Things have been pretty exciting in the 7in tablet market over recent months. Since the Nexus 7, there has been a raft of rival devices including the Apple iPad Mini, Amazon Kindle Fire HD and Barnes & Noble Nook HD.
The 10in side has been less so, with few stand-out exceptional devices to rival the full-sized iPad. Google's Nexus 10 is the first Android tablet of the year which looks like it has a package which can seriously take on the iPad. See Google Nexus 10 price in UK and specs.
Google Nexus 10: Design
The design of the Nexus 10 isn’t too far removed from the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) but there are enough variances to easily tell the difference. It's not a surprise since the tablet is made by Samsung.
Like most 10in Android tablets, the Nexus 10 is designed in a landscape orientation. It has a Gorilla Glass 2 front and plastic casing. The material has a soft and grippy feel to the touch, but doesn't match the quality of the iPad or some Android tablets like the Asus Transformer Prime.
The Nexus 10 is comfortable to hold in either landscape or portrait mode. It's both thinner and lighter than the most recent iPad at 9mm and 604g.
Phyical power and volume buttons are located on top of the tablet while ports are located on the sides. It's refreshing to find that the Nexus 10 uses a microUSB port to charge rather than a proprietary one. See also: Group test: what's the best Android tablet?
Google Nexus 10: Build Quality
As we've mentioned, the Nexus 10 doesn’t have an aluminium body like the iPad. Build quality is excellent but not quite up to the standards set by Apple.
There's a thin plastic section which surrounds the rear facing camera with a spotted pattern. This is removable but you won't need to take it off. The information which legally has to be printed on the tablet can be hidden behind it but there's a better reason for it. It also serves as a place to attach a 'book cover' similar to Apple's Smart Cover. The problem is we can't find it on sale.
Google Nexus 10: Hardware
If you’re after a tablet with impressive specifications then the Nexus 10 will satisfy. Samsung has equipped it with its own 1.7GHz Exynos 5250, a dual-core processor based on the ARM Cortex-A15 architecture. Backing this up is an impressive 2GB of RAM.
In the GeekBench 2 test the Nexus 10 crushed its rivals with a score of 2505. A new tablet record proving this is one speedy tablet. Its nearest competition, the iPad 4, scored 1769.
The Nexus 10 couldn't beat the iPad in every benchmark, though. It scored an average of 1329ms in the SunSpider JavaScript test – a respectable result but the iPad 4 managed a swift 854ms.
In terms of graphics, the Nexus 10 is very competent. In the GLBenchmark test it managed a good 27fps thanks to its quad-core Mali-T604 GPU. The result is better than the iPad 3's 22fps but not as good as the iPad 4's 39fps.
Aside from the scientific numbers, performance is excellent. The Nexus 10 quickly responds to any input or command. Apps open quickly and pinch zooming in the Chrome browser is silky smooth.
There are two storage options to choose from with the Nexus 10 – 16GB of 32GB. Like Apple, Google has decided to not include a microSD card slot for additional storage. If 32GB isn't enough then you'll have to opt for a tablet with a memory card slot or a higher capacity of internal storage.
The last two iPads have had an impressive Retina quality screen as a great selling point. The Nexus 10 goes even further with a whopping 2560 x 1600 resolution – the same as the 13in MacBook Pro with Retina display. Google calls it the "world’s highest resolution tablet display".
A pixel density of 300ppi is nothing short of incredible. Everything displayed on the screen looks super sharp and detailed. We found the screen very responsive and viewing angles are astounding.
At 16:10 the aspect ratio is good for watching films, and there's also the bonus of front facing stereo speakers – much more appropriate than a lot of tablets which have rear facing mono speakers.
The Nexus 10 is well connected with Bluetooth and dual-band 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi with MIMO (multiple input multiple output) antennae and Wi-Fi Direct. There's also NFC (near-field communications) and GPS. If you want mobile data on-the-go you'll have to tether the Nexus 10 as there is no 3G or 4G model.
As we said earlier, the Nexus 10 has a microUSB port for charging and connecting to a PC. It also has, to our delight, a micro HDMI port so you can connect the tablet to an external display like a TV or a monitor. Sadly, a cable isn't provided in the box.
