Rumour Mill: New Samsung Galaxy Note II with dual sim in the making

Hey guys, long time since we have had a rumour mill post on the blog so here is one about the leak of a new dual sum Note II.
Dual SIM phones have never been high-end products so you can imagine our surprise when we first saw this leak. A dual SIM Galaxy Note II? Even for the Chinese market, this is really hard to believe. And yet, here we are with all this wonderful photo evidence.
Of course, this could as well be one of the very elaborate fakes China is known for. You never know with these things.

According the source, this here device is made specifically for China Unicom and has the same specs as the international Note II.

So that's the review on the Note II. We would
also like to request our followers to attract more viewers for the page since we have slight low page views this month. We also plan to hit 1000 page views by the end of this year.

Sarthak Shetty
Chief Editor

Microsoft Windows Surface: Epic Fail ?

Hey guys, this is my review on the new Microsoft Surface RT tablet.

Microsoft Surface is the best productivity tablet yet, and it had better be. As the only Microsoft-branded Windows RT hardware to launch with the new operating system (Windows 8 launches this week as well), the tablet serves as ambassador and flagship for the touch-focused, wildly risky Windows grand experiment. The Surface excels thanks to its thoughtful design, sensible implementation of its keyboard accessory, and the innovations brought about by the interface formerly known as "Metro"-- chief among them: the gesture-driven menu system, powerful search tool, and incredibly cool and versatile split-screen feature.

Unfortunately, there's a price to pay for doing things differently. I've spent a week with this soldier for the Windows cause, and I predict that some of you will find Metro's steep learning curve discouraging. Additionally, apps support is dismal, performance (especially when using IE 10) is slow at times, and like the old guy in the club still hanging around after last call, the traditional Windows interface lingers on, feeling embarrassingly out of place.

The Surface isn't for everyone. Those looking for tons (or even several pounds) of apps should look elsewhere; however, it takes a legitimate swing at replacing your computer and gets closer than any tablet before it at hitting the mark.

On the Surface

So what keeps the Surface from looking like just another generic black tablet? Honestly, not that much, but the features and aesthetic details that do set it apart are significant, if not immediately apparent. For one, the Surface sports a 10.6-inch screen, which is about 0.5 inch larger than most full-size mainstream tablets and 0.9 inch larger than the iPad's screen. However, this larger screen affords it a true 16:9 aspect ratio at a screen resolution of 1,366x768 pixels. This aspect ratio matches most movies and TV shows, eliminating the need for black bars to appear at the top and bottom of the screen. While movies shot in Scope (2.35:1) will still display with black bars, they're not nearly as all-encompassing as when watching the same movies on an iPad with its 4:3 aspect ratio screen.

Then there's the Surface's beveled backside that contributes to its sleek, somewhat industrial-looking metallic aesthetic. It looks practical without being cold, and just feels like a high-quality device that Microsoft cut few corners to make. Speaking of which, the corners are somewhat rounded, but do tend to dig into the palms a bit when holding the tablet in both hands. The entire chassis is surrounded by a full magnesium (VaporMg, pronounced "Vapor Mag") outer casing that's supposedly both scratch- and wear-resistant; however, scratches are already beginning to appear on my unit.

In the top middle of the front bezel, sitting right next to an ambient light sensor, is the front-facing 720p-capable camera. Several inches below that on the bottom of the bezel sits the Windows home touch sensor, which takes you back to the Start screen or to the last app you had open if you're already at the Start screen.

Along the right edge, from the top is a speaker grille, a Micro-HDMI port, a full USB 2.0 port, and the power port, which magnetically attaches the power cable. At the far right of the top edge is a lone power/sleep button. The left edge features an additional speaker grille, a headphone jack, and a satisfyingly tactile and clicky volume rocker. Seated toward the bottom of the left edge sits an inch-long groove that allows you to easily pull out the built-in kickstand and prop the tablet up.

The microSD port, located under the kickstand, can be accessed, in a somewhat awkward fashion, once the stand is engaged. On the bottom edge is another array of magnets where the Touch and Type Cover keyboards connect.

The kickstand decisively locks into position when activated, declining the tablet back about 10 degrees. I'm a huge fan of built-in kickstands on tablets and this is the best implementation I've seen so far. It's sturdy, easy to enact, and, yes, delivers a satisfying sound and feeling when both engaged and disengaged.

The tablet weighs 1.5 pounds, but doesn't feel noticeably heavier than the iPad, at least not when held in the middle of the tablet. Held lightly on the edge, however, and the Surface's long body begins to work against it, as the unsupported weight dips at the free end. The Surface is a bit bulkier than most premium mainstream 10-inchers, and you can probably blame the kickstand's inclusion for that added girth. Microsoft did its best balancing the tablet's weight, and while I appreciate its wide screen, it feels a bit too long and awkward when held and works much better with its kickstand engaged.

