Real Chucky Ad Prank At the Bus Stop

Samsung eyes phones with foldable displays in 2015

The company plans to move from curved to bendable displays and eventually to ones that can be folded. Samsung aims to unveil phones and other devices with foldable displays in another two years, give or take. At an analysts event Wednesday night local time in Seoul, Korea, Samsung CEO Kwon Oh Hyun presented a slideshow revealing the company's display technology timeline for the next few years. As shown by blog site Sammy Hub, the slideshow highlights the progression planned by Samsung leading up to foldable phones. The company has already hit its first milestone of a curved-display phone with the recent introduction of the Galaxy Round. Though some people have questioned the benefits of a phone with a curved display, at least one researcher said he believes the technology is a major innovation. Next on Samsung's to-do list are devices with bendable displays, due out sometime in 2014. And that will pave the way to devices with foldable screens, slated to debut around the end of 2015. Just what are the differences between curved, bendable, and foldable displays? You can learn more through CNET's FAQ: "What you should know about flexible displays."      

Uh-oh, this 3D-printed metal handgun actually works

While firing a round with earlier plastic models of 3D-printed guns has proven difficult, this metal model has already shot 50 rounds successfully. While the first known 3D-printed gun has been more-or-less dismissed because it can't reliably shoot, a new 3D-printed firearm has now been invented -- and it has no problems firing a round. In fact, it appears this handgun can fire dozens of rounds without a hitch. What's the difference between the two? Instead of plastic, the new gun is made of metal. The 3D-printed metal gun is made by the Texas-based 3D-printing services company Solid Concepts. The company used a laser sintering process to create the gun and powdered metals for the firearm's material. The weapon's design is based on a classic 1911 handgun and is made up of 33 different stainless steel and Inconel components, along with a carbon fiber filled nylon handgrip. While Solid Concepts boasted that its gun has already "handled 50 rounds of successful firing," the company said its goal was more to prove that 3D printing with metal can be successful. "We're proving this is possible, the technology is at a place now where we can manufacture a gun with 3D Metal Printing," Solid Concepts vice president of additive manufacturing Kent Firestone said in a statement. "And we're doing this legally. In fact, as far as we know, we're the only 3D Printing Service Provider with a Federal Firearms License. Now, if a qualifying customer needs a unique gun part in five days, we can deliver." The first known 3D-printed gun was made by another Texas-based outfit called Defense Distributed. The gun, called the "Liberator," is made entirely of plastic, except for a nail used as a firing pin and a six-ounce piece of steel designed solely to allow the gun to be detected by metal detectors. A spinoff 3D-printed rifle dubbed "The Grizzly" also recently hit the scene.   The Liberator can be instantly downloaded and anonymously printed by anyone who has access to 3D-printing technology. While the gun debuted amid much fanfare, it has since been said the firearm rarely works. While the software is more-or-less readily available, the Liberator needs an expensive high-end 3D printer for the finished product. The same is true for Solid Concepts' firearm. According to a company blog post, their printer costs more than private college tuition, which could be a barrier to entry for some criminals. The reason Solid Concepts believes its gun is successful is because it has "less porosity issues than a investment cast part and better complexities than a machined part." And, the gun's barrel is capable of seeing chamber pressures higher than 20,000 psi every time it's fired. "It's a common misconception that 3D Printing isn't accurate or strong enough, and we're working to change people's perspective," Firestone said.

