Mac OS X 10.8: Mountain Lion

The good: Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion's new iCloud integration and syncing features give you the same experience on all your devices. Upgrades to several core apps bring new and useful features for sharing and social connectivity.

The bad: Game Center, while finally available for Mac, still only has basic features. Dictation sends your voice to be translated at Apple servers, so you can't use it while offline. Gatekeeper keeps you from downloading unsafe programs, but it seems mostly unnecessary.

The bottom line: Though it's not a complete system or interface overhaul, Mountain Lion's improved core apps and new features make it well worth the $19.99 price.

In the tale of two operating systems, Apple's Mountain Lion is a less ambitious endeavor. Rather than completely rewriting the book as Microsoft is attempting with Windows 8, Apple's latest operating system simply cleans house, clearing clutter, while bringing more cloud and sharing features into the fold -- specifically to make the desktop play nice with iOS devices. Some of the new features come directly from iOS, and many are welcome, but some seem unnecessary. Ultimately, what you get is the familiar layout of Apple's operating system and much less of a learning curve than with what we've seen so far of Windows 8's completely new touch-screen-focused interface.

The Mountain Lion release marks the second time Apple has offered an incremental upgrade, rather than releasing a new cat entirely (previously Leopard upgraded to Snow Leopard, for example). But don't let the modest feature or name upgrades deter you from seriously considering Mountain Lion: Apple doesn't change the game with the update, but improves everything from Safari to Messaging and adds new iCloud and sharing capabilities that make moving between devices easier.

Where Windows 8 dives head first into the touch-screen tablet market with a completely revamped user interface, Apple has improved upon what was already available, and -- in my opinion, based on using both Mountain Lion and early versions of Windows 8 -- Apple has made the wiser decision. By keeping the mobile and desktop operating systems separate, Apple can still deliver the best experience on each of its devices.

Mac OS X Mountain Lion (pictures)

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Installation

Installation for Mac OS X Mountain Lion requires a couple of steps. Start by running Software Update and check for Mac App Store updates -- this is always a good practice before a major upgrade, to make sure you have the latest versions of Apple's core apps.

From there, simply navigate to the Mac App Store, purchase the upgrade, and begin downloading. You'll need to have an account with Apple via the Mac or iTunes Store in order to purchase Mountain Lion. The OS is about 4GB (approximately the size of a full-length film download), so depending on your connection, you may want to start the download before going to bed or leaving for work. When the download is finished, the Mountain Lion installer appears in the Dock and launches automatically.

Mac OS X Mountain Lion installs in place, so you won't need to create a separate disk or run the installation off an external drive. All of your photos, documents, applications, and other saved files will be there when you're finished with the upgrade. Once the installation is complete, your Mac will automatically restart and you'll be ready to start exploring.

iCloud integration makes getting started easy

As the first major operating system release since iCloud, Mountain Lion was built with several new cloud features integrated into many of the apps.

One great new feature for those with a brand-new Mac is the ability to sign in through the Setup Assistant with your Apple ID and sync all your settings along with your apps. Your e-mail, contacts, calendars, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and more will automatically be synced up with other devices and made ready for use on your Mac by entering your Apple ID. This will be a welcome feature for iOS users setting up a new Mac for the first time because right off the bat you'll immediately be able to take advantage of all the new sharing features in Mountain Lion. One important thing to note, however, is that Apple says that Facebook integration will come in a later free update this fall.

With Apple's latest version of Mac OS X, upon launch of any app that lets you create documents, you'll now have all of your cloud-synced projects available whether you created them on your Mac or on an iOS device.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Documents in the Cloud should make it easier for those who work on multiple Macs and iOS devices. Now, when you launch a program that produces documents (such as Pages, for example), you'll be presented with what Apple calls the Open Panel. Here you'll see that specific app's iCloud Document Library with all of the documents you have saved to iCloud with the most recent at the top. Using a button at the top, you can also choose to launch documents currently on your Mac. The window supports document folders, letting you drag one document on top of another to create a folder, just as you would arrange apps into folders on an iOS device. As I talk about more of the new features in Mountain Lion, you'll see many that are clearly ideas brought over from iOS devices.

As I mentioned, Documents in the Cloud will work with any Apple app that produces documents currently (like TextEdit and Preview) along with all three iWork apps. Apple is also making it available as an API for third-party developers, so expect other apps that produce documents to come out with an update soon after Mountain Lion is released.

