Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I thought comparing both units and the Nexus 10 on its own would be a good idea, since many people ask themselves which to buy. Ill rate each area on a 0-5 scale, 5 being the best. Sound: Note 10.1 - 4.5 Nexus 10 - 4.8 Both units have great front facing speaking. They do both however lack good low-end. The Nexus edges ahead for being the louder of the 2, and having a clearer upper frequency range. Screen: Note 10.1 - 4.6 Nexus 10 - 4.6 They tie. I know that may seem weird, seeing as the Nexus has that great resolution and DPI, but read on. The resolution of the Nexus is GREAT. I used a few HD Space live wallpaper to compare, and WOW, they look great on the Nexus. My problem with the Nexus is colors are very washed out, on the Note 10.1 colors are very vibrant with deep saturation. When it comes to reading PDFs, Word, and internet browsing, both screens to about the same. Most websites are scaled for average, not high, resolutions. PDF/Docs are both very readable. There is a slight sharpness increase from the Nexus, but you have to really zoom in to see it. Games on both units perform well, but each has its ups and downs. The HD screen provides detail, but the washed our colors really show in HD games and the Note looks better in that regard. Unless youre truly using 1080p+ content, you wont really notice much difference. THe Nexus also has a bit of light bleed, while the Note doesnt. Construction: Note 10.1 - 4.2 Nexus 10 - 4.8 I should preface by saying, I have NO problem with plastic bodies. My problem with the Note is that the plastic feels very thin, and has a LOT of give, and can even "crink" when flexing. The Nexus 10 feels VERY solid, and the grippy texture on the back is great. If it wasnt for my Note being in a case, Id worry about it alot, the Nexus, less so. The buttons on the Nexus also seem better build, the are firm and have a good "click" when used. Performance (real world): Note 10.1 - 4.4 Nexus 10 - 4.6 The Nexus edges out ahead just a bit. The UI and app performance is consistently better. Its hard to say if thats because of the hardware or slight better hardware. The only area the Nexus struggled with was using ezPDF. For some reason turning pages made the Nexus skip frame rates, I'm would guess that the app more than the tablet. Games and Apps run great in both, but the Note SOMETIMES hiccups a bit, the Nexus has yet to. Battery Life: Note 10.1 - 4.8 Nexus 10 - 4.6 Both Units have great battery life when it comes to "real world" use. My Note lasts my 5ish days, while the Nexus last 3ish. Given the increased screen resolution being rendered and the higher clocked hardware, this is a reasonable tradeoff. Keep in mind these times were achieved with a tuned OS. Rooted with all unneeded services/programs disabled, and I run DS Battery saver on its most aggressive preset. Productivity: Note 10.1 - 4.9 Nexus 10 - 4.3 Its REALLY hard to beat the Note in productivity. Multi-window is great, S-pen for handwriting notes and drawing is unmatched. Misc: Note 10.1 - 4.4 Nexus 10 - 4.6 This is mostly how much work it takes to fully setup tablet as a power-user. Both devices root easily. The Note has MANY more services and bloatware to be tuned to really max out the performance of the OS. The Nexus, well thats pretty stock, so only a bit of trimming is required. Stability: Note 10.1 - 4.8 Nexus 10 -4.8 Updated to the latest OS on both, they both run great. Ive yet to have an OS lock, random reset, or had to hard reset on either. Both have gotten the occasional random app freeze, but its occasional and most likely the app, not the OS. Its worth noting both tablet to well at recovering from app freezes when they do happen, the OS never needs a hard reset. Storage: Note 10.1 - 4.9 Nexus 10 - 4.8 The Note wins out of box because it got a built in memory card slot. You can root the Nexus and buy an OTG cable and a USB card reader and get the same function. Its just one more step, and added cost though. So how do you choose between the 2? The Note right now is all about productivity. If youre a student looking to take digital notes, or looking for general productivity the Note wins hands down. I cant tell you the amount of times Ive pulled up a PDF, Word/Powerpoint doc side by side with Papyrus (my preferred note taking app). As a media device the Nexus is better. Music is louder and clearer, and movies in HD look great. If anyone would like anything else comparing side-by-side just ask, Id be happy to add it.