Apple iPad 2 - 241.2x185.7x8.8mm, 607g
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 - 193.7x122.4x10.5mm, 344g
Samsung's re-invented Galaxy Tab isn't much of a re-invention, at least, as far as external design is concerned because it appears to use a very similar and neatly shaped body shell with a brushed aluminium back panel.
We deliberately say similar because it's not exactly the same. The dimensions are slightly different as Samsung has made the new Galaxy Tab 2 ever-so-slightly taller, wider and 1.5mm thinner than its predecessor, while shaving off around 36g in weight.
As with the original Galaxy Tab, we find the section of bodywork around the screen a little large for our tastes, at least from a visual standpoint, though, we suppose it does give you some space to grip without touching the screen inadvertently.
Apple's iPad 2 is the larger of the devices and it's a good deal heavier, too, at 607g compared with the Samsung's 344g but it does have the edge when it comes to thickness being only 8.8mm compared with the Galaxy Tab 2's 10.5mm waistline.
Generally we think the iPad 2 boasts nicer proportions and a sharper look than the Galaxy Tab 2, which looks a little too soft to us.
Display
The Galaxy Tab 2 is topped with a 7-inch piece of capacitive PLS LCD touchscreen glass that clocks a 1024x600 pixel resolution and a pixel density of 170 pixels-per-inch (ppi).
The Galaxy Tab 2 is topped with a 7-inch piece of capacitive PLS LCD touchscreen glass that clocks a 1024x600 pixel resolution and a pixel density of 170 pixels-per-inch (ppi).
The iPad 2 doesn't continue Apple's tradition of extremely sharp displays normally found on its smaller iPhone devices - there's no fancy Retina stuff going on here, you'll have to wait for the iPad 3 for that, allegedly.
Instead, what you do get is 9.7-inches of LED-backlit IPS TFT capacitive touchscreen at 1024x768 pixels and 132ppi.
Neither setup is particularly awe-inspiring but they're not that bad either. Samsung's display has the higher pixel density but Apple's LED-backlit IPS technology should result in a better image quality overall.
Storage
Samsung's device has three storage variants: either 8GB, 16GB or 32GB, depending on how much cash you're willing to splash, but any one you pick will come with a micro SD slot for a further 32GB. You also get 1GB of RAM.
Samsung's device has three storage variants: either 8GB, 16GB or 32GB, depending on how much cash you're willing to splash, but any one you pick will come with a micro SD slot for a further 32GB. You also get 1GB of RAM.
Apple's iPad 2 storage capability starts higher up the chain with 16GB coming in as the lowest capacity followed by 32GB and 64GB models.
The iPad 2 has half the RAM of its rival at 512MB but this doesn't seem to affect performance due to Apple's clever optimisation. Of course, as usual, the iPad 2 doesn't feature a microSD slot so there's no possibility of expanding its memory.
We reckon this is a draw. The iPad 2 has more in-built storage in its top-end choice but between the Galaxy Tab's top-tier option and its micro SD support you can achieve the same storage total.
The Samsung has more RAM but Apple is pretty confident it doesn't need this much and we're inclined to agree.
Camera
Cameras on both these devices aren't the most spectacular you'll encounter. The iPad 2 has a 0.7-megapixel primary camera at 960x720 pixels and a VGA front-facer for Facetime video calling. Video capture is 720p.
Cameras on both these devices aren't the most spectacular you'll encounter. The iPad 2 has a 0.7-megapixel primary camera at 960x720 pixels and a VGA front-facer for Facetime video calling. Video capture is 720p.
Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 is slightly better equipped with a 3.15-megapixel primary at 2048x1536 pixels and capable of 1080p video capture with geo-tagging and smile detection. The secondary camera is VGA.
The Galaxy Tab 2 has a preferable setup here but if you're after an amazing camera you should looks elsewhere and probably not at a tablet either, if we're honest.
Operating System
Apple's tablet runs the latest build of the company's own iOS platform, iOS 5, while Samsung's revamped Galaxy Tab runs the most recent Android release, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.
Apple's tablet runs the latest build of the company's own iOS platform, iOS 5, while Samsung's revamped Galaxy Tab runs the most recent Android release, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.
This is, of course, that old chestnut of personal preference on whether you want the ‘walled garden' of iOS, which works more or less flawlessly but can have a slightly clinical feel, or Android's extreme freedom, which can come at a cost of stability and cohesiveness.
Ice Cream Sandwich is one of the most polished version of Android to date with some very intuitive tweaks to existing features from the previous build, Honeycomb 3.2.
For example, the quick app switching tab has returned but with the welcome addition of swiping running apps away to close them. It's things like this which make it much easier to use than its predecessors.
Overall iOS 5 is a very comprehensive platform but compared with previous versions it has been somewhat on the buggy side. Admittedly, most users haven't had any trouble and have been able to enjoy Apple's plethora of new enhancements, but if you're unlucky it can be a bit of a pain.
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