It's striking how Android devices keep improving CPU power, even though graphic smoothness is acknowledged as a key issue - while Apple focuses on GPU performance.
Tegra 3 has quad CPU; Apple's A5X (iPad 3) has quad GPU. (the GPU cores aren't exactly equivalent, but Apple's is more powerful.) Apple also runs its CPUs slower - giving better battery life. This is because CPU lack of power isn't a problem (isn't even noticeable); but GPU lack is noticeable and a concern when you're using it.
Also: you get more bang per buck from GPUs than CPUs - simply because graphics tasks are generally far easier to parallelize. In result, so you can have many graphics cores running at lower clocks, to get great performance with less battery drain.
In the long-term big picture, the tablets with more CPU power will have more powerful applications written for them. This might be key for which tablets are the ones that end up replacing laptops/desktops. (In the background, a countervailing factor is that computation is moving to the GPU... so it could be that the tablet with the better GPU performance will win...)
All that said, the Nexus 7, getting the below is very impressive:
quad-core 1.3GHz CPU
340 grams
8 hour battery life (advertised...)
They spent a whole section talking about the Nexus 7 GPU and another talking about software improvements to FPS. They're obviously not taking it lightly.
You're comparing apples to oranges. Different OSes and devices have completely different requirements. iOS have no true multi-tasking like Android does. So Android naturally is more CPU intensive since you'll usually have more stuff happening in the background. The new iPad has a larger resolution. So it's understandable it needs a powerful GPU for smooth graphics.
You can't just compare the bang for the buck you get from CPU vs GPU looking at different OSes. The optimal point will be different for each. I'm sure google tried different setups that would fit the $200 budget. At the end of the day. All the matters is whether it can display smooth UX with a long battery life and good price. And it seems they got there.
Tegra 3 has quad CPU; Apple's A5X (iPad 3) has quad GPU. (the GPU cores aren't exactly equivalent, but Apple's is more powerful.) Apple also runs its CPUs slower - giving better battery life. This is because CPU lack of power isn't a problem (isn't even noticeable); but GPU lack is noticeable and a concern when you're using it.
Also: you get more bang per buck from GPUs than CPUs - simply because graphics tasks are generally far easier to parallelize. In result, so you can have many graphics cores running at lower clocks, to get great performance with less battery drain.
In the long-term big picture, the tablets with more CPU power will have more powerful applications written for them. This might be key for which tablets are the ones that end up replacing laptops/desktops. (In the background, a countervailing factor is that computation is moving to the GPU... so it could be that the tablet with the better GPU performance will win...)
All that said, the Nexus 7, getting the below is very impressive: