In Search of Incredible

Asus's Latest Campaign...

Product
N-Series Notebooks, a collaboration between ASUS and the Intel Corporation. The series seems to be ASUS' playground for experimentation for different convergent ideas revolving around mobile multimedia.

Main features

An audio system engineered by ASUS SonicMaster Technology and co-developed with Bang & Olufsen ICEpower(R) to create room-filling sound. The integrated video system allows users to watch high-quality video, while users can create their own images with a built-in HD camera, which features low-level light performance.

Launch

Atlantic recording artist Jason Mraz has been involved with the launch (on 20th September) and has released a new song called “The world as I see it”. There is also a competition to find the most incredible story on earth. The promotional YouTube video uploaded 16th September has had 44,000 hits and the video on the “In Search of Incredible” site has had 41,000. The winner of the competition (one person from each country) will receive a new N-Series Notebook and their chance to turn their incredible story into a short film.

Audience

Despite the backing from Jason Mraz, it does not look explicitly targeted at a niche market such as teens or gamers. The ads in commuter press and in London underground stations don’t make it clear what the product is (they generate interest with the confusion element) but I suggest that Asus is targeting the multi-media enthusiast/affluent professional with money to spend on a top quality product. There are QR codes on the press ads that link to the “In Search of Incredible” website.

Competitor to the XPS 15Z?

Whilst the N-Series notebooks are competitors to the XPS 15Z, it is also responding to HPs Beats by Dre with its Bang and Olufsen audio system.

What Laptop Magazine - Designer Laptops Group Tests.

Competitors

• Asus: Automobili Lamborghini VX7
• Asus: Eee PC 1008P
• Dell: Adamo XPS
• Dell: Inspiron 17R
• Packard Bell: Liberty Tab
• Sony: VAIO VPCCA2ZOE

1st Place went to the Asus Automobili Lamborghini VX7

The Dell Adamo XPS received runner-up:
- Design detailed as ‘extremely impressive’
- Described as similar to the MacBook Pro from Apple
- Solid feeling keypad which ‘will suit business users'
- 3 out of 5 for value for money.

Mac vs PC- Group Test.
In the Mac vs PC Group Test, What Laptop proclaimed that the Dell XPS 15z was 'a shining example of what PCs have to offer’. It received a value award from What Laptop and scored 5 out of 5 for features, build and performance. It was described as one of the most capable machines they have ever tested.

Sources:
What Laptop Magazine

Announcing a bid for software company Autonomy causes Hewlett Packard shares to fall 20%.

Hewlett-Packard’s share prices have fallen as reports claim that the company is considering selling its computer business and investing in the software company Autonomy. The strategy surprised the industry as Hewlett-Packard dominates around 17.6% of the market meanwhile Dell comes second with 12.5% of the market share thus highlighting the brutality of the industry.

Autonomy was originally created by Cambridge University with the purpose of specialising in pattern recognition technologies. It currently aids around 25,000 customers worldwide, with over 400 software companies using it to power their company. It also powers some of the Top 10 banking firms in the world. The deal would mean that HP would severely reduce the sales of tablet PCs and smartphones in favour of software; it is believed that Apple dominates the smartphone and tablet sector therefore meaning that there is little room for competitors. HP see the transition from computer to software to be practical and more profitable in the long term. HP offered the Autonomy £7.1billion which is around 64% above the estimated target value of the software firm. Consequently, shares dropped to $23.58 at closing on Friday.

On Thursday 18th August, HP announced that the company’s quarterly results had fallen in line with its predictions and had risen 1.6% since 2010, although Hewlett-Packard dropped its annual predictions from $130bn to $127.6bn. Likely contenders for the company are Chinese companies Lenovo and Huawei.