Apple iPad Air review

Thinner, lighter, faster, best

The good: The iPad Air delivers more performance and comparable battery life in an attractive and impossibly thin-and-light package. An improved front-facing camera makes FaceTiming look better, and the Retina Display still looks great. The bad: The Touch ID fingerprint scanner, introduced on the iPhone 5S, is sadly absent here, meaning you’ll still have to type in a passcode with every unlock and a password with every purchase. Starting at $499 for 16GB, it’s still expensive compared with the competition. The bottom line: Functionally, the iPad Air is nearly identical to last year’s model, offering only faster performance and better video chatting. But factor in design and aesthetics, and the iPad Air is on another planet. It’s the best full-size consumer tablet on the market. It’s been a long time since Apple delivered unto us a proper redesign of the iPad. The original, boxy, first-gen tablet lived for about 11 months, replaced in 2011 by a far slinkier version. The tapered design language survived, more or less unchanged, for a further 2.5 years -- a lifetime in the consumer electronics world. That period was punctuated by two updates, bringing faster chips and a better display, but it’s a full refresh we’ve all been waiting for, something to make the good ol' iPad look and feel truly new. And here it is: the iPad Air. With this, the fifth generation of the iPad line, Apple has delivered a proper exterior redesign, crafting a substantially thinner and lighter tablet that finally eliminates the chunky bezels handed down since the first generation -- at least on the left and right. But, despite this significant exterior reduction, the iPad Air maintains the battery life of its predecessor and offers significantly better performance. The Air is a tangible upgrade over the previous, fourth-generation iPad, no longer in production and so banished to the annals of history. The new iPad slots right in where its predecessor left off, priced at $499 for a lowly 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB, and $799 for the maximum 128GB configuration. Cellular models -- with LTE and support for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon in the United States -- cost an additional $130 beyond the above prices. So, yes, it’s still very much the premium-priced choice, just as it’s always been. However, the market continues to shift, offering more and increasingly sophisticated alternatives at far cheaper prices, tablets like the Kindle Fire HDX and Google Nexus 10. That, plus strong competition from within Apple’s own ranks with the upcoming iPad Mini with Retina Display, means the iPad Air has to be better than ever. Thankfully, it is. Design Last year’s iPad Mini introduced a fresh new design, taking cues from the latest iPod Touch to create a high-end tablet in an impossibly slender form factor. You could think of the iPad Air as a 20 percent scaled-up version of the Mini, as the two tablets feature near-identical styling details, the bigger one differing only by having more speaker holes on the bottom (80 vs. 56 on the Mini). Impressively, though, the iPad Air isn’t 20 percent thicker than the Mini. In fact, at 7.5mm, it’s only 0.3mm deeper -- a massive 1.9mm thinner than the previous full-size iPad. Despite that, the tablet feels just as sturdy and rigid as before, not flexing a bit even under rather aggressive attempts at twisting. It’s light, too, weighing just 1 pound in Wi-Fi-only guise. That’s 0.4 pound lighter than the previous generation and 0.3 pound heavier than the Mini. In other words, the iPad Air’s weight is actually closer to the Mini than to its fourth-gen predecessor. Indeed, pick up an Air and you’ll be reminded of the first time you held a Mini. It’s a "wow" moment. We were big fans of the Mini last year, and we’re big fans of how the Air looks and feels now. The more rounded profile and chamfered edges give it a modern presence, while the new shape means the buttons and toggle switch situated around the upper-right corner are much easier to find than before. Stereo speakers flank the Lightning connector on the bottom, placement that makes them far less likely to be obscured by your hand than the previous-gen iPad’s famously mediocre single output. They’re also far louder. However, we can’t help but wish Apple had positioned the left channel speaker on the top, to allow for proper stereo separation when held in portrait orientation while watching a movie. As it is, you’ll hear everything on the right. Our only other design complaint is the missing Touch ID. This is Apple’s term for the fingerprint scanner built into the Home button on the iPhone 5S. It allows you to unlock your device without typing in a numeric code, also making iTunes purchases password-free and, therefore, infinitely less annoying.

Device	Screen size	Aspect ratio	Resolution
Apple iPad Air	9.7 inches	4:3	2,048x1,536
Apple iPad 4	9.7 inches	4:3	2,048x1,536
Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display	7.9 inches	4:3	2,048x1,536
Microsoft Surface 2	10.6 inches	16:9	1,920x1,080
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9	9.1 inches	16:10	2,560x1,600
Asus Transformer Pad TF701	10.1 inches	16:10	2,560x1,600
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition	10.1 inches	16:10	2,560x1,600

The goal of Touch ID is to make unlocking your phone so easy that everyone enables proper security. Most iPhone 5S users will agree that it succeeds in that regard, so much so that many will find themselves trying to unlock the iPad Air by holding a finger on the Home button and waiting impatiently. That, of course, doesn’t work. We appreciate that most iPads rarely leave the home, so security is less of a concern, but the convenience of not having to type in your iTunes password with every app download is more than enough to leave you longing for Touch ID here. It is a frustrating omission, reminiscent of Siri’s initial iPhone 4S exclusivity. Future iPad generations will surely make this right, perhaps beginning with an iPad Pro. A7 power  When the fourth-generation iPad rolled out, it contained a custom version of the iPhone 5’s A6 processor called the A6X, offering far greater performance than the phone's version. For the new generation, Apple seemingly decided to leave X off, and so what we have here is the same dual-core, 64-bit A7 CPU found in the iPhone 5S. Disappointed? Don’t be. The iPad Air is ridiculously fast. Interestingly, it’s slightly faster even than the latest iPhone, which also has the same amount of RAM (1GB). Apple seemingly turned the wick up a bit here, with Geekbench indicating a processor speed of 1.39GHz, versus the 1.29GHz on the iPhone 5S. We coached the iPad Air through some of our favorite benchmarks, along with a fourth-gen iPad running the most recent version of iOS (7.0.3). The results were quite compelling. In Sunspider 1.0.1, the old iPad took 661ms on average to complete the tests, whereas the new Air blasted through in 402ms average. That’s a greater than 50 percent improvement in Web rendering speed. (The iPhone 5S scored 417ms.) Geekbench 2 was similarly improved, 1,797 vs. 2,382 (higher is better here), and on Geekbench 3 the gap widened, 1,429 vs. 2,688. In fact, the iPad Air’s single-core score of 1,475 is higher than the dual-core score of the fourth-generation iPad. In case you’re wondering, yes, the iPad Air does get quite warm when doing this sort of number crunching. The back of the tablet feels slightly cooler at full-tilt than its finger-toasting predecessor, but there’s still plenty of heat coming off the back, reinforcement that your slinky new tablet is, indeed, working hard. Of course, nobody cares about numbers if the experience doesn’t back that up, and it does -- though perhaps not to that same degree. Apps load noticeably faster, particularly big games, where you’ll be able to jump into and out of levels far more quickly. Additionally, we noticed slightly higher frame rates in some games, though that was far less prevalent. We’d anticipate this becoming a far more common thing once more titles become optimized for the 64-bit A7 CPU.