Messages on the Mac

Those with iPhones or iPads running iOS 5 or later will appreciate the update for Messages (and iMessage) in Mountain Lion. Now, whether on a Mac or iOS device, you'll be able to take advantage of Apple's no-cost texting features with iMessage, and the ability to send a text to an iPhone from your Mac is certainly convenient. Messages (as opposed to iMessage) will also let you communicate with the same services you did with iChat, including AIM, Yahoo, Google Talk, and Jabber. The way Apple differentiates between the services is by making iMessage chats blue and chats with other services green (similar to iOS devices).

The Messages app lets you chat with both Mac users and people with iOS devices. You can add a picture by dragging and dropping one in, but I wish there were a button for uploading an image.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

The Messages window is set up with all your recent conversations on the left and the actual conversation window on the right. Just like iOS, you'll get typing indicators to show your friend is responding and delivery receipts that show your message has been delivered to the device. But in Mountain Lion, you'll also be notified when the recipient has read the message (only if the iOS user has allowed for it in settings) -- a feature that will be added to Apple's mobile devices in iOS 6.

Just like the iOS version of Messages, you'll be able to start a group chat simply by adding more names at the top. When you send your message it will be seen by all recipients and their replies will be shown to everyone as well. In the Mountain Lion version, you'll also have the ability to quickly switch to FaceTime video chats using a button in the upper right of the chat window.

One issue I noticed in the preview that remains in Mountain Lion is the absence of a camera button to quickly add a picture to a message (something that comes standard in iOS messages). Messages in Mountain Lion lets you drag and drop an image, but in the case when you don't have the image handy, it requires a few steps to go find one and drag it into the interface. This is a feature where we prefer the iOS method, so hopefully it will be added in a future update.

Safari

Apple's Web browser isn't the fastest Web browser overall, but improvements in Mountain Lion have added more reasons to stick with it on the Mac. With the Smart Search Field, Apple is taking a page from other popular Web browsers like Google Chrome, making the address bar serve double duty as your place to enter addresses and search the Web. When you enter a search term, Safari displays Top Hits right below the field based on your browsing history.

Across all the core apps, you now can click the Sharing Button to send items through e-mail, via Messages, to social sites, and other options based on the current app and content you are sharing.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

iCloud integration in Safari also adds more features, including a couple of new interface additions. With iCloud Tabs, Safari now has a new cloud-shaped button next to the forward and back buttons in the upper left. Once you sign in during initial setup with your Apple ID, you'll now be able to view open tabs on all your Apple devices, making it possible to pick up where you left off on another device without missing a beat. Apple has added a sharing button to Safari as well, where you'll find the options to add a page to your Reading List or create a bookmark, but it also lists out ways to share a site via e-mail, Message, Twitter, or Facebook. If you pick Message, Twitter, or Facebook, Mountain Lion brings up a Share Sheet without ever leaving the Web page you're currently on; sending via e-mail populates the e-mail body with an image you're sharing, for example, and lets you fill in the rest.

One major new interface enhancement for Safari is a joy to use when running Mountain Lion with a trackpad. When you have a lot of browser tabs open, the new Tab View lets you use a pinch gesture, then use a two-finger swipe to browse your open tabs. A reverse-pinch returns you to normal browsing. While mostly a cosmetic upgrade, once I got used to pinching and swiping to browse tabs, it became second nature. In my years reviewing Apple products, this is yet another example of how Apple can make a small tweak to the interface that vastly improves the experience. It may not be totally necessary (you could easily click to look at each tab), but it's intuitive and saves time.

To round out the updates to Safari, a few added features will make your surfing smoother. Apple says it tested Safari (admittedly in-house) using the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark, and says that it's faster than Internet Explorer 9, Firefox 13, and Chrome 20 (in that order). Check back for our official benchmark testing later this week. Safari also uses your GPU for improved hardware acceleration for noticeably smoother scrolling and faster loading of pages. A new Offline Reading List lets you save Web pages for offline viewing -- great for when you're going to be on a plane or in a no-service area. The browser also supports Do Not Track (think of Google Chrome's Incognito mode) and Password AutoFill for sites you return to frequently.

Safari is arguably the most important software on your computer as your window to the Internet, and in Mountain Lion, Apple has succeeded in bringing it up to speed with competing browsers, and offers a few extras (like Tab View, Sharing, and Cloud Tabs) that make common tasks much easier.

