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All posts tagged "comparison"


Monday, March 19, 2012

Real World Test of the iPad Battery, As Well As a Comparison

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad" @ 09:30 AM

http://www.tuaw.com/2012/03/19/new-...good-as-ipad-2/

"CNET reporter Eric Franklin spent his weekend torture-testing the battery of the new iPad, the iPad 2 and the Android-powered Asus Transformer Prime. He took each device, charged it fully and then drained its juice by continually playing a move. All these tests were conducted in airplane mode so WiFi, 4G or LTE connectivity would not affect these results."

What he found was that the iPad 2 lasted 14.2 hours, the new iPad lasted 12.8 hours and the Asus lasted 9.6 hours. The Asus did last 15.3 hours when tied to an external keyboard dock that had it's own battery, but why wouldn't it with extra juice right? You can read his report here.


Tuesday, February 14, 2012

How Cost Effective is the iPad Versus the Textbook?

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad" @ 02:00 AM

http://dsc.discovery.com/gear-gadge...nfographic.html

"Looks like Apple is on the verge of capturing yet another lucrative market, and changing education as we know it... Or are they?"

I've always thought that using the iPad in place of a textbook would be awesome if I were back in school, and I still do, however the cost comparison they used does make me pause. Granted, they are making a few assumptions such as cost of the "book" on the iPad versus what a textbook will cost, as well as the true cost the school will pay for the iPad. I think the biggest mistake is that the market created will be high school. I'm sure some will adopt this, but I think the more appropriate place is for the college student. That is where the true value of using the iPad will be realized. All the textbooks will be on it, you can write your papers on it, and use it for entertainment in your down time. It is the perfect vehicle for the college student and I hope that is where they focus, at least initially. What are your thoughts?


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Another Side to the Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2 Comparison Table

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad" @ 08:00 PM

http://www.marco.org/2011/12/19/ama...KqJb+(The+Loop)

"Amazon published this Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2 page shortly after its announcement on September 28, 2011. I thought it was just a temporary promo, but it turns out that Amazon is still pushing it heavily."

The promo page at Amazon is basically to compare the two devices, to give people some more power over their purchasing decision. However in his article, Marco Arment gives another side to this comparison and it's well worth the read.


Monday, October 17, 2011

Speed of iPhone 4 Versus iPhone 4S on Video

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad" @ 03:00 AM

http://www.cultofmac.com/123848/iph...st-fight-video/

"This isn't the best way of showing the speed increases that come along with the iPhone 4S, but it is one of the ways that the iPhone 4S' faster A5 chip will immediately be felt: in significantly shorter app launch times."

It might not be the best way, but seeing it side by side does make the point.


Let's Compare the iPhone 4S, Droid Bionic and Galaxy S II Shall We?

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad" @ 01:00 AM

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/10...t=Google+Reader

"Comparing devices that rely on fundamentally different ecosystems isn't always productive."

Pretty thorough yet not too long of a read for those with ADD. Basically it boils down to what you are looking for, so there is no clear cut answer as to the "best" phone, perhaps it is more of the best phone for your needs article. iPhone 4S is the clearcut winner as far as benchmarks, but if you want a faster network you need to go with the Droid Bionic and Verizon. Want the best Android experience and travel to Europe frequently? You might be interested in Sprint and the Galaxy S II.


Friday, October 7, 2011

Let's Compare the Droid Bionic and the iPhone 4S

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "The Competition" @ 06:00 AM

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/arti...=rss_everything

"Apple announced iPhone 4S on Tuesday, a device the company is shipping on October 14th. As the latest and greatest in Apple's smartphone line, we wanted to see how it stood up to some competing Android devices, starting with the highly touted Motorola Droid Bionic, which was released in September."

I don't even see how you can compare these two, but they did it anyway. I think if you like the iPhone and all it is then you won't be buying a Bionic. Interesting though, in the comparison one thing missing is the comparison about shutter speed when using both cameras. As Phil Schiller pointed out on stage, the iPhone 4 is at least twice as fast as any of the other smartphones when it comes to taking that first picture, and even faster on subsequent pictures. The camera improvement and the speed of the processor are really the only things that are making me consider upgrading at this time. What are your thoughts?


Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Thunderbolt, FireWire 800 or USB 2.0, Who Wins?

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Other Apple Hardware" @ 02:00 AM

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/06...-faster-speeds/

"The folks over at Macworld got one of the new Pegasus R6 RAID systems in for testing and put it through its paces. The testing proved to be a huge win for Thunderbolt, which showed a massive improvement over FireWire 800 and just decimated USB 2.0."

That is a crazy jump in improvement over FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 doesn't even come close. You can see the full results at Macworld but from the chart above, there doesn't seem to be any question that Thunderbolt is the clear winner.


