VAIO’s convertible PC for creatives lands in the US
As promised, VAIO (Sony’s now spun-off PC brand) is returning to the US. To start, it’s just a single model, the Z Canvas. The 12.3-inch convertible Windows 10 PC comes with a stylus capable of 1024 levels of sensitivity, a wireless keyboard and with pretty sharp WQXGA+ screen it’s pitched to sketchers and photographers, and trying to appeal to the same crowd that’s eyeing up that incoming iPad Pro. It’s on sale now, online at VAIO and Microsoft’s retail sites, with prices starting at $2,199 with 8GB of memory and a 256GB SSD. Those looking to do serious business can upgrade all the way up to a 1TB storage setup and 16GB of memory.
Source: Business Wire
The Surface Pro 4 vs. the competition: Tablets for productivity
It’s been an up-and-down ride for Microsoft’s line of Surface tablets — but the company finally hit on a formula that worked with the Surface Pro 3. It’s a device that has inspired a number of competitors, most recently from Microsoft’s long-standing rivals Apple and Google. The newly-announced iPad Pro and Pixel C both take clear and obvious cues from the Surface lineup, but fortunately for Microsoft it now has a brand-new Surface Pro 4 to compete with these newcomers. While much of your interest in these devices will likely come from which operating system you prefer, we’ve lined up the specs below so you can get an idea as to how these tablets will all stack up when they hit stores later this year.
| Surface Pro 4 | iPad Pro | Pixel C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | starts at $899 | $799, $949, $1,079 | $499, $599 |
| Thickness | 8.45mm (0.33 inches) | 6.9mm (0.27 inches) | 7.1mm (0.28 inches) |
| Weight | 766 or 786g (1.69 or 1.73 pounds) | 713 or 723g (1.57 or 1.59 pounds) | estimated 454g (1 pound) |
| OS | Windows 10 | iOS 9 | Android 6.0 |
| Display | 12.3-inch PixelSense display | 12.9-inch IPS LCD Retina display | 10.2-inch LCD |
| Resolution | 2,763 x 1,824 (267 ppi) | 2,732 x 2,048 (265 ppi) | 2,560 x 1,800 (308 ppi) |
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 4:3 | 3:2 |
| Processor | Intel m3 / i5 / i7 | Apple A9X | Nvidia Tegra X1 |
| Memory | 4 / 8 / 16GB | NA | 3GB |
| Storage | 128 / 256 / 512GB | 32 / 128GB | 32 / 64GB |
| Ports | microSD, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort, Cover port, Surface Connect | Lightning | USB Type-C |
| Front camera | 5MP | 1.2MP FaceTime, f2.2 | 2MP |
| Rear camera | 8MP, 1080p | 8MP iSight, f/2.4, 1080p video at 30fps | 8MP |
| Cellular radio | None | Optional GSM/EDGE CDMA UMTS/HSPA/ HSPA+/DC-HSDPA LTE |
None |
| WiFi | Dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | Dual band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | Yes |
| Bluetooth | v4.0 | v4.2 | Yes |
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | 9 hours | 10 hours | TBA |
| Accessories | Surface Pen, Surface Pro Type Cover | Smart Keyboard, Apple Pencil | Keyboard Cover |
Get all the news from today’s Microsoft event right here.
Surface Book vs. the competition: Battle of the flagship laptops
And then there were three: with the introduction of the Surface Book, Microsoft has joined Apple and Google in offering a premium laptop that runs its own platform. But how does it stack up next to its rivals, the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the Chromebook Pixel? We’ve put the specs of each side by side to help you sort things out. As you’ll soon see, the three only share a few things in common. They reflect the unique philosophies of their creators, whether it’s Microsoft’s fondness for tablets, Apple’s preference for powerful (if conventional) laptops or Google’s desire for lean-and-mean web machines.
