Google I/O is a week away and I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what Google has to announce. The yearly conference is set up for developers to network and hone their skills through workshops. However, the main attraction is Google's keynote address, where executives unveil new projects, products and updates from the company.Last year was all aboutAndroid; we got a sneak peak atAndroid L(the developer version of what became5.0 Lollipop), first looks atAndroid Wear watches, and an intro to Android TV and Android Auto. Google also talked about virtual reality withCardboardand new Chromebook features.
This year, rumors are flying about Android M, the next generation of the mobile operating system, new wearables and updates on Project Tango. We won't know if any of that is true until Thursday May 28, but the I/O schedule can help clue us in to what Google has to share. That's because Google hosts in-depth sessions based on what they announce at the keynote. Below are some predictions of what we'll see based on that schedule
1. Android updates
There's been a lot of talk of the developer edition of the next version of Android, code named Android M, ever since Google made a reference to it in an I/O session. Soon after the schedule went live, Google removed the session, leading most to believe it was a teaser of what was coming.
While there's no longer of mention of Android M on the I/O agenda, the "What's new in Android" session is kind of a dead giveaway that Google will have news to share. Since Google has several sessions about Material Design, it's highly likely the next version of Android won't have big design changes. However, it looks like we can expect some improved features instead.
There are a few hints that we might see a new wearable and maybe a smartwatch at I/O. First, the session on Google Fit, Google's health dashboard app, could indicate that we'll see a new fitness device for gathering health and activity data.
The next hint is Google's Smart Lock session, which is all about improvements to Smart Lock. It's a feature in Android that lets you unlock your phone or tablet by having a trusted smartwatch close by and it was introduced with Android Lollipop.
We'll definitely see something from the Google Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group, which is responsible for Project Tango, Project Ara and other cool future tech. In a session titled "A little badass. Beautiful. Tech and human. Work and love. ATAP.," there's a mention of wearables that will literally blow your socks off and talk of building "seemingly impossible things." The description also says the team's goal is to create wearables that are engaging and give you rich interactions, despite small screen size limitations. Sounds like promising stuff.
Expect some VR announcements at the show.CNET
3. Virtual reality
Virtual reality has a been a hot topic in the past year, with Oculus Rift making waves, Microsoft creatingHoloLens and Google debuting its quirky take, Google Cardboard, in 2014. This I/O, it looks like the search company is pressing onward with VR.
The "Make Believe" session description doesn't go into much detail, beyond simply inviting developers to "explore virtual reality and how it may change our lives." It's anyone's guess if Google will debut the long-rumored new version of Google Glass, but there's a good chance there will other virtual-reality gadgets.
4. Satellite imaging
Here's a taste of the big-picture stuff Google is known for. Satellite mapping with Skybox, a companyGoogle acquired in 2014, is on the agenda this year and it looks like the next big thing.
In the a session called "The Earth in real time," attendees will learn about the next steps in satellite imaging and how that technology can have real impacts down here on the surface. Google said when it acquired the company that it hopes Skybox's technology can be used to improve Internet access worldwide and provide better disaster relief. Expect to hear more about that at the conference.
5. Smart home
Home automation gets some attention at this year's I/O in the "Working with Nest to build a thoughtful home together" session. Nest is the smart thermostat and smoke alarm company Google acquired in 2014. Nest created the Work with Nest program in 2013 to allow other smart devices, like watches and home automation systems, to work with Nest products.
The session description hints at making your smart-home gadgets and systems work better together, with improved security.
Today, however, an OTA, build on Android 5.1.1 has begun seeding to Shamu owners on T-Mobile. The news was confirmed by the carrier on Twitter and it is already present on its support page.
The package bears the build number LYZ28E and weighs about 125MB. It brings about various Android 5.1.1 features and improvements and is also bundled with T-Mobile's own WiFi calling feature. Naturally, the roll-out procedure is staged and eligible users might not get the package immediately. All unit should, however, get the update over the next couple of weeks. If you are really eager, there is always manual flashing. The package can be found in the source link.
