Lenovo K2

Intel showed off a pre-production adaptation of Lenovo's K2 book at the Mobile World Congress and offered some hands-on time with the device, which had a Medfield processor inside. See also: New iPad review.

The K2 will address with Intel's Medfield Atom processor, which is advised for both phones and tablets. Lenovo's specs alarm for the K2 to address (in China first) with an Atom Z2460. Medfield, forth with Clover Trail, will be Intel's acknowledgment to ARM-based processors on tablets. The audience of Android 4.0 on the Lenovo appears to set the date for what's looks to be an absorbing antagonism a part of chipmakers for a alcove in the more aggressive book space. Read Apple launches new iPad: abounding details

The tablet's specs cover a 1280-by-800 resolution display, 1GB of anamnesis and 16GB of storage. Around the edges are a micro-USB port, micro-HDMI, SD Agenda slot, and SIM agenda lot. The book appearance an 8-megapixel camera on the back. Plus, it will abutment Intel's Wireless Affectation technology, for less-hassle if abutting to a WiDi-capable display. Visit Group test: what's the best book PC?

In-hand, the assemblage acquainted failing and composed for a 10.1-inch model. It's accepted to counterbalance about 680 grams. The affectation looked acceptable for its resolution, with a acutely basal air-gap. I aswell noticed that Android was acknowledging as I flicked a part of screens, played high-def video -- continued the affliction of Atom's actuality -- and played a bold (though, the Angry Birds aerial through the air seemed a tad slower than I've appear to apprehend from added tablets).

A area of the aback acquainted a bit warm, but abounding tablets I've acclimated are accusable of this, and it could be because the book has been larboard acquainted in all the time, and not because of the calefaction getting generated by the processor.

Although the Lenovo book was the one showed here, Intel aswell has affairs to jump into tablets with its Clover Trail processors in the additional bisected of the year, if it launches Windows 8-based tablets.

Read more ...

Apple new iPad vs iPad 2

Apple has appear its third bearing tablet, the iPad, not the iPad 3, iPad HD or any added name. After months of rumours and advertising we’ve angled up the differences amid what has in actuality materialised and its antecedent the iPad 2. See also: New iPad review.

New iPad vs iPad 2: Design

The iPad still has the archetypal iPad style, appearance and ample attending with a 9.7-inch screen, atramentous or white bezel and aluminium rear cover. However, the accessory has in actuality got thicker and added rather than accepting akin down. The iPad 2 measures in at 8.8mm blubbery and 601g for the lighter WiFi alone archetypal but the new iPad is 0.6mm thicker and 51g added at 9.4mm and 652g.

New iPad vs iPad 2: Display

The capital affection change on the new iPad is a top resolution ‘retina’ display. The new iPad has the aforementioned 9.7-inch sized awning as its antecedent but with a resolution of 2048 x 1536.

It is the aboriginal time that the close has upgraded the affectation back the aboriginal iPad. The iPad 2 has a resolution of 1024 x 768 so the new iPad has four times the bulk of pixels on the aforementioned admeasurement screen. This agency the new iPad has a pixel body of 264ppi compared to the iPad 2’s 132ppi.

New iPad vs iPad 2: Processor

The iPad 2 is not a apathetic accessory but the new iPad has been able with an A5X chip. It’s an advancement from the A5 1GHz dual-core processor which is begin in the iPad 2.

The A5X is a dual-core dent with quad-core graphics. Apple claims it is four times faster than NVIDIA’s Tegra 3.

New iPad vs iPad 2: Camera

Another advancement is to the tablets’ cameras. The 720p rear camera on the iPad 2 has been bumped up to an iSight 5MP camera able of recording 1080p. It has appearance including autofocus, tap to focus, face apprehension in still angel and video stabilisation.There’s no change with the foreground adverse camera which charcoal at VGA quality. Apple has absitively to alarm it the FaceTime camera, though.

New iPad vs iPad 2: Connectivity

The new iPad still has the acceptable 30-pin proprietary adapter but central there has been a change for the better. The new iPad comes in a 4G LTE archetypal which agency faster adaptable internet than 3G.

In the UK this affection is finer bombastic for the accountable approaching because there is no 4G arrangement for the iPad to utilise. However, it does accomplish the book approaching affidavit for if 4G is cycle out and available.

The 4G iPad has the aforementioned 9.4mm contour as the WiFi alone archetypal but is a added 10g added at 662g.

New iPad vs iPad 2: Storage

The iPad 2 is accessible in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities and that’s absolutely what the new iPad appear with too. The iPad has never had a anamnesis agenda aperture for amplification and still doesn’t.

New iPad vs iPad 2: Array life

Apple touts a array activity of up to 10 hours for the new iPad which is the aforementioned as the iPad 2. This can be advised an advancement due to the actuality the hardware, mainly the screen, is appreciably bigger quality.

New iPad vs iPad 2: Siri

Apple’s claimed abettor alleged Siri fabricated its admission on the iPhone 4S but has not fabricated it assimilate the new iPad.

Instead, the new iPad has microphone button on the keyboard which can be acclimated to behest things like emails. It doesn’t acknowledgment queries or acknowledge like Siri does on the iPhone 4S.

New iPad vs iPad 2: Pricing

The new iPad follows the aforementioned appraisement arrangement which the iPad 2 has. WiFi alone models alpha at £399 for 16GB of accumulator which increases to £479 and £559 for the 32GB and 64GB versions.

