a blog about tech stuff and RustyG
Apple
This is all about the company Apple!
Apple Macbook Air vs. Samsung Series 9
11 year ago
Samsung has finally announced the Series 9 Laptop and we have the full details with today (3/17/11) being the release date for the 13″ version and the 11″ version coming in “mid-April”. The idea behind this laptop is to bring some competition to the Macbook Air. I really wish that there were more competitors out there, but Samsung has definitely brought their A game. We have been waiting for the release of this laptop since it’s announcement back at CES 2011. So lets take a look at the details and put it up for comparison against the already out Macbook Air.
The Macbook Air comes in the same 13″ and 11″ flavors, so you have the same options as for size in the 9 Series. The Macbook Air comes in the unibody aluminum body while the Series 9 comes in duralumin. Both machines are very thin and light and easy to carry and go portable. Both machines also have an “instant-on” feature due to the SSD drives they are equipped with. Now I don’t have both machines to do a side by side comparison of the boot time, and return from sleep mode, so I will just say that both of them are pretty darn fast when booting up. So lets get down to the nitty gritty and put them up side by side, so you can see the details!
|
13” Comparison |
11” Comparison |
||
|
Series 9 – 13” |
Macbook Air – 13” |
Series 9 – 11” |
Macbook Air – 11” |
|
Processor |
|||
| Intel® Core™ i5 Processor 2537M (1.4 GHz, 3MB) | 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor w/ 6MB{optional 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor w/ 6MB} | Intel® Core™ i3 Processor 380UM (1.33 GHz, 3MB) | 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor w/ 3MB{optional 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor w/ 3MB} |
|
Memory |
|||
| 4GB DDR3 (8GB max) | 2GB DDR3 (4GB max) | 2GB DDR3 (8GB max) | 2GB DDR3 (4GB max) |
|
Storage |
|||
| 128GB SSD | 128GB (optional 256GB) | 64GB SSD | 64GB (optional 128GB) |
|
Screen Size (Resolution) |
|||
| 13.3-inch (1366×768) | 13.3-inch (1440×900) | 11.1-inch (1366×768) | 11.6-inch (1366×768) |
|
Size (Height, Width, Depth, Weight) |
|||
| H: 0.62 – 0.64 inchW: 12.9 inches
D: 8.9 inches 2.88 lbs |
H: 0.11-0.68 inchW: 12.8 inches
D: 8.94 inches 2.9 lbs |
??? – mid April 2011 release2.31 lbs | H: 0.11-0.68 inchW: 11.8 inches
D: 7.56 inches 2.3 lbs |
|
I/O Connectivity |
|||
|
HDMI 3.5mm Headphone Mic-in MicroSD RJ45/Lan (3) USB (1 Chargeable) {no mention of USB 3.0??} |
Mini Display Port 3.5mm Headphone Integrated Mic SD (2) USB 2.0 |
??? – mid April 2011 release (safely assume the same, maybe one less USB) |
Mini Display Port 3.5mm Headphone Integrated Mic (2) USB 2.0 |
|
Graphics |
|||
| Intel® HD Graphics 30001.3MP HD Webcam | NVIDIA GeForce 320MFacetime Camera | Intel GMA HD (Integrated)1.3MP HD Webcam | NVIDIA GeForce 320MFacetime Camera |
|
Wireless |
|||
| 802.11abg/n WiDi Capable/WIMAX Wireless LAN
Bluetooth 3.0 |
802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth 2.1 EDR |
802.11abg/n WiDi Capable/WIMAX Wireless LAN
Bluetooth 3.0 |
802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth 2.1 EDR |
|
Battery |
|||
| 7 hours40-watt-hour | 7 hours50-watt-hour | ??? – mid April 2011 release(safely assume 5 hours) | 5 hours35-watt-hour |
So now that you have the full details, lets talk about the price. Since both come in a 13″ and 11″, lets see what the prices are.
|
Pricing |
|||
|
Series 9 – 13” |
Macbook Air – 13” |
Series 9 – 11” |
Macbook Air – 11” |
|
$1,599-1,649 (depending on the retailer) $1649 MSRP Windows 7 $1699 MSRP W7 Pro |
$1,299 – 128GB $1,599 – 256GB |
?? – mid-April release |
$999 – 64GB $1,199 – 128GB |
Do you see what happened there at the end, and why I held off the prices on the first table? You can pay less for more storage (double to be exact); for basically $100 less or more depending on the Windows OS flavor that you get. I guess the idea here is, that you are paying for a better i5 Processor. With the March update of the Macbook pros to Quad-Cores i Processors, it seems that the Macbook Airs are not far behind. So come summer time, the Air maybe the better buy.