Sources:
BBC News
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14582489)
http://www.autonomy.com/

Stuff Magazine’s Top Ten Laptops

The Ratings are in again from Stuff Magazine and this month Dell’s XPS 15 L501x is coming in at number two. Using Intel’s new fast speed Sandy Bridge i5 silicon system and made from aluminium-clad it comes in at nearly half the cost of what you would pay for a 15in Apple MacBook Pro. At 2.8kg it may not be the lightest of laptops however it comes with a convenient Blu-ray drive and a 15in 1080p screen. Here is a list of Stuff’s top ten laptops:


1.) Apple MacBook Pro 13in from £1000

2.) Dell XPS 15 L501x £930

3.) Samsung N230 £335

4.) HP Envy 17 3D from £1150

5.) Alienware M11x from £500

6.) MSI GX740 £875

7.) Asus Eee Pad Transformer £430 (with keyboard)

8.) Apple MacBook Air 11in from £870

9.) Samsung Series 9 900x3A £1300

10.) Sony VAIO F Series 3D £1650

For more information click here

Best MacBook Air Alternatives

The ratings are in from Stuff Magazine:

1. Samsung Series 9
2. HP Ultrabook
3. Asus UX21
4. Sony Vaio Z
5. Dell XPS 15z

The XPS has been flaunting its skinny wares for a while now, but there's no denying laptops don't get much thinner or more luxurious than this. It's an engineering triumph that undermines the laws of physics by miraculously cramming so much tech into its uber-skinny 9.9mm frame, making the Air look rather portly in the process. And the star of the show? Its ingenious opening mechanism and touch-sensitive unlock bar. Shame about the battery life, though.

Click here for more info.

Heard the noise about Google+?

Take all the best bits of Facebook, Twitter & Skype, present them in a highly user-friendly interface provided by one of the internet's most loved (and used) brands, Google, and you've got the makings of a new, popular and potent social networking/sharing/communications platform. A potential Facebook/Twitter killer...

If you've not already heard of it, I'm talking about Google+.

It's got the personal backing of Google's CEO Larry Page - and is being driven and delivered by lots of very important people at Google, with huge brains. Which means Google is very serious indeed about finally establishing itself as a social, as well as a utilitarian, giant of the internet.

Will it work?

I don't know - yet - whether it's going to work for Google+. No one does.

Its global penetration is slowing - a mere 19million in just over three weeks. But, having tried Google+, this mildly geeky consumer thinks it's pretty blooming good. And Google is totally committed to making it work, with a suite of new features and products about to launch when Google feel the time is right...

(You need an invite to join and a Googlemail account).

Source

MediaCom Strategy Director (21.07.11)

HP announces the launch of the next TouchPad

Just two weeks after the Launch of the first HP TouchPad, HP annouced the launch of its new improved version. It will be exculsively available in the US on AT&Tex, the largest provider of fixed telephony in the US.

The new one will have 4G. This means you'll be able to access the web on the go, like on a 3G-enabled iPad. unlike the original which is only Wi-Fi enabled.

More importantly, the new model of the TouchPad will have a faster 1.5 Ghz processor compared to the original TouchPad's slower 1.2 Ghz processor.

In a release David Gee, vice president of marketing and enterprise solutions, webOS, personal systems group, HP said, “TouchPad 4G is ideal for anyone who needs maximum flexibility for productivity on the go.”
 
“It’s particularly well suited for users who rely on connectivity in the field – from large corporations to small businesses and self-employed mobile professionals,” Gee added.

Another thing to note is that while AT&T claims the new TouchPad will be "4G," each carrier has different definitions for 4G. Verizon's 4G LTE network is much faster than AT&T's, and AT&T's is also notoriously less reliable.
 
There's no word on pricing yet, but it should launch before September and the new school year.

Anyone who already bought a TouchPad is probably going to be pretty upset that their new tablet is already old news so soon after it was launched!

For a (not hugely glowing) review of the original HP TouchPad, click here.

Sources
Business Insider
HP

Computers "Irreplaceable" for 1 in 4

One in four Britons says that their computer is “the most irreplaceable thing in their life”, according to new research. A third say they use a PC for more than two hours every evening, even if they’ve also used one throughout their working day. One in seven claimed that their ideal evening now involves surfing the internet while enjoying a glass of wine.

