Review: Better cameras, less glare in iPad Air 2

CUPERTINO, California–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, though the cameras, processor and dimensions haven’t changed.

The tablets go on sale this week, starting at $499 for the iPad Air 2 and $399 for the iPad Mini 3. Both now have fingerprint ID technology to expedite online purchases through Apple Pay. Gold joins silver and grey as color choices, and pricier models have twice as much storage as before.

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IMPROVED CAMERA

The iPad Air 2 takes sharper images. I can tell even before snapping the shot because I see all that detail on the screen. I’m able to read the small name tag on a baby bottle. Lettering on a van across the street looks clearer.

Last month’s iOS 8 software update brought panorama and time-lapse features to the iPad. With the iPad Air 2, you can snap 10 shots per second in a burst mode — great for restless kids, as you can choose the best shots later. You also get slow-motion video, though only at 120 frames per second. The new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus offer 240 frames per second as well, so motion looks even slower.

The new Air’s front camera gets a burst mode, too, and the front sensor is better than before at capturing light for indoor and night selfies.

Unfortunately, the iPad still doesn’t have a flash. Although I prefer taking shots with natural light anyway, a lot of people like the flash. My advice is to light subjects with the iPhone’s flashlight.

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BETTER VIEWING AND SOUND

An anti-reflective coating reduces glare on the iPad Air 2. It’s a first for Apple and possibly a first for any consumer mobile device. I was dubious until I watched video with light shining in through my window. The coating didn’t eliminate glare completely, but made video viewable. The glare was too distracting on last year’s Air.

The coating also promises to improve contrast. However, I had to look hard to notice differences in some dull-color scenes in Showtime’s “Homeland.” In many cases, the quality of the video stream makes a bigger difference.

To me, the iPad Air 2 also has better speakers. With the volume cranked all the way up, sound is louder on the new model. Apple says there shouldn’t be a difference, though I’m not complaining. (My neighbors might, though.)

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OTHER CHANGES

I’m glad to see the fingerprint ID sensor for unlocking both new tablets. Passcodes seem so last century, not to mention inconvenient.

That fingerprint can now be used to authorize Apple Pay purchases in apps. Unlike the new iPhones, the iPad doesn’t have a wireless chip needed for in-store transactions. Then again, I’d probably mock anyone who tried to wave a giant device over a cashier’s payment terminal. But I can see myself choosing a tablet over a phone for online shopping, and the fingerprint with Apple Pay will work nicely for that.

For the iPad Air 2 only, there’s a faster Wi-Fi technology called 802.11ac, though you need new home-networking equipment to take advantage of it. The Air also gets a barometer sensor to track elevation in fitness apps.

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THE BARGAIN

Last year’s iPad Air was a huge improvement over the 2012 iPad, so this year’s update seems small by comparison. The improvements might not be enough for existing iPad Air owners to upgrade, but there’s enough there for those who have older models or are getting their first tablets.

The update in the iPad Mini is less pronounced. That makes it less tempting to save $100 by going for the Mini. For the same price as an iPad Mini 3, you can get last year’s full-size iPad with similar technical specifications. Bargain hunters should consider previous versions of the Mini, including the original model for $249, the cheapest iPad yet.

If you can afford it, though, spend more for added storage. For $599, you get an iPad Air 2 with 64 gigabytes, compared with 16 GB in the $499 base model. For $699, you get 128 GB. You’ll be surprised how quickly your iPad fills up with photos and video — especially now that I won’t mock you.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Slight headwinds as iPad Air takes off

TOKYO–For one Japanese man, being at the front of a Tokyo queue as the new iPad debuted around the world Friday was his way of saying “thank you” to Apple after a year that turned his life around.

Takaaki Sasaki was one of hundreds who poured into Apple’s flagship store in the glitzy Ginza district as the doors opened on the latest tablet offering from the sector’s agenda-setter.

The launch had little of the razzmatazz of previous iPads or iPhones, with potential customers perhaps swayed by a critical reception that was largely positive but dominated by the theme that the iPad Air was no game-changer.

The worldwide rollout kicked off Down Under, with Apple in Australia saying there were queues outside its stores when the doors opened, with several hundred people reportedly lining up outside its flagship Sydney outlet.

At the sprawling, three-storey Apple shop in downtown Beijing — the largest Apple store in Asia — each customer was greeted with cheers and applause from around 25 employees in bright blue shirts, with another dozen workers standing ready to give a second round of applause at the cash registers downstairs.

In Singapore, Edmond Ong, a spokesman for retailer Epicenter, said sales were muted compared with last year’s iPad launch.

“We are not too worried as we still see a steady stream of customers coming in to get the iPad this morning,” he said.

The new iPad Air is thinner than the version it replaces, weighs around 450 grams (one pound), and is “screaming fast,” Apple vice president Phil Schiller said at the unveiling in San Francisco on October 23.

Apple also unveiled an upgraded iPad Mini, which has a vividly rich retina display along with faster computing power and graphics.

Both new iPads feature the Apple-designed A7 chip with 64-bit “desktop-class architecture”, the company said. The Mini will go on sale later in the month.

