Samsung's new Android Wear device will build on its Gear 2 Neo (left) and Galaxy Gear smartwatches.CNET
Google's wearables push is about to get a big boost.
Samsung plans to introduce its first Android Wear device at Google's developer conference next week, people familiar with the matter told CNET. The wearable will be a smartwatch, much like the Gear devices Samsung has released in the past year, the people said.
Samsung has been working on an Android Wear smartwatch that uses Samsung's own chips, as well as another model built off of processors from Qualcomm, one person said. It's unclear which version Samsung will show at Google I/O. Android Wear is Google's operating system for smartwatches and other wearable devices.
Companies have been looking to wearables as a new market of opportunity as smartphone andtablet growth slows. By the end of this year, over 19 million wearable devices will ship worldwide, tripling last year's figure, market researcher IDCreported in April. By 2018, wearable shipments are expected to hit 111.9 million worldwide shipments -- still a small number compared with the 1.7 billion smartphones expected to be sold that year.
Samsung declined to comment on the Android Wear device but said in a statement that it's "committed to relentless innovation and new products are always in development."
Along with Samsung, LG also will launch an Android Wear device at the developer conference, people familiar with the matter said. Motorola also could introduce its first wearable at the event, one person said. Google I/O, the company's annual gathering of developers, is expected to draw about 6,000 people to San Francisco starting June 25. Samsung's Android Wear smartwatch may be given to Google I/O attendees, one person said.
Xiaomi has been causing a stir in the smartphone world with its low-cost, high-quality handsets and the Chinese company is hoping to do the same with its Mi Pad tablet. But it might be its rather familiar design that ruffles the most feathers.
With a design closely resembling the Apple iPad Mini, albeit with the iPhone 5C's candy-colored glossy plastic shell, the Mi Pad potentially has the power and price to give Apple a run for its money. That is, if it doesn't get sued by the California company first.
The tablet will be available as an "open beta" in China in June -- that is to say, the company will be handing out preproduction samples to its dedicated fans. When it will go on general sale has not yet been announced, nor whether it will head to other countries. The 16GB Wi-Fi-only model will cost 1,499 Chinese yuan (roughly $240, £145, AU$260), whereas the 64GB version will go for 1,699 Chinese yuan (around $270, £160, AU$290), which is a commendably small price increase for the extra storage.
Design and display
The Mi Pad liberally borrows from Apple's design. The tablet is clad in shiny plastic that's very similar to the iPhone 5C, and comes in five vibrant hues. The appearance and shape, however, is similar to the iPad Mini -- in fact, the company made several comparisons to the Mini's features during its presentation.
To be fair, Xiaomi's other products don't really resemble Apple's stuff, though the same can't be said about the company's marketing efforts.Like the Mini, the Mi Pad has a 7.9-inch display and the same resolution of 2,048x1,536 pixels, for a retina-quality density of 326ppi. Xiaomi claims the Mi Pad has better color accuracy than the Mini, and it uses the same hardy Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
The rounded corners of the Mi Pad are very similar to Apple's iPads, and the tablet has a very thin bezel as well. Like Apple, Xiaomi includes palm detection, which means you won't accidentally tap or swipe on the screen when you're holding the tablet.
There's a drawback to using plastic for its rear though -- it is quite slippery to hold, and frankly, I didn't like the oily feel. Xiaomi has shown it can use premium materials such as aluminum, though doing so would mean the company's slate would be even more closely resemble the iPads, or Huawei's MediaPad X1.
Specs and software
Xiaomi's Mi Pad is the first device to use Nvidia's Tegra K1 quad-core processor, and from my brief time with the tablet, I found the interface to be as smooth as butter. I can't tell you now that the K1 would do better than Qualcomm's chips, but leaked benchmarks do indicate blazing-fast performance.
Apart from the processor, the tablet comes with 2GB of RAM and either 16GB or 64GB of onboard storage. A microSD card with support for 128GB cards will let you store all the movies you want without fear of running out of space any time soon.
The Mi Pad has two cameras, an 8-megapixel version on the back and 5 megapixels on the front for video calls. It trumps the iPad on one last spec -- its 6,700mAh battery, which is 500mAh more than Apple's effort.