Game Center now on Mac, but it's not perfect

Mountain Lion leans a lot on the up-to-the-instant, multidevice syncing capabilities of iCloud across several of the core apps, but you wouldn't know it from the Mac OS X debut of Game Center. The perennially underpowered social gaming hub of iOS has always been disappointing for iOS gamers, and its arrival on Mac desktops won't do much to change that.

edit YouTube captions

How did one Google intern spend his summer? Cooking up a new feature for YouTube users.
In a "Diary of a Summer Intern" blog posted yesterday, Rio Akasaka described the feature for editing video captions. Instead of creating a brand new caption for your YouTube videos, you can now simply change the existing caption online.
As an intern, Akasaka had help from a mentor, but he apparently played a leading role in designing the new feature. And as an associate product manager, he was responsible in large part for the project's outcome.
"My project required me to work with user experience designers to craft an intuitive workflow, coordinate efforts to ensure that engineering goes smoothly, and test the end features to make sure they work for users," explained Akasaka, who worked in Google's Tokyo offices. "To me, it felt like trying to be a concert conductor in a noisy field."
And with the summer not yet over, the work continues. Akasaka said that he still has to monitor feedback from users and check logs to make sure people are using the new caption-editing feature.
"A week ago, I traveled to YouTube's San Bruno headquarters to meet with the team -- including those who work on YouTube player and the folks that help video creators manage their library," he added. "When you handle 72 hours of video uploaded every minute and 4 billion hours of video watched by users per month, there's a significant impact that a single improvement can have, and lots of priorities to juggle."
In a June 28 blog post, Akasaka described how he was already diving into the YouTube caption feature just three weeks into his assignment.
The intern also participated in the company's GoogleServe, an initiative that allows Google workers to take time off for volunteer work. Akasaka said he traveled to northern Japan to help people still struggling to recover from last year's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

The iPad (Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET) Apple's iPad is proving extremely difficult to catch. According to data released today by research firm IHS iSuppli, Apple nabbed 69.6 percent of the tablet market in the second quarter on 17 million shipments worldwide. Samsung, its arch-nemesis, came in second place with 9.2 percent share on 2.3 million tablet shipments. Amazon and Asus took the third and fourth spots with 4.2 percent and 2.8 percent share, respectively. "Apple is making all the right moves to rebuild its dominant position in the tablet space," Rhoda Alexander, director for tablet and monitor research for IHS, said today in a statement. "The company is pushing visual performance boundaries with the new iPad, while providing value customers with a lower-priced alternative, the iPad 2. With the expected entrance of the 7-inch version of the iPad in September, Apple is sending a clear message that it plans to dominate this market over the long term." Related stories iPhone users can find movies and TV shows via Verizon's Viewdini iPhone owned 63 percent of smartphone marketshare at AT&T The ABCs of Apple v. Samsung Beware the allure of Apple's Retina Displays Google working on Gmail issues for Apple users iSuppli's figures don't include the latest major tablet launch, Google's Nexus 7. After its recent launch, the Nexus 7 took off in a big way. The 16GB option, which costs just $249, quickly sold out on Google's Play Store. The device is now back in stock. Despite its early success, Alexander doesn't necessarily believe that the Nexus 7 could hurt the iPad. He also indicated in a statement today that Microsoft's Surface tablet, which is slated to hit store shelves this fall, is another device that, while promising, won't be able to keep up. "Apple's major media tablet rivals, Google and Microsoft, hope to challenge Apple in the second half of the year, but will be facing formidable headwinds with no sign that the market leader is backing off of its aggressive strategy in the market," Alexander says. IHS iSuppli isn't alone in thinking that the iPad will continue to dominate the tablet market. Back in June, in fact, research firm IDC revealed that it believes Apple will own 62.5 percent of the tablet market by the end of this year, up from 58.2 percent last year. "The addition of the Retina Display and 4G capabilities to the third-generation products clearly enticed many current owners to upgrade," Tom Mainelli, an IDC analyst, said in June. "And Apple's decision to keep two iPad 2s in the market at lower prices--moving the entry-level price down to $399--seems to be paying off as well." Overall, the tablet market had a strong second quarter, with 24.4 million units shipping worldwide during the period. In the first quarter of 2012, 20.3 million tablets shipped worldwide.

t's that time of year again when the rumors are flying about a new Apple iPhone.