The WiFi and 4G models are priced at £499, £579 and £659 for 16GB, 32GB and 64GB model. Apple has absitively to accumulate the iPad 2 on auction which now costs £329 for 16GB and WiFi alone or £429 for 16GB with WiFi and 3G.

New iPad vs iPad 2: Summary

Overall the new iPad is a appropriate advancement from the iPad 2 in a amount of key areas. The retina superior affectation is the a lot of absorbing and there’s a faster processor and bigger cameras. 4G connectivity is a acceptable advancement but extraneous for UK users at the moment. Apple has managed all this and ashore to the aforementioned amount credibility as the iPad 2 and maintained the 10 hour array life.

Read more ...

Kobo Touch

Kobo's latest accession to the e-reader market, the Kobo eReader Blow Edition, offers a simple blow interface at a reasonable amount - REVISED 16 MARCH 2012

Such has been the success of the Amazon Kindle e-book reader, it almost seems as admitting any added such accessories exist. In fact, Sony has been authoritative above e-book readers for added than 5 years, includingtouchscreen models, while BeBook and Samsung acquire aswell denticulate some success in the UK e-book clairvoyant market. The latest Amazon Kindle-wannabe is the Kobo. There are three models in the range: the £69.99 Kobo Wireless, the Kobo Blow (reviewed actuality and costing £99.99) and the Kobo Vox, which comes with a £169.99 amount tag.

By comparison, the Amazon Kindle starts at £89 for the Wi-Fi alone model, while the 3G and Wi-Fi adaptation costs £149.99. Kobo accordingly has something to prove to mark out a amplitude in this territory. On-shelf availability in WH Smith in the countdown to Christmas and aback was a acceptable start, but an all-encompassing library, affluence of book accretion and accepted account aswell allegation to be best to accord the Kindle a absolute run for its money.

Kobo Touch: Design and Build

Design-wise, the Kobo Blow is about the aforementioned as every added 6in E Ink Pearl-screen clairvoyant we've reviewed. The basic, accustomed artificial anatomy and awning with eight levels of greyscale differs little from accessory to device. The resolution of 600x800 pixels is aswell routine. The concrete aloft checky rear (ours was delicate blue, but anemic pink, white and atramentous versions are accessible too) gives the Kobo Blow a adumbration of luxury. The aforementioned checky aftereffect is replicated on its awning in the anatomy of a design pattern.

The Kobo Blow can authority up to 30,000 books to its centralized memory, has a microSD agenda aperture (which can acquire up to 32GB cards). It accuse over USB, and sits in a ‘powered off’ accompaniment of abode if not getting used. A sprung slider about-face on the top of the accessory turns it on and off. Within about three seconds, the Home awning appears. You’ll get acclimated to this view: abounding is the break you’ll acquisition yourself powering off and restarting the Kobo Blow accepting accomplished a asleep end.

With eight greyscale shades to draw upon, the Kobo Touch’s affectation is able of some beheld nuances, but the resolution of alone 600x800 pixels makes the baby appellation argument of the thumbnail previews absurd to read. The appropriate account account at the basal of the Home page is accordingly rather redundant. Several ‘preview’ versions of recommended titles were in fact coarse synopses or artlessly larboard undescribed.

Once you've entered your email, debit agenda and abode data on the Kobo Touch, affairs books is straightforward. Choose a appellation and columnist Buy Now. Next time you use the Kobo, any anew downloaded titles will arise on the home page.The touchscreen ascendancy is a big plus. Amazon’s Kindle Wi-Fi suffers from accepting too abounding aeronautics buttons down its right-hand edge. On the Kobo Blow you can tap the awning to about-face the page or to accompany up aeronautics options.

A abbreviate silver-coloured bar beneath the awning acts as a Home button, abiding you to the recommended reads page. Even so, it doesn’t plan that smoothly. Reach the end of a examination and you sometimes get bent in an amaranthine bend of traveling advanced or aback through the scattering of pages you’ve just viewed, with alone the Store as an avenue option. Switching off the Kobo Blow clears this. It’s arresting though.

Read all about it

• The absolute account acquaintance is good. Pages about-face bound abundant that you don’t lose the cilia of what you were account – not the case with all e-book readers we’ve reviewed.
• Every so generally you'll alleviate a Account Activity brand that you can column to Facebook or Twitter - Kobo's way of aggravating to animate reading.
• We were aswell afflicted with the affluence with which we could log on to our home Wi-Fi network. A Qwerty keyboard ancestor up onscreen; and the Kobo’s processor is abundantly fast to accumulate up with the boilerplate typist’s ascribe – addition abeyant account pitfall cautiously avoided.
• When browsing the Store, though, you’ll allegation to be patient. Data are accessed over Wi-Fi rather than locally stored, so pages yield a while to change and we got server errors every time we performed a search.
• The array doesn’t assume to authority a allegation as able-bodied as it might. Array activity (along with portability) should be the breadth in which an e-book clairvoyant beats a tablet. The aboriginal we knew of it getting low on abstract was if it appear a power-down as it had alone 3 percent ability remaining. We’d alone apprehend a few Grimm’s Fairy Tales.
• You can allegation the accessory by active it in to either a PC or a Mac, and alteration and managed agreeable from there too – the Kobo shows up as an alien drive.
• Trying to about-face the Kobo Blow on if it’s charging in this address unmounts it, however, and leads to a ascetic admonishing that the accessory wasn’t appropriately disconnected.

Read more ...