The Apple iPad has long been dominant in the tablet market and the most recent iPad 3, or new iPad, is another in a long line of success. The most credible Android competition came along in the form of the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet, although many didn’t view this as a ‘serious’ tablet but a perfectly adequate all-round tablet at a reasonable price all the same. Most recently of all we now have the Google Nexus 7 tablet from Asus and this has been a smash-hit, also at a reasonable cost. Let’s take a look at some worthy considerations of the iPad 3 vs. Nexus 7 vs. Kindle Fire to see how the Nexus 7 competes.

The new iPad has a 9.7-inch display and so many of us were used to this size, that at first a tablet with a 7-inch display concerned many who felt it would not be adequate. However the Kindle Fire proved us wrong on that score and the 7-inch display of the Google Nexus 7 followed in the same vein. Indeed it seems that even Apple has cottoned on to the fact that a smaller tablet is also popular and it is being highly rumored that an iPad Mini may be out later this year. Price is also a hugely significant factor with the minimum price of the latest iPad currently costing $499 while the Nexus 7 is available from $199. The bargain price of the Nexus 7 truly is a bargain considering just how much the Nexus 7 has to offer and Apple will need to take on board just how good the Nexus 7 specs and features are when it launches its purported iPad Mini.

A brief rundown of key features and specs of the Google Nexus 7 tablet are a 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 12-core ultra-low voltage GeForce GPU, 7-inch 1280 x 800 HD display, 1GB of RAM, 8 or 16GB of internal storage, 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera (no rear camera) and all running on the latest Android OS, 4.1 Jelly Bean. This are big specs for a little tablet and it has therefore been no surprise to see the Nexus 7 flying off the shelves since its recent release. WPTV asks the question of whether the Nexus 7 is up to the job of replacing your iPad or Kindle Fire and points out a few things to consider that favor the Nexus 7.

The Nexus 7 packs a lot into a frame that’s only 10.45mm thick, only a little more than 1mm thicker than the latest iPad, so it’s still a very comfortably slim device and has a clean and sleek design featuring Corning Gorilla Glass. Another plus point is around 10 hours of web browsing on one battery charge, pretty impressive as Google claims this is only reduced by around one hour when viewing videos. The Jelly Bean OS has also received high praise since its arrival and the fact that this was the first product to be launched running Jelly Bean attracted a lot of justified attention in the Google Nexus 7. Of course iPad users may simply prefer everything that iOS has to offer and this may be one reason that some may stick to the iPad rather than venturing to the ‘other side’. Nevertheless those open to trying something new should appreciate Android Jelly Bean.

The fast performance of the Nexus 7 also comes in for positive attention with the quad-core processor leading the WPTV writer to say it was the “fastest Android device I’ve ever used” while the smoothness of operation and “awesome” HD screen also stand out. In fact the Nexus 7 only earned a few very minor gripes, one being the rather “squishy” power button and another being the way that the OS is locked into the phone layout of Android rather than a tablet layout and also doesn’t flip sideways when in horizontal mode.

For an Android 7-inch tablet the specs of the Nexus 7 make this a real winner above the Kindle Fire but of course Apple does not yet offer a smaller 7-inch iPad. Maybe instead of comparing the current iPad to the Nexus 7 it will be more relevant to contrast the iPad Mini when, and if, it releases. Or of course, we could wait for a Nexus 10 tablet and then ask the question again of what the Nexus tablet has to offer against the Apple iPad.

Certainly for now though, if you want an Android tablet and have been won over by the smaller Nexus 7 format then this will be a great choice, offering decent specs, features and performance at what seems to us a hugely competitive price. We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this. Has the Nexus 7 got everything you need in a tablet? Maybe you are an iPad devotee and can’t imagine switching to anything else? Let us know with your comments.