Gadgetory

what's up prize fight fans i'm brian tong and the seven inch tablet category remains one of the hottest right now so we're facing up to primetime powerhouses it's a prize five punch out between Africa iPad Mini and Google's Nexus 7 our judges for this fight just one it's saying sing a tongue I'll score each contestant on its own merits round by round the final prize fight score will be an average of all rounds using the nearest tenth of a point hold on to your butt's round one is designed the iPad Mini brings apples unmatched design with an all-metal body that takes cues from apple's ipod touch lines it's comfortable and light to hold with its 7.9 inch display that's larger in size but its biggest drawback is its 1024 by 768 resolution that looks alright but it just isn't a Retina display now Google's Nexus 7 is still one of the best-looking 7 inch tablet designs we've seen to date it's beveled edges with a grippy perforated backing feels more comfortable to hold compared to the mini and its 7-inch screen pops with a higher 1280 by 800 resolution that's visually sharper beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I'm calling this a tie at 4.5 points apiece next rounds controls and user interface the iPad Mini brings iOS 6 that snappy and intuitive and is still the easiest pick-up-and-play interface on planet earth the home button has multiple functions to access current apps and a few basic settings or you can tap it for Siri even if it gets the job done iOS hasn't evolved enough and I want more beyond the notifications pulldown now the Nexus 7 brings androids jelly bean and it's a legit OS that can stand on its own it's super clean and snappy while bringing Android staple customization with widgets that are resizable and a dock for your apps then let you also drag icons on top of each other to create folders notifications are still here when you swipe from the center but swiping from the top right now brings you quick access to here settings this comes down to preference but Google takes this round with a 4.5 and the iPad Mini gets a 4 so after averaging 2 rounds the Nexus 7 leads next round is feature both tablets bring Wi-Fi Bluetooth and front-facing cameras but you won't find any memory expansion slots here the Nexus 7 comes with 16 or 32 gigs of storage and an Nvidia tegra3 quad-core processor it steps up its feature set with jelly beans Google now which delivers relevant information like whether public transit and nearby businesses based on how you use it Google's voice search and commands are second to none and it's faster and more accurate plus its maps are more reliable right now and it includes Google Street View and public transit options now Android Beam lets you exchange data with two nearby devices when you tap them together and it's Google Play Store may not be on quite the same level with apps but it's still a legitimate offering plus jelly bean 4.2 is coming to the Nexus 7 and we'll be bringing gesture typing to trace over your words instead of typing them out and multiple user accounts on just one tablet now the iPad Mini comes in 16 32 and 64 gig flavors but disappoints with an older a5 dual-core processor that lags behind their other product lines it brings its own voice search with Siri that has a prettier interface when you're looking for sports stores or restaurants but it's just not as accurate and its response time lagged significantly behind Google's Apple brings her own turn-by-turn directions with their Maps app and it does the job for some people but we know about its issues and it still has a long ways to go before it regains my confidence you can also view the content that's on your iPad Mini to a television set that's connected with an Apple TV if you live in the Apple ecosystem and it's really Apple's eCos that might be its greatest asset here with unique apps and games that make the iPad more than just a tablet the Nexus 7 still shines here and takes this round 5 to 3.5 next round is web browsing and multimedia Google's Nexus 7 brings one of the best mobile browsing experiences even without Flash support with its Chrome browser that brings features like an incognito mode for private browsing the iPad Mini brings Safari which is just as solid of a browser with a snappy pinch and zoom and brings features like cloud syncing of bookmarks on other devices and a clean reader mode video quality looked great on both devices but I give the Nexus 7 just a little edge when it came to Netflix and YouTube streaming with its higher resolution screen now Apple's iTunes store also gets an edge here because of its exclusive content deals but Google Play still has a robust library of its own media content beau tablets have front-facing cameras but Apple differentiates itself here with a 5 megapixel rear camera that also shoots 1080p video mode and a panorama mode that works really well compared as third-party apps and it continues to push the taking pictures in public with an iPad movement the iPad takes this round with a perfect 5 and the Nexus 7 gets a 4 after averaging 4 rounds the Nexus 7 still these by 2/10 some point round 5 is performance both of these tablets feel fast and snappy to navigate even if their processors are different in our video playback battery drain test the Nexus 7 gave us just over 10 hours of video playback compared to the iPad Mini that chimed in at over 12 hours and that's the best battery life out of any of the 7-inch tablets on the market today the iPad Mini gets a 5 and the Nexus 7 gets a 4 so after averaging 5 rounds were tied the final round that decides it all is valuable the Nexus 7 16 gig model starts at $1.99 the iPad Mini 16 gig model starts at 329 now you can even purchase a Nexus 7 with 32 gigs and mobile data connectivity for cheaper than a base model iPad Mini and this is really one of the first times where Apple's pricing seems to really be out of touch especially without a Retina display or a curved processor inside of the mini the Nexus 7 takes this round with a 4.5 and the iPad Mini gets a 3 so let's average out all six rounds and in a battle where the Nexus jumped on top early but the iPad Mini fought back to even it up it was the price that made the biggest difference and the Nexus 7 takes this battle 4.4 to 4.2 and defends its title as your pride size winner I'm Brian Chong thanks for watching we'll catch you guys next week for another prizefight you