As far as factory images of Android 5.1.1 for Nexus 6, we can only expect that they will come shortly. We will be sure to keep you updated once that happens.
With the flagship announcement season all but over, most of the mobile world has already turned its attention to rumors and speculations of future models, like the Samsung Galaxy A8 and even the Galaxy Note 5.
However, during the past week, there were quite a few new device announcements that definitely deserve their fair share of attention.
First up, are Oppo's two new handsets - the R7 and R7 Plus. They differ in both size and styling. The smaller Oppo R7 has a more traditional exterior with a 5.0-inch AMOLED display and all-metal body with a nice premium feel. The R7 Plus, on the other hand, boasts a significantly larger 6.0-inch AMOLED screen, stretching almost edge to edge on the phone's body. The new bezel-less design definitely makes it stand out, but, it turned out to be more of a marketing gimmick, as, we did find quite a bit of black bezel still surrounding the display itself.
Moving on, LG surprised us this week with not one, but two new device announcements. After the Korean company arrived a little tardy with its flagship LG G4, it wasted no time in announcing two mid-range phones that take after the curved flagship's styling. The G4 Stylus is bigger than the G4. It features a 5.7” 720p display and a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU and 4G LTE support or a 1.4 GHz octa-core CPU limited to 3G networks.
Then, there is the G4c. Is is the compact or mini version of the flagship. It has a 5.0-inch 720p display and is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU. Both phones run Android 5.0 Lollipop with LG UX 4.0 on top. RAM is limited to 1GB, while the 8GB storage is expandable via a memory card slot. Both phones have a 5MP camera in the front for taking selfies, with the main shooter differing in megapixels - 13MP for the G4 Stylus and 8MP for the G4c. There are also other notable differences between the two, which you can check in the detailed specs pages.
Last, bet not least, we have two new smartphones by Sharp. The Sharp Aquos Crystal 2 is the successor to the bezel-less Aquos Crystal mid-ranger from last year and now comes with a bigger 5.2-inch screen, waterproofing and mobile wallet support. The signature bezel-less style, however, is still present. Other specs include a 720p S-PureLED display, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage.
After the new mid-range Crystal 2, Sharp unveiled the flagship version too – the Aquos Xx. Its screen is bigger too, grown to a massive 5.7", and the chipset has been upgraded to the latest Snapdragon 810. The screen is an S-PureLCD (Sharp-developed tech) with 1080p, and the frame is all aluminum. RAM is set at 3GB and 32GB for internal storage. Cameras include a 13MP main shooter and a small 2MP one on the front.
Below is a table of the aforementioned devices for more info, if needed.
The GoodThe Surface Pro 3 is thinner and lighter than the previous two versions, despite having a larger 12-inch display and higher screen resolution. A new kickstand makes it easier to set up and use, and the keyboard cover remains a best-in-class example. The Surface Pro 3 is now optimized for a digital pen, which is included.
The Bad That excellent keyboard cover is not included in the base price, and its improved touchpad still doesn't measure up. The chassis lacks pen storage, and even with tweaked kickstand and keyboard hinges, the Surface Pro 3 still doesn't fit perfectly on the lap.
The Bottom LineWhile the new Surface Pro 3 is Microsoft's best PC to date, it's more successfTablets are great for consuming entertainment, while laptops and other full PCs are required to actually create those works, or so the conventional wisdom goes. Some substitute the charged word "productivity" for creation, but the pitch is the same. You need one device for A, B, and C, and another for X, Y, and Z.
That means there's a sizable group of people out there spending at least part of the time lugging around a laptop and a tablet simultaneously. I've been guilty of that, usually packing a 13-inch ultrabook or MacBook Air and an iPad into my carry-on bag for airline flights.