The study of 2,000 users indicates that 14%, however, regard their computer as a fashion accessory. A quarter of respondents say their computer says more about them than their clothes.

Futurologist Dr Rachel Lawes said that the PC “is the essential piece of kit that defines what it means to be alive at this moment in history”. She said that the research, funded by Microsoft, indicated that “The PC is to consumers what the car used to be in the 20th century.” She also claimed that it vindicated Microsoft’s strategy of increasingly emphasising the range of colours and styles available across different computers, via its ‘Collection’ brand.

Most users – 68% overall and 78% of 18 to 24 years olds – also said that they would rather have a PC than a TV. Six out of ten also said they would be replacing their hifi with something computer-based in the next three years.

Source
The Telegraph - Technology News (11.07.11)

HP's Latest Contribution to the Tablet Market

HP is the latest PC maker to jump into tablets - and in entering the market, it has immediately become the latest tablet maker to land under Apple's shadow. The HP TouchPad is the first tablet based on the WebOS mobile operating system, which HP acquired when it purchased Palm a year ago. It has had tepid reviews this week.

Although WebOS shows some flashes of finger-friendly brilliance (it seems far better suited for a tablet than for the small screen of a phone), the TouchPad suffers from cumbersome design, performance lags, and a poor app selection.

The Wi-Fi TouchPad comes in two versions at launch, with a 16GB model costing £399 and a 32GB model costing £479, price tags that put it on a par with the iPad 2.

Had the TouchPad launched a year ago, soon after the first-generation Apple iPad, it might not have felt so behind the curve. But at this point it seems to be playing catch-up, despite the fact that it has several distinguishing features. Chief among them are the immersive meshing of contacts from multiple Web services and sources, the ability to print, Touchstone inductive charging, and touch-to-share (a Web, phone, and messaging transfer capability that will eventually work with the HP Veer and the upcoming HP Palm Pre smartphones).

HP hopes that Russel Brand can boost sales as the face of the TouchPad. There is a series of 12 short clips where Brand demonstrates the tablet's features.

Sources

PC Advisor 30/06/11

Business Advisor SAI

Dell Sponsors Daytime Sky 1

On Monday 4th July Dell are launched their first ever daytime TV sponsorship, becoming the face of SkyOne family programming. Throughout July, 15'' and 5'' indents will be running throughout daytime TV programming promoting the new Inspiron 15R and its changeable lids. The SkyOne platform allows Dell to cost effectively build a relationship with a key demographic by association with SkyOne's quality daytime family programming.

Performance tracking has been made possible with the use of vanity URLs, whilst we will also be tracking halo effects on our core DRTV campaign (which is aligned with the sponsorship creative).

This is a significant step away from Dell's normal TV activity, promoting a solid relationship with a key station audience.

RIM cuts internal PlayBook sales estimates by more than half

Canadian smartphone vendor RIM has reportedly cut internal sales estimates for its BlackBerry PlayBook by more than half for its second quarter, from 2.4 million units to 900,000, reports Digitimes.

The revision came after RIM announced it had sold 500,000 PlayBooks in USA and Canada, which were sold from its mid-April launch until early June, but demand has continued to fall since its strong performance (50,000 units) on launch day.

It is hoped that as RIM releases 3G, LTE and WiMAX models of its Blackberry PlayBook in the third quarter, demand will increase and sales will begin to increase as the company can fully ready its attack on market leader Apple. However, Apple’s hold on the market is dominant, with sales expected to reach 10 million units in the second quarter, ten times that of its PlayBook rival.

Digitimes estimates that monthly shipments of the Motorola Xoom, Acer Inconia, Asus Transformer and PlayBook are averaging 100,000-200,000 units, suggesting each of Apple’s rivals will need to find new ways of increasing demand for their products.

Let's see how well the PlayBook sells in the UK..




