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A look at Microsoft’s Surface

Leave a reply Christopher Roberts

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With the launch of Windows 8, Microsoft has now entered the tablet market with the highly anticipated Microsoft Surface. Surface also marks the introduction of Windows RT, a version of Windows 8 designed specifically for ARM. Without further ado, here’s our verdict on the Microsoft Surface.

Microsoft's SurfaceWindows Surface is one of the new hybrid tablets that are emerging, blending touch tablet and traditional laptop functionality into one portable package. The main selling point is the keyboard, which can be effortlessly connected to Windows Surface, allowing for speedy word processing that is normally difficult on touch tablets. Being priced at the same level as the iPad retina display (£479 including keyboard), it’s clear to see who Microsoft have in their crosshairs.

Dimensions

With a 10.6-inch screen, the Surface is perfect for word processing, watching video and doing day to day tasks while remaining portable. It’s incredibly slim (9.3mm), being 1mm slimmer than the iPad retina display. Weighing in at 678g, this device is slightly heavier than other tablets and may cause discomfort when held in the hands for extended periods of time. That being said, there is a nifty kickstand which makes viewing Microsoft Surface extremely convenient.

Screen Quality

With many tablet manufacturers pushing screen resolution to the max, people were surprised to see that the resolution was somewhat lacking. With only 148ppi (pixels per inch) things definitely lack clarity when compared with the likes of the iPad 4 or Nexus 10.

Software

The biggest problem with Microsoft Surface is its distinct lack of apps. The marketplace is extremely barren when compared to the likes of the Apple of Android stores. Basic things like Facebook and Twitter don’t have their own apps and can only be accessed through ‘People Hub’. You should only rush to sell your iPad when this problem gets sorted.

Processor

Microsoft Surface is powered by a Tegra 3 chip, a highly praised processor that has powered the likes of the HTC One X+. The performance of the Surface is stable for the most part, however there have been many reports of long loading times for apps launching and lag while browsing. Not the most impressive thing about the Surface. However, it does do the job.

Connectivity

One of the best features of Microsoft’s Surface is its wealth of connectivity options, some of the best seen on a touch tablet. The Surface comes with a full sized USB port, Micro SD slot and HD video out. The only disappointment is the lack of mobile internet connectivity for the Surface, giving it limited capabilities when not connected to Wi-Fi.

Overall

This is a very promising product from Microsoft, however it still has many problems that need sorting out, in particular the lack of applications. I don’t think it is time to trade in/sell your stuff online just yet to fund the purchase, until Windows fix some of the problems with Surface.

Live Loud Magazine iPad App Review

3 Replies Steve August

After all the women’s magazines that have been doing the rounds in the market, ‘Live Loud’ comes as a refreshing break for all the men looking for something dealing exclusively with them. Live Loud is a digital monthly publication that features practically everything that catches the fantasy of men on the planet earth! It answers a plethora of questions that all the guys have always wanted answers to, be it questions about relationships or the first things girls notice about boys, it is all in here.

The magazine deals not only with issues like relationships but also has a section devoted to technology and the latest gadgets and equipment! It will provide you with a detailed description of the latest gadgets as well as their use in your daily lives and how user-friendly they are. It will also make you aware of the size of hole that any of these funky-looking gadgets will burn in your pocket, and also if it is worth it or not. It’s like a review for men, by men.
Gadget area of Live Loud MagazineAlong with that, the magazine also has frequent write-ups on how one can acquire the perfect body, both through a dietary regime as well as work-outs. Some issues of the magazine will also have you looking at some of the most desirable places to go for a holiday. It also gives you the basic information required for a visit to a particular destination and gives you tips on how to go about it.

One of the drawbacks of this app, however, is that it can’t be made accessible to minors who have an impressionable mind. This app contains quite a bit of explicit and sexual content which should not be made accessible to young readers, especially those below 18 years of age.

Apart from that, this app is a light and enjoyable read, almost like a guru to all the men too shy to approach a girl or too meek to even speak to one. It addresses one of the major issues that single men are concerned with- how to pick up a girl with a smooth pick-up line. Each issue has about 70 pages on an average and every page promises to keep you as interested in it, as the previous one.

Live Loud Magazine will therefore cater to the needs of men not only across generations but across nationalities. Be it the geek, the cool stud or the average corporate worker, Live Loud caters to the needs of every man. Live Loud Magazine is compatible with Apple iPad and requires iOS 5.0 or later. The subscription of Live Loud costs $1.99 with the first subscription being only for $0.99. It is also available in over 11 languages.

Snap2PDF – An Easy Way to Manage Your Documents

3 Replies RonF

Managing documents is always difficult, especially when you have a lot of them. Certainly, it is not possible to carry all of them wherever you move. But it is easy to carry your iPhone/iPad anywhere you go. You must be wondering what makes this app so special. With just a few simple clicks of your mobile’s camera, you can manage your documents perfectly using Snap2PDF.

About the app

Snap2PDF is a universal app, designed for both iPhone and iPad, for organizing your whiteboards, receipts, business cards, magazine articles, posters, print outs, coupons and newspaper clippings. All you have to do is take a snap of the document and the app converts it to PDF format right away. Now you can share the converted files through SMS and email. It recognizes various languages like English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Dutch, Czech, Danish etc.

Working of the app

Snap2PDF is a very simple app to handle. Just take snaps of your documents and they get converted to PDF files automatically. You are provided with many options to manage your documents. For creating a PDF document, you can either take a snap using your device’s camera or select a photo from your album. Your PDF documents can be edited and managed, as per your requirements. You can add/delete/rearrange pages in your document effortlessly. You can also organize your documents under different categories by tapping the category, naming it and adding the document to it. Searching for a document can be easily done using the keyword search option.
Snap2PDFSnap2PDF allows you to share your documents in .pdf format through email. The most convenient feature of this app is that you can create a Dropbox account, select documents and export them to your Dropbox account for safe management. You can open a document as a PDF file in other PDF viewer apps like iBooks, FileExplorer etc. You can make your document search easy by choosing the preferred language of index. There is also an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) facility to automatically pick out blocks of text from images.

Snap2PDF is a very useful app that provides multiple ways of managing, securing and sharing files easily. It costs $2.99 and requires iOS 4.3 or later.