Sony Xperia Tablet Z vs Google Nexus 10
Sony released Xperia Z smartphone at CES 2013 which caught a lot of attention from critics and analysts due to its attractive features. The feature that was most talked about was the IP 57 certification for water and dust resistivity. This means that Xperia Z can be submerged in 1m deep water for 30 minutes without any damage at all. The implication is a unibody design with perfectly covered ports. We have seen the certification at play for other devices, but it was the first time Sony was using it for Xperia line and above all, this smartphone had attractive physique with elegant looks. Now we learnt that Sony has also released a sequel tablet in the Xperia Z range known as Sony Xperia Z Tablet. This also comes with the IP 57 certification which may make ripples in the market and push some established tablets away. Hence we decided to compare it against one of the best and most affordable tablets available in the market from Google and Samsung, the Nexus 10, which was released to the market on the 13th of November 2012. This is our take on both, and a concise comparison is also available after the review.
Sony Xperia Tablet Z Review
Sony Xperia Tablet Z is a complete tablet in every aspect of the layman’s imaginations. It seems that Sony has decided to give Xperia Z title to their superb products, and like its younger brother Xperia Z smartphone, Xperia Z tablet is also IP 57 certified for water and dust resistance. This is perhaps the first time we see an IP 57 certified tablet recently. It is powered by 1.5GHz Krait Quad Core processor on top of Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset with Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM. This type of specifications on paper is becoming increasingly familiar as of now, but it is still the best configuration available so far for an ARM based processor. As predicted, Sony is releasing Xperia Z tablet with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with a preplanned upgrade to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Sony has included a 10.1 inch LED backlit LCD capacitive touchscreen display panel that features a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels at a pixel density of 224ppi. It is true that some might feel the pixel density is low compared to the 441ppi smartphone we get in full HD, but this is a tablet we are talking about, and 224ppi wouldn’t pixelate the display panel at all which serves the purpose by all means. The new Sony Mobile BRAVIA engine 2 boasts better reproduction of images on the display panel for specialized tasks like movies or games.
Sony hasn’t forgotten to include 3G HSDPA and 4G LTE connectivity to this smart tablet making it one of the best connected tablets in the market right now. It also has Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n with DLNA for continuous connectivity. You can also host a Wi-Fi hotspot and share your internet connection with Xperia Z tablet. Sony Xperia Z tablet offers you good optics, as well. It features a 8MP main camera with autofocus and face detection that can capture 1080p HD videos at 30 frames per second. The front camera is 2.2MP and can also capture 1080p HD videos @ 30 frames per second, which would ensure clarity and quality in video conferencing. The internal storage of the Xperia Z is 32GB, and you can also expand the storage by using a microSD card up to 64GB. The physical appearance is more or less like Xperia Z smartphone with the dimensions been bigger. Sony Xperia Z is also relatively lighter and thinner than the tablets of the same range with a weight of 495g and 6.9mm. It has a non-removable Li-Pro battery of 6000mAh which might be the source of the lightness in the tablet. We are yet to find out the battery performance of this tablet.
Google Nexus 10 Review
Google has started to name their Nexus devices depending on the screen sizes and hence Google Nexus 10 comes with a 10.05 inch Super IPS PLS TFT capacitive touchscreen featuring a monster resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. For those of you who thought Apple new iPad still have the highest resolution are in for a surprise with the introduction of Google Nexus which now holds the title for the device with the highest resolution. It indeed has an intimidating resolution and has deep blacks and vibrant colors. The pixel density is also very high at 299ppi which is better than Apple new iPad. The outlook has a remarkable resemblance to Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and hence might be considered as not as much as visually appealing. But it certainly has higher build quality that the latter and the soft-touch plastic black plate make it a pleasure to hold on to this wonderful slate.
