Although I’m not the biggest fan on using specs as a pre-determination on how good a product will be in day-to-day use, I’d be ignorant to say they didn’t matter somewhat. It’s not necessarily the individual specifications that make the difference. It’s how they’re married together, and utilized. A big part when comparing smartphones and tablets is looking at the operating system and how much power it needs to work well. iOS traditionally is low maintenance, and doesn’t use a lot of RAM, and doesn’t multitask. Android is the opposite. Multitasking and widgets use much more power, which means the devices using Google’s platform can make use of some incredibly powerful chips like NVIDIA’s Tegra 3.

The 3rd generation iPad’s spec list is pretty impressive, especially the display. With a pixel density of 264ppi set on a 9.7″ panel, it’s impossible to ignore. Nearly all the other specs are there to ensure that the display gets enough power, and that the tablet has a great battery life. Its battery, A5X processor with quad-core graphics are both there for that purpose.

When you consider the price, the newest Android device has a pretty impressive list of specs. The biggest omissions are a rear camera and cellular connectivity. However, when creating a device to be competitively priced, you have to decide what to leave out. And, instead of trying to pack everything in, Google decided to remove the unnecessary. For $200, it’s almost an impulse buy.

The iPad 2′s screen resolution leaves a lot to be desired when compared to the other two. However, for those who prefer iOS and its ecosystem and App Store full of iPad-optimized apps, but with a lower budget, it’s still perfectly good enough to do the job. It’s not noticeably slower, and performs as well as the new generation.

Which do you prefer? Do you like Google’s 7″ tablet, or is it iPad all the way?