Eager iPhone fans are already plotting their upgrade to the new iPhone, which is expected to be announced and launched in September. Many people who already own iPhones sell them in order to get cash to buy their next iPhones. But as the rumor mill heats up, prices typically drop. So when is the best time for an iPhone fanboy or fangirl to sell their used iPhone? I offer some advice.
Also in this Ask Maggie, I empathize with a reader who is frustrated and confused by the data plans offered by wireless operators for different devices.
The best time to sell your old iPhone is now
Dear Maggie,
I have and iPhone 4S, but I really want the iPhone 5 when it comes out next month. The only problem is that I am not yet ready for an upgrade on AT&T. Anyway, I was hoping to resell my existing iPhone 4S to help pay for the full price of the iPhone 5.
Because I am using the money to pay for the new iPhone 5, I need to get top dollar for my iPhone 4S. I know the value will likely go down after the new iPhone is announced. But do you have any idea when the best time would be to sell my old iPhone? And how much value do you think I'll lose on my phone if I wait until it's announced?
Thanks,]
TJ Dear TJ,
You are wise to start thinking about this now. I talked to Jeff Trachsel, chief marketing officer for Nextworth, a site where people can trade in their used smartphones. And he said that as the rumor mill starts churning prior to the launch of a new iPhone trade-in prices start declining. He said it's best to sell your old iPhone as soon as you can.
I checked Nextworth today and the price for a used iPhone 4S 16GB on AT&T in good condition is $263. Of course the problem is that if you trade in your phone now, you'll be without a phone until September 21, when the new iPhone is expected to go on sale.
If you have an old phone that you can use in the meantime, it could fill the void until you can get the new iPhone. If that's not an option, Nextworth offers a 21-day price guarantee. So you could lock-in a price starting on August 31, and then send your old iPhone to Nextworth when you get the new phone.
But keep in mind that the September 12 launch date and the September 21 sale date for the new iPhone are just rumors. Apple hasn't officially announced anything yet, so it's unclear if the new iPhone will really be announced on the first date and available September 21.

average selling price for iphone 

Nextworth looked at reseller data for previous iPhone launches and found the sooner you sell your old iPhone, the more money you'll get for it.

(Credit: Nextworth)

"If you can, the best scenario is to trade in your old iPhone sooner rather than later," Trachsel said. "But if you don't have a back-up phone you can use, then lock-in a price as close to the 21-days before the new one comes out."
Trachsel said that prices on older iPhones have already started to fall, but he said that there hasn't been a steep decline yet.
Nextworth put together a chart tracking trade-in pricing from eBay during the last iPhone launch. And what the company discovered is that in the two months leading up to the launch, as the rumor mill spun nearly out of control, the previous generations of iPhones lost about 25 percent of their value.
The iPhone 4S was launched in October 2011, and the eBay data suggests prices started declining significantly starting in August.
The same trend is likely playing out now. But Trachsel said he hasn't yet seen a big dip in pricing. Still, he said he expects that from now until the new iPhone goes on sale, there will likely be a 3 to 4 percent drop in trade-in value each week. That means there's likely to be about a 12 percent drop per month until the launch, which will result in a similar 25 percent decline in value over just a couple of months before the new iPhone is released.
Even though the prices are dropping and they will continue to drop for the next few weeks, the good news is that iPhones still hold their value better than any other smartphone on the market. Even an older iPhone 3GS in the 8GB configuration will still fetch you $80 today.
Trachsel also says to keep in mind that some retail stores will let you trade-in your old devices in person and you get paid on the spot. Nextworth powers Target's trade-in program. In fact, starting Sunday August 12, 2012 until Saturday August 18, 2012 you can bring your old iPhone to a Target and automatically get $150 for any iPhone 4, $100 for any 3GS, $50 for any 3G device. The guaranteed price on the buy-back is available only in the stores.
While it's true that you might be able to get a better price via the website, Trachsel said the benefit of the in-store trade in is that you get your cash right away. You also will get exactly the price you've been quoted. He said that sometimes when people send in phones to the Website, the prices may be revised down when it is evaluated by a Nextworth employee.
"Sometimes there is a discrepancy in the condition of the phone and what someone thinks it's worth, and what we think it's worth once we see it," he said.
I hope this advice was helpful. And good luck!
More data plan confusion
Dear Maggie,
My question is a simple one. I have been shopping for a mobile broadband plan, so I can access the cellular network from my laptop. Why is it that a plan for a tablet is offered at a fraction of the cost of a laptop plan?
Thanks,
Chedrcheez Dear Chedrcheez,
I wouldn't say that the tablet plans are priced much less than the other data plans on a carrier such as Verizon Wireless. In fact, you often get less data for a tablet than you do for a laptop. But when I looked up the pricing, what I noticed was just how confusing and inconsistent the prices are.
If you are looking for a data plan for just a single device without a smartphone sharing the data on the account, the price per gigabyte depends on which device you plan on using with your service. Verizon seems to price data for USB modems for laptops, Wi-Fi hotspots that allow multiple devices to share one cellular data connection via Wi-Fi, and tablets differently for each product.
When you compare the different plans for the different products, it's quite confusing. And honestly, I don't think it makes a lot of sense. For example, tablet owners aren't even offered blocks of data in the same configuration as people using mobile hotspots and laptop computers.
I can't really explain why Verizon prices its plans this way. But my guess is that the company thinks that people use these devices in different ways and therefore the company justifies offering tablet owners with cellular connectivity built into their devices, 2GB less of data per month than it charges people, who could use a less-expensive Wi-Fi only tablet to connect to a Verizon Mi-Fi over the same 4G LTE network.
The tablet service with 2GB of data is $30 a month. And the Wi-Fi hotspot/Mi-Fi data plan is $30 for 4GB of data.
My guess is that over time, we will see these prices normalize and align. I don't expect that it will mean that prices will go down. That's unlikely in my opinion. I think Verizon at least sees its share plans as a step in this direction. With those plans you pay for a bucket of data each month and then you pay extra to connect certain devices.