Source
The Next Web.com

Acer Hits Turbulence

During a conference Acer's chairman, J.T. Wang, announced that the sale projections made for the Iconia Tab touchscreen tablets were a bit too optimistic and had to be reduced by 60%. When it comes to PC sales the company is not doing much better and shipments are down 16% in the last quarter.

There have been speculations as to what could have contributed toward the company downturn and the tablet failing to keep up with the iPad sales seems to be one of the factors. Another issue that has been raised is the fact that Acer relies heavily on sales from retailers such as Best Buy and the lack of direct to consumer sales, which both Apple and Dell are known for.

Source
cnet news (16.06.11)

Nationwide Launch of the BlackBerry PlayBook

Today is the day you can pop down to the shops to buy BlackBerry's first Tablet. The tablet will be made available to customers in Spain, Germany, Australia, and several other countries within the next 30 days. Previous to this, the BlackBerry PlayBook has only been available only in the U.S. and Canada.


Facebook Sponsored Advert

Media

The media campaign for this has been huge and has included press ads through retailers such as Carphone Warehouse, DSG and Phones 4U in a mix of national press titles including the Sun, Metro, Guardian, Independent, Times and Telegraph. There is also a cover wrap around the IMAX cinema in Waterloo (at a 2 week cost of £180K) and inside Euston Station. BlackBerry have also gone online with a facebook sponsored story.



IMAX cover wrap:
photo taken this morning

Focus and Specs

Unlike much of its competition, BlackBerry's tablet focuses on enterprise customers first. The tablet boasts a 7-inch display and runs the company's new tablet operating system. It includes dual 1080p HD cameras for video conferencing and capture, and runs on a 1GHz dual-core processor. The tablet comes in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB storage options, ranging in price from £399 to £559.

 

BlackBerry Bridge

The PlayBook lets you wirelessly connect to your BlackBerry smartphone for real time access to: Email, calendar, address book, task list and BBM.

True multi-tasking
The superfast dual-core processor allows multiple applications to run simultaneously. Switch back and forth quickly and easily between HD media, gaming and email.

Limitless browsing
The internet the way it’s supposed to be. Browse all of your favourite sites wherever you are. Full Flash 10.1 capability and built in HTML 5 support is ideal for games, media, apps and everything the real internet offers.

Review
The PlayBook has already featured in a number of tech reviews - T3 gave it 3/5 stars in July's issue and The Daily Telegraph declares that "BlackBerry is still ripening". Here are some highlights from today's review:
 
Benefits

• At 7” the PlayBook is more portable than the best rival tablets (all of which are around 10”).
• As well built as iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab and its screen is bright and sharp.
• High quality accessories available like the Ettinger wallet.

Drawbacks

• It is difficult to get used to the swipe action to take you from one menu to another.
• You cannot tether your email to it unless you have a BlackBerry phone. Without one you have to access email via the web. BlackBerry are working on remedying this.
• Not enough apps for the PlayBook (yet) although the apps that it does have are impressive, e.g. corporate apps like RBS.

Conclusion
So the PlayBook is in some ways a lovely device, whose fine hardware is wasted on today’s software. If you’re a BlackBerry aficionado, it is a product you may well want to buy, although you should probably wait until later this year when the problems have been fixed (and BlackBerry plans to launch two 4G models later this year).

BlackBerry had better hope the world doesn’t pass it by.

However, Online Gossip (marketing gossip for small businesses) review brings up an issue that the Telegraph hadn't thought of - the name of the tablet: "Can you really see a serious businessman standing on the platform at Euston station telling someone they are using their Playbook, big error I think."

Sources

Daily Telegraph Technology Section (16.06.11)

Times (16.06.11)
Online Gossip.co.uk

How the Smartphone is overtaking the PC

Smartphones can be used to connect to the internet, hold data, run programs, organise our lives. In orther words, they're fast replacing what we perhaps wrongly thought was an embedded part of our lives: the PC. That's indicative of a huge shift that's coming to computing, and was behind Microsoft's $8bn splurge in May when it bought the Skype internet telephone service, and behind the rumours that Microsoft is going to buy Nokia, the Finnish company that makes the most mobile handsets and Smartphones.