MIUI, the company's customised Android software, will be the OS of choice for the Mi Pad. It will run the latest version, which is based on Android 4.4.2 KitKat. My initial impression of this new tablet version is that it greatly resembles Apple's iOS 7, but that's likely no surprise by now.
Outlook
Xiaomi's CEO Lei Jun said onstage today that he hopes the low price of the Xiaomi Mi Pad will prompt Apple to lower its prices, but I think that's highly unlikely. The company is likely betting that its Apple-ish tablet will attract people who want the design of the iPad without getting a second mortgage. That seems like a great idea, but what makes the iPad so good is its ecosystem. While Android has millions of apps, few are properly optimized for tablets (unlike iOS).
The Mi Pad is currently only slated for sale in China, and there's no word yet on whether countries such as Singapore, where Xiaomi is currently selling its products, will be getting the slate. Given Xiaomi's careful pace of expansion, don't expect to see the Mi Pad in Europe or the US anytime soon -- unless you're willing to pay a premium via an online importer, of course.
The GoodThe 10-inch Miix 2 has a high-res 1,920x1,200 display and a clever magnetic keyboard dock. The 128GB SSD is large for a hybrid tablet.
The Bad The keyboard and touchpad have just enough lag and ergonomic weirdness to discourage productivity, and the fixed angle may not work for you. The pokey Atom processor is better suited for some Windows tasks than others.
The Bottom LineWith a bigger screen than most Windows tablets and an included keyboard dock, the 10-inch Lenovo Miix 2 tries to walk the line between entertainment and productivity, but it's still a few keyboard tweaks away from success.
Some hybrids are laptops that want to be tablets. Some are tablets that want to be laptops. None to date is especially apt at paying equal attention to both sides of the coin.
Lenovo tries different approach than most in the Miix 2, an oddly named $599 slate-style tablet with a feature-rich keyboard docking station. In the UK and Europe the tablet can only be had with a 64GB hard drive (it can be expanded up to 128GB in the US), and begins at £399.99 and €499, respectively. The tablet itself has a 10.1-inch screen, which is larger than most Windows 8 tablets we've seen, with 8-inch screens being the most common. The screen resolution is an unusually high 1,920x1,200, which can be either a blessing or a curse, depending on how well the apps you want to use scale in Windows 8. Personally, I'm never going to say no to extra resolution.
What makes the Miix 2 an especially interesting take on the hybrid concept is its included keyboard dock. Some hybrids, such as the Yoga line from Lenovo, keep their keyboards attached, folding them out of sight. Others, such as the Microsoft Surface Pro or Asus T100, have detachable keyboards which range from nearly-flat keyboard covers to full clamshell-style ones.
The Miix 2's keyboard feels primarily like a dock with additional USB ports and a slot for holding the screen up at a slightly reclined angle. The dock also includes a full keyboard and touchpad, although both are on the small side. Both magnets and a multi-pin connection keep the screen and dock attached, and the two sides can slot together to form what looks like a closed clamshell laptop shape for travel.
So far, so good. And for under $600, it's a nice package that allows you to enjoy some of the portable and entertainment features of tablets, while still having the ability to set it up as a mini-desktop. The problems come when you rely on the keyboard dock too much for productivity.
I found the keyboard layout just different enough from the norm to be annoying, and the hint of occasional lag with both the keyboard and touchpad is a common Windows tablet problem this system has not fixed. The pokey Intel Atom processor, on paper fine for Windows 8 use, felt sluggish at times -- especially with the larger screen and the increased expectations that come with it.
The Miix 2 still offers a nice set of features, including a big 128GB SSD for a budget price (only in the US), and Lenovo's typically excellent build quality (a 64GB SSD version is $499). But I found the tablet more satisfying to use than the keyboard combo, so if you anticipate needing to type all day, you might want to stick with a traditional laptop.
