Microsoft Surface (RT Version)

I pre-ordered a 32 GB Microsoft Surface (RT version) with a touch cover immediately after MS opened the pre-order doors online. However around 48 hours after I received it, I called MS support and initiated a return. So what went wrong?

 

Microsoft Surface is the first computer ever built by Microsoft and I was very intrigued with this device. The brand shining new Windows 8 (RT) along with the integrated touch cover seemed to hold lots of promise. I tried a few Android tablets and got burned. Android to date has very few high qualit y tablet apps. The tablet experience is all about apps. Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire have been very successful because in my opinion they are priced right. At this time and in this market they are not worth more than $199. Tablets are still luxury devices. They can't completely replace laptops because they are good only at consuming content, atleast not any of the tablets that are available in the market today. So both Google and Amazon got the price point right with these devices and the market responded.

 

In 2010 while introducing the iPad, Steve Jobs mentioned that for a device/category to exist between smart phones and laptops such a device/category should be better than both laptops and smartphones at certain tasks. According to him some of these tasks include Email, Photos, Browsing etc. iPad has been a tremendous success ever since. It is amazing for all the above activities and for a lot more.

 

Steve Sinofsky, Microsoft Windows president said multiple times that Microsoft Surface is not a laptop but it is the best laptop he ever used and that it is not a tablet but it is the best tablet he ever used. I beg to differ with Mr.Sinofsky. Surface RT is probably the worst tablet I have ever used and is definitely the worst laptop I have ever used. It's aspect ratio makes it almost completely unusable in portrait mode which is the preferred orientation for reading books. The bundled apps including the MS Office apps are just plain bad and seem unfinished. Surface's screen is very good for watching videos but is just not good for reading text, not after getting spoiled with retina displays and other high resolution screens. It is priced like an iPad but it offers far less value than an iPad. So it will be very interesting to see how the market responds.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Awesome Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad 2

So as you know from my earlier post that I bought an 32 GB WiFi iPad 2 on the launch day (Mar 11, 2011).

I am loving the iPad 2 so far and I can feel the performance differences in almost every single app from Mobile Safari to 'The Daily'. Now iPad came shipped with iOS 4.3 and this new iOS revision gave some very cool performance gains including the Nitro JS engine for Mobile Safari but the zippiness introduced by the new A5 dual core processor is very hard not to notice. So far so good.

Typing on the iPad and I mean any decenly long text like this blog spot can be a chore with the on-screen keyboard. So I decided to go look for an external keyboard. Unfortunately the iPad 1 keyboard dock doesn't work iPad 2. So I went ahead and bought a 'Targus Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard for iPad' from Amazon and it is very cool.

Initial impressions

• It is very, very light.
• It has shortcuts for the home screen, search screen and the photos app for the iPad including media playback controls like the standard volume controls etc.
• At US$ 56.26 (as of now) it is cheaper than the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard which is selling for US$ 69.
• It is black and looks good with my black iPad 2.

What's in the box?

• Instructions
• Two Energizer AAA batteries

Recommendation

Great companion for iPad 1/iPad 2

iPad 2

After much deliberation I decided to go for the iPad 2 and put my iPad 1 for sale on Gazelle. The new Apple A5 SoC with its dual-core processor promising 2x faster performance than the Apple A4 and 9x graphics improvements pushed me to open my wallet one more time for Apple.

Decisions, Decisions

Black or White?

Initially I was very sure that I was going to get the white model. However after some research I found that the white bezel can be really distracting while watching videos. Also the white bezel reflects light and the perceived contrast ratio might be weaker due to the light colored bezel. Also I really like the black border on my 15" MacBook Pro screen in comparison with the silver colored border on my 11.6" MacBook Air screen. So I decided, Black it will be.

16 GB/32 GB/64 GB

I own a 16 GB version of iPad 1 and the available space can fill up real quick with photos and games. iPad is a terrific device to show your beautiful pictures to friends and family and it would be a bummer to not have enough space for this. Also videos can gobble lots of space. So I decided to move up from 16 GB and 64 GB will be too much for my requirements. So I decided, 32GB it will be.

Wi-Fi/3G

I originally bought a 3G version of the original iPad but sold it when I was very rarely using 3G data. With iOS 4.3 I can now engage the AT&T personal hotspot on my iPhone 4 and share the data connection over Wi-Fi with three other devices. So this was and I decided, Wi-Fi only it will be.

Launch Day

Apple advertised that on launch day - Mar 11, 2011, iPad 2 will be available in Best Buy, Target, Walmart and Sams Club in addition to Apple Stores. No pre-orders this time around.

I went to my local Target at around 4:30 PM and they told me that they have already given away vouchers in advance and that they have a total of 5 iPads to sell. They told me that I can hang out to see if someone with a voucher doesn't show up at 5 PM. I said no thanks and drove to WalMart. I skipped Best Buy because I knew that most of the city would have already lined up over there. Many people still don't know that Walmart sells iPads but everyone and their newborn knows that Best Buy with its pedigree sells iPads.

