Which of these devices is the ideal purchase for consumers? We pit the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 against the Microsoft Surface 2 to see which is better.
In terms of design and display, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1's touch screen has a nice 10.1 inches Super LCD one. The screen can render a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, and it is quite light for its dimensions (243.1 x 171.4 x 7.9), weighing 540 g. Meanwhile the Microsoft Surface 2's touch screen is a slightly bigger 10.6 inches TFT screen, which will render an inferior resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Naturally, this tablet is bigger (dimensions: 274.6 x 172.5 x 8.9) and is also heavier (675.9 g).
For hardware and operating systems, Samsung tablets are with two options regarding processor: first one is the Cortex A15 processor which is a quad core clocked at 1.9 GHz and the second one is a Cortex A7 processor which is also a quad core, but clocked at 1.3 GHz instead. Both versions will come with the Snapdragon 800 version of the Qualcomm chipset. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 supports a 3GB of RAM and has 3 options of internal storage: either the 16GB, 32GB or the 64GB one (the memory is expandable up to 64GB using a microSD card). Galaxy Note 10.1 runs on the Android Jelly Bean OS.
On the other hand, Microsoft also equipped its tablet with a nice powerful processor: the Cortex A15 one which is a quad core clocked at 1.7 GHz. The chipset that comes along is the Tegra 4 T40 Nvidia version. The Microsoft Surface 2 supports 2 GB of RAM and two options of internal storage: 32 GB and 64GB (expandable up to 64GB via microSD card). The tablet runs on Microsoft Windows 8.1 RT.
In terms of camera features there is no clear between the two. If you are more of a rear camera enthusiast, you will find that the Samsung tablet comes with a nice 8MP camera (autofocus + LED flash) while the Microsoft tablet features a 5MP camera (autofocus + LED flash).
But if you like to take advantage of the front camera, Microsoft Surface 2 may have an advantage since it sports a 3.5MP secondary camera as the Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with a 2MP front camera.
For battery usage and longevity, both devices have a non-removable battery unit. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 features a Li-Po 8220 mAh battery, while the Microsoft Surface 2 is equipped with a Li-Ion battery.
The Galaxy Note 10.1 32GB tablet at an estimated price of $350.00 based on amazon.com's notes, while the Microsoft Surface 2 cost $408.00.
Which tablet device is worth the purchase? Sound off in the comments section below.
