As early reviews roll in, Google's Nexus 10 tablet is scoring some of the highest marks yet for Android tablets. Users have really responded to Google's claims of the device's unparalleled display quality and fawned over the Nexus 10's operating system.

Google, LG Nexus 4 Smartphone Shipping Now; Reviews Tout Superior Screen Quality 

While most agree the tremendous lack of third-party apps for the device is a big drawback, virtually the same amount of reviews herald the Nexus 10 as the best Android tablet yet.

Google, Samsung Nexus 10

Perhaps the most hyped device in Google's new lineup, many view the Nexus 10 as the first device with legitimate potential to become an "iPad killer."

"Nexus 10 is the ultimate tablet for watching movies or reading magazines. We wanted to build a premium entertainment device, so we partnered with Samsung to do just that," Google said in its recent product announcement on the company's blog.

"Nexus 10 is the highest resolution tablet on the planet with a 10.055-inch display at 2560-by-1600 (300ppi), that's over 4 million pixels right in your hands. It comes with a powerful battery that will get you up to nine hours of video playback and more than 500 hours of standby time. With a set of front-facing stereo speakers, you can watch movies right from your Nexus 10 and they simply sound awesome. But what makes Nexus 10 unique is that it's the first truly shareable tablet. With Android 4.2, you can add multiple users and switch between them instantly right from the lockscreen.

"We believe that everyone should have quick and easy access to their own stuff -- email, apps, bookmarks, and more. That way, everyone can have their own home screens, their own music, and even their own high scores."

Price/models

6GB for $399; 32GB for $499; available on Nov. 13 in the Google Play Store in the U.S., U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Canada and Japan. You'll also be able to purchase the 32GB version in more than 2,000 Walmart stores in the U.S.

Specs broken down

Dimensions and Weight: 10.4 x 6.9 x 0.35 inches, 1.33 lbs

Screen Size: 10.06 inches (larger than the Apple iPad's 9.7-inches, smaller than the Microsoft Surface RT's 10.6)

Screen Resolution: 2560 x 1600 pixel, 300 ppi (Best available)

Speakers: Dual, Stereo (same as Microsoft Surface RT)

Average Battery Life: 10 hours (same as Apple iPad, Microsoft Surface RT)

Processor: 1.7 Ghz Samsung

RAM: 2GB (larger than the iPad's 1GB, same as Microsoft Surface RT)

Expandable Storage: None (same as iPad, Surface has microSDXC card slot)

Cameras

Back: 5MP photo/1080p video, with LED flash; Front: 1.9MP photo/720p video (back camera and video quality is same as Apple iPad, but has LED flash, front camera is better than iPad's 1.2 MP. Surface hasn't released camera specs, but video quality is the same as Nexus 10)

The Google ad Samsung Nexus 10, will have the highest pixel density of any tablet on the market, and will be released in the first half of 2013, according to CNET.

Google's Nexus 10 tablet will have a 2,560x1,600 pixel density, which CNET says will "push the display manufacturing tech envelope." That high of a pixel density would place the Nexus 10 at the top of the heap with a higher count than Amazon's 8.9-inch display Kindle Fire HD and Apple's 9.7-inch display iPad 3. It's also higher than the rumored screen specs we've been seeing for Microsoft's 10.1-inch Surface tablets.

"By stuffing that density into a 10-inch screen, the PPI jumps to just shy of 300," says CNET.

The Google, Samsung Nexus 10 also features micro USB and micro HDMI ports, a clear advantage over Apple's iPad 4, which has neither.

Reviews

Washington Post

The Washington Post loved the Nerxus 10's unique design when compared to competing tablets, thought it was perfect for those already entrenched in the Google ecosystem, and found the sound-quality bested Apple's iPad - though, they still prefer the iPad overall.

"The Nexus really shines when it comes to media - especially content bought through Google."

"The Nexus has a rubberized back and fits more snuggly on my lap than the metal-backed iPad. In my hands, I don't feel as if the Nexus would slip out and crash on to the hard floor, as I continually do with the iPad."

"There are front-facing speakers going up and down both sides of the Nexus, compared with just one tucked in a corner on the back of an iPad. You feel more immersed watching video with sound coming right at you from the entire device. I hadn't considered that a problem on the iPad, but I began to notice it once I played video on the tablets side by side."

