Mobile Technology

Nexus 10 vs. Surface RT

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How does the Nexus 10 compare to Microsoft Surface RT?
The Nexus 10 may get longer battery life
Nexus 10's cameras are much better
Performance will be good to great on both tablets
Similar proportions, but Surface is more oblong
Surface's display is larger, but Nexus 10's is sharper
Stretched-out tablet apps, or desolation? (Twitter screen: Mashable, Tumbleweed: Shutterstock)
Nexus 10 sells for $100 cheaper ... but it's $200 cheaper if you're adding Surface's keyboard
2GB is plenty of RAM for a tablet
Surface has more storage, but its software takes up so much space that it's roughly even
The Nexus 10 is lighter
It's only Wi-Fi for these two
How does the Nexus 10 compare to Microsoft Surface RT?
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Apple has owned the 10-inch tablet market. Budget slates have done well on the low end, but other full-sized tablets have been utterly dominated by the iPad. Samsung, Google, and Microsoft hope to change that. Surface RT and Nexus 10 are the most compelling full-sized iPad challengers yet. How do they stack up? Read on.

Size

Similar proportions, but Surface is more oblong

The tablets are close in size, though Surface is a bit more oblong. The Nexus 10 is thinner, but not by a wide margin.

Weight

The Nexus 10 is lighter

The Nexus 10 is significantly lighter. The best argument against 10-inch tablets is that they're too heavy, so this could be an important advantage for Samsung's tablet.

Display

Surface's display is larger, but Nexus 10's is sharper

This is a tremendous advantage for the Nexus 10. It has the highest resolution of any commercial tablet. Images and text will be razor-sharp.

Microsoft's ClearType (sub-pixel rendering) tech helps Surface's display to look sharper than its resolution would suggest ... but that isn't enough to put it in the same league as the Nexus 10's display.

Processor

Performance will be good to great on both tablets

Both tablets have great processors, so there shouldn't be any performance issues. The Nexus 10 should have the edge, with its speedy Samsung chip.

RAM

2GB is plenty of RAM for a tablet

Multitasking performance will be great, as both tablets have 2 GB of random-access memory (RAM).

Storage

Surface has more storage, but its software takes up so much space that it's roughly even

These numbers are deceiving. Windows RT takes up a lot of space. That leaves the 32 GB model of Surface with roughly the same amount of useable storage as the 16 GB Nexus 10.

Unlike the Nexus 10, though, Surface has a microSD card slot. You can use it to expand its storage.

Wireless

It's only Wi-Fi for these two

Neither tablet offers cellular data, so you'll need to connect to Wi-Fi (or your phone's mobile hotspot) for internet access.

Battery

The Nexus 10 may get longer battery life

Take these estimates with grains of salt, but the Nexus 10 looks to have the advantage.

Cameras

Nexus 10's cameras are much better

The Nexus 10 has far superior cameras. Both standard photography and video chat will look much sharper than they will on Surface.

Starting price

Nexus 10 sells for $100 cheaper ... but it's $200 cheaper if you're adding Surface's keyboard

This is another big advantage for the Nexus 10. Its base model ships for US$100 less than Surface. Also remember that Surface's keyboard – its killer feature – tacks another $100 onto its price.

Intangibles

Stretched-out tablet apps, or desolation? (Twitter screen: Mashable, Tumbleweed: Shutterstock)

Hardware is important, but a tablet is nothing without apps. This is where both tablets stumble.

Android's Google Play Store has all the apps you want … if you have a smartphone. There's still a shortage of quality tablet apps. Sure, those smartphone apps will run on the Nexus 10, but they might look like the Twitter app pictured above. Lots of wasted space, and an unattractive layout.

Surface has its own issues. Windows RT is a brand new platform, and doesn't run desktop Windows software. So don't be surprised if you see some tumbleweeds blowing around. With Surface sales starting slowly, the Windows Store may not be booming anytime soon.

The software story isn't all dismal. The Nexus 10 ships with the latest version of Android, 4.2 Jellybean. It will also receive future updates immediately.

Despite its lack of apps, Windows RT is a bold new operating system. It's basically Windows 8 without the desktop apps. Surface also includes Microsoft Office RT, a selling point for some shoppers.

Surface also has a couple of nifty keyboard add-ons. The Type Cover is a traditional keyboard attachment, but the Touch Cover is something new. It's like an iPad Smart Cover, only with pressure-sensitive keys. Reviews have been mixed, so you might want to try one before throwing down an extra $100.

Summing up

Should Apple be scared? It's hard to say. Both new 10-inch tablets have compelling hardware and exciting new operating systems. Will that be enough to attract software developers? Will customers take the plunge with a lack of tablet apps?

It's a steep hill to climb, but the Nexus 10 may have better odds. It has a lower starting price, a rabid Android fan base, and Surface will soon be competing with its own sibling (Surface Pro).

For more options, check out our 2012 Tablet Comparison Guide.

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5 comments
Michael Mantion
WOW why would anyone get the surface..
Daishi
I think they really hurt the potential of surface with the lack of desktop application support. Even if the hardware specs weren't significantly worse than cheaper tablets what would you use it for?
I've used metro a lot and it's nothing special. The tile concept isn't terrible but it only scales to about 10 shortcuts/icons/tiles on the screen. If I had as many tiles in Surface as I have icons in Android it would be a mess.
The only thing that makes metro usable is being able to type to search what I am looking for rather than panning through tiles which I admit is something I wish I had in ICS.
Robert in Vancouver
I just bought a Nexus 10, and waiting for it to be delivered.
My Son strongly recommended the Nexus 10 over the Surface. Since he has forgotten 100 times more than I know about computers, I followed his advice (I'm 60).
Going to use the Nexus to replace the 2 newspapers I subscribe to, and for certain mobile business purposes while I'm out of the office.
Savin Wangtal
The only people who should use Surface would be those who aims to adopt the entire Windows lifestyle. That is to say, use Windows phone, Win8 pc, as well as the tablet.
Frankly, I think Win8 phones looks like a pretty attractive option, especially if I upgrade to Win8 on PC. However, I never have much use for tablets. I work on my phone, and I only use tablets for light reading, and so I'm probably going to end up going with some cheap, 7" readers over any of these.
Facebook User
I bought a Surface RT on launch day and couldn't be happier with the product. I have used both iPads and Android tablets but for me the Surface is the better product. With Surface I have a full 'desktop' web browser, full size USB port (which I use a lot with my camera), and HD video out. The iPad does have a nicer screen, but I find the Surface to quite nice as well, especially for reading a lot of text. I run many many apps simultaneously without any lag, I absolutely LOVE Xbox music. Really, I haven't found ONE downside to Surface RT. Some people are complaining about lack of 'legacy app support'. Ummmm, yeh? It's ARM, it's a new operating system, programs need to written for it. Did people complain that the iPad couldn't run full Apple desktop applications? I don't understand all the hate for the Surface. I can only assume that those people haven't used the Surface as much as I have, or are just set on Apple anyways so anything else is 'less than'.