Google Nexus 7 Vs Microsoft Surface RT: Cut Throat Combat of the Operating Systems

The existing tablet market, which is dominated by Apple, since the release of its first iPad is now getting ready to have more dominators. This can be said, as Microsoft and Google are striving really hard to catch hold of the Cupertino-giant dominated tablet market with their latest break-taking offerings including Windows 8 based Surface tablet and Asus-made Nexus 7 respectively.

While both the tablets are quite different in most of the specs and features, however, when released in the market, they will give a tough competition to each other depending on the unique and latest OS enthrusted in them by their respective tech giants.

Hence, Gizbot has hurled Microsoft Surface and Google Nexus 7 into a comparison battle-ring and will dig into their features to find out which one is more worthy of being your next tablet.

Display & Dimensions: The Microsoft Surface tablet measuring 9.3 mm thick and weighing 676 grams is slimmer and heavier than the Google Nexus 7, which measures 10.5 mm thick and weighs 340 grams.

Furthermore, the Surface tablet sports a 10.6 inch ClearType Full HD capacitive multitouch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels (approx. 139 ppi pixel density) whereas the Nexus 7 sports a 7 inch IPS capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels (approx. 216 ppi pixel density). Moreover, the Nexus 7 is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass.

Processor: Google Nexus 7 is equipped with a quad core 1.3 GHz Cortex A9 processor while Microsoft Surface is equipped with an ARM chipset, as its a Windows RT tablet.

Operating System: This is the most interesting part as the Google Nexus 7 runs on the latest iteration of the Android OS, Jelly Bean whereas the Microsoft Surface RT runs on the upcoming Windows RT OS based on Windows 8.

The Nexus 7 is the first device to ship with the latest incarnation of the Android OS, version 4.1, also known as Jelly Bean. The new operating system comes with outstanding featurs like Project Butter, richer notifications, a new Voice Search feature, resizable widgets, Android Beam (using NFC technology, users can share data), Google Now (right information at right time), improved camera and many more.

While, Windows RT operating system is the "light" version of Windows 8, running only the Metro apps available through the Windows app store, it will include a version of Microsoft Office at no additional charge.

Camera: Google Nexus 7 sports a 1.2MP front camera which can record 720p videos and facilitate video calling. The major downside of the Google tablet is the lack a of a rear camera with better optics.

On the other hand, Microsoft will come with two cameras: a front facing and a rear facing, but there are no other details revealed by the company as far yet.

Storage: Nexus 7 comes in two variants – 8GB and 16GB, both with 1 GB RAM. But, the tablet lacks a micro SD card slot, which supports expandable memory.

When it comes to the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT, it comes in two variants – 32GB and 64GB and also has a micro SD card slot for expandable memory.

Connectivity: Google Nexus 7 packs connectivity features like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, NFC and micro USB 2.0 while the Surface tablet features dual MIMO antennae for strong Wi-Fi connectivity and Bluetooth. However, there is no information if the Surface tablet will be integrated with 3G or 4G mobile broadband.

Battery: Google Nexus 7 packs a 4325 mAh Li-ion battery, which will offer 300 hours of standby time while Microsoft Surface is rumored to pack a 1440 mAh battery with 3.15 W-h, which is believed to offer a talk time of 7.5 hours.

Price: The Google Nexus 7 is priced at Rs 17,000 approximately in India while rumors claim that Microsoft Surface RT will be priced at $200 (approx. 11,000).

Verdict

When compared on the basis of OS, it seems Google Nexus 7 OS is more focused, controlled and customizable in line with Microsoft Surface Windows RT tablets. At the same time, in terms of price, Nexus 7 has an upper hand, but Microsoft Surface RT has a better display and UI. Furthermore, reports have appeared in the past, where experts have pointed out that the Nexus 7 has many drawbacks – lack of SIM card slot, no micro SD card slot and no rear camera, which might discourage the consumers from buying it.