser
2. Email
3. Netflix
4. eReader

Nexus 10 does fine in all those areas. It also has amazing battery life. And I think the 16:10 screen is better for web browsing in portrait mode, while also being better for watching video in landscape mode.

 

[JavaMomma]

People keep saying tablet apps tablet apps, but at the end of the day, most of the phone apps scales up fine to tablet on Android.

Also, for tablets, what do you guys use that you need so many tablet apps? On my iPad, I only use 5, and the equivalents on Android works fine

1. Safari
2. Email
3. Dropbox
4. StreamToMe (for Video)
5. iBook for PDFs

Apple Remote
AirPlay (this is huge for me)
iMessage
Facetime (These two are nice when I travel, as the GF and most of my family have have iPhones)
Good Reader (are pdfs good in iBooks?)
First crack at games ... Final Fantasy IV in 9 days for iOS can't wait (Next Spring sometime for Android)

I think it depends on your ecosystem (and your friends/family). AppleTV, MacBook here, so things like AirPlay are important to me.

Also, I'm not a fan of 16x9, 16x10 tablets, I find them to narrow to read PDFs on. I read a lot of financial reports and they all come in PDF which fit perfect on the iPad.

 

[BladeVenom]

People keep saying tablet apps tablet apps, but at the end of the day, most of the phone apps scales up fine to tablet on Android.

Also it won't be long before Android tablets are more popular than iPads; it's already happened with smart phones. With their increasing popularity more tablet specific apps will be created.

 

[MrX8503]

People keep saying tablet apps tablet apps, but at the end of the day, most of the phone apps scales up fine to tablet on Android.

I would disagree. A blown up smartphone app isn't very good.

 

[ponyo]

I would disagree. A blown up smartphone app isn't very good.

On an iPad it isn't very good. It's hideous.

On an Android tablet, it's not bad.

 

[Capt Caveman]

People keep saying tablet apps tablet apps, but at the end of the day, most of the phone apps scales up fine to tablet on Android.

Also, for tablets, what do you guys use that you need so many tablet apps? On my iPad, I only use 5, and the equivalents on Android works fine

1. Safari
2. Email
3. Dropbox
4. StreamToMe (for Video)
5. iBook for PDFs

The reason why folks talk about tablet apps are the comparison between the iPad tablet apps compared to the Android is huge, in numbers and quality.