Lenovo Miix 2
Asus VivoTab Note 8
Acer Iconia W4-820-2466
Price
$599 (£399.99, €499 for 64GB)
$329, £300
$349, £299
Display size/resolution
10-inch, 1,920x1,200 touchscreen
8.1-inch, 1,280x800 touchscreen
8.1-inch, 1,280x800 touchscreen
PC CPU
1.33GHz Intel Atom Z3740
1.33GHz Intel Atom Z3740
1.33GHz Intel Atom Z3740
PC Memory
2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 1066MHz
2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 1066MHz
2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 1066MHz
Graphics
32GB Intel HD Graphics
32GB Intel HD Graphics
32GB Intel HD Graphics
Storage
128GB SSD hard drive (available only in 64GB outside the US)
32GB SSD hard drive
64GB SSD hard drive
Optical drive
None
None
None
Networking
802.11 b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
802.11 b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
802.11 b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
Operating system
Windows 8.1 (32-bit)
Windows 8.1 (32-bit)
Windows 8.1 (32-bit)
Design and features
When closed, the matte grey Miix 2 looks much like any ultraportable clamshell laptop. But, what you're actually seeing is the 10-inch tablet screen held against the keyboard dock with a magnetic connection. The dock has a small lip that rises up at the back end, forming a perfectly sized pocket for the screen to slot into. That, plus the magnet, keeps the package securely fastened, and the two parts did not come apart, even when shaking it or tossing it form one hand to the other. Still, keep in mind, they're not actually latched together, so exercise some care when throwing the unit in your shoulder bag.
When set up in its docking station, the Miix 2 looks like a small all-in-one desktop. Taking the tablet screen and flipping around to face out from the non-keyboard side of the dock gives you a kiosk look, with the dock's speaker grille pointing towards you, for a decent multimedia setup.
One nice benefit from the magnetic connection is that switching between tablet and keyboard modes doesn't require you to fumble around with a latch or switch, which is a pain point of some other convertible hybrids.
The keyboard itself makes good use of its limited space, with keys as big as you'd find on any 13-inch laptop, plus Lenovo's clever key shape, which adds a curved edge to the bottom of each key, making for fewer missed keystrokes.
The typing experience itself was fine, although the keyboard has a lot of flex in the middle, even under light typing. More frustrating were tiny tweaks from the standard keyboard layout. It's understandable given the compact footprint, but it definitely takes some getting used to, and will continue to cause trouble if you switch from this to a full-size laptop or desktop keyboard regularly. For example, the Esc key has been shifted to the number key row (and there is no separate Function key row), the Backspace key is half-size, making long-form writing more difficult.
Sometimes the keyboard and small clickpad-style touchpad responded well, but I occasionally ran into a hint of lag, something that seems to be common with hybrids featuring separate keyboards. Apps designed for the Windows 8 tile interface fared best overall.
The 10.1-inch display, with a very high native resolution of 1,920x1,200, is one of the things that really sets this system apart. That resolution number, and the slightly different dimensions of the screen, tell us this is a 16:10 aspect ratio display, rather than the more common 16:9 aspect ratio. The latter is found in nearly every laptop today, as well as HD television and monitor screens.
The extra screen real estate is handy for working with larger photos or big Excel docs, although you'll have to squint to see clearly in the traditional desktop view, or in non-optimized apps such as Photoshop. Viewing angles are excellent, as one should expect from a tablet, but the very glossy screen picks up a lot of glare, and the thick black bezel around the perimeter make the screen feel smaller than it is.
At 10.1-inches, the Miix 2 isn't really large enough to be your all-day, every day computer -- for that the cut-off is really a 13-inch laptop. But, for a long afternoon in a conference room or cross-country flight, it will work. An 11-inch version of the Miix 2 has also been announced, and it will include full Core i-series Intel CPUs, and presumably cost more.
If Samsung's Galaxy S4 is more phone than you think you need, the electronics giant has just offered up the smaller, more midrange -- and surely cheaper -- Galaxy S4 Mini.
Like a decaffeinated beverage, Samsung is hoping to give its lighter smartphone much of the same S4 taste with just a little less oomph. Although the Mini has stepped-down specs compared with its flagship family, like a lower-resolution screen and an 8-megapixel camera instead of a 13-megapixel shooter, it's no slouch when it comes to the Galaxy S4's core features, like a built-in TV remote control.
As with the Galaxy S3 Mini that came before, this version is aimed more toward the mass market than the high-end sector. Here in the middle, the Mini plays the role of the lower price option compared with the marquee Galaxy S4, without sacrificing too many of the superphone's more-defining features.
