Nexus 7 vs Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7...huh!!!!

Google's Nexus 7 takes on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 in a spec fight to the death

Google has entered the market with a very reasonably priced 7-inch tablet, known as the Nexus 7. But can it beat the veterans of the Android tablet space such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7? Let's find out.

Form

Google Nexus 7 - 196.7x133x7.9mm, 340g
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 - 198.5x120x10.5mm, 340g

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7, like its bigger 10.1 brother, feels like a premium device. It's svelte, sturdy and the edging isn't too intrusive, something you tend to see on ultra-budget alternatives.

Google's Nexus 7 is a bit chunkier and does have slightly more edging, but both devices weigh the same so it's not such an issue. 340g is well below the weight of an iPad and just over double that of a chunky smartphone.

Samsung has opted for a backplate with a brushed look, which contrasts nicely with the black front panel. At the top left of the back is a camera and flash. It's a nice design but not quite as visually impressive as the new iPad.

Google - well, technically Asus but you get the idea - has opted for a rubbery backplate with holes. We quite like the styling but it certainly divides opinion.

Up against each other, the Samsung is the slimmer, more petite tablet but we get the feeling the Nexus 7 could take one more drop.

Winner - Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7

Display

Once again, it's a close call between both tablets but the extra 0.7-inches found on the Galaxy Tab 7.7 means a lower pixel density - 196 vs 216ppi (pixels per inch).

In terms of resolution, though, both devices are on a par. 800x1280 pixels means HD quality is achieved (well, of the 720p variety) and this leads to excellent clarity.

Both devices are bright, pack a lot of detail and the slightly smaller size lends itself to portability without too much lost in the way of impact. Really it's a choice of whether you want slightly more realistic colours, which would come from the LED-backlit IPS LCD found on the Nexus 7, or the more vivid colours of the Galaxy Tab 7.7's Super AMOLED Plus.

Winner - Draw

Storage

Here we see the Galaxy Tab 7.7 start to show its might. You can get the tablet in numerous forms, the lowest of which is 16GB. Via a microSD card slot, you can up the total storage to 64GB if you combine 36GB with 32GB expandable memory, rivalling the top-end iPad.

Google's Nexus 7 is significantly cheaper, which means corners had to be cut somewhere. In this case, you can either have 8GB or 16GB of internal storage, with no option to expand at a later date.

In the Nexus 7's defence, it does have the same amount of RAM, 1GB, which means performance will be similar - but we'll get onto that in a minute.

Winner - Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7

Camera

The Galaxy Tab 7.7 features two cameras: a 3.15-megapixel rear-facing camera for capturing photos, with LED flash to ensure low-light conditions are better catered for, plus a front-facing 2-megapixel snapper for video calling.

The Nexus 7 has a front-facing 1.2-megapixel camera and no flash. Sitting on the front of the device, it's clearly meant for video calls and not taking images of your friends in a drunken state.

In this instance, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 has the better camera (and two of them), so it wins this round.

Winner - Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7

Processor

Now the Nexus 7 can claw back a point, potentially. Both devices feature a Cortex-A9 processor, but the Nexus 7 goes for a Nvidia Tegra 3 1.3Ghz quad core variant rather than the Galaxy Tab 7.7's dual core 1.4Ghz CPU.

This means, in theory, the Nexus 7 will run faster, especially as both devices feature 1GB of RAM - even with the clock speed slightly in favour of the Galaxy Tab 7.7.

But in practice few, if any, games, apps and tasks require the need for quad core processing. Sure, it's probably going to increase benchmark scores but performance is likely going to be more reliant on the next category.

Even so, the Nexus 7 wins this one for having a more recent version of the same CPU.

Winner - Google Nexus 7

Operating system

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7 comes with Android 3.2 aka Honeycomb. It's relatively usable and certainly looks the part with its neon blue bits of colour and minimal styling. TouchWiz helps simplify the operating system somewhat, but introduces a somewhat less stylish approach.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is on the way - at the time of writing the article the roll-out has started - but it's not here yet, so we can't talk about it.

Google's Nexus 7 is a much better equipped beast in this comparison. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean means it's faster and better optimised, thanks to the work of Google's Project Butter, and a number of new features make it even more desirable. Expandable notifications, improved voice search and Google Now provides ample proof it's the better operating system.

Google Now, if you aren't familiar, searches for relevant information with a focus on timing. So rather than tell you where a bus goes from, knowing you need to make a journey, the information you get will incorporate when the next bus will arrive and its journey time, which is far more helpful.

Compared with Honeycomb, Jelly Bean is a big step and so the Nexus 7 has little to worry about.

Winner - Google Nexus 7

Final thoughts

Both devices offer Android computing in a relatively compact form-factor, but the differences beneath size are extensive. At the expense of a bit of quality, storage and a rear-facing camera, you get a much better operating system, faster performance and a relatively similar display with the Nexus 7.

And that's not the most compelling argument. At its cheapest price we could find, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 costs at least double the price.

Google has really subsidised the Nexus 7 to insane levels - reportedly, Google doesn't make any money on the unit cost itself, making existing alternatives on the market look like a very poor choice. Matters are helped little by Android software updates which may, or may not arrive - it's just luck of the draw, as far as we are concerned, and that doesn't inspire confidence.

When all is said and done, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 isn't a bad device but it's pricey. For either £159 or £199, depending on whether you opt for the 8GB or 16GB storage option, the Nexus 7 represents a fine way to get into Android tablet computing.

Expect our full Nexus 7 review in the next week or two. Until then, why not read our in-depth review of Android Jelly Bean.