But I still think these plans are too confusing. For example, you pay $40 extra to use a smartphone, $20 to include a USB modem for a laptop, and $10 to attach a cellular enabled tablet to the single data plan. Meanwhile, if your tablet and laptop have Wi-Fi, you can attach each of these devices via the mobile hotspot feature on a smartphone without paying any additional connectivity fee.
At the end of the day, I think even the share plans are too confusing. I can't give you a good justification for why Verizon has designed them this way. But I am pretty certain that if Verizon wants subscribers using more tablets, laptops and other Internet-enabled devices on its network, it has a lot more work to do in simplifying its data plans.
Sorry I couldn't be of more help. But hopefully, Verizon and others will revise their data plans so they make more sense to people.

Apple dominates tablet market in Q2 with 70 percent share

Apple's iPad is proving extremely difficult to catch.
According to data released today by research firm IHS iSuppli, Apple nabbed 69.6 percent of the tablet market in the second quarter on 17 million shipments worldwide. Samsung, its arch-nemesis, came in second place with 9.2 percent share on 2.3 million tablet shipments. Amazon and Asus took the third and fourth spots with 4.2 percent and 2.8 percent share, respectively.
"Apple is making all the right moves to rebuild its dominant position in the tablet space," Rhoda Alexander, director for tablet and monitor research for IHS, said today in a statement. "The company is pushing visual performance boundaries with the new iPad, while providing value customers with a lower-priced alternative, the iPad 2. With the expected entrance of the 7-inch version of the iPad in September, Apple is sending a clear message that it plans to dominate this market over the long term."

iSuppli's figures don't include the latest major tablet launch, Google's Nexus 7. After its recent launch, the Nexus 7 took off in a big way. The 16GB option, which costs just $249, quickly sold out on Google's Play Store. The device is now back in stock.
Despite its early success, Alexander doesn't necessarily believe that the Nexus 7 could hurt the iPad. He also indicated in a statement today that Microsoft's Surface tablet, which is slated to hit store shelves this fall, is another device that, while promising, won't be able to keep up.
"Apple's major media tablet rivals, Google and Microsoft, hope to challenge Apple in the second half of the year, but will be facing formidable headwinds with no sign that the market leader is backing off of its aggressive strategy in the market," Alexander says.
IHS iSuppli isn't alone in thinking that the iPad will continue to dominate the tablet market. Back in June, in fact, research firm IDC revealed that it believes Apple will own 62.5 percent of the tablet market by the end of this year, up from 58.2 percent last year.
"The addition of the Retina Display and 4G capabilities to the third-generation products clearly enticed many current owners to upgrade," Tom Mainelli, an IDC analyst, said in June. "And Apple's decision to keep two iPad 2s in the market at lower prices--moving the entry-level price down to $399--seems to be paying off as well."
Overall, the tablet market had a strong second quarter, with 24.4 million units shipping worldwide during the period. In the first quarter of 2012, 20.3 million tablets shipped worldwide.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S3 REVIEW

The quadcore processor-powered Samsung Galaxy S3 is big on screen and innovative features, but is it enough to beat Apple's iPhone 4S into submission?

