There definitely was a time when the Apple iPad had absolute authority over the domain of tablets. If the iPad 3 was released in that day and age, nobody would even compare it with other similar gadgets. However, things sure have changed. Even though the Apple iPad continues to impress its fans, it has some close competitors to play against now. It’s only been a few days since Apple released the iPad 3 and comparisons are already ripe with the Galaxy Note 10.1.

As a matter of fact, Samsung actually circulated an e-mail within the press which contains a grid comparing the features of the two recently released tablets. According to the grid, the Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with some features which are absent in the iPad 3. Is this just a shot at advertising by Samsung or is there any substance to this claim? Let’s find out.

Form:

For the longest time, the form and design of the Apple iPad was its biggest USP. People would buy the iPad only because it was a fashion statement to have one. It must have been a great challenge for Samsung to come up with a design which was different from the iPad and could stand up to it at the same time. The good news is that they delivered quite decently. The Galaxy Note is actually a tad bit lighter and thinner than the iPad 3 and looks just as smooth and suave as its competitor. It’s a close call in this department.

Display:

Samsung has always been known for its state-of-art screen technology but somehow that hasn’t translated onto their tablets. The Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with a PLS TFT display with a 1280×800 pixel resolution. This is very mediocre compared to the iPad 3 which boasts of a 1536×2048 pixel resolution which has been made possible by Apple’s famous Retina technology. We have a clear winner when it comes to display- the iPad 3.

Operating System:

This comparison could take hours and we still won’t reach any conclusion. It is the classic battle between the Android and the iOS. The iPad uses the most recent iOS 5.1 as against the Android 4.0 ICS used by the Galaxy Note 10.1. The choice between the two boils down to your personal preferences. The iOS is definitely smoother and more user-friendly; it’s almost a delight to use this software. The Android on the other hand does not have any restrictions (which the iOS does) and is more flexible according to your needs. As has been said earlier, this one depends entirely on what you prefer.

Hardware:

The basic hardware specifications are similar for the two tablets- both run on a 1GHz processor with 1GB of RAM and come in different storage sizes. But, Apple has gone all out on the A5X chipset which comes with a quad core graphics processing unit which promises greater processing speeds. This might just be the edge that the iPad 3 has over the Galaxy Note.

There are many more factors to consider like connectivity, camera quality, battery life etc. but it can be convincingly said that the Galaxy Note 10.1 is giving some close competition to the iPad 3. It is a tough decision to make in some departments like the choice of OS and the form factor but one gets the feeling that the Apple iPad 3 might just emerge as the winner even if by a not-so-big margin.