Google Nexus 10 review - Camera
5-megapixel sensor in tow, the Google Nexus 10 doesn't seem set to trump smarphones, though needs to be at least respectable to fend off competition from Apple and Asus.
The f/2.7 aperture kicks things off to a worse start than either of the other main competitors. The camera is in turn noisier off the bat and detail is weaker, with more motion blur making its way into shots. Dynamic range could also do with a helping hand from an HDR mode which is sadly missing.
Touch to focus does nevertheless work well, macro capability is fair and decent depth of field can be achieved. With good overall exposure, saturation and an LED flash, the Nexus 10's camera isn't without its redeeming qualities.
The user interface also enables all menu interaction through a long press of the screen. Unfortunately, HDR mode present on the Google Nexus 4 is missing, though panorama and Photo Sphere are both present.
Shot at full HD resolution, video on the Nexus 10 plays back at 27 frames per second. It's occasionally patchy in terms of frame rate, though detail is fair.
Google Nexus 10 review - multimedia and storage
Our tablet shipped with a full version of Ice Age on board the Google Play Movies app. Naturally, Google want to showcase their Nexus 10's screen out of the box and boy does it. Getting any movie on here really makes you pay attention to the front facing speakers and fantastic display with smooth frame rates and great HDMI functionality.
While the tablet isn't pocketable and won't make for an MP3 player substitute by any means, the front facing speakers are loud, delivering clear output and being well placed to avoid hand or surface muffle.
Games run incredibly well on the Nexus 10. We've already covered ergonomics and looking at graphics, frame rates and general picture, it's possible that Android has a new gaming king in the tablet space. Some games like Wildblood need to be updated with their menus looking dishevelled thanks to the novel screen resolution, but this should be a temporary niggle.
No Nexus device is expandable, however the Nexus 10 packs a minimum of 16GB internal memory for £319. The 32GB version comes in at 32GB, and this is the version we'd recommend, especially if you're a gamer. With HD films and intensive games being at least 1GB each, the capacity of the basic version could be filled in little over a day of app hoarding.
Google Nexus 10 review - Connections and web
In addition to Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct, the Nexus 10 has NFC for all your contactless needs. Browsing the web is done in Google's Chrome browser and it's a seamless transition from desktop to a tablet. We didn't experience any slowdown in web pages, found legibility of text second to none thanks to the astronomical PPI and enjoyed pure whiles from the LCD display. Vellamo scores bettered than all other device out there rounding off our impression of the web with some benchmarked affirmation.
Google Nexus 10 review - Performance and battery
Samsung's Exynos 5 Dual is comprised of a dual-core ARM Cortex-A15 CPU and a Mali-T604 GPU. As you've probably gauged from our gaming and web sections, performance is impressive in the real world, so while this isn't a quad-core tablet, it delivers class leading power.
Benchmarking is a mixed bag on the Nexus 10. Antutu rates the tablet somewhere between the Galaxy Note and the Transformer Prime. Quadrant scores however pit is above both the One X and the Transformer Prime as does GL Benchmark.
The reality is that the astronomical pixel counts always weigh heavily on the processor - just look at Nova 3 on the iPad with Retina display. This also weighs down on benchmarks. That said, we didn't see any lag make its way into real world usage in our time with the Nexus 10. Perhaps a long term test will show signs of cracking, but as it stands, we're impressed.
The 9000mAh battery is also impressive when looking at the numbers, though once again, the is weighed down heavily upon by the display. While 10 hours of usage is realistic out of the likes of an iPad or Transformer Pad, the Samsung made Google Nexus ten will deliver nearer 8 hours. Not terrible, but neither is it class leading.
Google Nexus 10 review - Conclusion
The Google Nexus 10 by Samsung. It's the tablet that makes you want to look at it, touch it, hold it, but should you buy it?
We can't help but be impressed by the incredible iPad bettering screen resolution, the tactility of its backing and the updates Google have made to Android's tablet UI. Given the £319 price point for the 16GB version, it also costs £70 less than the 16GB iPad.
Google's ecosystem is also stronger than ever before. Google music, Google movies and Google books make the Nexus 10 an easy to set up media hub. The microHDMI makes it a breeze to connect to a TV and the Android inside should be familiar to 69% of smartphone users.
What works against the Google Nexus 10 are the lack of tablet optimised apps beyond Google's own. It's improved over the past year, especially on the games front, but apps pale in comparison to those on iOS in terms of volume, discovery and quality. If invested in the Android ecosystem and want a 10-inch tablet, it's a no-brainer, get the Nexus 10. If however you're torn between tabs and are an app-centric user, the iPad is the obvious choice.
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