Everyone always says you get what you pay for. But is that truly the case when you compare the cheaper Nexus 7 2 tablet from Google with the premium build quality of Apple's iPad Mini with Retina Display? The answer may surprise you.

On a spec-by-spec basis, both devices offer a lot of bang for your buck. And when it comes to performance, they really are neck and neck. The biggest reason you would pick up an iPad Mini with Retina Display over the Nexus 7 2 is if you already have a lot of money tied up into the iTunes ecosystem. The same principle applies for all you Android users who have spent a good deal of money in the Google Play store.

However, if the amazing battery life of the Retina Display or the Nexus' integration with Google Docs is too much to pass up, rebuying content may be the right more for you. Now rebuying content you already own seems radical, but really anyone who made the jump from cassette to CD or VHS to DVD, to name a few, did so before. At the very least you won't have to rebuy music. Transferring music between devices is a breeze.

If you don't have any cash invested in either of these two virtual stores, you're in luck. You can decide to buy either tablet without having to worry about how you are going to transfer your vast app and media collection over to the other device. If the main factor you're looking for in a tablet is battery life then the iPad is the clear winner. It offers 10 hours of use. In comparison, the Nexus 7 2 offers a respectable 9 hours of usage.

If you want great apps, buy an iPad Mini with Retina Display. Many apps on the iTunes store are optimized for either the 7.9" Mini or 9.7" iPad Air because developers just have two models to design for. Android developers don't have this luxury. They have many different form factors to deal with including 7", 8", 10" and 12" sizes. They cannot possibly design one app to fit all of these Android tablets perfectly. The developers compromise and create a one size fits all version. Android tablets also make heavy use out of repurposing phone-based apps for tablets, which in short, means that they are scaled up.

The Nexus 7 2 features a better display than the iPad Mini with Retina Display. It's brighter and colors are more life-like due to a higher color gamut. Yet the iPad Air arguably has the best tablet screen on the market today -- go figure. The Nexus 7 2's display is also better for playing games and watching movies due to its widescreen format.

Both tablets are fantastic devices with lots of memory, powerful processors, fast Wi-Fi and optional cellular connectivity for added versatility when you're on the go. The iPad Mini with Retina Display's 64 bit CPU is future proof, but the nearly $200 savings on the Nexus 7 2 cannot be overlooked.