Samsung Galaxy S3 review

Love

• Great screen
• Decent battery life
• Chock-full of features

Hate

• It’s just so big
• Gloss plastic looks low-end
• Some extras seem gimmicky

Update: Our Samsung Galaxy S3 review has grown to accomodate several new videos, which you can watch below.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 follows on from the runaway success that was the Samsung Galaxy S2, which won great praise and sold in huge numbers, helping Samsung snag the crown of the biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. So the new Galaxy had a lot to live up to. It had to be fast, powerful and feature-packed. Oh, and it had to look classy. So, how does it fare?

The S3 has gone big on innovation, with lots of new features the speculation hadn’t dreamed of. But the first thing you notice is the size. Samsung has shown it can make a success of big screens with the 5.3in display on the Samsung Galaxy Note.

But that’s not a phone, it’s a new breed of device somewhere between a phone and a tablet. Rivals like HTC had been stretching our mitts with 4.7in display blowers such as the HTC One X. Can the S3 take on HTC's flagship model and is it better than than the Sony Xperia S? And will it have iPhone 4S fans defecting to Android? Here's what we thought...

Samsung Galaxy S3: Build

The S3 has a 4.8in display and it's certainly big. It’s a slim phone from front to back so it’s more manageable than you might think, but even so. Actually, what helps more in terms of comfort is the gloss finish. It’s like a smooth, flat worry stone that you can roll seamlessly through your fingers. A matte finish wouldn’t have felt as good.

Though some will feel that the glossy coat looks a bit, well, plasticky. But it feels appealingly shiny and reassuringly solid despite a removable battery. Where rivals like the Nokia Lumia 900 and HTC One X have maximised battery life by sealing it inside, and thus created a flex-free handset, the S3 is pleasingly non-creaky, no matter how you hold it.

Sometimes a new phone is only a gentle upgrade over the last model, but the S3 is streets ahead of the S2. It’s not quite as slim, though at 8.6mm it’s just a tenth of a millimetre fatter and it lacks the earlier phone’s bulge.

And it’s still thinner than the HTC One X, Motorola RAZR Maxx, iPhone 4S and many others. In terms of other important stats - it's 70.6mm across, 136.6mm long and weighs 133g

Samsung Galaxy S3: Screen

Back to the size. If your hands can, er, handle it, the positive consequence is a superbly viewable screen. Video playback on a mobile is always a questionable priority – if you can’t watch on a TV, a tablet makes much more sense – but with 4.8ins of high-resolution Super AMOLED screen with its vivid colours and contrasty blacks, this makes it more of a possibility than before.

The screen resolution is identical to the HTC One X, so the pixels per inch aren’t quite as high on this slightly bigger screen, but both displays look lush and inviting, with this one winning in terms of bright, rich colours.

Samsung Galaxy S3: Ice Cream Sandwich

The Galaxy S III uses the very latest version of Android, 4.0.3, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich. This is far and away the best version of Google’s operating system, with a cleaner look than before.

Ice Cream Sandwich lets you put these buttons as virtual icons onscreen, like on the Galaxy Nexus. Here there’s a physical home button, an elongated strip in the centre of the phone’s face at the bottom. Either side are two virtual capacitive buttons. Samsung has rejected the Recent Apps button in favour of Back and Menu options. Much better. And if you need it, a long press on the home button brings up the Recent Apps screen.

The latest OS doesn’t just offer yet another tempting-sounding treat to get our mouths watering. It’s a whole new interface which is redesigned throughout in contrast to previous iterations which have felt like layer after layer glued on top of the previous code. It includes nifty features like face unlock which matches you to a previously taken photo to launch the phone from idle.

ICS brought Recent Apps front and centre – though the S3 has de-emphasised it again. Samsung adds its own refinements, like the capability to take a screen shot by wiping your hand across the screen.

Samsung Galaxy S3: Features

It's the new features on the Galaxy S3 which really stand out. There’s S Voice, which is a voice recognition service after Siri’s heart, designed by Vlingo (a company which is now being bought by Nuance, who contributed to Apple products and, presumably, Siri).

Although it’s competent, it lacks Siri’s wit and whimsy, so you’re best sticking to straightforward commands. Like Siri, it’s not invariably accurate and it is server-driven so won’t work at all without a decent data connection. Even so, it’s good fun and there’s something slightly magical about it.

Microsoft Surface RT

The tablet wars are no longer a two-horse race between Apple and Google.
Four days after Microsoft invited the press to Los Angeles (and after four days of Web-wide speculation as to why), on Monday, June 19, 2012, the company finally unveiled Surface.
Surface is a line of tablet devices running the company's next-generation Windows operating system and marks Microsoft's first foray into the ever-expanding tablet market. Yes, you read that correctly: Microsoft will be building and branding its own tablets, effectively competing with its own hardware partners such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Lenovo.