Device	Weight	Width	Height	Depth
Apple iPad Air	1 pound (Wi-Fi); 1.05 pounds (cellular)	6.6 inches	9.4 inches	0.29 inch
Apple iPad 4	1.44 pounds (Wi-Fi); 1.46 pounds (cellular)	7.3 inches	9.5 inches	0.37 inch
Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display	0.68 pound (Wi-Fi); 0.69 pound (cellular)	5.3 inches	7.9 inches	0.28 inch
Microsoft Surface 2	1.49 pounds	6.8 inches	10.8 inches	0.35 inch
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9	0.82 pounds	6.2 inches	9.1 inches	0.31 inch
Asus Transformer Pad TF701	1.29 pounds	7.1 inches	10.4 inches	0.35 inch
Samsung Galaxy 10.1 (2014)	1.19 pounds (Wi-Fi); 1.21 pounds (cellular)	6.7 inches	9.6 inches	0.31 inch

 

Web pages render more snappily, and overall responsiveness of the operating system is improved. The fourth-gen iPad remains a great performer, but the new Air takes that to a new level -- despite not suffering on battery life.

Battery life  As ever, Apple promises 10 hours of battery life on the iPad Air and, as usual, the tablet more than delivers. On the far-thicker, far-heavier fourth-generation iPad we managed just over 13 hours of battery life on our standard battery rundown test. This new iPad Air managed almost exactly the same, 13 hours and 10 minutes. We were able to use this tablet for a very long time off the charger, easily getting through a full day of heavy usage. More-casual users, who use their iPads for idle Web surfing or eBay browsing, will have no problem going for days and days between charges.

Device	Video battery life (in hours)
Apple iPad Air	13.2
Apple iPad 4th generation	13.1
Microsoft Surface 2	11.6
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014)	6

Camera  We’re still no fans of tablet photography and perhaps Apple agrees it isn’t an area worthy of focus, as the (already quite competent) 5-megapixel, rear-facing camera of the iPad Air hasn’t changed. The front-facing, 1.2-megapixel FaceTime HD camera has, however, seen an upgrade, and a noticeable one. Yes, that’s the same megapixel count as last year’s if you’re keeping score at home, but it’s a new sensor with backside illumination and bigger pixels. The result is far better low-light performance, which is important if you don’t want to look like you’re FaceTiming from a dungeon. Connectivity  With the iPad Air, Apple has stepped up to a dual-antenna configuration for Wi-Fi. Called MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output), it theoretically doubles the maximum throughput of data able to be transmitted to or from your tablet, up to 300Mbps with a compatible router. This is far from new (Amazon’s second-generation Kindle Fire offered the same last year), but its presence is certainly welcome here. However, the absence of 802.11ac is disappointing. Like the iPhone 5S, the latest iPad tops out at 802.11n. Given the lack of adoption elsewhere in Apple’s lineup, it’s not surprising to see ac missing here, and the relative lack of compatible routers and access points means there’s little demand for it now. However, those still using their Airs a few years down the road may find themselves wishing Apple had found room for it this time around. Those who pay $130 more than the Wi-Fi-only models will have full cellular connectivity built in, including a comprehensive swath of bands and frequencies. Whether you’re connecting over EDGE, HSPA+, CDMA, or LTE, the iPad Air has you covered. And, since there’s just one Air model worldwide, you can change from carrier to carrier on a whim and rest assured that, regardless of where you travel, you’ll be able to get connected. Assuming they have nano-SIMs available. Finally, all iPad Air models include Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, just like they did last year. This means you can quickly and easily connect everything from keyboards to speakers, and do so without killing your battery life. What's in the box?  As with the previous iPad, there’s not a lot inside the box -- other than the tablet itself, of course. In here you’ll find a USB-to-Lightning cable, a 12W power brick, plus a few pages of legal information and a couple of Apple decals. Get the cellular version, and you’ll also get a tool to open the SIM tray. Competition  The iPad Air has managed to launch in a window with relatively few 10-inch tablet launches, likely caused by others hoping to avoid comparison to Apple’s slate. The Surface 2 is the main exception, freshly released and starting at $449 for the 32GB model -- $50 less than the iPad Air. It, too, is a very high-quality tablet, but one that is thicker and heavier than the Air, despite offering a lower-resolution display and (slightly) lesser battery life. Those focused on productivity will likely want to give the Surface 2 a look, if only thanks to the suite of keyboard accessories that make it one of the most typist-friendly tablets on the market, but the limited app selection for Windows RT is still a major mark against.

