Samsung Ativ Book 9 (2015) vs. Microsoft Surface Pro 3

 By: TECHTOWN    7:45:00 PM  No comments

Ativ Book 9 (2015) vs. Surface Pro 3

The 2015 Samsung Ativ Book 9 shows us what Intel Core M laptops will be able to do: squeeze high-end specs into ridiculously light and thin packages with long battery life. How does it compare to one of the best Windows devices, the Microsoft Surface Pro 3? Let's line them up.

Size

The Samsung Ativ Book 9 is 6 percent taller, but the Surface Pro 3 is 3 percent wider.

You'll want to take those thickness measurements with a few grains of salt, as the Ativ Book's depth includes its keyboard. The Surface's depth doesn't.

Weight

This is the Ativ Book 9's killer feature. It's 13 percent lighter compared to the (already light) Surface and keyboard combo.

Build

Both devices have metallic builds, as the Ativ Book 9 has an aluminum body, while the Surface Pro 3 rocks a magnesium chassis. The only difference is that the Surface's keyboard accessory is made of plastic (though it feels almost like felt).

Keyboard

Speaking of keyboards, the Surface's is detachable and sold separately. As a traditional laptop, the Ativ's is integrated.

The keyboard for the Surface Pro 3 is actually a big step forward from those on older Surfaces. Not only is it bigger, with great keys and a larger trackpad, but it also props up against the bottom of the Surface (like a ramp). This makes for a much better lap typing experience.

You'll notice that Samsung's laptop has a bigger trackpad, though that's balanced out some by the Surface's touch and pen input.

Colors

No color options for the devices themselves, as we're looking at standard black for the Ativ Book 9 and standard silver for the Surface.

You can, however, choose from five different Surface keyboard colors.

Display (size)

The Surface's 12-in display is actually 99 percent as big as the Ativ's 12.2-incher (owing to a different aspect ratio).

Display (resolution)

This is another killer feature for the Ativ Book 9, as it has an ultra-sharp 247 PPI display. That would be low for a modern smartphone, but for a laptop (which sits farther from your eyes) it's outstanding.

The Surface also has an excellent display, though, so you're basically choosing between "great" and "greater."

Touch screen

Many Windows Ultrabooks have touch screens, but not the Ativ Book. Doubling as a tablet, the Surface does, of course, have a touch screen.

Pen input

The Surface include's Microsoft's excellent Surface Pen. It's great for Photoshop, jotting notes and serving as a mouse replacement in desktop apps. You can also click its cap to immediately launch OneNote.

Battery

No word yet on the specs for the Ativ Book's battery, but Samsung is estimating "up to 10.5 hours" of (unknown) use. The Surface has very good battery life, and we think Microsoft's nine hours of web use is a solid estimate.

Processor

The Ativ's Broadwell chip not only helps it to be so light and thin, but it could also help to make that alleged 10.5 hour battery life a reality.

Microsoft sells the Surface in three different processor tiers, starting with a somewhat underpowered Core i3, and making a significant jump in the second tier to a Core i5.

Samsung didn't list the speed of its processor, but the Intel Core M 5Y10C that it runs is listed as running as fast as 2 GHz.

Graphics

The Ativ Book 9 has the newer integrated graphics.

RAM

Both machines come in 4 GB and 8 GB memory options (tied to different storage and processor tiers).

Storage

The Surface offers more storage tiers, also capping out at a more spacious 512 GB.

USB 3.0

The Ativ Book 9 has a pair of USB 3.0 ports, while the Surface only has one. If you buy a Surface, you might want to invest in a USB splitter accessory.

Video out

The Ativ uses a micro-HDMI port for video out, while the Surface has a Mini DisplayPort.

Cameras

Cameras aren't likely to be a big part of your decision, but the Surface does add a rear camera, as well as giving you a higher-resolution front shooter.

Software

The Ativ Book 9 is listed as running Windows 8.1, while the Surface runs Windows 8.1 Pro. Both will also get free upgrades to Windows 10 during the upcoming software's first year on the market.

Release

Samsung listed the updated Ativ Book 9 as launching in Q1, so, if those trains are on schedule, it should be out by the end of March. The Surface Pro 3 has been around since mid-2014, meaning we could be only three months or so from seeing a Surface Pro 4.

Starting price

The Surface and keyboard combo starts at US$270 cheaper than the Ativ Book, but remember that the entry-level Surface only gives you a Core i3 and 64 GB storage. If you're eyeing the Surface, we'd recommend looking at the second-tier model, with 128 GB storage and Core i5. That one rings up for $1,130 with keyboard, pushing it closer to the Ativ Book (though Microsoft currently has all SP3 models $100 cheaper if you buy from the Microsoft Store).

courtesy by gizmag

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LG Watch Urbane vs. Moto 360

 By: TECHTOWN    1:39:00 PM  No comments

Urbane vs. 360

LG made one of the best smartwatches of 2014, in the G Watch R. Now the company is back with an all-metal variant called the LG Watch Urbane (no "G" this time around). Let's compare its features and specs to those of the Moto 360.