If Samsung's Galaxy S4 is more phone than you think you need, the electronics giant has just offered up the smaller, more midrange -- and surely cheaper -- Galaxy S4 Mini.
Like a decaffeinated beverage, Samsung is hoping to give its lighter smartphone much of the same S4 taste with just a little less oomph. Although the Mini has stepped-down specs compared with its flagship family, like a lower-resolution screen and an 8-megapixel camera instead of a 13-megapixel shooter, it's no slouch when it comes to the Galaxy S4's core features, like a built-in TV remote control.
As with the Galaxy S3 Mini that came before, this version is aimed more toward the mass market than the high-end sector. Here in the middle, the Mini plays the role of the lower price option compared with the marquee Galaxy S4, without sacrificing too many of the superphone's more-defining features.
With TouchWiz comes a mountain of software embellishments, like more one-touch system settings in the notifications pull-down and options like Air View, which produces an onscreen cursor when you wag your finger close to the screen.
Samsung hasn't told us exactly which extras will take root in the Mini, but it's safe to assume that it's an almost identical software build as the Galaxy S4's. Transporting its signature Galaxy-only abilities across devices is absolutely Samsung's style.
If software enhancements are your thing, the presence of these bonus features is one reason to pick the Mini over any other midtier device: you won't have the most powerful hardware, but you'll still hold onto features like Group Play, and Samsung's built-in apps. (For more on all these, check out this full Samsung Galaxy S4 review.)
We're most gratified to see the S4's IR blaster make its way onto the Mini. This little hardware bauble turns your phone into a TV remote control when paired with the WatchOn app. Top phones like the HTC One and LG Optimus G Pro share this soon-to-be living room staple, but the Galaxy S4 Mini will be the first of its class to also bail you out when your TV remote falls behind the couch.
As for connections and communications, Bluetooth 4.0 keeps the Mini current. NFC, which makes content-sharing possible with a tap, will make it onto LTE-enabled versions of the Mini. We're not sure why Samsung isn't including NFC in non-LTE Mini handsets, but it likely has something to do with cost control for different markets worldwide.
Cameras and video
Although the Galaxy S4 Mini may not deliver quite the rich detail of the S4's 13-megapixel camera, Samsung is still gifting the "decaf" device with an 8-megapixel shooter, which is no resolution to sneeze at, especially the way Samsung typically outfits its camera modules. Expect high-fidelity images and smooth 1080p HD video.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini's ports and fixtures show up in the same place as on the original S4.
(Credit: Samsung)
The 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera should also pull its weight for casual self-portraits and video chats.
Shutterbugs will get a nice, large helping of Samsung's photo software, including Panorama and HDR modes (that's high-dynamic range), Night mode, burst shot, and several others that help pick the best of the bunch.
While the new Sound & Shot mode makes an appearance (that records an audio clip to narrate the still, but plays back only on S4 phones,) the new dual-shot mode -- which uses both front and rear camera captures in a single picture -- does not.
Performance
While it's tough to guess how well the Galaxy S4 Mini will perform all around the world, the specs do tell a promising story. First up, there are up to six bands for global LTE support, plus HSPA+ 42 speeds, and 3G and 2G fail-safes.
LTE-ready builds of the Mini won't come to every market, but if you've got LTE phones where you live, that's the version you should expect to see when and if the handset lands in a store near you. Otherwise, you'll get a 3G version of the phone, and, in some markets, even a dual-SIM device. The double-barrel configuration has its benefits, but don't hold your breath for a dual-SIM Mini to hit every country (sorry, U.S.).
Now what about raw computing power? Unlike the superpowered quad-core or octa-core Galaxy S4, the S4 Mini will pack a 1.7GHz dual-core processor under its hood. That's completely respectable, depending on the chipset's make and model, and I'll guess that most people won't miss the Galaxy S4's high-octane gaming speeds.
Smaller than the original Galaxy S4, the Mini crops the screen from 5 inches down to 4.3.
The phone's smaller screen size is one explanation for the Mini's 1,900mAh battery, which should still keep the phone charged during the peak hours of the day. Unsurprisingly, there's a smaller bank of storage on this lighter device -- 8GB, with closer to 5GB for the phone owner's content. However, a microSD slot holds up to 64GB extra.