Lastly, there's a 'Magnetic Pogo pin charger' on the bottom edge of the tablet. However, at the time of writing, there's nothing in the box to use with this and we can't find a docking station to purchase anywhere. We assume accessories will arrive in due course.
Next page: cameras, software and battery life
Comments
Mike said: I have a POGO charger cable that works very well But really need a dock to sit the Nexus 10 on in landscape to charge A dock withbuiltin speakers is possibly too much to ask for but would be great Have you heard anything about any official accessories for the Nexus 10 Samsung have a few generic tablet bits but nothing dedicated to the Nexus 10 Initially posted in the wrong place - sorry
Mike said: I have a POGO charger cable that works very well But really need a dock to sit the Nexus 10 on in landscape to charge A dock withbuiltin speakers is possibly too much to ask for
Matt Egan said: You might have to explain that to meOn Mon 1 Apr 2013 114006 0000
Charles Salisbury1 said: great minds thenthanks again for your help matt see you on my next querybye
Mike said: Any news in the trade about a pogo dock for the fantastic Nexus 10 Matt
Matt Egan said: I do something very similar with an old PowerbookOn Mon 1 Apr 2013 113425 0000
Charles Salisbury1 said: thanks for that mattim actually going to keep my laptop as a music system hooked up to a speaker system i have and leave it in one place permently so i can still purchase music on that but its getting on a bit now and i dont use the laptop the way i used to do so something lighter and upto date that i can lounge about with now
Matt Egan said: Youll have no problem - your Android tablet will recognise the audio files and play them You just cant buy iTunes music direct to your tabletOn Mon 1 Apr 2013 111709 0000
Charles Salisbury1 said: ive not had a tablet pc before but l like the look of them and this one in particularmy question is cos i dont know is that all my music on my laptop is on itunes which is great and have thousands of songs on it so how do play them on a non apple tableti know theres apps for most things but surely not for this
RobDX said: yes you can get an adapter for a pen drive and no Dongle because if already has WiFi But if you want 4G you can tether it to your phone
RobDX said: I know this is late but its called MoKo Not Mobo
Tejas Bedi said: can nexus 10 read and write pendrives or sd cards when connected through a adapter via micro sd portalso can i use a dongle for internet
Brooke said: Can you print from the Google Nexus 10 tablet Can you from any tablet
Charl said: Does it have expansion slot for microSD
Bellleon99 said: go to amazon they have affordable cases lowest a seen was 12
Mike C said: Hi Martin Ive looked but cant find the Mobo cover on Amazoncouk any more infoplease Ive now bought a G-HUB Black Carbon Fibre Print PropUp Stand Cover Ibought it when the price was 999 the price has increased to 1449 nowNotwithstanding the price increase I must say that the G-HUB Cover is a superbfit on the Nexus 10 it gives good protection and is worth the new price
Mike C said: However Im still hoping that either Samsung or Google will make a range of HIGH QUALITY accessories available for the fantastic Nexus 10 This tablet is a quality item and as such demands quality official accessories such as a case with bluetooth keyboard and mouse a Pogo adapter etc etc I for one would buy them all I see there is an official Google cover available for the Nexus 7 Im keeping my fingers crossed that it wont be long before one will be available for the 10 - until then Ill make do with the G-HUB one
Martin B said: My wife just bought me a case for my Nexus 10 I got at Christmas check on Amazon case is called Mobo nd comes with bluetooth keyboardi can highly recommend it
ebsy2000 said: The auto brightness can be switched offOne thing I should point out is the USB charging point doubles as a normal USB point is You can get a male micro USB to female USB cable and plug in an external flash drive either a pen drive or SD card reader would work I also used a duel powered USB cable to run an 500GB 25 external hard drive into this powering the drive separately using the second USB connector on the cable However using a 35 external HDD should probably work easier and better as they are mains powered anyway Hope this is useful and is why I only went for the 16gb model huge fanRead more httpwwwpcadvisorcoukrev
ebsy2000 said: Just had my male Micro HDMI to male HDMI cable through from hong kong Works brilliantly the picture quality on my 42 plasma is better than I was expecting only issue I have is that I havent worked out how to turn the tablet screen off and still get the output to HDMI to carry on working Say for watching a film or catch up TV Am sure someone will know