| Surface Book | MacBook Pro (13-inch) | Chromebook Pixel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,499 to $2,699 | $1,299 to $1,799 | $999 to $1,299 |
| Thickness | 22.8mm (0.9 inches) | 18mm (0.71 inches) | 15.3mm (0.6 inches) |
| Weight | 728g (1.6 pounds) tablet only / 1.51kg (3.34 pounds) with keyboard | 1.58kg (3.48 pounds) | 1.5kg (3.3 pounds) |
| OS | Windows 10 | OS X El Capitan | Chrome OS |
| Display | 13.5-inch PixelSense touchscreen display | 13.3-inch IPS LCD Retina display | 12.85-inch touchscreen LCD |
| Resolution | 3,000 x 2,000 (267 ppi) | 2,560 x 1,600 (227 ppi) | 2,560 x 1,700 (239 ppi) |
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 16:10 | 3:2 |
| Processor | Intel 6th-generation Core i5 or i7 | Intel 5th-generation Core i5 or i7 | Intel 5th-generation Core i5 or i7 |
| Memory | 8GB to 16GB of RAM | 8GB to 16GB of RAM | 8GB to 16GB of RAM |
| Graphics | Intel HD or NVIDIA GeForce | Intel Iris Graphics 6100 | Intel HD Graphics 5500 |
| Storage | 128GB to 512GB SSD | 128GB to 512GB SSD | 32GB or 64GB flash storage |
| Ports | 2 USB 3.0, SD card reader, Mini DisplayPort | 2 Thunderbolt 2, 2 USB 3.0, SD card reader, HDMI | 2 USB 3.0 Type-C, 2 USB 3.0 Type-A, SD card reader |
| Front camera | 5MP | 720p FaceTime HD | 720p |
| Rear camera | 8MP | NA | NA |
| WiFi | 802.11ac | 802.11ac | 802.11ac |
| Bluetooth | v4.0 | v4.0 | v4.0 |
| Tablet mode | Yes | No | No |
| Battery | 12 hours | 10 hours | 12 hours |
| Accessories | Surface Pen | NA | NA |
The Lumia 950 vs. the competition: A battle of flagships
The smaller of the new Lumias is quite the powerhouse on paper, but how does it stack up against the latest iOS and Android devices? At first glance, Microsoft’s newest flagship, the Lumia 950, seems plenty powerful with its 1.8GHz hexa-core Snapdragon 808, 3GB of RAM and 5.2-inch Quad HD AMOLED display. However, we’ve got the face-off after the break with a side-by-side comparison between the Lumia 950, iPhone 6s and Nexus 5x so you can decide for yourself which one best suits your needs.
| Lumia 950 | iPhone 6s | Nexus 5X | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $549 | $199, $299, $399 (on contract); $649, $749, $849 (off-contract) | $379, $429 |
| Dimensions |
145 x 73.2 x 8.25 mm (5.71 x 2.88 x 0.32 inches) |
138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 inches) | 147 x 72.6 x 7.9mm (5.79 x 2.86 x 0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 150g (5.29 ounces) | 143g (5.04 ounces) | 136g (4.8 ounces) |
| Display | 5.2 inches (132.08mm) | 4.7 inches (119.38mm) | 5.2 inches (132.08mm) |
| Resolution | 2,560 x 1,440 (564 ppi) | 1,334 x 750 (326 ppi) | 1,920 x 1,080 (423 ppi) |
| Screen type | Quad HD AMOLED, Gorilla Glass 3 | IPS LCD, Retina HD | FHD LCD, Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Battery | 3,000mAh (removable) |
1,715mAh (non-removable) | 2,700mAh (non-removable) |
| Storage | 32GB | 16 / 64 / 128GB | 16 / 32GB |
| External storage | microSD up to 2TB | None | None |
| Rear camera | 20MP Zeiss, f/1.9, OIS, triple LED natural flash | 12MP iSight, f/2.2, 1.22µm pixel size | 12.3MP, f/2.0, 1.55µm pixel size, dual LED flash, IR laser-assisted autofocus |
| Front camera | 5MP wide-angle 1080p | 5MP FaceTime HD, f/2.2 | 5MP, f/2.0, 1.4µm pixel size |
| Video capture | 4K | 4K at 30fps | 4K at 30fps |
| NFC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | v4.1 | v4.2 | v4.2 |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 | Apple A9 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 |
| Processor | 1.8GHz hexa-core | 1.8GHz dual-core | 1.8GHz hexa-core |
| Graphics | N/A | N/A | Adreno 418 |
| Memory | 3GB | 2GB | 2GB |
| WiFi | Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| OS | Windows 10 | iOS 9 | Android 6.0 |
| Standout features | Continuum, Windows Hello, glance screen technology, USB Type-C | 3D Touch, 2nd-gen Touch ID, Retina flash | Nexus Imprint, USB Type-C |
Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.
Microsoft’s October event: by the numbers
The dust is settling on Microsoft’s Windows 10 Devices event where the company showed off all the shiny devices that it’s about to start selling. But if you weren’t able to sit through our excellent liveblog, then perhaps you’d like to read this breakdown of the show based on the key numbers. It’s like an extended highlights reel, but with a more statistical edge. Slideshow-326489
Get all the news from today’s Microsoft event right here.