By Prosperity PnP Tech
With the new Surface Pro 3 from Microsoft, the software powerhouse (and occasional hardware maker) says it finally has the single grand unified device that will satisfy both the creation and consumption instincts equally. You'll feel just as at home watching a movie or reading a book as you will editing video footage or writing your novel.ul as a tablet than a laptop replacement.That's largely the same pitch, of course, we got for theSurface ProandSurface Pro 2tablets, which points to the difficulty in translating the fullWindows 8.1experience freely between a laptop and tablet. Dozens of our hands-on reviews of devices ranging from 8-inch slates to 13-inch two-in-one hybrids back this up, as does the mixed reception to the first two generations of the Surface Pro.
Both of those devices, as well as the Surface Pro 3, at least begin with the right idea and smartly lean toward the laptop side of the tablet spectrum, including Intel Core i-series CPUs and keyboard covers designed to feel more like laptop keyboards.
With the Surface Pro 3, starting at $799 or £639 for an Intel Core i3 CPU and a 64GB SSD, we can see the thinking at Microsoft start to lean even more toward the laptop side, with a new kickstand and touch cover that allow you to work at almost any angle. Our review configuration is upgraded to a Core i5 CPU and 256GB SSD, which costs $1,299 or £1,109, while the type cover keyboard is an additional $129 or £110.The new Surface Pro is thinner than its predecessors, with a larger, higher-resolution screen. On that mark alone, it outshines the Pro and Pro 2. The internal specs and performance are largely similar to the Pro 2, but that means it's still just as fast as any current-gen premium laptop.
With the generation-over-generation tweaks to the design, especially the hinge and keyboard, you can see a dedicated push towards advancing the cause of practical usability. It's not entirely there yet, and it's still a leap to say this will be a true laptop replacement for most people, but the Surface Pro 3 is the first Surface device I feel confident in saying I could get away with using as a primary PC.
Microsoft Surface Pro 3
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2 Pro
MacBook Air 13-inch (June 2013)
Price as reviewed
$1,299
$999
$1,099
Display size/resolution
12-inch, 2,160 x 1,440 touch screen
13.3-inch, 3,200 x 1,800 touch screen
13.3-inch, 1,440 x 900 screen
PC CPU
1.9GHz Intel Core i5 4300U
1.6GHz Intel Core i5 4200U
1.3GHz Intel Core i5 4250U
PC Memory
8GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz
4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz
4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz
Graphics
1,792MB (shared) Intel HD Graphics 4400
1,792MB (shared) Intel HD Graphics 4400
1,024MB Intel HD Graphics5000
Storage
256GB SSD hard drive
128GB SSD hard drive
128GB SSD hard drive
Optical drive
None
None
None
Networking
802.11a/c wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
802.11b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
802.11a/c wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
Operating system
Windows 8.1 (64-bit)
Windows 8.1 (64-bit)
OSX Mountain Lion 10.8.4
Design and features
Despite the talk of this being the thinnest Intel Core i-series device to date, it still doesn't feel quite as thin and ethereal as, for example, the iPad Air. But its thinner body, coupled with a larger 12-inch screen, give it a more upscale feel than either the Pro or Pro 2, which were criticized for a certain boxiness.
Both of the previous Surface Pro models had 10.6-inch screens and were 13mm thick, with a footprint of 10.8 inches by 6.8 inches. This new 12-inch version is 11.5 inches by 7.9 inches, but its thickness drops to an impressive 9.1mm. The Pro 3 is also a tad lighter than its predecessor: 800 grams versus 900. Again, when you consider the larger screen, that's a worthy achievement.
With a wink and a nod, Microsoft says this new Surface Pro design isn't exactly fanless, but it might as well be. That's because the new system internals, designed in partnership with Intel, allow the system run run not only ultra-low-voltage Core i3 or i5 CPUs, but also Core i7 ones, with a slim, quiet fan moving air as needed, allegedly without that telltale whirring sound, or a fan exhaust blowing on your hands. Our Surface Pro 3, a midrange model with an Intel Core i5 CPU, certainly felt cool during our hands-on testing, but an audible fan also kicked in at times. To call the experience fanless-like would not be accurate.