Friday, June 24, 2011

Apple v. Microsoft, an Infographic

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "The Competition" @ 02:00 AM

http://www.tuaw.com/2011/06/23/info...y-of-computing/

"Sean Lind at Manolution has posted an incredible infographic highlighting the battle between Microsoft and Apple throughout the history of computing."

Click on this link and you can see the chart, which lists the major product launches by both companies, as well as changes within the companies and the effects on the stock price at the time. It's an interesting chart even without the comparison if you are at all interested in the history of either company.


Tuesday, June 7, 2011

iCloud Isn't The First Music Service, So How Does it Compare?

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (OS X)" @ 12:30 PM

http://www1.maclife.com/article/fea...nst_competition

"Just as they teased in a press release last week, Apple finally took the wraps off its long-awaited "cloud services offering," iCloud. While Cupertino may act like theirs is the first such service to market, the reality is, as usual, something else entirely."

It certainly isn't the first, but is it the best? I'm sure Apple wants everyone to believe that but until you do a comparison like this article, it is pretty hard to judge. Obviously this is based on the information we have today, so there are some unknowns (Google Music Beta since it's by invitation only), but I'd say it does stack up pretty well so far, and if nothing else, is a great start. What are your thoughts?


Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Head to Head Battle: iPad 2 vs. Motorola XOOM

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Motorola XOOM" @ 07:30 AM

This is a head to head comparison video between the Android 3.0 Honeycomb-based Motorola XOOM and the iOS 4-based Apple iPad 2. Each tablet has pros and cons, and I discuss my findings after using both of them for a while. Chime in with your own thoughts!


Thursday, April 7, 2011

Verizon and AT&T Compared

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "The Competition" @ 04:00 AM

http://mashable.com/2011/04/05/att-...n-iphone-users/

"Now that the Verizon iPhone has been out for a few months, what do its owners think of the device?"

Both sets of customers appear pretty satisfied according to this study, with 80% satisfaction rate for AT&T customers to 82% satisfaction rate by Verizon customers. An interesting contrast to this is that 46% of those thinking of purchasing an iPhone 4 in the future would buy it through Verizon versus going with AT&T (and I suppose T-Mobile if the merger goes through). Clear winner in the dropped calls category was Verizon, with only 1.8% of their calls dropped versus 4.8% of AT&T calls that were dropped. I'm not sure how many total calls were made with each provider, but that doesn't seem like a lot of calls to me, although if it were an important call one drop would be bad news.


Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Comparison Chart of GSM and CDMA iPhones

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad" @ 07:00 AM

http://www.9to5mac.com/52244/apple-...deal-with-calls

"We missed this when it was posted by Apple last week but here's a good breakdown of the differences between the CDMA and GSM iPhones."

It appears functionality for the CDMA is something that is done with each call, whereas you can set it up for all calls on the GSM, like with Caller ID and having to dial *67 each time to disable call waiting. Something like that would be handy if I had a periodic need to block my number, but if I wanted it blocked all the time GSM is the way to go. Interesting comparison of feature sets.


Monday, November 22, 2010

MacBook Air Better Than Similar Windows 7 Laptops

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Laptops" @ 03:00 AM

http://www.macworld.com/article/155...l?lsrc=rss_main

"We already know the 2010 MacBook Air models significantly improve on the previous generation in overall performance, but how do they stack up against Windows 7 laptops of similar size? Judged solely on performance, they dominate. With Windows 7 running on Apple's featherweight machines, our test results indicate that the new Airs ran faster than all but one recent netbook or ultraportable from Windows PC vendors."

You'll note that they used the low end MacBook Air in the above test, so imagine how much faster the top of the line MacBook Air is in comparison. They also worked it through some gaming tests, and the low end MacBook Air scored an impressive 24 frames per second when playing Call of Duty, something they note that most netbooks and ultraportables are unable to achieve, let alone run 3D games such as this. That being said, the downer was with regards to battery life, with the MacBook Air scoring roughly 4 hours versus the over 6 hours the netbooks and ultraportables averaged. Oh and there is that cost difference. The article goes into great detail in the comparisons so it is interesting if you are the least bit curious about how the MacBook Airs stack up.


Wednesday, October 27, 2010

iLife '11 or Windows Live Essentials, Which is Better?

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (OS X)" @ 04:59 AM

http://lifehacker.com/5673681/

"High-powered hardware and slick looks are nice, but computers should actually make things. Apple and Microsoft both offer software to organize photos, make movies, and enjoy your computer. We compared iLife and Windows Live Essentials head-to-head from a first-time home user's perspective."