I cannot say I have a clear choice, as I do not have either machine in my hands to test, but at the current time, it seems the Series 9 has a better processor, but less storage for the price. Now, I cannot say if they SSD is upgradeable at this point or not, because there is no option from the factory. Also the Series 9 can be maxed out in memory at 8GB, instead of the Air at 4GB. If it were overall price, then the Macbook wins, because of the better price and the better storage.
So I ask you, if it were your choice, what would you buy?
Feel free to leave a comment below!
Samsung via [Engadget]
Apple via [Apple]
At&t adds 2GB wifi hotspot option for $20
01 year ago
Well with no attendance of Apple at MacWorld for the last 2 years, it seems there isn’t any Apple news coming out at all, except for this little nugget. It seems the Wifi hotspot feature that is going to be standard on the Verizon iPhone, will soon be standard as well on the AT&T iPhone as well. The developers have seen the beta version of iOS 4.3, and it seems to be good. With this update, the software does allow for the iPhone to become a hotspot, but that doesn’t mean anything on the carrier side. So one half of the idea is soon to be. It sounds like Apple will be releasing the 4.3 update on Valentines Day. The good thing is, it seems that AT&T agreed to add this option to the iPhone and well, all other smartphones that support it. In a press release from last week, it seems that date will be February 13th that this goes live. The package will be an extra 2GB for $20/month. So it seems that the 14th release date of the 4.3 seems to be right in line with the new option. So this seems to be getting more expensive to have an iPhone and have it run its full capacity.
$39.99/month minimum Voice Plan
$25/month for 2GB of Data
or
$15/month for 200MB of Data
or
$30/month for ‘unlimited’ (for original customers who are grandfathered in, or those who lost it and get it back)
Then there is texting:
$20 for unlimited
Then however you want to connect to your iPhone and share the data:
$20/month for tethering
or
$20/month for wifi hotspot
CRAP!
via [Engadget]
Verizon iPhone Review for Everyone!
01 year ago
Ok, so I am not switching to Verizon, and I am still loving the AT&T iPhone 4 that I have, but there are a lot of you who would love to get one or jump ship over to the Dark Side, so this is for you.
Today is the day that all Verizon wanna be’s and Verizon current subscribers have waited for. Well at least the latter half can in a few hours. All pre-orders for the iPhone 4 on Verizon for already existing customers starts somewhere around 2 or 3am CST, I think… double check me on that, it may be midnight, I don’t know. BUT, before you make that jump, I wanted to make sure you had some more information. There were a lot of reviews out there today, and there were some one sided reviews, so I went through a couple to give you a run-down of what everyone had to say. So here goes:
CNET:
CNET was a little one sided, but they are in San Francisco, and I will say, it seems AT&T is a slower more horrible connection on the west coast. They seemed to lean to the Verizon of things, but it is great if you live in San Francisco! So you can see the full review over at http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-20030471-233.html or even the Kent German run down over at http://reviews.cnet.com/verizon-iphone.
The funny thing was they said the new iPhone doesn’t have 4G, and that was a complaint. Well news for ya, according to the governing body that sets the standards for 4G, NO ONE has 4G yet!
I do like the audio quality test they did, but again, that is in San Fransisco.
Engadget:
Engadget was little better as far as being a little less biased, but it did seem AT&T seemd to win out with them. Now I don’t know where they are based out of; I think it’s New York, I don’t know. You can see their full review over at http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/02/verizon-iphone-review/. I will say, wherever they tested at, AT&T KILLED the data speeds. Awesome. They didn’t seem to get into the testing as much as CNET did, but still a good overall review.