Device	Starting price
Apple iPad Air	$499/16GB
Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display	$399/16GB
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9	$379/16GB (with ads)
Microsoft Surface 2	$449/32GB
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014)	$549/16GB
Google Nexus 10 (2012)	$399/16GB

On the Android side, there’s Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition. At $549 for 16GB, it comes in $50 higher than Apple’s latest, a delta offset by the inclusion of a stylus. This makes the Note 10.1 an interesting choice for creative types who want to doodle on the go. Last year’sNexus 10 is still an interesting alternative, with a great display and priced at $399 for 16GB. But, with lots of talk of a successor looming, we’re not sure it’s a particularly good time to invest in a new Nexus slate. Finally, there are the alternatives within Apple’s own stable. On the 10-inch side, Apple is keeping the old iPad 2. Yes, it’s getting a little long in the tooth, and at $399 for 16GB, it’s priced a little too high in our book. For that money we’d much prefer to get the upcoming $399 iPad Mini with Retina Display, which should be hitting stores in a few weeks. Indeed, that new 7.9-inch Retina Display, plus inclusion of the A7 processor, could make this the most compelling alternative to the iPad Air. Conclusion  If you found yourself tuning out the last few generations of iPad thanks to their extreme familiarity, it’s time to get yourself dialed back in. The iPad Air is worth getting excited about. Though it brings no new functionality to the table, and we can’t help being disappointed about the lack of Touch ID, the performance increase and solid battery life show that progress is still being made on the inside. It’s the new exterior design, however, that really impresses. The iPad Air is thinner than any tablet this size deserves to be, and lighter, too. The old iPad always felt surprisingly hefty. This one, compellingly lithe. However, there is one tablet that’s thinner and lighter still, yet holds the promise of great performance and build quality: the upcoming iPad Mini with Retina Display. At $100 cheaper, that slate could prove the stiffest competition the full-size iPad has yet seen. Time will tell on that front (the new Mini won’t ship for a few weeks), so we’ll withhold judgment for now. If you’re willing to consider a smaller tablet, hold off clicking “buy” for just a little while longer. If you’re looking for a full-size tablet and don’t mind paying a premium to get the best, this is it.

Google Nexus 7 (summer 2013) review

The best small tablet gets even better

The good: The Nexus 7’s razor-sharp full-HD screen, silky smooth performance, long battery life, meager weight, and affordable price make it the best tablet value on the market. The bad: The back is missing the soft grippy texture of the original, screen colors lack accuracy, and there's no microSD support. Android 4.3 has few useful interface improvements. The bottom line: Thanks to its stellar performance and affordable price, the Nexus 7 is the Android tablet to get. Pound for pound, the Nexus 7 is the best small tablet you can buy. It houses a ridiculously sharp, bright screen, its gaming performance is second only to the fourth-generation iPad, and as a Google-branded tablet it will always see the latest version of Android before any other tablet brand. Also, at $230 (for 16GB), it's still an affordable tablet with one of the highest values in the market, despite a $30 price hike over the previous generation. The $270 32GB Wi-Fi model and $350 4G LTE version are even better values, especially compared with similar configurations of the iPad Mini. Yes, it's not as cheap as some of the top small tablets from 2012, its screen isn't as big as the iPad Mini's, and Android 4.3 lacks a few useful UI features Samsung plugged into its Galaxy Tab 3. However, those are only nitpicks considering the Nexus 7's sharp-as-nails screen and blazingly fast performance. Despite its imperfections, it's the first small tablet I'd recommend and is the current best tablet value around.   Design At 0.64 pound, the Nexus 7 is the lightest tablet yet, and with a 4.5-inch width when held in portrait orientation, it's probably the easiest to fit in one hand. It's an extremely simple design, black in color, and it honestly lacks much in the way of panache. It's a harsher tablet compared with the original, and I miss the 2012 Nexus 7's soft, much more inviting feel. The smooth matte finish of the tablet's back isn't as comfortable or as grippy as the soft leathery back of the 2012 Nexus 7. Also, the new tablet's corners aren't as pleasantly rounded and the Micro-USB port on the bottom edge sticks out just enough to be distracting when held in landscape mode. The top and bottom bezels span about an inch in length each, and the side bezels are even more compressed than the original's; however, despite their more slender turn, errant screen taps don't appear to be a problem.

Tested spec	Google Nexus 7	Google Nexus 7 (2012)	Apple iPad Mini	Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (8-inch)	Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Weight in pounds	0.66	0.74	0.68	0.7	0.76
Width in inches (landscape)	7.8	7.8	7.9	8.2	8.2
Height in inches	4.5	4.7	5.3	4.8	5.3
Depth in inches	0.34	0.41	0.28	0.27	0.31
Side bezel width in inches (landscape)	1.0	0.8	0.81	0.75	0.7

