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Nokia Lumia 2520 Windows RT Tablet Could Spell Trouble For Microsoft Surface 2

October 24, 2013 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

Nokia is now taking their expertise into the tablet arena as well. Their first product in this line up would be the Lumia 2520 which brings to an end the months or perhaps years of wild rumors of the Finnish company’s tablet ambitions. Over all, the Lumia 2520 makes for a very decent tablet offering, and is equipped with the right tech bits to demand a second glance. It comes with a 10.1 inch 1920 x 1080 pixel full HD display. It has a brightness factor of 665 nit which ensures better visibility even in direct sunlight conditions. Other specs of the tablet include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad core processor clocking at 2.2 GHz and a 2 GB RAM which makes for a very speedy performance credential. Internal memory is a decent 32 GB though users also have the option to add a further 32 GB of external storage via micro SD card slot. For networking it would have support for 4G LTE.

Photography lovers would be happy with the 6.7 MP rear facing camera that has ZEISS optics to it. The front facing 2 MP camera is once again the standard fit for allowing video chat and has the advantage of a wide angle lens. Users would enjoy the sound coming from the stereo speakers mounted at the front of the tablet. For connecting other devices there are the two extra USB ports. For networking the tablet has support for Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, GSM WCDMA, LTE as well as GLONass. The onboard battery pack of the tablet is of 8000 mAh rating which, as per Nokia gives it 10 hours of operation when seeing a video. Another additional accessory that would be of interest is the add-on keyboard which would come with its own battery pack giving extra back up power to the tablet by another 5 hours. Together, this makes one of the best features of the Lumia 2520, something that not many in the business are able to match.

Another specialty of the tablet is Nokia’s claim that 80 percent of the battery would be charged from a zero charge state in just about one hour. As for the operating system for the tablet, it would be the latest Windows 8.1 RT. As of now the market has just one other tablet, Surface 2 running on Windows RT and that too is from Microsoft. Both share quite a similar look and feel and oddly enough, both the tablet comes from more or less the same company now that Microsoft is the new owners of Nokia.

In what could make things a bit difficult for its own distant cousin, sale price of the Nokia Lumia is expected to be around $499 which is the same as that of the Surface 2 from Microsoft. The Nokia however has more color options, like red, blue and black or white and also has cellular connectivity which the Surface 2 does not have.

There are other low cost tablets also in the market that the Nokia tablet would have to compete against. These are based on the latest Intel Bay Trail processors and also have the full Windows 8.1 OS running on them which are compatible with all windows apps ever produced. This is unlike Windows RT that are only compatible with the modern apps downloaded from the Microsoft App Store.

New Microsoft Surface 2 vs Apple iPad 4 – Windows Tablet vs the iOS Tablet War

September 27, 2013 By Troy Rubenson 2 Comments

On 23^rd Sept, Microsoft announced the arrival of Surface tablets namely Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2. Both the tablets will go on sale form 22^nd Oct. Even though there are many competitors in the market, Microsoft always at competing with Apple. For the predecessor Surface models, Microsoft had created a dedicated web page that spoke how Surface tablets were better than Apple iPad.

The Surface2 runs on the upgraded version of Windows RT which is the all new Windows RT 8.1. Let us compare the revamped Surface 2 with the most recent Apple iPad 4 [soon to be replaced by iPad 5] and see how do they stand against each other

Hardware
Surface 2 is powered with Nvidia Tegra 4 T40 which is quad-core processor which delivers a clocking speed of 1.7GHz. It is coupled with 2GB RAM. On the other side, the iPad is powered with Apple’s A6X ARM dual-core processor. What we can conclude about the hardware is that both the manufacturers have customized the hardware and software so that they can work in sync with each other. If Apple has got iOS then Microsoft has got the latest Windows 8.1 RT onboard. As of now it is hard to determine how the performance and user experience will compare.

Display
The Surface 2 comes with a powerful display compared to the predecessor model. The Surface tablet of 2012 offered a display resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. The Surface 2 comes with a display resolution of 1920 x 1080pixels. Even though it offers full HD 1080p quality display, it is not that up to the mark compared to Apple’s Retina Display technology that offers an impressive crystal clear clarity through its 2048 x 1536 pixels resolution.

Storage
The Surface 2 is available in two storage variants namely 32GB and 64GB. The Apple iPad 4 is available in three storage variants namely 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. On Surface 2, you can expand the storage capacity by adding a microSD on its external memory card storage slot. It can read up to 64GB of microSD. The iPad 4 does not come with external storage.

Dimensions
The Surface 2 with 1.49 pounds weight weighs more than the fourth gen iPad’s weight of 1.43 pounds. As far as thickness is concerned, it measures only 0.35inch thick. Even Apple’s iPad 4 is quite thin with a thickness of 0.37inch. The difference in size and weight between the two tablets is mainly because Surface 2 comes with 10.6inch display and the iPad 4 comes with a 9.7inch display.