TechCrunch:
TechCrunch seems to hate AT&T as well and he already canceled his AT&T account by using Google Voice as his replacement. I don’t particularly think that is a good way of going about things, but if you don’t like the service, you don’t like the service. You can read their full review over at http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/02/verizon-iphone-review/.
One of the biggest complaints I would have for the Verizon iPhone is not having the ability to do data and voice at the same time. The wifi hotspot has no means to me, since I have a jailbroken iPhone and I have MiWi or whatever it is. And I don’t have to pay the extra $20/month.
I am sure there are other reviews out there, so make sure you get a well rounded idea before you make the leap. Google it, or check over at ArsTechnica or CrunchGear….
oh by the way.. guess who didn’t get a review unit? GIZMODO!!! ha ha ha ha!!!!
AT&T announces unlimited iPhone Data Plans again (kind of)
01 year ago
Well who didn’t see this one coming? It seems since Verizon officially announced the iPhone data plans, earlier this week, at $30 for ‘unlimited’ access, AT&T couldn’t stand by silently. It was last June (2010) that AT&T announced their new data plans for iPhone users, and it came at a price. If you were any new user of the iPhone or upgrading your plan, you could no longer get the ‘unlimited’ 5GB of data, but that you were paying for at most a 2GB data package for $25 instead of the previous $30. Now with the announcement of the iPhone 4 coming to Verizon, AT&T has to come back, but with a hitch. The only people currently allowed to get the ‘unlimited’ back, are the people who had it previously and lost it. WHO are these people??!! I ask because, if you remember when they started this new pricing plan, if you already had the ‘unlimited’, you got to keep it, and you were grandfathered in. So therefore, as long as you didn’t change your voiceplan or upgrade, there was no need to change your data package. Then if you were a new user who bought the iPhone 4 upon release, you never had the ‘unlimited’ in the first place, so that specific of a demographic is a VERY SMALL number. Wow, everyone else keeps talking about how AT&T sucks (Kevin Rose, Brian Tong & countless others), and I have stood by them because they don’t suck here in the southeast, and they have been a reliable provider since I had the original iPhone, but NOW, WOW! AT&T should just keep their traps shut, or go all out and just drop 2GB cap, and allow for every iPhone user to get that ‘unlimited’ plan for $30!
That’s my two cents..
via [CNET]
Verizon iPhone Announced: My Prediction – Wrong
01 year ago
Ok, so I was wrong on my prediction, it ended up being a CDMA device. Maybe shoot for dreams next year.. sometime for the iPhone 5 around June 2012. I only say this, because I don’t think Apple will up the ante in June to a whole new phone. I think it will be a small step, like the 3G was to the 3GS (aka 4S). I am assuming those defecting to Verizon will be much happier, as well as the rest of us on AT&T will be as well, due to the lightened load. I’ll hold off for opinions to show you the official information that we have.
Verizon iPhone
- CDMA 3G (not LTE 4G)
- New Antenna Design (not phone, just antenna)
- $199 for 16GB & $299 for 32GB
- Wifi Hotspot capability (via iOS 4.2.5, not yet for AT&T, iPad or iPod Touch)
Everything else is basically the same. There was a few Q&A after the announcement to clear up some other questions. There was talk about putting LTE in the iPhone 4, but it would have required a whole new design to get that chip in there. Also, according to Apple’s Tim Cook, this is a multi-year, non-exclusive agreement, but I just don’t see Sprint or T-Mobile picking this one up. I have heard however that many people think that this will be a killer to AT&T, but I am just not seeing this one either. I just watched the 404 on CNET, and they had an idea that AT&T will just start an influx in Android phones to help out. As the Android platform recently just surpassed the iPhone in market share in Q4 of 2010. AT&T hardly has any of those as it stands now, so I could see that to be a plausible idea.
The one thing I don’t get, especially from the video and pictures that were posted, they got the antenna chassis part correct, except for the SIM. The SIM card slot is not present, but all the black lines were correct. So is that a future phone? Possibly the LTE iPhone case for the future? We shall see..