  Along the right edge are an easy-to-find power/sleep button and volume rocker, and there's a headphone jack on the top edge. A front-facing camera sits on the top bezel toward the right corner, and the rear camera rests behind on the backside, nestled deep in the left corner. Also on the back are two sets of speaker grilles, one near the top and another on the bottom, next to the Micro-USB port. Software features The Nexus 7 ships with the very latest version of Android (4.3), and to be quite honest, the OS isn't much different from the previous incarnation (4.2.2). At least not obviously so. For a detailed look at the updated OS' features, check out our Android 4.3 review. The notable new features are Multi-User Restricted Profiles, OpenGL ES 3.0 support, and Bluetooth Smart. User profiles were introduced with Android 4.2, and the latest version allows you to add a kid-friendly profile that the primary profile controls. The restricted profile will only have access to apps deemed acceptable and will have no access to the Play store. It's an ideal solution for families wanting to share a single tablet; however, Google leaves the decision of implementing it up to the developer. OpenGL ES 3.0 improves polygonal graphics performance and allows the tablet to better handles effects like lens flares, shadows, and other shader effects. With Bluetooth Smart, the Nexus 7 can connect to a newer generation of Bluetooth devices as well as transmit metadata like song titles. The other 4.3 changes are minor or so deep into the back end that most people will never notice the difference. It's certainly not as satisfying a leap as 4.1 to 4.2 was, and we'll likely have to wait until Android 5.0 to get some really meaty and truly exciting software upgrades. Hardware features The 7-inch Nexus 7 houses a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro system on chip with a quad-core Krait CPU and a single-core Adreno 320 GPU. It has 2GB of RAM and includes support for 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4GHz and 5GHz) Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 (including Bluetooth Smart support), and a GPS. Additionally, a gyroscope, accelerometer, and a digital compass are included as well. The tablet supports SlimPort, which allows you to use the Micro-USB port as an HDMI port via a $30 adapter, but there is no physical HDMI port on the Nexus 7. NFC support returns, and we also get wireless charging, which according to Google will allow any Qi-compatible charger to fill the Nexus 7's battery. And that does indeed appear to be the case, as the Nokia Lumia DT-900 wireless charger worked without issue; however, the actual charging speed was painfully slow compared to a wired charge. Performance First things first, the Nexus 7's screen is incredibly sharp and text is particularly fine and easy to read. You may not fully appreciate its high pixel density immediately, but when looking at it next to almost any other tablet screen, the Nexus 7 clearly comes out on top. It's also one of the brightest tablet displays I've ever seen. Colors are more accurate and fuller compared with the 2012 Nexus 7 and the contrast ratio is noticeably higher. Viewing angles are wide and images appear to have a fuller, more corporeal integrity. However, despite its color improvements, the 2013 Nexus 7's screen doesn't represent color as accurately or vibrantly as the 8-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 3's, though the Tab 3's screen isn't as sharp. The Nexus 7's screen looks comparatively greenish when looking at pictures or movies of faces and sometimes pushes purple when lots of bright colors are in the mix. Most won't notice, but it definitely stands out with the two tablets side by side.

Tested spec	Google Nexus 7	Google Nexus 7 (2012)	Apple iPad Mini	Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0	Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Maximum brightness	570 cd/m2	288 cd/m2	399 cd/m2	395 cd/m2	458 cd/m2
Maximum black level	0.44 cd/m2	0.28 cd/m2	0.49 cd/m2	0.39 cd/m2	0.47 cd/m2
Maximum contrast ratio	1,295:1	1,028:1	814:1	1,012:1	974:1

  The screen responds immediately to touches and apps whiz by as fast as you can swipe them. Switching between different apps quickly and scrolling through Web pages is as smooth and zippy as I've ever seen on any tablet. However, the interface has its fair share of Android wonkiness; over the course of several hours I experienced a few hangs, an unresponsive screen, and a keyboard that simply didn't want to go away. These problems were easily fixed with a quick sleep mode and back induction, though. Wi-Fi speeds were consistently high with no spotty connection issues when within a reasonable distance from our internal network. The Nexus 7's battery lasted throughout the day while downloading apps, surfing the Web, and receiving plenty of notifications. In our official tests it lasted an impressive 11.5 hours; longer than any small Android tablet before it and right under the current small tablet battery champ, the iPad Mini. For details on the test methodology, check here.  

Tablet	Video battery life (in hours)
Google Nexus 7 (2013)	11.5
Apple iPad Mini	12.1
Google Nexus 7 (2012)	10.1

  A serious pusher of polygons Next to the fourth-generation iPad, the Nexus 7 is the fastest tablet I've seen at running polygonal games. Real Racing 3 and N.O.V.A. 3 looked particularly impressive with smooth frame rates and sharp graphics with minimal aliasing on edges; however, like on many other Android tablets, Real Racing 3 loses its rearview mirror feature on the Nexus 7.   Riptide GP2 is an incredibly impressive game with lots of customizable graphical effects options and even with its effects tuned to maximum, the Nexus 7 delivered smooth gameplay at more than 30 frames per second that many times looked to approach and hit a full 60fps. This easily and consistently bested the Nexus 10 in its presentation.

 

N.O.V.A. 3 Level 1 load time (in seconds)(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Apple iPad 4

11

iPad Mini

18

Google Nexus 10

29

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

31

Google Nexus 7 (Summer 2013)

32

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (8-inch)

32

Sony Xperia Tablet Z

38

Google Nexus 7

38

  The Nexus 7 blows away all previous small tablets in both 3DMark and GFXBench scores, but only matched the best small tablets in Nova 3 first level load speed.  