Smarphones orgainse our lives

At the end of 2010, Smartphones sales had overtaken PC sales.  From October to December, six million more smartphones than PCs were sold. The gap has grown to 18 million in the first three months of this year.

The change that smartphones, (or indeed Tablets) bring is computing power in the palm of our hands or in our pockets. It is internet connectivity almost anywhere on earth that is going to have profound effects. Horace Dediu, another former Nokia executive who now runs the consultancy Asymco, says: "Besides being powerful, they're going to be ubiquitous. Not only in the hands of nearly every person on the planet, but also with them, or by them, all day long. They will be more popular than TVs and more intimate than wallets."

They're going to do far more than wallets (although they can already serve that function: a system called NFC, for Near Field Communications, is being built into smartphones and will let you pay for small items with the press of a button). All the things you can now do with a smartphone would have seemed like science-fiction only a decade ago: translate signs and words, take voice input and search the web, recognise a face, add another layer to reality showing you the quickest way to a tube or restaurant or the history of your immediate surroundings, show you where your friends are in real time, tell you what your friends think of a restaurant you're standing outside, show you where you are on a map and navigate you while you drive. These are just a few of the many Smartphone uses. In fact, today's phones have about the same raw processing power as a laptop from 10 years ago. And every year the gap is narrowed.

Due to their size and ease of use, Smartphones are fast becoming relied upon as part of day to day life. Once making the transition to a Smartphone, it's difficult to imagine life without one.

Source
Guardian.co.uk

Social Media Revolution

A few highlights...

• If Facebook were a country, it would be the 3rd largest.
• Lady Gaga, Justing Bieber and Britney Spears have more Twitter followers than the entire population of Sweden, Israel, Greece, Chile, North Korea and Australia.
• YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world.
• Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Google are banned in China.
• If Wikipedia was made into a book, it would be 2.25 million pages long and would take 123 years to read.
• 90% of customers trust peer recommendations, whereas only 14% trust advertisements.
• 93% of marketers use social media for business.

Google Chrome

This advert from Google shows a father using the web to share memories with his daughter as she grows up. It demonstrates how quick and easy it is to use Google Chrome for many different actions.

This is the first venture into TV advertising for Google and it seems to have stirred up interest and got people talking with over 444 thousand youtube views and 313 comments. One viewer wrote "this is one of the most powerful adverts I have ever seen."

New Powerful & Lightweight Laptops

Samsung Notebook 900X3A Series 9



Saumsung Notebook 900X3A:

"The perfect balance of lightness and design"

A competitor to the new XPS 15z is advertised in T3 this month. The Samsung Notebook Series 9 is “Designed to go. Powered to perform with visibly smart performance.” There is a gatefold brand ad as well as a full page in the third quarter part funded by Microsoft.



Samsung Notebook









Performance

It is ultra slim and lightweight making it easily portable, but durability is not compromised as it is made from Duralumin (the same material as aircraft).It features the latest Intel Core i7/i5 Processor with up to 8GB memory, which accelerates performance by dynamically allocating processing power where it’s needed most using intelligent Turbo boosting technology. 

Dell XPS 15z:"Less mass. More appeal."



The Notebook powers up in 12 seconds and comes out of sleep mode in 3 seconds and the solid state drive (SSD) provides 128/256GB of efficient and secure storage.

The PowerPlus battery lasts up to three times longer than a conventional battery. It also delivers mobility and freedom with its extensive battery life of up to 7 hours.

The Dell ad is in a similar simple style to the Samsung. the XPS 15z is also similar to the Samsung Notebook. It is slim, lightweight and powerful. The specifications of similar models from each manufacturer are below.