In terms of RAM, the Galaxy S4 Mini splits the difference between the S4's 2GB quotient and midrange device's 1GB capacity with 1.5GB RAM.
Which to buy: Galaxy S4 or Galaxy S4 Mini?
Without pricing or availability details from Samsung and its global partners, it's hard to make a value judgment about which is the better deal. (We'll update this Galaxy S4 Mini First Take with that information as soon as Samsung loosens its lips.)
From the looks of it, the Galaxy S4 Mini has the ingredients to deliver a very solid smartphone experience at a more affordable price, though the screen quality and battery life could flag compared with the real S4 deal. More-serious mobile gamers and camera snobs should stick with the fully loaded Galaxy S4.
That advice also goes for anyone who consumes a large amount of reading and viewing material from the phone screen. The S4's, while fairly reflective, will still trump the Mini's lower-res display.
Still, if you like the sound of a surely less expensive device that keeps most of its key features, and you don't mind some toned-down specs, hold off for the moment until more information about the Mini pours in.
Even if you don't have snot-nosed kids or wet-nosed pets, your computer monitor or HDTV panel will eventually accumulate a collection of annoying smudges and stains. My household happens to contain both of the aforementioned creatures and, thus, I've developed a method for wiping down the HDTV in the living room and the LCD monitor in my office, as well as the screen of my laptop and iPad.
If you take a quick survey of LCD or HDTV manufacturers about the recommended method for cleaning the surface of your monitor or TV screen, you'll discover more don'ts than dos, often in conflict with one another.
In the don't column:
Don't use aerosol sprays, solvents, or abrasives. (This means don't reach for the Windex under the kitchen sink, as tempting as it may be.)
Don't use anything other than warm water.
Don't use any liquid at all.
Don't spray a liquid directly on the screen.
Don't use a hard cloth.
Don't use your fingernail or a sharp object to remove stubborn stains.
In the do column:
Use a dry, soft, lint-free cloth, preferably the micro-fiber cleaning cloth that may have come with your TV or monitor.
Use a solution of mild soap and water, if needed.
Taking all of the above advice into consideration and speaking from my own experience, the following is my recommendation:
First, attempt to clean your screen with a dry, lint-free cloth. If you can't find the cleaning cloth that came with your screen in question, then it's likely you have one laying around from a laptop, iPad, or iPhone purchase.
If a dry cloth doesn't remove the smudges and stains on your screen, then get yourself two cloths and a solution of diluted dish soap and warm water. (I use Dawn dish soap, and just a drop.)
After removing any dust from your screen with a dry cloth, dip the other cloth in your dish soap solution, wring it out, and gently wipe your display. Next, rinse out your soapy cloth, wring it out again, and wipe your display to remove any soap residue. Finally, take your dry cloth and wipe the display to remove any streaking.
Do you have any tips or cautionary tales about cleaning monitors or HDTV displays? If so, please share in the comments below.
Designer Martin Hajek's renderings of possible iPhone 6 models.Martin Hajek
Apple will announce at least one new iPhone this year, perhaps as earlly as the WWDC in June. Based on the latest rumors and the natural evolution of the product, a larger screen is all but definite.
But what else? Except for the fingerprint sensor built into the iPhone 5S, Apple hasn't shown much in the way of actual innovation for the past couple years. Meanwhile, the latest smartphones from the likes of Google, HTC, Motorola, and Samsung have piled on cool features like hands-free Google Now, depth-sensing cameras, water-resistant cases, and kid modes.
That stuff is all well and good, and I'd like to think Apple will cook up at least a few surprises for the new iPhones. But unlike many users, I'm not itching for things like NFC, upgraded Wi-Fi, or even inductive charging (though I certainly wouldn't turn them down).
Rather, many of the improvements I'm hoping for can be handled with software, and perhaps even handed down to existing iPhone models. Because, let's face it, iOS is seriously lagging behind Android in some key areas.
Here, then, are six ways Apple can fix what's "broken" about the iPhone.
1. Choice of keyboards
Gesture keyboards, like the Nuance Swype, are awesome.Nuance
My recent dalliance with Android taught me one thing: Apple's keyboard is terrible, at least compared with the likes of Google's gesture-powered keyboard (to say nothing of third-party equivalents like Nuance's Swype Keyboard).