Device	CPU	GPU	RAM	OS tested
Google Nexus 7 (Summer 2013)	1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro	Adreno 320 (single-core)	2GB	Android 4.3
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (8-inch)	1.5GHz quad-core Exynos 4 Dual (4212)	Mali T400MP4 (quad-core)	1.5GB	Android 4.2.2
Google Nexus 7	1.2GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3	ULP GeFOrce (12-core)	1GB	Android 4.2.2
Apple iPad Mini	1GHz dual-core Apple A5	PowerVR SGX543MP2 (dual-core)	512MB	iOS 6.1.3
Sony Xperia Tablet Z	1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro	Andreno 320 (single-core)	2GB	Android 4.1.2
Google Nexus 10	1.7GHz Dual-core Samsung Exynos 5 Dual (5250)	Mali-T604 (quad-core)	2GB	Android 4.2.2
Apple iPad 4	1.4GHz dual-core Apple A6X	PowerVR SGX554MP4 (quad-core)	1GB	iOS 6.1.3

   

3DMark (Normal)(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Google Nexus 7 (Summer 2013)

11601

Sony Xperia Tablet Z

10204

Google Nexus 10

8055

Google Nexus 7

3545

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

3300

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (8-inch)

3104

Graphics Test 1, 720p (GPU)(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Google Nexus 7 (Summer 2013)

52.8

Sony Xperia Tablet Z

44.7

Google Nexus 10

36.9

Google Nexus 7

12.1

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

8.7

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (8-inch)

8.6

Graphics Test 2, 720p (GPU)(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Google Nexus 7 (Summer 2013)

49.5

Sony Xperia Tablet Z

43.4

Google Nexus 10

32.9

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (8-inch)

20.3

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

19.1

Google Nexus 7

15.5

Physics Test, 720p (CPU)(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Google Nexus 7 (Summer 2013)

35.2

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

34.2

Sony Xperia Tablet Z

33.2

Google Nexus 10

26.2

Google Nexus 7

21.4

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (8-inch)

16.4

   

GFXBench tests(Longer bars indicate better performance)

GFXBench (1080p, T-Rex HD, C24Z16)

GFXBench (native resolution, T-Rex HD, C24Z16)

Apple iPad 4

17

12

Google Nexus 7 (Summer 2013)

16

15

Google Nexus 10

13

8

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

5

6

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (8-inch)

4

6

iPad Mini

3

7

Google Nexus 7

3

5

  Oh, tablet cameras. Will you ever provide any real value? The Nexus 7 continues the tablet trend of placing mediocre shooters on their bodies. Both the 1.2-megapixel front camera and 5-megapixel back camera make faces look greenish and sickly in pics, and while each picks up a bit more fine detail than most tablet cameras, shadows look dithered and blurry. The dual speakers are above average quality for a tablet, but don't get as loud or sound as full as the 2012 Kindle Fire HD's, which are still the best tablet speakers in the market. They're not bad by any means, but they will do nothing to change your perspective on tablet speakers. I used 'The Avengers' from the Play store to test the surrounds sound. The effect is convincing, but to be honest, prefer using earbuds when watching movies and TV shows on tablets. Yet, there are still alternatives As good as the Nexus 7 is, it may not be for everyone as different users have varied tablet needs.  

 

The 2012 version of the Nexus 7 is still a great tablet supported by the latest version of Android and starts now at $150 (at Walmart). The Nook HD is $130 (though it's being phased out), and the 2012 Kindle Fire HD, which features better speakers despite Google touting the Nexus 7's surround sound setup, is the best choice for Amazon Prime users and still starts at $30 less. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 has a more comfortable design, it's screen handles colors more accurately and vibrantly, it includes storage expansion, and some of its UI interface conveniences surpass even what Google's been able to implement so far. However, the Tab 3 will cost you $70 more at starting prices. The new Nexus 7 trumps the iPad Mini's screen in every way aside from size and has faster gaming performance, but the Mini still has access to many more apps and most major game releases debut on iOS first, although simultaneous releases are becoming more common. Conclusion The Nexus 7 (2013) easily supplants the original model as the small tablet of choice. It may not be quite as comfortable to hold, but its heavily increased performance, razor-sharp screen, additional features, and all that Android 4.3 brings in tow more than make up for a harder, less grippy back. At $230, it's more expensive than the top 7-inch tablets from 2012, but it's also much better-performing. In addition, it's cheaper than both the 8-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 and the iPad Mini and yes, performs better than either, despite the former's better handling of onscreen colors. While it doesn't obliterate the competition, the Nexus 7 has enough improvements to earn the small-tablet crown and is the next best choice to the full-size iPad.