Software

These are both Android Wear watches, and since Google doesn't allow custom skins, their software is basically identical. The only differences are add-on apps, like Motorola's Wellness app.

Android Wear is great at voice control, notifications (including contextual info via Google Now) and basic fitness tracking. It doesn't, however, go far beyond those areas right now.

Size

Looking at the watches' bodies, the Watch Urbane is 13 percent taller and just about the same width as the Moto 360. The Urbane is also about 5 percent thinner than Motorola's flagship (though the Urbane is actually a little thicker than the G Watch R).

Weight

LG hasn't yet listed the weight of the Watch Urbane. Unless it's sitting at an unusual extreme, though, this probably isn't anything to worry about.

Build

That new all-stainless steel body is the LG Watch Urbane's big upgrade. Apart from the fashionable makeover, it also has a cleaner look than the G Watch R (it loses the diver watch markings).

Though most of the Moto 360's body is made of stainless steel, its wrist-facing backside is made of plastic.

Physical buttons

Each of these watches only has one physical button, mostly for powering on and off (you can also long-press it for a menu shortcut).

Colors

The LG Watch Urbane will ship in silver and gold options.

The Moto 360 is only sold in three different body colors (black, silver and gold), but Motorola now sells quite a few different band options. These include leather, metal and narrow metal options, each in several different colors.

Default band (entry-level)

For the Moto 360's US$250 starting price, you get a leather band (much like with the LG Watch Urbane). But you can also pay $50-80 more for a Moto 360 with one of those metal band options.

Swappable band

Both watches also let you swap their default bands for other 22 mm standard straps.

Display (size)

The Urbane's fully round 1.2-in screen is around 72 percent as big as the Moto 360's. You'll notice that the almost round Moto has a small section cut out from the bottom of its display.

Display (resolution)

The LG Watch Urbane has a 20 percent sharper screen.

Display (type)

Since it's the same display that we saw in the G Watch R, we know that the Urbane's plastic OLED screen will have deeper blacks and richer colors than the Moto's IPS.

The Moto's IPS screen also plays a role in our next category ...

Battery

The Moto 360's 22 percent smaller battery, when combined with its not-so power efficient processor and IPS display tech, makes battery life less than stellar. If you don't mind your watch sporting a black screen when you aren't actively using it, then it shouldn't have any problem lasting a full day, but when you turn on its ambient display mode (which keeps a dimmed clock face on more often) you might be running on fumes by day's end.

Android phone compatibility

Like all Android Wear watches, both of these will require an Android handset running 4.3 or higher. The watch will maintain a constant Bluetooth connection with your phone, and won't be good for much of anything on its own.

iPhone compatibility

In case you haven't heard, Android Wear watches won't play nicely with iPhones. iPhone owners will have to wait until April to get a flagship smartwatch of their own.

Heart rate sensor

Both watches have heart rate monitors, but LG and Motorola handle them a little differently. The Urbane's only fires up on-demand, while the Moto 360 tracks your pulse in the background throughout the day, in addition to on-demand.

Water resistance

Both watches have IP67 water and dust resistance, which means they can take a bath in 1 m (3.3 ft) of water for 30 minutes and keep on ticking.

Processor

The Urbane's Snapdragon 400 is the standard among the early Android Wear watches, while Motorola skimped a bit here, offloading some otherwise obsolete Texas Instruments processors in the Moto 360.

The Moto doesn't have any performance concerns, but we found that Snapdragon 400 watches do run a bit snappier and smoother. That dated TI CPU also isn't likely helping with the Moto's battery issues.

RAM

Both watches have 512 MB of RAM, basically industry standard for today's smartwatches.

Storage

Ditto for the 4 GB of storage you'll find in each watch. Considering how lightweight most Android Wear apps are, this should be more than you'll ever need.

You do have the option of syncing Google Play Music onto your watch for some offline listening (after pairing with wireless headphones), and that could have storage coming into play a bit more. But this is a pretty clunky process and not something we see many customers using right now.

Release

No word yet on the release date for the LG Watch Urbane. All we know now is that the company will be showing off its watch at Mobile World Congress in early March.

Starting price

Pricing is also still a mystery for the Watch Urbane. For what it's worth, its non-metal brother, the G Watch R, rings up for $300. Will LG charge a premium for the Urbane's metal design? We wouldn't be surprised.

The Moto 360 with leather band will cost you $250, but you can also pay $300 for a version with a metal band. Motorola's narrower versions of the metal bands also take your price up to either $300 (silver) or $330 (gold).

Gizmag will be in Barcelona next month, where the Urbane will be on 

courtesy by gizmag

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