One major difference in the new design is the kickstand, which can be adjusted to nearly any angle between 22 degrees and 150 degrees. That's especially useful for tilting the screen way back, as an artist using a drafting table might, but as the owner of normal-size legs for a 6-foot-tall man, I still had a hard time getting the Surface Pro 3 to sit comfortably on my lap. The kickstand either kept the screen angle too severe to see clearly while seated, or else the end of the kickstand was sliding off my knees when I tilted the screen further back.Taking the type cover and kicking in its additional top-edge magnetic hinge, raising the back edge of the keyboard to a better angle, helped a bit, as the raised angle feels much more natural for typing (which is why nearly every PC keyboard has tiny feet at the back edge). It's a small change, but one that says Microsoft is thinking seriously about ergonomics.
Of portrait modes and pens
It may take a second to spot, but there's one major change to the Surface design ID this time around. The capacitive touch button Windows logo -- which brings you back to the Windows 8 tile interface -- has shifted from the bottom long edge of the chassis to one of the shorter edges.
There are two reasons for that, to my mind. First, the new keyboard covers cover the area where the original Windows button was located when you use the second tilt-up hinge. Second, moving the Windows logo button to the short edge points users toward using the device in portrait mode. I've found that most Windows tablets and hybrids are designed around use in a laptop-like landscape mode, which has the screen lying against its longest side, while the all-popular Apple iPad is primarily understood as a device to be held upright in portrait mode, much like a book or magazine.
This ties directly into Microsoft's strong pitch for the Surface Pro 3 as an educational device for note-taking, annotation, drawing, and sketching. The included battery-powered Bluetooth pen is metallic, and more substantial than versions I've tried with other Windows 8 tablets, such as the 8-inch Asus VivoTab 8.
In the case of the Asus, the Wacom stylus was made of thin plastic, but at least it slid right into an internal slot in the tablet body. For the Surface Pro 3, you'll need to either keep in your pocket or bag, or perhaps slide it behind your ear, unless you have a sold-separately type cover and its awkward stick-on stylus-holding loop.
While the Surface Pro pen (Microsoft would prefer you call it a pen rather than a stylus) works in a variety of apps, including The New York Times crossword puzzle app, OneNote is an easy example of how it works for drawing and taking notes. If you have all your Microsoft cloud services properly set up, your OneNote files can sync to other devices such as your phone (with cross-platform support on Android and iOS devices) or laptop (Windows or Mac). Even better, just click once on the Pen's top to open OneNote, even if your Surface is asleep, and notes are automatically saved.
A great keyboard, for a tablet
The tragedy of the Surface Pro has always been that the single coolest thing about it doesn't actually come in the box. The excellent type cover, which acts as a screen protector, full keyboard, and touchpad interface, stubbornly remains a sold-separately accessory, despite the fact that I can't imagine (or recommend) anyone ever buying a Surface without one. At $129 or £110, it's expensive for an add-on keyboard, but it's also still the main wow factor of the Surface.
The new type cover for Surface Pro 3 is larger than its predecessors, although the older versions will still work -- they just won't cover the entire screen when the flap is closed. It feels like the best add-ontablet keyboard you can buy, while still falling short of a decent budget laptop keyboard. The secondary hinge, really just a line near the top edge you can fold the cover along, lifts the rear up and holds it against the body via a magnetic connection, giving you a more natural typing angle. It's an excellent ergonomic improvement, although it makes typing louder and clackier.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The touchpad built into the type cover is better than the last version we tried, made of what a Microsoft rep described as a "ceramic fabric" material. But despite the improvements, it's still not responsive, or tap-sensitive, enough for fast-track multitaskers, and the surface area is too shallow to easily navigate all around the screen. You'll most likely develop a shorthand combination of touchscreen and touchpad, plus pen, to get around.
