iPad 3 vs. Galaxy Tab 2 10.1: Battle Between Apple and Samsung Still Rages

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, which was released at the Mobile World Congress, bears a striking resemblance to its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and comes with a minimalistic style, rounded corners and a smoothly beveled back. Though most of the users felt that the specs packed in by the Korean electronics giant were anticlimactic and made the tablet competition a little dull with its not-so-new features, the existing features can still give any other tablet a run for their money.

Apple, on the other hand, has packed some amazing features with its newly released iPad. While the Retina display is its USP, 4G LTE and a super-fast processor are the other winning features of the latest Apple device.

Although Samsung lovers wanted a better device with some new features instead of packing in just an updated OS in the same old device, the Android tablet does have some fabulous features just like its predecessors and a solid built.

Check out the features of Samsung's latest slate and compare them with Apple's device to see how they fare against each other.

Display: The Samsung tablet sports a 10.1-inche PLS TFT capacitive touchscreen that comes with 1280 x 800 pixels at 149 ppi pixel density. The Apple iPad, on the other hand, features a 'resolutionary' Retina display, which is also mercury and arsenic-free, with 2048 x 1536 resolution, 44 percent greater color saturation and 3.1 million pixels - in the same 9.7-inch space. The pixel numbers are four times the number of pixels in the iPad 2 and a million more than in an HDTV, reports the Cupertino-based tech giant. Reviewers, however, pointed that the resolution looks best only if you hold the tab 4 inches away from your eyes.

Size: Weighing 588 grams, the Samsung Galaxy tab comes in dimensions of 256.6 x 175.3 x 9.7 mm, while the Apple device comes in dimensions of 241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4 mm with weights of 652 grams. (Wi-Fi only model) and 662 grams (Wi-Fi + 3G model).

Memory: The Samsung tablet has 1GB RAM and 32/64GB storage capacity with a microSD card slot for an additional 32GB support. The iPad also has 1GB RAM and is available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models. However, the Apple device lacks an external microSD card slot.

Operating system: The Galaxy tab 2 10.1 features Android OS 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) with a layer of the TouchWiz UX UI. On the other hand, the new iPad runs on iOS 5.1, an updated version of iOS 5.

Processor: Galaxy tab 2 10.1 features Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9 processor. The original Galaxy tab sports Nvidia Tegra 3 and ULP GeForce GPU. Since there's no specific reports on the availability of the processor as of now, we just hope that a better processor comes with the latest 10.1 model. On the other hand, the new iPad is powered by a dual-core Apple A5X high-performance chip with quad-core graphics.

Connectivity & Network: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 has Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0 version with A2DP, and USB 2.0 version while the new Apple tablet comes with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 version technology, and 4G LTE for both AT&T and Verizon models. Given below are the specifications:

Wi-Fi + 4G for AT&T model: LTE (700, 2100 MHz); UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

Wi-Fi + 4G for Verizon model: LTE (700 MHz); CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz); UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

Camera: The Samsung tablet sports a 3.15 MP megapixel primary shooter that comes with LED flash and autofocus features with 1080p video playback capability. The tablet also offers a secondary VGA camera.

Apple wins hands-down here as the new iPad features a 5 megapixel rear-facing iSight camera with support for 1080p video recording. Apple, however, maintained the same secondary VGA camera that was on iPad 2. According to Apple, the iSight camera with a ƒ/2.4 aperture and a five-element lens for advanced optics gives the best picture possible and captures light efficiently to produce a sharper overall image.

Battery: In terms of battery life, Samsung packs in the same Li-Po 7000 mAh battery used in its predecessor while the new iPad comes with 42.5 wh rechargeable Li-polymer battery with up to 10 hours of usage.

Additional Features: The Samsung tablet includes features like S-pen, Accelerometer, gyro, compass, SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM, HTML, Adobe Flash, SNS integration, TV-out, MP4/DivX/Xvid/H.264/H.263 player, MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player, Organizer, Image/video editor, Document editor/viewer, Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa integration, Voice memo/dial, Predictive text input (Swype).

The Apple tab, on the other hand, comes with 200,000 apps, voice dictation, iCloud to store music, photos, apps, mail, contacts, calendars, documents, and more, with a wireless transfer to all the devices, AirPlay Mirroring to Apple TV, VoiceOver screen reader, Support for playback of closed-captioned content, AssistiveTouch interface for adaptive accessories, Full-screen zoom magnification, Large fonts, White on black display, Left/right volume adjustment, etc.