iPad - Blog about Gadgets and News

iPad Air 2 2024 Review

January 2, 2019 Richard Gomez 0

This year, unlike the iPhones that went through a plethora of changes in design, the world's most popular line of tablet computers – iPad Air – only received an incremental facelift. The latest iPad now features Apple's proprietary Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the home button which was introduced with the iPhone 5s. Otherwise, the design language remains almost untouched save for a few changes.
While not much has changed in the overall appearance of the iPad Air 2, it is now just 6.1mm thin; this actually makes it 1.4mm slimmer than its predecessor, and more importantly it also undercuts the thickness of both the iPhone 6 (Review | Pictures) and the iPhone 6 Plus (Review | Pictures). We'll let you take a moment for that to sink in. One of the reasons this is possible is that Apple's engineers have managed to reduce the gap between the protective glass, touch sensor and the actual LCD. This 'no-gap display' has been carried over from the iPhones.
The int..

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 310 - [year] review

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 310 – 2024 review

November 25, 2018 Richard Gomez 0

Samsung is probably trying to apply its smartphones strategy on tablets, as the company is launching Android tablets of varied specification in the Indian market. Starting from 7-inch, the Korean manufacture has a tablet for you in almost every possible size – 7.7-inch, 8.9-inch, and 10.1-inch.
The recently launched Galaxy Tab 2 310 is company's first Ice Cream Sandwich tablet to reach India and it is also a device that marks a big shift in company's target market. Instead of going after the iPad buyers, Samsung has realised that it is better to target buyers that don't have the budget to opt for iPad and can compromise a bit on features.
The Galaxy Tab 2 310 comes at almost half the price at which original Galaxy Tab was launched in India and has similar features, but has the reduction in price impacted the overall performance of the device? We find out in this review.
Hardware
Apart from the original 7-inch Galaxy Tab, all the Samsung tablets look identical, with just..

Review: Acer ICONIA A500: The Honeycomb Debutant

March 3, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

Introduction
Until the arrival of Honeycomb, most tablets were playing catch-up with Apple's all conquering iPad and it's smartphone OSs. Now, in its second generation, the iPad 2 is likely to face some serious competition from the likes of Motorola, Acer, Samsung, HTC, Dell and other manufacturers who are embracing Google's tablet specific Honeycomb OS.
One such might be the Acer ICONIA A500, the first Honeycomb tablet to hit India. Can it take a bite out of the big Apple?
Hardware
The 10-inch A500 seems extremely thick at 13.3 mm versus the sub-10mm frame of the iPad 2. It is interesting to note that the original iPad was 13.4 mm thick. So the competition is still trying to emulate the original iPad even the next version has set new benchmarks for sheer form factor.
Quite naturally, when compared to the iPad 2, the device is bulky and feels heavy. It is quite a challenge to use while reading books. You will also find yourself setting the device down very often, because..

iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3 2024

November 18, 2018 Richard Gomez 0

If I've seen you taking photos with a tablet computer, I've probably made fun of you (though maybe not to your face, depending on how big you are). I'm old school: I much prefer looking through the viewfinder of my full-bodied, single-lens reflex camera, even though it has a large LCD screen.
But as I tested out Apple's new iPad Air 2, I see why people like to shoot pictures with a tablet. Images look great on the large screen, and there's less guesswork about whether or not small details, such as lettering on a sign, will be in focus.
And what you see – and get – with the iPad Air 2 is a better camera. The rear one now matches the iPhone's 8 megapixels, up from 5 megapixels, and incorporates features such as slow-motion video. Packed with a faster processor, the 9.7-inch tablet is also 18 percent thinner and 7 percent lighter than the previous model, at about a quarter of an inch and just under a pound.
Apple is also updating its 7.9-inch iPad mini, thoug..

Microsoft Surface 2024

July 30, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

Microsoft seems to have gotten the design and form factor right with its new Surface tablet computer. But the user interface, not so much. That's an odd conclusion to make about a device from a software company that usually lets others do the manufacturing.
Still, that's how I felt after feeling the heft of the device, examining it from all sides and making a few swipes at the screen. The Surface has a touch keyboard cover that feels great and, to me, is a big step forward for tablets. The tablet's software interface, however, seems non-intuitive and sluggish.
Microsoft is clearly straddling the uncomfortable divide between the old world of mice and keyboards, where it dominates, and a future ruled by touch screens, where Apple and Android devices prevail.
Although the Surface won't go on sale until this fall, I had the chance to spend a few minutes with some devices in a group demonstration after Microsoft unveiled them in Los Angeles on Monday.
The removable cover..