The screen you'll spend a lot of time touching is a better-than-HD display, measuring 12 inches diagonally with a 2,160x1,440-pixel resolution. The IPS panel looks clear and bright, has excellent off-axis viewing angles, and follows a growing trend toward better-than-HD displays. Do you need more pixels on a 12-inch screen? That's debatable, but some 13-inch models are already hitting 3,200x1,800 pixels.
Microsoft Surface Pro 3
Video
mini-DisplayPort
Audio
Stereo speakers, headphone jack
Data
1 USB 3.0, microSD card reader
Networking
802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Optical drive
None
Connections, performance, and battery life
Built into the thin body you'll find a full-size USB 3.0 port, microSD card reader, and Mini DisplayPort, 5-megapixel and 1080p HD front- and rear-facing cameras, as well as stereo speakers with Dolby Audio-enhanced sound. Other hardware specs include SSD storage from 64GB to 512GB; 4GB or 8GB of memory; 802.11ac Wi-Fi; and TPM 2.0 for enterprise security.
There is also a $200/£165 Docking Station for Surface Pro 3 with a Mini DisplayPort supporting resolutions up to 3,840x2,600 pixels, five USB ports -- three USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports -- and a Gigabit Ethernet jack. There is a standalone Surface Ethernet Adapter for $40, too.
No matter which configuration you order, you'll have to wait a while to get it (if you're looking just after Microsoft's announcement, which came on May 21, 2014). The two Intel Core i5 models, with 128GB ($999, £849) or 256GB ($1,299, £1,109) of SSD storage are listed as shipping in late June. The Core i3/64GB version ($799, £639) and the two Core i7 versions with 256GB ($1,549, £1,339) and 512GB ($1,949, £1,649) of SSD storage are all listed as shipping at the end of August.
Our fourth-gen Intel Core i5 CPU, coupled with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, matched up well with other premium laptops that might be considered in the same breath as the Surface Pro 3. Application performance was comparable with Apple's current 13-inch MacBook Air, the tablet-like Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro, and even last year's Surface Pro 2. For everyday Windows 8 tasks, from Photoshop to Web surfing, it's more than powerful enough, and the higher screen resolution makes it easier to snap multiple apps open at once on the screen.
Intel's basic built-in graphics still can't handle even mainstream games, so don't think of this as a portable game machine. We gave BioShock Infinite a spin at high settings and our standard 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution, and got single-digit frame rates. Running at the native resolution on low settings, the game still chugged unacceptably.
The Surface Pro 3 did, however, best most of the competition in battery life, even if only by a small margin. On our video playback battery drain test, it ran for 7 hours and 28 minutes, which is close to a full work day. The Yoga 2 Pro and HP's 13-inch two-in-one X2 hybrid fell only slightly behind, and last year's Surface Pro 2 ran for about 30 minutes less. Of course, as the introductory press conference for the Surface Pro 3 was built in part around comparisons to the MacBook Air, we should point out that the Air ran for more than 6 additional hours on that test.
Conclusion
Does the Surface Pro 3 really do something so different than its predecessors that it will replace the sea of glowing MacBook Airs seen in the audience during Microsoft's NYC launch event? No, it's still the same basic concept: a Core i-series slate, coupled with a very good keyboard accessory.
In the hand (or lap) shortcomings stood out, including some ergonomic difficulty actually balancing the thing on your lap, and a touchpad that still doesn't work effortlessly. It's certainly different enough from the Surface Pro 2, though, that I can call this a very substantial generation-over-generation leap.
Putting on-paper specs aside, it's already become my go-to coffee shop companion over the past few days, and I'd feel confident taking it on a plane ride or day full of on-the-go meetings. But I'm not quite ready to trade in my laptop just yet.HANDBRAKE MULTIMEDIA MULTITASKING TEST
