oogle Nexus 7 2 vs Apple iPad Mini: Specs, Features, Price, Review 3 days ago Following months of speculations, Internet giant Google has finally released its new second-generation Nexus 7, known as Nexus 7 2. And this brings it into a direct competition with Apple iPad Mini, which was released last November. And especially when iPad Mini remains one of the best tablets in the market till date, the race between the two is expected to see new heights. Though Nexus 7 2 has not reached the shelves as yet, it’s worth drawing a comparison between the two. DESIGN: The new second-generation Nexus and iPad Mini sport completely different designs. So before you draw out hard cash from your pocket, do take note of the difference of designs. Apple iPad Mini draws inspiration from the company’s current iPhone model, iPhone 5. It sports a plastic front with anodized aluminum back; its small bezels enable large screen, making it pleasant to hold in hand; and its round edges give it a sleek look. Nexus 7 2, on the other hand, has no metal on its body and features a soft matte back that makes it comfortable to hold too. Like iPad Mini, Nexus 7 2 also sports smaller bezels, giving it a much slimmer look than the original. While both the tablets have the same height, Google’s Nexus 7 2 is slightly thicker measuring 8.65mm as compared to the 7.2mm width of Apple’s iPad Mini. However, Google’s version stands lighter at 290gm, against Apples’ 312gm tablet. But this difference of weight isn’t going to make much of a difference since both are lightweight and compact. DISPLAY: Coming to their displays, both the tablets have some differences which the consumers may like to take note of. Firstly, iPad Mini sports a bigger display screen of 7.9 inches as compared to the 7-inch display of Nexus 7 2. However, when it comes to resolution, Google beats Apple with its whopping 1920/1200 Resolution, beating its own earlier version resolution of 1280/800. iPad Mini, on the other hand, retains its iPad 2 resolution of 1024/788. Nexus 7 2 steals it from iPad Mini with 323ppi, which is almost double the pixel density of iPad Mini’s 163ppi. CAMERA: Both the tablets stand neck to neck when it comes to the camera. Unlike in Nexus 7, the new Nexus 7 2 has introduced 5MP rear camera, which stands at par with Apple iPad Mini. Shots will be decent, but one shouldn’t expect the high quality shots taken with an iPhone 5 or Nexus 4. As for the front camera, Nexus 7 2 uses 1.9MP camera, against iPad Mini’s 1.2MP front camera; while both support 1028/720p HD videos. This means that both will be able to provide quality video chats, which is the main function of any front camera. SOFTWARE: Software is one area where both the tablets differ vastly. While iPad Mini runs iOS 6 operating system, Nexus 7 2 comes with a new version of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean mobile operating system. The android 4.3 Jelly Bean is expected to bring many new features like multi-use support with restricted profiles; as well as many customizable features like the facility for adding custom widgets, live wallpapers, etc. However, people new to tablets might prefer Apple’s mobile operating system because of its simplicity. It also provides a better experience when it comes to the overall application services. PROCESSOR & MEMORY: The Google Nexus 7 2 has a high-end processor, a Quad Core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chip with 2 GB RAM, as compared to the lesser Dual Core 1 GHz Cortex A9 Processor with 512MB RAM of the Apple iPad Mini. Given its faster chip with twice as many cores and four times the amount of RAM, Nexus 7 2 is expected to make an all-round smooth performance. STORAGE: When it comes to storage, Apple iPad Mini scores over Google Nexus 7 2 because of the fact that it offers 64GB internal storage version along with its 16GB & 32GB storage models. Nexus 7 2, on the other hand, has stuck with the maximum of 32GB internal storage version. But it may make up for it with its Micro USB port that accepts USB stick. However, Google beats Apple as far as iCloud storage is concerned. It offers 16GB free iCloud storage against Apple’s 5GB offer. But with both the tablets missing on micro SD slot, you should choose your capacity carefully. CONNECTIVITY: Both iPad Mini and Nexus 7 2 have dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and 4G LTE support. However, Nexus 7 2 gets an upperhand because of its wireless charging facilities and NFC access, which means it can avail the mobile payment services like Google Wallet. BATTERY : While both Nexus 7 2 and iPad Mini will continue to run for 10 hours during web-browsing over Wi-Fi; Nexus 7 2 will run an hour lesser than iPad Mini’s 10 hours while watching videos. PRICE: The Google second-generation Nexus 7 is going to be costlier than Nexus 7. However, even then, it will be cheaper than Apple iPad Mini, though the gap will get smaller this time. So, despite being better in screen resolution and in spite of carrying a more powerful raw processor, Nexus 7 2 beats iPad Mini in the price. VERDICT: From all that is specified on the paper, Nexus 7 2 indeed looks like a big threat to iPad Mini; and if all goes the same as per the specifications, then it can be expected to sweep the market. However, having said that, the ultimate verdict can only be given once the tablet hits the market. Also, the real comparison can be drawn when Apple launches its iPad Mini 2 in the near future. Stay tuned and spend wisely.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 09:24:56 +0000