Mini review video: our verdict on the new iPhones in under a minute
If you haven’t yet read our iPhone 6s and 6s Plus review (and why not?), the whole thing can be summed up in just one sentence: These are the best iPhones Apple has ever made. Kidding! We actually had quite a bit more to say than that. As on last year’s models, there are some tradeoffs unique to both the 4.7- and 5.5-inch editions, with the smaller 6s being easier to hold, but the 6s Plus offering longer battery life and optical image stabilization. Other than that, the two have many of the same pros and cons, which ultimately explains why we elected to give each a score of 91 out of 100. In particular, both benefit from faster performance and a pressure-sensitive 3D Touch display (yay) but, on the down side, start with a meager 16GB of storage (boo). All told, we recommend both, but the question as to which you should buy boils down to how big a phone you’re comfortable using. That’s the gist, as recapped in our mini review video above, and if you have time to read up on on the finer points, you can find our full review here.
Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book announced: what you should know about the latest from Microsoft
Microsoft has just finished up announcing a slew of new mobile products, including the brand new Lumia 950, 950XL and 550 smartphones. These new Windows-powered devices of course don’t run Android, but we figured it was important to catch you up on the latest flagship handsets from Microsoft, and just how they compare to the Android competition.
But Microsoft didn’t just announce phones at its event. Also announced were two new tablet/laptop hybrid devices, the Surface Pro 4 and the Surface Book. The former is, of course, the successor to the Surface Pro 3 and is much thinner, lighter and more powerful than its predecessor. The latter is a new offering from the Washington-based company that is more closely related to a full-fledged laptop.
Today we’re going to run you through these new offerings and help give you a better look at Microsoft’s latest.
Some of the Android-powered competition
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Microsoft Surface Pro 4
For starters, Microsoft’s new Surface Pro 4 (pictured above) has just been made official, bringing a larger screen, better specifications and a new operating system to the table. It sports a big 12.3-inch display with Microsoft’s PixelGlass technology and a pixel density of 267ppi. Microsoft actually shrunk down the size of this tablet so much that it fits in the same physical footprint as its 12.0-inch predecessor. It’s also powered by a sixth-generation Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and has an impressive 1TB of on-board storage.
Microsoft says the Surface Pro 4 is 30-percent faster than the Surface Pro 3 and 50-percent faster than Apple’s MacBook Air.
Related: Google announces the Pixel C, a new 10.2-inch premium Android tablet aimed at productivity
The Surface Pro 4 comes with an all-new Surface Pen as well, which has an eraser on the end of it. The new pen, which attaches magnetically to the side of the Surface, has an impressive 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity. The included Type Cover is thinner and lighter than last year’s iteration. The trackpad is 40-percent larger, there’s more space between each key and it also has better travel at just 1.3mm. Oh, and there’s a fingerprint scanner integrated into the keyboard, as well.
Pre-orders for the Surface Pro 4 begin Wednesday, October 7th starting at $899, with the device becoming available on Monday, October 26th.
Microsoft Surface Book
Next up is the Surface Book, which is arguably the most interesting of the two tablet/laptop hybrids announced today. If the Surface Pro 4 is more similar to a tablet, the Surface Book is more closely related to a full-fledged laptop. Still, though, calling it a laptop doesn’t do this thing justice.
It has a big 13.5-inch display with a pixel density of 267ppi. Unlike the Surface Pro 4 that comes with a keyboard that’s more of an add-on, the Surface Book’s keyboard is just like something you’d find on a normal laptop. It’s backlit, and sports 1.6mm of travel. The trackpad is glass and also has five points of touch sensitivity. The keyboard hinge is definitely one of the most attractive parts of this new device, which Microsoft is calling the Dynamic Fulcrum Hinge. Take a look below:
Don’t miss: Six-pack of tablets and the iPad Pro: the tablet market is polarizing
Under the hood, the Surface Book comes with a sixth-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, 16GB of GDDR5 RAM, 1TB of on-board storage and a 12-hour battery life. Sounds pretty nice, right? Unfortunately these specs will cost you. Pre-orders for the Surface Book begin October 7th for $1,499, and the device will go on sale October 26th.
These new tablet/laptop hybrid devices honestly look really nice. Of course, this is an Android-centric website, so we’re not expecting all of you to ditch your Android tablet right away for one of these new products from Microsoft. Google’s new Pixel C tablet also looks like it could be a decent Surface Pro 4 competitor, but we’ll ultimately let you decide. Now that you’ve seen the latest laptop/tablet hybrids from Microsoft, what are your thoughts? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Lumia 950 XL vs. the competition: The big flagship phones are here
It’s become commonplace for phone manufacturers to offer two sizes of their flagship phones: big and bigger. Microsoft is following suite with the new Lumia 950 and 950 XL, the latter of which is poised to compete directly with devices like the brand-new iPhone 6S Plus and the Nexus 6P. If you’re looking for a flagship phone running your platform of choice, now’s a great time to be in the market. The most notable difference about these devices is what operating system they run, but if you want to see how they stack up on a spec-by-spec basis, check out the table below.