Spec Comparison Table

Sources
T3 (July issue)
Wired.co.uk
Currys.com
Dell.com

A Snapshot of What's Hot in T3 This Month

10 Reasons to Buy Dell’s Streak

Dell Streak

1. Larger screen than the original Streak

2. Dual cameras – back and front

3. Full Flash support, giving access to the whole web

4. Multitasking is a breeze with the Nvidia’s 1GHz dualcore Tegra 2 processor

5. Scratch-resistant screen (Gorilla Glass)
6. Plenty of storage – 16GB internal, plus SD, MMC and SDHC card slots
7. Dell’s stage software will upgrade automatically when and OS update becomes available
8. Full support for Microsoft Exchange email and calendars, so you can work on the go
9. You can sync it with other Stage-equipped devices (Dell PC/Laptop)
10. Only £299 for a future-proofed Android tablet

Top 5 Tablets

Asus Eee Pad Transformer


A new Tablet review in T3, replaces the Motorola Xoom with the Asus Eee Pad Transformer in 2nd place, whereas Apple’s iPad 2 remains firmly at the top.

The ranking:
1. Apple iPad (5/5)
2. Asus Eee Pad Transformer (4/5)
3. LG Optimus Pad (3/5), Motorola Xoom (3/5), RIM Blackberry Playbook (3/5)

Despite the glowing review earlier in the magazine and the fact that it is the same size as the Blackberry Playbook, the Dell Streak wasn't mentioned. Dell is conspicuous in its absence here.

The main points are that the Apple iPad is the best value for money. Its 32GB model retails at £479, whereas the LG Optimus Pad is a whopping 57% more expensive on sale for £750.

*The tablets were tested by:
1. Playing the same video clip on each tablet, pausing at the same scene to assess colour rendition.
2. Playing the same audio track on each tablet, comparing the sound quality and speaker volume.
3. Browsing the web to see how quickly the touchscreen responded.
4. Testing the screens for off-angle visibility and visibility in different lighting conditions.
5. Battery endurance was tested by playing a film on each tablet with Wi-Fi on.
6. Timing how long the T3 website took to launch over the home Wi-Fi connection (after clearing the cache and history of each tablet).

XPS15

Dell did however come out well in the “Laptops that are equally up for work and play” category. The XPS 15 scored the highest on best value for money and was equally ranked in equal position to the Apple MacBook Pro 15”, Acer Aspire Ethos 8943G and Sonly Vaio VPCZ13M9E/B.

Source
T3 (July Issue)

Dell Inspiron Duo Review



p. 136



The following two pages were taken from Stuff Magazine (Issue 145, April). It is a review written after one month of using the Dell Inspiron Duo.

The main points are:

Positive

• Chunky but with great ergonomics.

• Fun when docked - The dock plugs into a custom port on the base of the Duo, and along with a respectable set of JBL speakers it also adds an Ethernet port, SD card reader and two USB 2.0 ports.

• Great for media playing (with a good set of speakers) - Spotify & iPlayer - "makes a tidy kitchen TV and mini hi-fi."



p. 137



Negative

• Heavy

• The screen is not very sensitive - you have to stab rather than swipe - "it's still a mouse-driven system at heart."

• The Windows 7 Touch is difficult to use.

• Graphics performance is poor: choppy video playback and it chokes on visually intensive websites.

• Poor speakers
• Poor battery life - approximately 2hrs of high media use.

Verdict
“A cute netbook that’s skilled when docked, but a lack of power and Windows 7’s touch issues are the Duo’s undoing.”

Rating
An unremarkable 3/5

Google Innovations

Google has been particularly busy recently with two big launches in the last week: The Google Chromebook and Music Beta, a music streaming service.

Google Chromebook
The Chromebook was unveiled last week at Google's I/O conference in San Fransisco by Sundar Pichai, vice-president of product management at Google, who claimed it was ushering in the new era of 'cloud computing'.
Manufactured by Samsung and Acer, the Chromebook will run on the web rather than the computer’s software, so apps, documents and settings will be saved in the cloud enabling it to run much faster than a standard computer and boot-up will take just eight seconds.