Review: Asus Eee Pad tablet transforms into laptop

March 1, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

The tablet computers that compete with the iPad have mostly been uninspiring. The Eee Pad Transformer stands out with a design that isn't just copied from the iPad: It's a tablet that turns into a laptop.
For $399, $100 less than the cheapest iPad, you get a tablet computer with a 10-inch screen and hardware that doesn't cut corners. It's fully usable on its own. For another $149, you can buy a keyboard that connects to the tablet. Together, they look and open like a small laptop.
The Transformer is made by Asustek Computer Inc., the Taiwanese company that started the brief “netbook” craze a few years ago by selling small, inexpensive laptops. With the keyboard attached, the Transformer is nearly indistinguishable from a netbook.
But before you get too excited about the prospect of a laptop-tablet hybrid that combines the best of both worlds, I have to tell you that you're not getting a Windows laptop in the bargain. The Transformer runs Google Inc.'s Andr..

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 – 2024 review

August 18, 2017 Richard Gomez 0

On the heels of Apple's new, lighter iPad, Amazon has come out with a full-size tablet that weighs even less yet sports a sharper display and a lower price tag. Although Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 hasn't received as much attention as the iPad Air, it is emerging as the strongest challenger yet to Apple's device.
The new Kindle shares many of the features found in a smaller version that came out Oct. 18.
A row of tabs at the top of the screen gives you quick access to Amazon services such as e-books, music, video and shopping. Recently used apps and content appear in the middle so you can return to them quickly. The bottom row has icons for frequently used apps such as email and the camera.
Need help? Just hit the “Mayday” button. You'll be connected within seconds to a live customer-service representative, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You see the representatives in a video box, but they can only hear you and see what's on your screen. They can also..

New iPad: A polishing of the old

July 30, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

On Friday, the new iPad goes on sale. Be sure to ask for it by name: the iPad.
Because if you ask for the iPad 3, the Apple representatives will look at you funny. Last year's model was called the iPad 2, but this third-generation model is just called the iPad. (Why not continue the numbering pattern? “That would have been too predictable,” says Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president for marketing.)
Really, the new iPad should have been called the iPad 2S. In the past, Apple added the letter S to iPhone models that weren't exactly new but had been tastefully enhanced (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4S). That's exactly what's going on with the new iPad. Its technical improvements keep it at the forefront of desirability – just ahead of the snapping jaws of its Android competition – but don't take it in any new directions.
The biggest new feature is what Apple calls the Retina display: like the one on the iPhone 4S, it's a very, very sharp screen. It's f..

Apple iPad 2: The emperor’s successor

March 1, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

Introduction:
The first iPad was a revolutionary product. There were naysayers galore, nobody was even sure it would work – neither a laptop nor a netbook, and there was no keyboard. Xxx years later, the iPad has sent the competition scrambling to produce tablets of their own.
So is there a tablet better than the iPad? Yes there is. The iPad 2.
These are interesting circumstances for a new version of the device. It's only competition is the first version of itself, which was so pathbreaking a device that it's a very tough act to follow.
With iPad 2, Apple has done what it does best with follow-up acts – they've kept it simple. Users complained that version 1 was too heavy for prolonged use, and carped about the lack of cameras. Version 2 is 30 per cent slimmer, 15 per cent lighter, and has two cameras. Under the hood, there is a new dual-core A5 chip, to make iPad 2 run a bit faster. As a bonus, there is a nifty smart cover. Lets take an in-depth look.
Hardware
The iPad ..

Zync Quad 9.7 2024

July 10, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

While the market is flooded with 7-inch tablets, there's still some space for good quality 10-inchers. The Zync Quad 9.7 tablet promises to bring a high resolution 'Retina' display to the Android world at an unbelievable price. But does it deliver on performance and usability? We try to find out.
Design/ Build
From the front, the Zync Quad 9.7 looks roughly similar to the Apple iPad except that there's no hardware button. The front features a 9.7-inch screen surrounded by a black bezel. Interestingly, the iPad also features a 9.7-inch screen. The placement of the front facing camera is a little unconventional – it's located at the top right corner (looking at the tablet in landscape mode).
The tablet has rounded corners and there's a white plastic frame between the front and the back of the tablet. The back of the tablet has a brushed aluminium finish and while we're not sure of the material that it's made of, it does exude a feeling of durabilit..

Review: Asus Transformer Prime 2024

July 5, 2016 Richard Gomez 0

When the Asus Transformer Prime hit our desk, it was like Christmas, Diwali, New Years and all our respective birthdays had arrived at the same time. If that doesn't tell you how eager we were to get our grubby mits on this tablet, we don't know what will. The Transformer Prime was launched earlier on in parts of the world, but India is finally catching up with the tablet. We got one in our hands and we put it through its paces and here are our observations.
Hardware
The Transformer Prime created waves across the 'tabletverse' when it was announced. Powered by the Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core chip, the device is the only quad core tablet in the market. Another noteworthy addition to the hardware list is the new Super IPS display under a Gorilla Glass panel. The screen acts not only as a major fingerprint magnet, but is also highly reflective, meaning it has a major glare problem. This is where the Super IPS display comes in. Once enabled, the screen's brightness ch..