When I went to my local Walmart store, there were around 8 people already in line and I walked out with the last available 32 GB black iPad 2 at 5:10 PM.

Initial impressions

Packaging

As they did with the product, Apple slimmed down the iPad 2 box as well -

iPad 1 on the left, iPad 2 on the right

Unboxing

Apple didn't pack any goodies in the box other than the wall charger and the USB cable.

(iPad 1 on the left and iPad 2 on the right)

Experience

1. iPad 2 is much more comfortable and natural to hold than iPad 1. The reduced thickness by 33% really makes a lot of difference. It doesn't feel like holding a glass slab.
2. The Wi-Fi only model of the iPad 1 weighs around 1.5 pounds and the equivalent iPad 2 model weighs around 1.33 pounds. So though the weight difference is not much but the iPad 2 does feel lighter to hold. It's thinner form factor also contributes towards the perceived lighter weight of iPad 2.
3. It is fast, very fast. iPad 2 is very fast and the difference shows up in every single app including mobile Safari. This makes the whole experience much more enjoyable.
4. The 30 pin connector end of the iPad 1 USB cable doesn't work with iPad 2.
5. iPad 1 Keyboard dock doesn't work with iPad 2 and Apple doesn't have a iPad 2 Keyboard dock to sell, yet.
6. For some reason the whites and colors are more crisp and true on the iPad 2. The screen looks better than iPad 1.
7. Cameras are adequate for FaceTime and for FaceTime only. They are bad, very bad for stills.

Recommendation

If you already have an iPad 1 and can afford it then sell your product and go buy the iPad 2. Even if you don't do FaceTime, the improved speed and great graphics (best in class in the market today by a wide, very wide margin. Go check at AnandTech) will make it a very great buy.

If you don't have a tablet then what are you waiting for? Go get the latest iPad 2. There is absolutely nothing in market today that can match the experience, price, apps of iPad 2.

2011 indeed is the year of iPad 2.

Mac OSX 10.7 - Lion

I just downloaded and installed a developer preview of Mac OSX Lion on my 15 inch MacBook Pro and I really like what I am seeing so far. My favorites to this point are Mission Control, Rubber band scrolling, enhanced gestures and the full screen mode for apps. In fact I am really liking every single update so far. In fact they have even updated the forgotten Address Book!

11.6 inch 2010 MacBook Air

FedEx just delivered my new ultra slim 11.6 inch MacBook Air (MBA) and it is a thing of beauty. The screen is bright and sharp, boots really really fast (under 15 seconds) and it can do things that my iPad cannot do - much better content creation capabilities. iPad is great for content consumption but it's lacking for any sort of content creation. Above all MBA runs OS X so enough said.

iPad is great for playing games (I am addicted to Angry Birds), reading books for short hours indoors, watching videos and casual browsing. The battery life on the iPad is just awesome. I regularly get around 12 hours doing a variety of tasks. I haven't tested the battery life on the new MBA but I read people reporting that they are getting close to 6 hours.

MBA weighs around 2.3 pounds a little heavier than my 1.6 pound WiFi+3G iPad but it doesn't feel like it's heavier. May be that's because the iPad is a slab and may be due to it's distribution of weight.

Overall this new MBA is just awesome!

1.4 GHz/4 GB RAM/64 GB Flash storage

iLife 2011

I purchased iLife 11 to upgrade the iLife suite on my core i7 MacBook Pro and it arrived at the end of last week. I did the upgrade and didn't get a chance to play around much. I did try the cool new audio features and the movie trailers in iMovie 11. Looks promising but nothing earth shattering.

Living Room Upgrades

As my 15 month old son started messing with our TV and other electronics in our living room, I finally blocked a weekend to do some rearrangements. Little did I know at that time how big of a project I was about to start.

First and foremost I mounted our LCD on the wall. I bought a Sanus tilting wall mount from Best Buy and with the tools so graciously provided by one of my colleagues at work, I was able to complete the task in under 2 hours. Our old TV stand was a beautiful piece of furniture with glass shelves but it didn't come with any doors. So it was really inviting for my son to fiddle with the volume control on our Home Theatre receiver and other gadgetry sitting on the glass shelves. So I went ahead and bought a new TV stand with glass doors from one of the local stores. It took me around a couple of hours to assemble this stand.

We had our front home theatre speakers mounted on iron stands and they were in a bad shape because of all the beating taken from my son. So I decided to replace our home theatre. I purchased the new Denon AVR 991 that is network connected. It is a very awesome AVR with multi-zone support and all the latest goodies. To go with this awesome AVR, I purchased KEF KBT 2005.3 speakers and the Sub Woofer. So by the time all this equipment got delivered and hooked up it was almost 2 weeks from when I started this whole project. Scope creep it is.