Both Microsoft and Apple want you to go digital, and that is the goal of these two packages. iLife '11 comes with every new Mac (or you can upgrade for $49.00 USD), while Microsoft has chosen to make their Live Essentials a free download, mainly to streamline Windows 7 and make it "leaner and meaner." You can also get pieces of Live Essentials versus iLife '11, which comes as an entire package. You can't make a full comparison of these two offerings, since they only have two areas (photo and video handling) in which they compete, but this is a nice article showing exactly what you get with each software suite and the unique programs each has that you can't get anywhere else. The big thing for Microsoft, according to the author, is making it known to it's users that Live Essentials is out there, and it's free. Anyone that uses a Mac has heard of iLife '11 but Windows users may or may not know about what Microsoft is offering them.


Tuesday, July 6, 2010

iPhone 4 Speed Test Outside the Lab

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad" @ 07:00 AM

http://daringfireball.net/2010/07/i..._3g_performance

"After reading Andy Ihnatko's iPhone 4 review, I was intrigued by his comments regarding the phone's significantly faster 3G data performance, with improved HSDPA (download) support and brand-new support for HSUPA (upload). So I ran some tests using the FCC's free mobile broadband test app."

He tested the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and the iPad and found that on the iPhone 4, download speeds were "twice as fast as on the 3GS and upload times more than 10 times faster than the 3GS." He also found the iPad speeds were along the lines of the 3GS, and that the testing was fairly consistent across all testing conditions.


Friday, June 25, 2010

Comparison of iPhone 4, Flip Ultra HD and iPhone 3GS

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad" @ 07:00 AM

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ne...n-videos-posted

"iLounge has posted a suite of brand new videos comparing the video capabilities of the new iPhone 4 to those of the iPhone 3GS and Flip Ultra HD."

iPhone 4 versus Flip Ultra HD: iPhone 4 Video 1 from iLounge.com from iLounge on Vimeo.

Interesting comparison of video samples, the one above from the iPhone 4. You can see the Flip Ultra HD here and the iPhone 3GS here.


Thursday, June 24, 2010

Droid Versus iPhone 4, Does Size Matter to You?

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad" @ 06:00 AM

http://www.engadget.com/photos/droi...ng-out/#3113261

I thought this was an interesting comparison of the sizes of the two devices. There are several more posted at Engadget. And David Pogue has a few things to say about the Droid X in this video.


Wednesday, June 9, 2010

iPhone 4 or HTC Evo? What To Do, What To Do...

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad" @ 01:00 PM

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010...-vs-htc-evo-4g/

"Apple's new iPhone 4 is the company's biggest update yet for the handset and it will have you drooling. The phone is a snazzily slim, glass-backed slab that boasts some impressive specs: dual cameras, a big operating system update and video chat, among other things. Apple introduced the phone at its developer conference Monday and said it will be available on AT&T's network starting June 24."

A buddy of mine is seriously considering switching from the iPhone to the Sprint HTC Evo, pondering wether or not he wants to quite the iPhone club so I was curious about the comparison between the two phones. Well, luckily Wired has the answer with this article that does indeed compare the two. The big difference, obviously, is that the Sprint Evo runs on the 4G network, but with limited availability of the network, it may not be that much of an advantage. The comparison chart is handy though, so hopefully it will at least put this in perspective if you are also considering switching.


Wednesday, January 20, 2010

How Do You Compare?

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone & iPod Touch" @ 07:00 AM

http://mashable.com/2010/01/19/bill...t=Google+Reader

"On Friday, Verizon and AT&T both dropped the price of their unlimited voice plans. Yesterday was the first day that existing customers could switch to these new plans, and luckily BillShrink has put together a nice chart comparing the different U.S. mobile carriers side-by-side."

On the heels of the price drop announcement by AT&T, here is a nice comparison of the four major carriers plans, everything laid out on one chart so you can see what each company charges, side-by-side. The two largest companies (Verizon and AT&T) also charge the most. You can check out all the work BillShrink did on their site, and it should be noted this is assuming you want unlimited texting. I also see that there is no accounting for rollover minutes.


Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Just Like an iPhone! Well, Not Quite...

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone & iPod Touch" @ 09:00 AM

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/01/11/droi...t=Google+Reader

"Now there's a nicely-documented fact that you can throw back in the face of that annoying friend of yours who got a Verizon Droid and who keeps saying 'It's just like an iPhone!'"

The photo shows examples of when they tried to draw straight lines, and as you can see the iPhone (far left) has the straightest lines of the four. Interesting that they relate this problem with quality of the screen and the way it processes commands, something I never really thought about until I read in the article the quote "quick keyboard use and light flicks on the screen really push the limits of the touch panel's ability to sense." It just brings home the reality of just how advanced the iPhone truly is. Not that this little detail would deter me from buying one of the other phones if I really had a problem with AT&T. I have a couple co-workers that have Droids and I like the form factor, however I'm quite happy with my iPhone and it's advantages (multi-touch for one). Always good to have competition though, just makes everyone better. Oh, you can read the test results here.


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