Microsoft Surface Pro 2 review

Better battery and performance, same thick body

  The good: The Microsoft Surface Pro 2 is a faster, longer-battery-life version of the original model, upgraded with a current-gen Haswell processor. The keyboard cover is also improved with backlit keys, and is among the best tablet accessories ever devised. The bad: The Surface Pro 2 remains stubbornly thick and heavy compared with some sleeker competitors. The base 64GB version may leave you starved for storage, and the keyboard cover, practically required, should be included instead of sold separately. The bottom line: Microsoft's subtly updated Windows 8.1 tablet feels more like Surface Pro 1.5 -- improved battery life and better accessories make it a worthwhile (albeit pricey) laptop replacement, but it's still not an iPad-level category killer.   Just in time for Microsoft's Windows 8.1 operating system update, the company's flagship Surface tablet line is also getting a makeover. Or in the case of the $899 Surface Pro 2, it's more of a makeunder -- there's no flashy physical redesign, as with the thinner, lighter, higher-res Surface 2 (the updated Windows RT version that starts at $449). Of course, you're probably here because the Surface 2, despite its myriad improvements, isn't a "real PC." Unlike that model's compromised Windows RT operating system, the Surface Pro 2 reviewed here runs the real-deal Windows 8.1, which includes full backwards compatibility with older Windows programs, not just the ones available in the Windows Store. In addition to having the operating system edge on its non-Pro sibling, the Surface Pro 2 also packs some internal improvements compared to the first-generation Surface Pro. A new Intel fourth-generation Core i5 processor -- along with some internal system tweaking by Microsoft -- has delivered notably improved battery life. The Pro 2 lasted nearly 7 hours in our admittedly tough battery test, versus just 4.5 on the original. Still not MacBook Air territory, but it's a worthwhile leap. Sweetening the deal is the Surface's ingenious detachable keyboard cover (available in flat Touch and real-key Type versions, both now with a handy backlight), which remains miles ahead of anything else available for slate computing. But a keyboard cover isn't included in the purchase price, even though it's frankly crazy to buy a Surface without one. That $120-$130 add-on makes the Surface Pro 2's $899 starting price feel illusory. Further, that $899 is only for a 64GB solid-state drive (SSD) version, less storage than you'll find in most similarly priced ultrabooks. For a more reasonable 128GB SSD version, it's $999, and when you add in a Type Cover, you're looking at an investment of over $1,100 just to get started with the Surface Pro 2. The Surface Pro 2 is also entering a crowded market of Windows 8.1 PCs in all shapes and sizes that are either out now or coming soon. Among the closest competitor is Sony's comparably priced Sony Vaio Tap 11, which outshines the Surface Pro 2 in many ways -- it's thinner and lighter, despite having a slightly larger screen, and its included keyboard cover has a more traditional keyboard layout and a larger touch pad (that said, I like the magnetic clasp and wide kickstand of the Surface Pro 2 better). In comparison, the still-chunky Surface Pro 2 is left feeling more like a Surface Pro 1.5, at least in terms of design. And yet, that may not be such a bad thing for Microsoft. The Surface Pro was intended from the beginning to show the way for PC makers to design and build better tablets, and it looks like that's actually starting to happen.

 

	Microsoft Surface Pro 2	MacBook Air 11-inch (June 2013)	Sony Vaio Tap 11
Price	$899	$999	$1,100
Display size/resolution	10.6-inch, 1,920x1,080 touch screen	11.6-inch, 1,766x768 screen	11.1-inch, 1,920x1,080 touch screen
PC CPU	1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U	1.3GHz Intel Core i5-4250U	1.5GHz Intel Core i5-4210Y
PC memory	4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz	4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz	4GBDDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz
Graphics	1,792MB Intel HD 4400	1,024MB Intel HD Graphics 5000	1,739MB Intel HD Graphics 4200
Storage	64GB SSD hard drive	128GB SSD hard drive	128GB SSD hard drive
Optical drive	None	None	None
Networking	802.11b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0	802.11a/c wireless, Bluetooth 4.0	802.11b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
Operating system	Windows 8.1 (64-bit)	OSX Mountain Lion 10.8.4	Windows 8 (64-bit)