Camera
On the Surface 2, you get two full HD 1080p cameras at the rear and front. The front-facing camera is of 3.5MP which is good for Skype calling and video chat. The one at the rear is of 5MP. Apple iPad 4 has got a 5MP camera at the rear and there is a 1.2MP camera at the front which supports 720p. If quality of the image is a priority for performing video chats, Surface 2 is a better tablet.

Unique Feature
Apple iPad 4 does not have the unique feature which is available on the Surface 2 tablet. The Surface 2 comes with a kickstand which can be arranged in such a way that users will be able to use it as a regular laptop and make stand upright. So, it offers dual-position and better adjustability compared to last year’s model. Although Apple iPad 4 does not come with a kickstand, it does come with iPad SmartCover which can folded on one side to support the tablet.

On the other side, Microsoft offers TouchCover 2 and TypeCover 2 which now offers better accuracy and sensitivity while typing. Microsoft also offers host of other accessories for Surface 2 like docking stations and Surface music kit. Well, Apple offers a host of accessories for iPad like cases, keyboards, cabinets, and musical instruments.

Apps
Microsoft claims that the Windows Store is loaded with 100,000 apps. However, the problem with Surface 2 is apart from the apps available on Windows Store for Windows RT, the table will not support conventional desktop software. The Apple App Store has got whole lot of app options. More than 200,000 apps specifically designed for tablet and also there is a huge amount of games and media.

Pricing
Surface 2 32GB edition is priced at 449USD which is 50USD less than the last year’s 32GB edition Surface tablet. The Apple iPad 4 Wi-Fi only edition of 32GB can be purchased for 600USD. Apple iPad 4 with 4G LTE connectivity can be availed through Sprint, AT&T and Verizon at a price of 729USD. Microsoft is offering the Surface 2 with the all much needed improvements at a reduced priced compared to iPad.

What do you think about the new Surface 2? Will you purchase it or go for the advanced Surface Pro 2? Or are you still an Apple fan and would like for the Apple iPad 5 to arrive? Do let us know your views.

Surface Phone, Surface 2 Pro and Surface 2 to Arrive Tomorrow at the Microsoft Launch Event

September 23, 2013 By Troy Rubenson Leave a Comment

In the recent past, it was in the news that Microsoft was reorganizing their business and they surely have some new surprises that will come up very soon. One of them is the Surface Phone. The Surface Phone is going to be first Microsoft Surface smartphone which is going to be revealed tomorrow.

Microsoft has organized a launch event tomorrow which will be the launching day for the Surface Phone as well as two new Surface tablets. Recently, Microsoft had taken over the mobile business unit of Nokia and is speculated that they might have used the resources from the Finnish company to quickly pop out a new Surface phone.

Let us talk about the new tablet that is going to arrive tomorrow from the Microsoft camp. The Surface Pro 2 is going to replace Surface Pro tablet. The Surface Pro tablet came with third gen Intel Core i5 CPU and had 4GB RAM. Well, the Surface 2 Pro tablet appears to be even more powerful. It has got fourth gen Intel Core i5 Haswell CPU that is coupled with 8GB RAM.

The Surface 2 Pro is expected to come out with a price tag of 900USD. Microsoft is selling 64GB variant at that price. The Surface 2 Pro 128GB variant is also available. It is priced at 1000USD. The 256GB variant of Surface 2 Pro can be bought for 1300USD and the 512GB version can be purchased for 1700USD.

The older Surface RT tablet is going to be replaced by Surface 2. It is an entry level tablet which is going to be revealed along with Surface 2 Pro and Surface Phone. The Surface RT had been criticized not only by the expert reviews but also by users who purchased it. Well, this time around with Surface 2, Microsoft will aim at answering all the complaints that came out from Surface RT tablet.

Surface 2 will get its horsepower from Tegra 4 CPU. Since users of Surface RT tablet complaint that the device performed sluggishly, manufacturers have packed twice the RAM on Surface 2 compared to predecessor model.

As far as the operating system is concerned, the Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro will be powered with the latest Windows 8.1 which will offer complete desktop functionality. Even the original Windows 8 couple of issues, so with Windows 8.1 Microsoft will be solving issues like bringing back the Start button and boot to desktop mode.

The Surface 2 will also feature a kickstand which can stand upright in two different angles. The display screen will support full HD 1080p resolution. It is rumored that the Surface 2 will be available in white color as well.

The Surface 2 Pro will be blessed with a docking station which will make it quite easy to charge the tablet. It will come with 3USB slots that can be used to connect keyboard, mouse and other peripherals. It will also come with microphone and audio output jack and 1Gbps Ethernet port. The docking station we are talking about will only support Pro tablets that is the older Surface Pro and the new Surface 2 Pro.

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