"The screen measures 10.1 inches diagonally, which is more than the iPad's 9.7 inches. But the screen isn't any larger because while it's about an inch wider in horizontal mode, it's also about a half-inch less in height. This works well for widescreen content, which completely fills the screen. On the iPad, the latest movies and TV shows often have black bars, no matter how you hold the tablet."

"What makes the tablet's shape good for movies makes it less-than-ideal for magazines, though. There's wasted space on the top and the bottom for magazines on the Nexus."

"Not all apps have been specifically adapted for the tablet's larger screen, but they take advantage of the entire screen, nonetheless, thanks to the way Android lets software programmers build their apps in modules. All the content gets blown up and still looks decent."

"The iPad remains king among tablets, with its ease of use, variety of apps and dominance in the market. But challengers such as Google offer choice. The Nexus 10 is a good choice if you already have an Android phone and use a lot of Google services."

Ars Technica

Ars Technica thought the Nexus 10's sound was much better than its competitors, and thought the device's screen quality was the best around, period.

"The Nexus 10 also features front-facing stereo speakers that run down the edges of the screen, similar to (but taller than) the front-facing speakers on the Galaxy Note 10.1. The volume is roughly comparable to that produced by the rear-facing speakers on the newest iPads and the Nexus 7, but the sound quality is noticeably better (if still not great), and front-facing speakers are more difficult to block or muffle with your hands no matter how you're holding the tablet."

"The Nexus 10 is an example of plastic at its best, and its solid construction is the very antithesis of the Galaxy Note 10.1."

"The real star of the show here is the Nexus 10's crisp 2560x1600 screen. Text in particular is extremely crisp, and unlike Apple's iPhone, iPad, and Mac Retina displays, Android apps should be able to take advantage of this without modification. Icons and images that haven't been optimized for high-resolution displays are still going to look a bit blurry, though."

"The Nexus 10 takes mediocre photos with its 5 megapixel camera and LED flash; there's also a rear-facing microphone pinhole in case you want to record mediocre video, too."

"It's safe to say that Android is a stable, smooth, and capable operating system that stacks up well next to competing platforms from Apple and Microsoft."

"Overall, the Nexus 10's battery life isn't bad, and for general use it's pretty close to Google's estimates. Gamers beware, though-unleashing the Exynos 5's full performance will drain the battery rapidly."

"The Android app ecosystem isn't bad-meat-and-potatoes productivity staples like Dropbox, Twitter, and Evernote are all present and accounted for-but there are still issues that keep it second to iOS."

"At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Android's tablet app ecosystem is as weak as ever... Of the apps that are in Google Play, many are targeted toward smaller phone-sized screens rather than tablet screens. On the 7-inch Nexus 7, this is more forgivable, but there's no place for phone apps to hide in the vast expanse of a 10-inch screen."

IT Pro Portal

IT Pro Portal loved the screen quality, but thought the tablet fell short just about everywhere else due to major bug issues, a quickly draining battery, and hardware that it claims just doesn't live up to the purported specs.

"These super-high-resolution tablets typically suffer in the battery life department. I got 5 hours and 9 minutes of video playback with the Nexus 10 switched to full screen brightness. This result fell a bit short of the 5 hours and 36 minutes the fourth-generation Apple iPad scored on the same test, and way short of the 7 hours and 17 minutes turned in by the Asus TF700, with its 1,920 x 1,200 screen. Expect battery life to almost double if you reduce the brightness to half."

"On benchmarks it screamed, delivering the fastest Geekbench scores of any device we've ever tested. Its 2,480 result bested the quad-core LG Optimus G smartphone's 2,129 and the fourth-generation iPad's 1,768. But the Geekbench scores will be meaningless for most people given the Nexus 10's trouble running various apps and games."

"Web browsing speed also didn't measure up to the processor specs. The ultra-high-res screen puts a strain on the processor, which shows in lower on-screen frame rates."

"During my testing, I encountered several other bugs. Searching and downloading 63 apps to test, the Google Play store crashed twice. At one point my on-screen keyboard devolved into a mosaic of pixels. I also saw an occasional strange graphical stutter or flicker on the screen."

"The Nexus 10 tablet is attractive, well-built, and well-priced. But its software doesn't live up to the promise of its hardware. Google's lack of guidance on tablet-focused apps means you'll be downloading a lot of chaff, and on the whole, it's too uneven an experience."

"Our favourite large Android tablet is still the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1; Apple's iPad is still my preferred selection when it comes to a large screen tablet. While the iPad and Nexus 10 share similar specs, the iPad's solid reliability and huge library of well-designed tablet apps win the day."