Family Surface

The Surface tablets will be available in two distinct versions. The first, running Windows RT -- effectively the "light" version of Windows 8 -- will launch in the fall, around the same time as Windows 8 does, and run on an as-yet-unnamed ARM CPU. While it won't have the full desktop version of Windows 8, running only the Metro apps available through the Windows app store, it will include a version of Microsoft Office at no additional charge.

Approximately three months later, a Windows 8 Pro version of the tablet will follow. The Pro will offer the full Windows 8 OS running on an Intel Ivy Bridge CPU (the same chips found in ultrabooks and other laptops). The Pro version will also be slightly thicker, offer a more robust battery, and boast better peripheral support (USB 3.0 versus 2.0, DisplayPort, and an SDXC expansion slot) and twice the storage capacity of the RT version.

Surface tablets will be available in Windows RT and Windows 8 versions.

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

The surface of Surface

Surface uses a 10.6-inch optically bonded ClearType display. The screen's 16:9 aspect ratio (AR) is identical to that of an HDTV, so many of your favorite movies and all newer TV shows will run in full-screen on the tablet, with no stretching or letterboxing. The vast majority of Android tablets feature a 16:10 aspect ratio, while the iPad uses the same squarish 4:3 aspect ratio you may remember from pre-HD TVs.

Microsoft hasn't yet confirmed the resolution of the Surface tablets, except to say that the RT version is "HD" and the Pro version runs at a "full HD" resolution. Reading between the lines, that seems to indicate that the RT tablet will run at least 1,280x720 pixels (720p HD), while the Surface Pro will boast at least 1,920x1,080 pixels (1080p).
Surface for Windows 8 Pro will support digital inking, and during a demo at the conference the company demoed this by writing on the screen using a stylus and then zooming in on the writing, which still looks smooth without any of the "jaggies" you'd expect. According to Microsoft, this is thanks to the 600dpi sampling rate the screen records your writing at. Ostensibly, this allows digital inking to be much more precise.
Thanks to the optical bonding process, there are no layers between the Gorilla Glass 2.0 and the display. Microsoft demonstrated that when you use the Stylus, it feels like you're writing directly on the page, not the glass on top of it and it touts optical bonding as the reason behind this level of pen-to-page intimacy. According to Microsoft, there's only a 0.7-millimeter distance between the Stylus and where you see the ink.

Optical bonding allows the screen to sit very close to the Gorilla Glass 2.0 cover.

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

Surface will also make use of Windows' support for something it's calling palm block tech. Windows uses two digitizers: one for touch and another for digital ink. As long as the Stylus is in close proximity to the tablet screen, Windows will shut off the touch sensor, so that your hand doesn't accidentally swipe the screen while you're trying to write or draw. Once you're done, the Stylus can then adhere to the side of the tablet, magnetically.
During our brief hands-on, the screen didn't feel as responsive as we expected. We swiped the screen briefly to rotate around a panoramic picture Microsoft had on the device, but the feedback of the animation felt rough and didn't seem to respond as quickly to our swipes as we would have liked. That said, this was early preproduction hardware, so we'll have to see how the final version behaves when it's released commercially.

(Microsoft's) The stand

During the conference the Microsoft reps were keen to continually mention the VaporMg (pronounced "Vapor Mag") process it used to build Surface. According to the company, the process allows Microsoft to melt metal and then mold it down to a 0.65mm thickness for any given part. The layering of components is apparently so efficient that even sticking a piece of tape in between them would cause the tablet to bulge.

The full magnesium case is both scratch- and wear-resistant and weighs about 1.5 pounds. We only got to hold the tablet briefly, but it felt substantial -- fairly light but not airy.
Microsoft also credits VaporMg as the reason it was able to seamlessly include the Surface's built-in kickstand. We've seen kickstands on tablets before and being able to easily prop up your tablet is something we definitely appreciate.

The integrated kickstand makes for easy media viewing.

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

The bottom rear third of the tablet is all kickstand, but it's not something you'd quickly notice without being told it was there. There's an inch-long groove that allows you to easily pull out the kickstand and prop the tablet up. When combined with the cover, the combination gives the tablet a laptop look and, ostensibly, feel.
However, Microsoft may want to point out the stand mechanism a bit more obviously. There were a few journalists during demos (us included) that couldn't figure out how to enable the kickstand without being shown. Still, the kickstand feels very well-integrated into the design and is actually useful, so thumbs-up here.