So that's the review on the new Microsoft Surface RT tablet

Sarthak Shetty

Chief Editor

Apple iPad 4

 

Hey guys, long time since we have poated on the blog so here is my review on the new Apple iPad 4.
There's no mistaking the iPad 4 from the previous version of Apple's tablet. Oh wait, yes there is. Once again, the iPad looks no different with Apple sticking to the same rectangular shape with rounded corners and edges.
There's no change in dimensions so it's 186 x 241 x 9.4mm and 652g (662g for the cellular model). Of course if you don't like the size of the iPad, there's now the iPad mini as a smaller option.
As we've come to expect from the iPad and iPhone, and the Mac range for that matter, the build quality is exceptional. Attention to detail is paramount and the iPad feels as premium as it always has.

Read: iPad 3 vs iPad 4 comparison review.
So if the iPad 4 look and feels the same as the previous generation what's different? We'll there's only one visual change to the design which comes in the form of the Lightning connector, the rest is all buried inside.
As usual Apple has updated the hardware of the tablet. First and foremost is a new processor, the A6X. This dual-core processor with quad-core graphics is supposedly twice as fast as the A5 chip found in the iPad 3 with twice the graphics performance.
Naturally we put these claims to the test. Apple doesn't publish clock speeds and such like but the GeekBench 2 app states the A6X is 1.39GHz and the iPad 4 has 1GB of RAM – 988MB for our exact sample.
The numbers are certainly impressive. In GeekBench 2 we saw a new record of 1769 (the iPad 3 scored in the region of 750) and in the SunSpider JavaScript test the iPad 4 managed a speedy average of 854ms.
While the numbers can amaze and astound, it's the real life user performance which is important. The iPad 4 is a nippy device but the overall impression is that it's not much quicker than the iPad 3, certainly not twice as fast.
We did find graphics performance impressive with a frame rate of 39fps, the iPad 3 managed 22fps. So it's the graphics improvements which are the more noticeable. We could see no difference in general navigation but more noticeable in more demanding tasks. In Apple Maps, for example, pinch zooming is a little bit smoother.
Price and storage options are the same as previous iPads - £399 for 16GB Wi-Fi only ranging all the way up to £659 for 64GB with Wi-Fi and 3G/4G cellular data. If you can afford the price tag, there's an iPad to fit your needs. Be wise with your storage option since, as usual, there's no microSD card slot for expansion.
There's no change when it comes to the screen – it's still 9.7in in size with the stunning 1536 x 2048 Retina quality resolution. There's really no faulting the LED-backlit IPS display.
There are a few important changes when it comes to connectivity. The first, as we mentioned earlier, is the Lightning connector. It's smaller, reversible and means you need to buy an adaptor if you want to plug it into any existing 30-pin accessories.

The other big change is 4G connectivity. The iPad 3 was marketed as 4G capable but didn't suit the UK's 4G frequencies so Apple removed the claim. If you want, and can afford, 4G mobile broadband, then this iPad will cater for your needs. The iPad mini also supports 4G in the UK.
Connectivity like Bluetooth remains the same but Apple has upgraded the Wi-Fi. We not sure sure the channel bonding is going to make much difference but we'll update this review when we've had more time to conduct some tests.
There's not a great deal of change when it comes to the iPad's cameras. Those hoping for an 8Mp rear camera will be disappointed to find it's still the same 5Mp iSight camera found on the iPad 3.
It's unsurprising then that results are similar – a useful camera if you don't mind using a device as large as an iPad for taking snaps. The only change is the addition of a back-illuminated sensor which should help in low light situations.
The bigger, and more useful change is the front facing camera which is now a 1.2Mp FaceTime HD shooter capturing up to 720p footage. This offers a much higher quality picture than before making your Photo Booth pictures better and, provided broadband speeds are fast enough, improved Skype and FaceTime calls.
There's not a great deal to say about the software on the iPad 4. It comes pre-loaded with iOS 6 including Siri which is also available on the iPad 3. Some recent and notable changes to the operating system include the switch between Google Maps and Apple's own mapping system – the firm's own-brand app has received heavy criticism for its many failings. Luckily there are alternatives out there in app form, or you can use Google Maps in Safari. Apple has also ditched the YouTube app but the service is available via the web browser.
Something to bear in mind is that apps supporting the Retina resolution take up considerably more space than previous ones. You may find yourself filling up 16GB of storage faster than you expected.
Once again Apple touts a double digit battery life of 10 hours for the iPad 4 when browsing the web over Wi-Fi. It's difficult to give you a 'typical' usage figure since everyone will use their iPad for different tasks for various periods of time.
We found that using the iPad 4 heavily meant we needed to charge it at the end of the day. If you predominantly use a smartphone and use the iPad occasionally then it will stretch much further, a few days' worth is likely.
Please stay tuned for our review on the new Windows 8 OS and the nrw Microsoft Surface tablet.

Sarthak J Shetty
Chief Editor