Define small - Anything smaller than 9''inch is small in the tablet world. And mind you, lengths are measured diagonally across the screens. There are tons and tons of 7'' inch tablets out there, and comes with different shape, sizes and specs. And to first time tablet buyers, the choices may seem daunting at first sight. But no worries, here goes with a little explanation.
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| Tablets. Samsung Sony Toshiba Amazon Sharp Dell you name it they have it. |
Computers run on operating systems(OS), eg.Windows XP, Windows 7, Linux, Mountain Lion OS X, and the list goes on. Same goes for modern smartphones and tablets. The 2 main OS on tablets are the Apple iOS, and the Android system. Apple iOS is kept only on the devices that are designed by Apple themselves, while Android is an open source platform made available to any tablet/smartphone maker that are free to make minor changes to the system to suite their device. That's why we have Samsung, Acer, Sony etc. tablets that run Android but only an Apple iPad that runs iOS. One more thing to note is that while Android is developed by Google, Google doesn't play a role in picking the hardwares of a Samsung/Sony tablet. Tablet makers simply built their hardware while 'borrowing' Google's Android to make their tablet work.
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| The typical iOS vs. Android battle |
I would say if you were to buy a tablet, choose one that has the software and hardware designed by the same team of people. That way we can have a better, seamless connection between software and hardware. Giving us a better user experience. So, for those who's deciding to get a 7''inch tablet, I would just recommend either the new Apple iPad mini, or, the Google Nexus 7.
Here's the breakdown of the specifications :
SIZE
(a) iPad mini - 7.87 x 5.3 x 0.28 inches
(b) Nexus 7 - 7.81 x 4.82 x 0.41 inches
THICKNESS
(a) iPad mini - 7.2 mm
(b) Nexus 7 - 10.4 mm
WEIGHT
(a) iPad mini - 308 g
(b) Nexus 7 - 340 g
Winner : iPad mini.
In terms of physical specs, the iPad mini is about 10% lighter, 30% thinner, and slightly wider.
DISPLAY
(a) iPad mini - 1024x768, 163ppi
(b) Nexus 7 - 1280x800, 216ppi
Winner : Nexus 7.
Although the iPad mini has the 4:3 aspect ratio on screen, which is more viewable, but the Nexus packs a higher pixel density, which makes texts, videos and pictures crispier than the mini.
CPU
(a) iPad mini - Dual core 1GHz, 512MB RAM
(b) Nexus 7 - Quad core 1.3Ghz, 1GB RAM
Winner : Nexus 7.
Nexus 7's Tegra 3 chip is clocked at 1.3GHz, so it'll work slightly faster than the iPad mini. Having a 1GB RAM which is double of it's counterpart allows it to run a more intensive workload session.
STORAGE
(a) iPad mini - 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
(b) Nexus 7 - 8GB, 16GB
Winner : iPad mini.
Though Google is expected to announce a new Nexus 7 with different storage soon.
CAMERA
(a) iPad mini - 5megapixel iSight back camera, 1.2megapixel front camera
(b) Nexus 7 - No back camera, 1.2megapixel front camera
Winner : iPad mini.
The iSight camera is one of the best mobile camera you can possibly get out there, together with it's 1080p HD video recording capability, the iPad mini is a sure winner. This can even replace any average point-and-shoot digital camera.
CONNECTIVITY
(a) iPad mini - WiFi, 3G, 4G LTE
(b) Nexus 7 - WiFi
Winner : iPad mini.
The iPad mini comes with a choice of cellular connectivity up to the speed of 4G LTE. This means surfing the web on high speed even in places with no WiFi(provided you've subscribed to a cellular provider).
APPS
(a) iPad mini - Up to 275,000 dedicated tablet apps.
(b) Nexus 7 - Little of the total Android apps are tablet specific apps.
Winner : iPad mini.
Apps that are not tablet specific means it's an app built for a smartphone platform, and made available to run on a tablet. Whereas tablet dedicated apps are those created specifically for the bigger screen tablets, and may come with different functionality and interface than a smartphone version.
BATTERY LIFE
(a) iPad mini - 10 hours.
(b) Nexus 7 - 10 hours.
Winner : Draw.
PRICE
(a) iPad mini - USD $329 (RM 999) for 16GB version
(b) Nexus 7 - USD $249 (RM 999) for 16GB version
Winner : Nexus 7.
There's also the 8GB version Nexus 7 that starts from $199, and a price drop is coming soon. So obviously Nexus 7 is a better value for money specs wise. (Only the 16GB version of Nexus 7 is available in Malaysia at the moment.)
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| Left : Nexus 7. Right : iPad mini [Courtesy of 9TO5Mac] |
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| Google Nexus 7 made by ASUS |
A note for Malaysian readers, the official price for the iPad mini isn't out for us yet, but I'm guessing a RM 999 price tag, for the iPad 2 is RM1199. And currently the Nexus 7 is RM 999 for us, which is supposed to be RM 799 if we were to follow US pricing(since Apple does that). The price should come down after the iPad mini hit local shores, said to be late December. The iPhone 5 hasn't even reached us yet. So for the time being, lets just wait(Malaysians only). For the iPad mini and for the Nexus price drop(or a new Nexus to be introduced soon).
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| iPad mini |
Can't wait to get your hands on the new overpriced iPad? What if the Nexus 7 drops to a staggering USD $99 (RM399?)? Android fans switching over to iOS? Time for iOS users to go Android with the more affordable Nexus? Do tell, share and like it! And comment below! :)