Google unwrapped on Monday three fresh devices that were meant to make shopping a tad more exciting for the holidays and they came emblazoned with the now popular Nexus brand, which means Google engineering prowess has been poured bit time for these gadgets.

Of particular interest for tablet watchers is the Nexus 10, which Samsung has forged together for its U.S.-based tech giant partner that arguably should deepen the relationship between the two companies.

And why not when they have a common nemesis in Apple, which by the way was likely at the crosshair of Google and Samsung when the Nexus 10 was thought about and came into fruition. Needless to say, the new tablet will collide head-on with the fourth instalment of the million-selling iPad.

The quick question begs: Will the Nexus 10 measure up to the new Apple slate, whose rollout was marked by its predecessors selling more than 100 million units worldwide after more than two years of commercial release?

Judging from the published specs for the two tablets, consumers are in for a classic battle as Google decided to take on the iPad 4 heavily dependent on Samsung's hardware technology. The Nexus 10 is a Samsung brick through and through that is wrapped with Google's latest Android version, which is the 4.2.

Google touted the new Android as essentially the same Jelly Bean but with more spunk and most notable feature of the platform, according to SlashGear, is the Miracast, which allows for wireless display mirroring with other devices.

These new technology will tackle the iOS AirPlay, also designed for third party device pairing that at the moment enjoys some edge over that of the Miracast. Reason, SlashGear said, is AirPlay came out first so gadget manufacturers have already lined up compatible product for the Apple proprietary tech.

Moving on to the display showdown, Nexus 10 will beam resolution of up to 2560 x 1600 that is superior (number-wise) to that of iPad's 2048 x 1536. The former, according to PC Magazine, appears to be the highest resolution that has been deployed so far for a tablet but of course the Apple tablet comes equipped with the jaw-dropping Retina display technology.

Retina, tech experts said, makes for a superb viewing pleasure even on the iPad's 9.7-inch screen, which Google matched with Samsung's Super PLS (Plane-to-Line Switching) that delivers crisp and crystal images irrespective of lighting condition or viewing angles for the 10-inch Nexus 10 screen.

Both tablets have identical rear camera sensor of 5MP that able to capture 1080p video with energy juices that could last between nine and 10 hours, depending on extensive media and net browsing use.

And the power behind the iPad is the A6X, which Apple said is the Ferrari among its lines of chips that were powering its numerous devices. Samsung rolled out a Porsche of a processor to outpace the Apple powerhouse which the Asian firm called the A15 Eagle (dual-core) that is paired with Quad-core ARM Mali-T604 GPU.

Early reviewers are in agreement that Nexus 10 is indeed power-packed and come the dizzying Christmas shopping spree, buyers may well be tempted by the tablet's tag price that starts at $469 in Australia, depending on internal storage capacity, which comes at 16GB and 32GB.

The iPad 4, on the other hand, is expected to carry the sticker price of its immediate predecessor, the iPad 3, which in turn would be discounted, making it the likely Apple rival of Nexus 10 when consumers are on a budget.

Both the iPad 4 and the Nexus 10 enjoy Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity options though the former has more wireless broadband muscle as Apple installed 4G-LTE chips on its new tablet, which the tech titan has assured, will work smoothly on Australian networks.