The resemblance to Galaxy Tab ends there for Nexus 10 has a very different and innovative hardware. It is powered by 1.7GHz Cortex A15 dual core processor on top of Samsung Exynos 5250 chipset along with Mali T604 GPU and 2GB of RAM. This whole setup runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The first question you might ask me is why it doesn’t have a Quad Core processor, well the answer is they have changed the architecture from Cortex A9 to Cortex A15 and also overclocked it to 1.7GHz. That would be as much powerful as a nominal Quad Core in some contexts. Frankly, we think they are just not ready to come out with Cortex A15 Quad Cores. But fear not, with the new quad core Mali T604 GPU and 2GB of RAM, is there anything you can’t do in this tablet? The answer is NO! Any app you find will run smoothly and seamlessly in this incredible tablet, and it’ll be a pleasure to use it. It has an ideal level of thickness which enables the slate to fit into your hands and at the same time, refrain from it slipping away from your fingertips.
Nexus 10 comes with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity with Wi-Fi direct and dual side NFC. It is true that the unavailability of a 3G version may be problematic to a certain audience, but hey, you can always host a hotspot on your smartphone or can buy a Mi-Fi device. Google may decide to release a 3G version of this tablet as well in the future like they released on for Nexus 7. Samsung has included 5MP rear camera with LED flash and autofocus which can capture 1080p HD videos @ 30 frames per second. It also has a front camera that is of 1.9MP which you can use for video conferencing over Wi-Fi. The usual accelerometer, proximity sensor, gyro sensor, and compass are available in this slate, as well. It only comes in black like the other Google Nexus line. The internal storage stagnates at 16GB or 32GB without an option to expand using microSD cards, which can be an issue for extreme media users. However, 16GB is a manageable amount for a slate like Nexus 10. After reading the review, you very well know that Nexus 10 is not a budget line tablet. But you may be surprised with the price it’s offered. The 16GB version is offered at $399 which is $100 less than Apple new iPad. We can gladly recommend this tablet as the best tablet in the 10 inch Android tablet market.
A Brief Comparison Between Sony Xperia Z Tablet and Google Nexus 10
• Sony Xperia Z tablet is powered by 1.5GHz Krait Quad Core processor on top of Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset with Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM while Nexus 10 is powered by 1.7GHz Cortex A15 dual core processor on top of Samsung Exynos 5250 chipset along with Mali T604 GPU and 2GB of RAM.
• Sony Xperia Z tablet runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with a preplanned update to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean while Nexus 10 runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
• Sony Xperia Z tablet has 10.1 inch LED backlit LCD capacitive touchscreen featuring a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels at a pixel density of 224ppi while Nexus 10 has 10.1 inch Super IPS PLS TFT capacitive touchscreen featuring a monster resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels at a pixel density of 299 ppi.
• Sony Xperia Z tablet features IP 57 certification for dust and water resistance while Nexus 10 doesn’t have such certifications.
• Sony Xperia Z tablet features 3G HSDPA connectivity as well as 4G LTE connectivity while Nexus 10 is only offered with Wi-Fi.
• Sony Xperia Z tablet has 8MP main camera and 2.2MP front camera that can capture 1080p HD videos @ 30 fps while Nexus 10 has 5MP main camera that can capture 1080p HD videos @ 30 fps.
• Sony Xperia Z tablet is smaller, thinner and lighter (266 x 172 mm / 6.9 mm / 495g) than Nexus 10 (263.9 x 177.6 mm / 8.9 mm / 603g).
Conclusion
These two tablets are in two consumer categories addressing two segments in the market. Samsung Google Nexus is more towards the budget end of the market with a lower price yet maintaining a high quality. Hence we can understand the fact that Samsung and Google had to sacrifice some goodies to give it out at that price range. It is these forgone goodies that make Sony Xperia Z tablet a complete device at the same time. First off, Xperia Z tablet features network connectivity, which is a must have for a tablet device if your Wi-Fi coverage is low across the country. It also features better optics, better storage options, and a better processor on top of the best chipset as of yet. Sony Xperia Z tablet is also thinner and substantially lighter than Nexus 10 although its resolution is lower than that of Nexus 10. The IP 57 certification on water and dust resistance will also be a great selling point for Xperia Z tablet. However, assembling these features together is bound to cost a lot; although the exact price is not known yet, we can assume that it’ll be in the scale of $500 – $600. Hence we won’t have a final verdict for this comparison, but we’ll leave the facts and differences with you so that you can make the choice.