The Chromebook is targeted at businesses and educational companies, presenting a direct challenge to Microsoft, whose Windows 7 operating system dominates, with a 78.6% global market share in 2010 (Gartner research company).

The computers go on sale in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain on 15th June. The Samsung version will go on sale in the US at $429 (WiFi only) and $499 (WiFi & 3G – free 100MB/month), whereas the Acer model will retail slightly cheaper at $349. In the UK, the Chromebooks will cost £349-£399.

Music Beta
Google Music will work in a similar way to Google Documents - tracks can be uploaded to Google's servers and then be streamed anywhere. Google has not struck any deals with labels or music publishers possibly because the service will allow consumers to stream data they already own, but there will be a limit of 20,000 tracks. The app can be downloaded on selected Android phones and tablet such as the Motorola Xoom.

This application has had mixed reviews. Many users have found it slow and the presentation poor. There is also no option to delete music once it has been uploaded, although you can remove it from playlists. It also seems that not only is it impossible to delete tracks, but when you’ve downloaded the app, it’s impossible to get rid of! The only positive review I could find was that it is “not terrible – everything is better than the original although there is no lock screen when changing songs”.


Sources
Market Android.com
Marketing Magazine.co.uk
Stuff (Issue 146)

Tablets

Top 10 Tablets

1. Apple iPad 2

2. Motorola Xoom

3. Samsung Galaxy Tab

4. Blackberry Playbook

5. Notion Ink Adam

6. HP Slate 500

7. Dell Streak 7

8. Archos 7

9. View Sonic ViewPad 7

10. Archos 9

The Leading Tablets Comparison

Review

The Motorola Xoom 3G and iPad 2 Wi-Fi are the current market leaders arising from the large influx of tablets entering the market in 2011.

The Motorola Xoom scores style points with its button free face; however its plastic exterior lacks personality and gives the iPad 2 the ultimate edge. It wins with not only its style, but also price. The iPad 2 retails at £440, whereas the Motorola Xoom has entered the market at £600 (a brave 15% higher than its chief competitor).


iPad 2 - no USB port

Storage wise, the Xoom takes the lead with twice as much storage as the iPad 2. The 32GB on board storage can also be expanded via the microSDHC slot and there is further real-world connectivity from a micro USB 2.0 port and direct HDMI Video ouput. Although the iPad is aesthetically pleasing with its blemish-free edges, it means that its 16GB storage is all you get.

The iPad 2 comes out on top for its screen - higher contrast levels and more sensitive to finger swipes than the Xoom. It also wins on its quality and quantity of apps.

 

Honeycomb operated Xoom

It is impossible to pick a winner when it comes to the tablets operating systems, as although the Xoom’s honeycomb system feels more versatile and powerful than the iOS, it is a bit more awkward to operate than Apple’s tried and tested system. However, perhaps this is getting a bit stale and in need of a re-vamp… for the future iPad 3?
 
In conclusion, the Xoom performs better for browsing and media playing, but for its style and apps the iPad 2 just clinches the win.

New TV Creatives

Apple iPad 2

Launched 24th April, this advert has a more personable feel than the iPad 1 ad, with a voice-over and no clinical white background. Calm piano music features.

It is less of an educational piece than the iPad 1, as people are now aware of tablets functions and purposes and is aimed at a broad audience – families, professionals, those wanting the latest high-tech gadgets.

The station mix includes: ITV, C4, C5, MTV, ITV Digital & Discovery. This is in contrast with the all station advertising for the iPad 1.

 

Acer Iconia Tab

Launched on 8th May, the ad shows a range of people using the tablet in various situations – a couple relaxing at home, a teenage boy having his hair cut, a group of friends on a night out, and a mother using the tablet as a teaching aid for her child.

Similar to the iPad 2, the Iconia Tab is broad reaching – families, teenagers, professionals, those wanting the latest high-tech gadgets.

The station mix is not yet available.



Sources
T3 (05.11)
Stuff (06.11)
Nielson Ad Dynamix (09.05.11)