Reviewers have generally been positive about the upgrades, with website TechCrunch labelling them “a huge improvement”, while Time said the Air was “so much svelter”.

Damon Darlin in the New York Times summed up the feelings of many with a review that lauded the Air’s lower weight, thinner profile and souped up operating system.

But, he said: “I can’t really tell you to replace your old iPad; the improvements on the new one are incremental, not revolutionary.”

However, in Japan, home to perhaps some of Apple’s most enthusiastic fans, the launch had its usual fanfare and tales of people queueing for days.

Kodai Taguchi, a 20-year-old university student, said he has more than a dozen Apple products after “queuing every time a new version is released”.

“As soon as I held the box, I could already tell how light it is,” he said. “I think I like this the most among all my Apples.”

For queue leader Sasaki, the open-air vigil had all been worth it.

“So many miracles have happened to me this year thanks to my Apple products,” he said.

Tears filled his eyes as he held his iPad Air, surrounded by a clutch of Japanese journalists.

Unemployed Sasaki, who travelled from northern Iwate, said after years of drifting Apple had brought him a run of luck, when he wrote a hit app.

The app — a searchable version of Japan’s constitution — was voted as the best in App Store’s business category and its sudden rise to prominence became fodder for a book he authored in August.

“I wanted to show my gratitude to Apple by being first in line,” he said.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Apple unveils revamped iPads to beat back rivals

SAN FRANCISCO—Apple revved up its iPad line on Tuesday as it moved to fend off rivals which have eroded its dominance in the sizzling tablet market.

A slimmer version of its top-selling full-size tablet computer, dubbed the “iPad Air,” was announced along with a revamped iPad Mini with an improved high-definition display.

Apple shares fell as investors reacted to a lack of fresh products, but some analysts remained upbeat after the US tech giant unveiled upgrades to its tablets, notebooks and desktop computers along with free software to sweeten the deal.

“I think it is going to be a really strong holiday for Apple,” Gartner analyst Van Baker said after spending some hands-on time with the California company’s newest devices.

“The highlight of the day is the breadth of Apple’s announcement; this is apps, tablets, MacBooks, Mac Pro, software… It is very wide-ranging.”

The new iPad Air is 43 percent thinner than the version it replaces, weighs just one pound (450 grams), and is “screaming fast,” Apple vice president Phil Schiller said at the unveiling in San Francisco.

The upgraded iPad Mini has a high-definition “retina” display along with faster computing power and graphics.

Both new iPads feature the Apple-designed A7 chip with 64-bit “desktop-class architecture,” Apple said.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook said he was not troubled by competition in the tablet space.

“Everybody seems to be making a tablet,” he told the audience. “Even some of the doubters are making them.”

But he said that notwithstanding sales figures, “iPad is used more than any of the rest, and not just a little more, a lot more.”

The iPad “is used over four times more than all of those other tablets put together, and this is what is important to us. People use it, and what is even more important to us, is people love it,” he said.

The two new iPads will be sold alongside the existing versions, starting Nov. 1 in more than 40 markets around the world.

The iPad Air will start at $499 and the new Mini version at $399 for US customers. Apple will cut the prices of the older iPad versions.

Apple announced upgrades for its MacBook line of notebooks and Mac Pro desktop computer, and announced its new operating system called Mavericks would be available as a free upgrade for those with existing Apple computers.

Strategic shift

In a strategic shift, Apple announced that iWork and iLife software suites for tasks from video editing to mixing music and making business presentations would be free for its mobile devices.

Baker said this is a smart move that can drive sales of hardware.

Like Google does with its online array of Docs applications, Apple will be making available for free productivity software that Microsoft sells to users of Windows-powered computers.

The new iPads come on the same day Microsoft began selling an upgraded version of its Surface tablet, and as Nokia unveiled its own tablet computer.

Industry tracker Gartner on Monday forecast that global tablet shipments will reach 184 million units this year—a 53.4 percent rise from last year.

The iPad remains the largest-selling tablet, according to surveys, but its market share is being eroded by rivals using the Google Android operating system.

Apple is also under pressure to adapt to the popularity of premium tablets with high-quality screens in the seven- to eight-inch (18- to 20-centimeter) range where the Mini competes.

Jan Dawson, analyst at the research firm Ovum, said Apple’s latest “represents a good enough boost to the previous version to trigger good upgrade sales and get iPad shipments growing again, which was a key objective for this launch.”

But Dawson said Apple is raising the price for the new Mini, unlike competitors: “It seems as though Apple is trying to push average selling prices for iPads back up again after they’ve dropped steadily over the past year… This is the clearest statement Apple could have made that it is only interested in competing in the premium tablet space.”

This means Apple’s share in tablets will continue to fall as Android’s share rises over the coming years, Dawson said.

Apple shares fell 1.5 percent to end at $519.87.

Thomas Husson at Forrester Research Apple offered no new breakthroughs but that this should not be expected.

“Yes, at some point, the company will need to disrupt a new market once again, but today’s announcement is really about making sure it maintains the premium brand experience for the holiday season when competition is heating up—not just for tablets but also for the amazing new line of Mac products,” Husson said.—Glenn Chapman

source: technology.inquirer.net