Two tablets, two covers

If you took the keyboard attachment used by the Asus Transformer family of tablets and melded it with Apple's Smart Cover, you'd get the basic idea behind Microsoft's cover implementation for Surface.

There will be two types of cover and keyboard attachments: Touch Cover and Type Cover. Like Apple's Smart Cover, the covers are magnetically attached to the edge of the tablet. Both types of cover can act as either a cover for the screen or as a full keyboard, with a two-button touch pad and buttons for navigating Windows' Metro UI. When flipped back, the keyboard automatically shuts off.
Let's face it: no one likes typing on a tablet screen for long periods of time, and Microsoft certainly made it clear that typing on its cover-keyboards was just as accurate and enjoyable (and in the case of Type Cover, possible more enjoyable) as typing on a normal keyboard. At least according to the Microsoft reps.

The Touch Cover is one of 2 magnetically attachable keyboard covers that will be available.

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

Unfortunately, we didn't actually get to use the Touch Cover keyboard while it was attached to the tablet. Since there's almost no tactile feedback and no button depression, typing on the keyboard felt weird. However, Microsoft says that the audible "clicking" sound from the tablet's speaker when typing adds enough feedback.
Still, without personally having that experience, it's difficult to say how successful Microsoft has been with the design until we actually use it with the tablet. It's definitely the thinnest (3mm) physical keyboard we've ever used, though.
As the conference went on, we started to notice how much thought and detail Microsoft has added to the experience it wants you to have with Surface. One of the coolest little details was that depending on which color Touch Cover (five colors were shown) is connected to the tablet, the color of the screen background in the Metro UI would change to reflect it.
We didn't get to play with the thicker and much more traditional Type Cover keyboard, but Microsoft gave a pretty detailed demo of it in action. Unlike the stationary buttons on the Touch Cover, Type Cover keys have a 1.5mm travel, while still being packed into what seemed to be a relatively thin (5mm) enclosure.
Also, the keys sense the grams of pressure you're applying to them. Unlike a touch screen, this allows you to place your fingers on your home keys without them interpreting that placement as keystrokes.
Other specs
Aside from confirming that the Surface boasts front and rear "HD" cameras, Microsoft was mum on imaging details. That implies at least 720p image capture capability (which is merely 0.9 megapixels), but we're hoping for something at least closer to the multimegapixel resolution you find on middle-of-the-road tablets and smartphones these days.
Here's a rundown of the official specs as we know them:
Surface (Windows RT) tablet key specs

• Windows RT operating system
• Nvidia ARM CPU
• 9.3mm thick
• 676 grams/23.85 ounces
• 10.6-inch ClearType HD Display
• 31.5 watt hour battery
• Ports: microSD, USB 2.0, Micro-HD video, 2x2 MIMO antennas
• Storage options: 32GB and 64GB for Windows RT
• Front- and rear-facing "HD" cameras

Surface (Windows Pro) tablet key specs

• Windows 8 operating system
• Intel third-generation Core i CPU
• 13.5mm thick
• 903 grams/31.85 ounces
• 10.6-inch ClearType "Full HD" Display
• 42 watt hour battery
• Ports: microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort video
• Storage options: 64GB and 128GB
• Front- and rear-facing "HD" cameras

What impressed us most was not the specs, but the sheer attention to detail that went into building this product and the obvious effort put into integrating its features. It seems to be a truly impressive design and engineering feat. However, there are just too many important, unanswered questions.

Hands-on with Microsoft's Surface tablet (pictures)

(And speaking of) Unanswered questions
Overall, we like what we've seen so far, we just felt we were left hanging in terms of information. Of course, that was probably Microsoft's goal with this early announcement: to intrigue people and leave them wanting more.
We were also left wanting from a software perspective. A tablet is useless without apps and we were disappointed we didn't get more information on types of apps to expect and how (or if) apps would be handled differently from iOS or Android apps.
And, of course, we were left without the biggest detail of all: price. Saying Surface will be "competitively priced" is basically telling me, "Expect to pay about $500 for this thing." And that's the RT version, of course; expect the Windows 8 tablet to be priced more like a full-on laptop.
Luckily, Surface doesn't go on sale today. If it did, we would not be in line to buy one (or even purchasing one online). That's not to say we aren't intrigued, nor that we won't buy one in the future; it's just too early to tell. We need more information on apps, Xbox integration (there was no SmartGlass mention at all), pricing, and the expected battery life in order to make a clear decision. That said, we can't help but walk away looking forward to seeing more.

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