| Lumia 950XL | iPhone 6s Plus | Nexus 6P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $649 | $749, $849, $949 | $499, $549, $649 |
| Known Dimensions | 151.9 x 78.4 x 8.1mm (5.98 x 3.09 x 0.32 inches) | 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3mm (6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 inches) | 159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3mm (6.27 x 3.06 x 0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 165g (5.82 ounces) | 192g (6.77 ounces) | 178g (6.28 ounces) |
| Screen size | 5.7 inches (144.78mm) | 5.5 inches (139.7mm) | 5.7 inches (144.78mm) |
| Screen resolution | 2,560 x 1,440 (518 ppi) | 1,920 x 1,080 (401 ppi) | 2,560 x 1,440 (520 ppi) |
| Screen type | AMOLED Quad HD, Gorilla Glass 4 | IPS LCD, Retina HD | WQHD AMOLED, Gorilla Glass 4 |
| Battery | Removable 3,340mAh | 2,750mAh | 3,450mAh |
| Internal storage | 32GB | 16 / 64 / 128GB | 32 / 64 / 128GB |
| External storage | microSD (up to 200GB) | None | None |
| Rear camera | 20MP Pureview, OIS, triple LED flash | 12MP iSight, f/2.2, 1.22µm pixel size | 12.3MP, f/2.0, 1.55µm pixel size |
| Front-facing cam | 5MP | 5MP FaceTime HD, f/2.2 | 8MP, f/2.4, 1.4µm pixel size |
| Video capture | 4K at 30fps | 4K at 30fps | 4K |
| NFC | No | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | v4.1 | v4.2 | v4.2 |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 | Apple A9 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 v2.1 |
| CPU | 64-bit octa-core | 1.8GHz dual-core | 2GHz octa-core |
| GPU | NA | NA | Adreno 430 |
| RAM | 3GB | 2GB | 3GB |
| WiFi | Dual-band, MIMO, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | Dual-band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| Operating system | Windows 10 | iOS 9 | Android 6.0 |
| Standout features | 20MP Pureview camera with Carl Zeiss optics, removeable battery, wireless charging, USB-C fast charging | 3D Touch, 2nd-gen Touch ID, Retina flash | Nexus Imprint, USB Type-C |
Get all the news from today’s Microsoft event right here.
Apple Seeds Fourth iOS 9.1 Beta, Third tvOS Beta to Developers
Apple today seeded the fourth beta of iOS 9.1 to registered developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the third iOS 9.1 beta and releasing iOS 9.0.2, the second minor bug fix update to iOS.
The new iOS 9.1 beta, build 13B136, is available as an over-the-air update and through Apple’s Developer Center. Apple has also released a third tvOS beta.
iOS 9.1 offers new features and compatibility updates for upcoming Apple products like the new fourth-generation Apple TV and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The iPad Pro ships with two accessories, the Smart Keyboard and the Apple Pencil, both of which are deeply integrated into the operating system.
The update includes Unicode 8, adding support for emoji like the taco, burrito, cheese wedge, middle finger, unicorn head, and more, along with a new Messages option in the Settings app, allowing users to disable photos for their contacts.
It is not clear when iOS 9.1 will be released to the public, but it’s likely it will come in late October, coinciding with the launch of the new Apple TV.
Microsoft Reveals New Band 2, Lumia Phones, Surface Pro 4, and Surface Book
At a media event today, Microsoft announced a handful of new products and several updates to existing products coming from the company in 2015 and beyond. Topics for today’s event included the Microsoft Band 2, Lumia 950 and 950 XL smartphones, Microsoft Surface Pro 4, and the all-new Surface Book.
The company started off by going into detail about the Microsoft Band 2, the second version of last year’s wearable device. Microsoft said it took in a great amount of customer feedback in designing and implementing the new Band, which includes a new curved screen that with durable Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and an improved touch display. New Cortana integration lets users speak to the Band in order to send texts and make reminders, and the device also includes a barometer that measures elevation for everything from hiking to climbing stairs.
The company’s Microsoft Health app fuels the Band and lets users dig deeply into the data on everything from calorie burns to estimated recovery time for particularly intense workouts. The Band even includes an extensive golf measurement feature that can interpret the stroke of a swing and includes a score card that the company says is like “having your own personal caddy” on your wrist. Third-party partnerships with companies like Uber and Facebook are also incoming for the Microsoft Band 2, which will be available on October 30 for $249.
Microsoft also announced the Lumia 950 and 950 XL which are the newest iterations of the Lumia smartphone line, with 5.2-inch and 5.5-inch displays, respectively. Each of the new phones include a new feature called Glance Screen which showcases important pieces of information when a user pulls the phone out of his or her pocket, without the need to interact with the device directly and without using battery life. The Lumia 950 line also includes a 20-megapixel camera, Triple LED RGB natural flash, optical image stabilization, and a dedicated camera button on the side of the phone.
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