Although Microsoft is the pioneer in conceptualizing Tablet PCs during the late 1990s, Apple reinvigorated the tablet market with its iPad device in 2010. While Apple iPad 2 got released in 2011, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) model was released in October 2013.

Readers who are planning on buying one of the aforementioned devices, here is the specification and price comparison pertaining to Australia.

Display & Size

The Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 edition) has a 10.1 inches screen while the Apple iPad 2 comes with a 9.7 inches screen size. The Note 10.1 has a screen resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 pixels whereas the iPad 2 features a 1,024 x 768 pixels resolution. The Galaxy Note 10.1 has dimensions of (9.57 x 6.75 x 0.31) inches and it weighs 547 g, while the iPad 2's dimensions add up to (9.50 x 7.31 x 0.34) inches and it weighs 613 g. Also, the Note 10.1 uses Super Clear LCD technology but the iPad 2 uses IPS LCD technology.

In addition, the Apple iPad 2's display is covered with scratch resistant glass.

Hardware & Software

The Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, while the iPad 2 runs on Apple's proprietary iOS 7.1 OS.

The Note 10.1 (2014) is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, quad core (2300 MHz) Krait processor while the Apple iPad 2 is powered by an ARM Cortex-A9, dual core processor clocked at 1 GHz. While the Note 10.1 features a brilliant 3 GB of RAM, the iPad 2 houses a much inferior 512 MB of RAM.

Memory

Both the phones have a built-in storage of 16/32/64 GB. Additionally, the Note 10.1 (2014) offers microSD, microSDHC, and microSDXC cards support for further expansion.

Camera

The Apple iPad 2 houses a lowly 0.7 MP sensor, and a VGA camera on its front. However, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) features an 8 MP (LED Flash) rear facing camera with autofocus, digital zoom, panorama and geo tagging, among others and a 2 MP front facing camera.

The Note 10.1 (2014) captures video at 1080p HD quality, while the iPad 2 captures video at 720p HD quality.

Battery

The Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) houses a thumping 8220 mAh battery unit (non-removable) whereas the iPad 2 houses a 6944 mAh battery unit (non-removable).

Connectivity

The Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) supports Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n 5GHz) and mobile hotspot. This tablet also provides USB 2.0 and microUSB slots. The Apple iPad 2, however, supports Bluetooth 2.1, EDR, Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n) and USB port. In addition, iPad 2 supports HDMI and TV-Out.

Sim

Both the tablets support micro-sim.

Color

Both the tablets come in 2 shades i.e. black and white.

Price

The Apple iPad 2 16GB with 3G is priced at AU$579.95 while the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1(2014) 16GB with 4G LTE is priced at AU$629.95 in Australia.