Nexus 10 - still a class ace

A year on, Nexus 10 is still a class ace – it’s fast , the display is amazing and the price is right

Price $469

Nexus 10

The Nexus 10 been around for a year, but you wouldn’t know it from a quick glance as its specifications. It was a groundbreaking tablet when it first appeared, sporting the highest pixel count of any tablet display, and no other manufacturer has matched its Retina-beating resolution of 2560 x 1600 since then . It’s screen that delivers the highest pixel density in this Labs – 299ppi – which means you’d have to hold the tablet closer than 30cm from your eyes before being able to discern any kind of pixel structure.

It isn’t only about resolution though. In our tests, the Nexus 10 ‘s display was near the top of the performance tables, with a maximum brightness of 431cd/m2 and a contrast ratio of 980:1. Color are rich and balanced, with high – resolution images and video bursting with detail. And what’s most appealing about the Nexus 10’s screen is its ability to reveal the subtleties in the shadows and highlights that many other tablets crush into black and white.

Screen of Nexus 10

You might think that having to draw so many pixels would result in sluggish performance , but this isn’t the case. With the latest version of Android – 4.4 – onboard, the Nexus 10

The latest version of Android – 4.4 – onboard, the Nexus 10

Feels slick , and barely ever suffers from the slowdown that affects cheaper Android tablets. This is best illustrated by the complete absence of typing lag when using the onscreen keyboard. We also really like the light buzz the tablet gives on every keypress.

Examine the Nexus 10’s benchmark results and you can see that, despite being a year old, the internals hold up well under scrutiny. It might only be a dual – core device, but in every test we carried out, Google’s tablet was at or near the top of the tree, and in a Labs featuring full-blown Windows 8 devices, that’s quite an achievement

Its weakest test score was in the GFXBenach T-Rex HD benchmark. This is the most intensive test we run, and it indicates how capable a tablet is when it comes to gaming , but even here its score of 7.5fps makes it the second – fastest Android tablet on test. And in real – world use, even the most demanding titles – from Real Racing 3 and Asphalt 8 : Airborne to Despicalble MeMinion Rush – proved perfectly playable.

The Nexus 10’s closest competitor is the Sony Xperia Tablet Z, which has a lower – resolution , 1080p display, comparable brightness and quicker performance in games. Sony’s tablet also has a microSD slot – unlike the Nexus 10- and is water – resistant. We prefer the design of the Tablet Z, too : it’s much lighter than the Nexus 10-The 603g heft of which feels rather unwieldy in comparison – and has far superior battery life.

In the end, though , it’s impossible to separate the two tablets. The Xperia Tablet Z has marginally the superior hardware, and expandable storage is a plus, but the Nexus is almost as good and $30 cheaper. We’d be happy owning either of them.