In my experience, "drawing" a word was significantly faster and easier than tapping it out letter by letter. I can understand Apple not wanting to allow third-party keyboards, which goes against its unified-experience mentality, but there's no reason not to bake a gesture-keyboard option into the OS. Give users a choice, Apple!
2. More camera controls, not more megapixels
iOS doesn't offer much in the way of camera controls.Apple
Eight is enough -- by which I mean megapixels, the number packed into the iPhone 5, 5C, and 5S cameras. Those phones already take pretty good (some would say great) pictures, so an iPhone 6doesn't need more megapixels. (Indeed, as we've discussed before, when it comes to smartphones, more megapixels isn't always better.)
Instead, how about providing more shooting and editing controls? Save for toggling HDR mode and engaging AE/AF lock (by tapping and holding in a specific area), iOS offers almost no camera controls. You can't manually adjust exposure or white balance. You can't lock the aforementioned AE/AF separately from the focus. There are no scene modes to better accommodate things like low light and sports. Heck, how about a timer?
Apple could easily add such features to iOS 8. The hardware is fine; now fix the software.
3. Offline voice recognition
One of the great, underrated features of iOS is voice dictation: Wherever the keyboard appears, you can tap the little microphone icon, say your piece, and presto, it's magically transcribed into text. And let's not forget Siri, the Gal Friday who can recognize your instructions to "remind me to buy milk when I get to Kroger."
Just one problem: None of this works when you're offline. Even "local" commands like the aforementioned reminder require an Internet connection. Why? Android's voice-recognition system works just fine (and quite a bit faster) whether you're connected or not. This is silly. Android is totally schooling ya, iOS!
4. Extended biometrics
Touch ID would be even better if it worked with third-party apps and services.Apple
The fingerprint sensor built into the iPhone 5s will undoubtedly make its way into the iPhone 6 as well. It's a cool feature, especially for approving App Store purchases. But it doesn't go nearly far enough.
See, password security as we know it is flat-out broken. Look no further than the Heartbleed debacle for evidence, or last year's Target breach. Even if you use "secure" passwords or passphrases, a stolen database renders them fairly useless.
But imagine if you needed a fingerprint ID to, say, buy something from Amazon. Or sign into your Evernote account. Apple's Touch ID could facilitate all that and more, if only the company would allow other apps to leverage the technology. It would, I believe, usher in a new era of smartphone-powered security -- and give iPhones quite an edge over the competition.
5. Smarter use of power
Everyone says they want bigger batteries, but what they really want is longer battery life. Although the iPhone 6 will be physically larger, and therefore accommodate a bigger cell, the larger screen will consume more power -- so that might end up a wash.
Instead, Apple should focus more on power management, much the same way Windows does. Why not add more granular power controls into the OS? How about different power modes that reflect different activities? One for stuff that doesn't require a lot of processor muscle (email, music, etc.), another for stuff that does (such as gaming and video).
And couldn't the iPhone switch into an ultra-low-power mode at night? Track your usage habits to determine when to throttle up the processor and when to throttle back? It seems to me iOS could get a lot smarter about battery consumption, effectively squeezing more juice out of the same old battery.
6. Okay, one hardware wish
Apple should work with a company like Liquipel to make all iPhones waterproof.Liquipel
Lots of users are clamoring for more storage, near-field communication (NFC) capabilities, built-in infrared, and other such hardware amenities, but to me those are superfluous. My one hardware wish (besides a bigger screen) is a dunk-proof iPhone. I want Apple to partner with HzO or Liquipel and make every iPhone waterproof inside and out.
I've seen this in action at CES: Once coated with whatever space-age polymer these companies use, an iPhone can not only survive a drop in the toilet, a run through the washing machine, or a dip in the pool, but also keep functioning all the while. (Obviously the pool example is the only one that really matters.)
The aftermarket cost for such an application costs about $50, meaning Apple could probably do it large-scale for much less. And I'd gladly pay an extra $10-20 for a fully waterproof phone. Wouldn't you?
Thus ends my unconventional iPhone 6 wish list. Hit the comments and let me know what you're hoping for in the next iPhone, if not the next iOS.