  Design and features The body of the Surface Pro 2 looks and feels almost exactly like the original version, and its measurements are the same. The body does have a couple of subtle changes, however. The logo branding on the back panel is different, reading "Surface" rather than "Microsoft," and the built-in kickstand now adjusts to two different angles, making the screen easier to see from different positions. The original one-size-fits-all kickstand made the screen hard to see and interact with unless you happened to be sitting at precisely the optimal angle. At the same time as the Surface Pro 2, Microsoft is introducing another new product, theSurface 2. This is the updated Windows RT version of the original Microsoft Surface, and it features a slightly slimmer body, an updated Nvidia processor, and a higher-resolution screen than the original RT version of the Surface. The Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 share the same screen now, and it's been color-tuned for greater accuracy. While the Surface Pro 2 still comes in a slatelike "dark titanium" color, the Windows RT Surface 2 is now a lighter, silver color called magnesium. Overall, while I think the Surface Pro 2 is the more useful product, I wish it had gotten the same design love as the RT version.   The best part of the original Surface line was its optional snap-on keyboards, and both have been updated. The Touch Cover has flat keys that work, but they offer less tactile feedback than serious typists need, while the Type Cover has island-style keys that are shallow, but still very usable. The $119.99 Touch Cover 2 is about one-third thinner than the original version, but at the same time, more rigid for easier typing. The old system of one sensor under each key has been replaced with a full array of sensors, allowing partial keystrokes to be counted more easily and accurately, and supporting a handful of gestures.   The $129.99 Type Cover 2, with its full separate-key keyboard, is thinner as well, and remains one of the things people like best about the Surface. Its magnetic connection is powerful enough that you don't have to worry about it coming loose, and, while the closely packed keys take a little getting used to, it's comfortable and accurate for long-form typing. The touch pad is small, but responsive -- and you're clearly meant to use the touch screen for much of your navigation. Microsoft has also shown off a second kind of Type Cover that includes an integrated battery. Only slightly thicker than the standard Type Cover, this would allow the systems to run even longer by combining the internal battery and the secondary keyboard battery, an idea already used in a handful of Windows 8 laptop-tablet hybrids. A $59 Bluetooth adapter for the keyboard covers (yes, it's an accessory for an accessory) will snap onto the top of the keyboard and allow you to use it remotely as a Bluetooth keyboard. In the not-sold-separately department, as with the original Surface Pro, you also get an active-stylus Surface Pen that magnetically attaches to the power connector for transport. Again, both the Touch Cover 2 and Type Cover 2 are backlit. Especially for a system intended for frequent travel, as a tablet is presumed to be, a backlit keyboard is practically required, as you can easily end up in a dimly lit coffee shop, airplane, or meeting room. The only real regret here is that the keyboard covers are not included with the $899-and-up Surface Pro 2, and remain an expensive add-on. By way of comparison, the keyboard cover included with the Sony Vaio Tap 11 doesn't attach via a magnetic hinge; instead its wireless connection allows you to move it anywhere nearby. It's certainly more flexible, but also lacks the more laptoplike feel of the Surface Pro's kickstand-plus-keyboard setup. The Vaio version has keys that are slightly smaller, set up island-style, with empty space between each key. The latter much more closely resembles current laptop keyboards, and feels marginally better to type on. However, it's thin, and in the lap it flexes a good deal even under moderate typing. The Surface Pro 2 has a 10.6-inch display with a native resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels, which is what we'd expect from a laptop or tablet in this price range. That's a major point of differentiation from lower-cost Intel Atom tablets, which usually have lower 1,366x768-pixel-resolution screens. Microsoft says the Surface Pro 2 has an "optically bonded ClearType Full HD display," and an ambient light sensor can adjust the screen brightness automatically. Compared with the very similar Sony Vaio Tap 11, the Surface Pro 2's screen was brighter and crisper, with excellent off-axis viewing angles. Audio is decent for such a small system, but the small physical size of the chassis restricts how much air a speaker can actually move. For Skype or other camera usage, both the front and rear cameras are 720p, and take advantage of the improvements to the default Windows camera app in the recent Windows 8.1. Connections, performance, and battery With a body as thick as an ultrabook, one might reasonably expect more ports and connections from the Surface Pro 2. The single USB 3.0 port feels skimpy, and it's accompanied by Mini DisplayPort and a microSD card slot, which means you'll likely need adapters to use those. However, there is a silver lining. A dedicated Surface Pro dock was sorely missing from the original Surface launch. Now, making the Surface 2 more viable for business use, Microsoft is adding a docking station. This $199.99 add-on sits under the Surface Pro 2 and includes USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports, an Ethernet jack, a Mini DisplayPort connection, and audio in/out jacks.  

	Microsoft Surface Pro 2
Video	Mini DisplayPort
Audio	Stereo speakers, combo headphone/microphone jack
Data	1 USB 3.0, microSD card reader
Networking	802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Optical drive	None

  The Surface Pro 2 starts (as the original Pro did) at $899, but the RAM can be upgraded from 4GB to 8GB, and the internal storage can be upgraded up to a 512GB solid-state drive (SSD), with a full 8GB/512GB configuration costing $1,799. Our review system was the base $899 model. The Surface Pro 2 slightly outperformed the previous version in most of our benchmark tests, and was faster than the Sony Vaio Tap 11, which uses an even lower-power Core i5 Y-series chip, as opposed to the U-series in the Surface Pro. With its almost-laptop feel, thanks to the kickstand and keyboard cover, the robust Surface Pro 2 feels like you can throw any mainstream workload at it, from Photoshop to HD video playback to office tasks, and have it feel just as zippy as the bigger laptop probably sitting on your desk right now. The main barrier to all-day productivity is probably going to be the smaller screen size.

The biggest difference between the original Surface Pro and the Surface Pro 2 is the latter's upgrade to Intel's fourth-generation Core i-series CPUs, sometimes known by the code name Haswell. These new chips offer only modest boosts to system performance, but are important because they offer serious battery life improvement. Microsoft has further said that its own internal optimizations also contribute to better battery life. However credit should be assigned, the results were pleasing, with the Surface Pro 2 running for 6 hours and 55 minutes in our video playback battery drain test. The original Surface Pro ran for only about 4 hours and 30 minutes in the same test, and its middling battery life was one of the main knocks against it.  

Multimedia multitasking test (in seconds)(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

MacBook Air 11-inch (June 2013)

212

Microsoft Surface Pro 2

441

Microsoft Surface Pro

458

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11

627

Sony Vaio Tap 11

686

   

Adobe Photoshop CS5 image-processing test (in seconds)(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Microsoft Surface Pro

265

Microsoft Surface Pro 2

275

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11

314

Sony Vaio Tap 11

327

MacBook Air 11-inch (June 2013)

330

   

Apple iTunes encoding test (in seconds)(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

MacBook Air 11-inch (June 2013)

82

Microsoft Surface Pro 2

119

Microsoft Surface Pro

124

Sony Vaio Tap 11

165

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11

166

   

HandBrake MMT (in seconds)(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Microsoft Surface Pro 2

475

MacBook Air 11-inch (June 2013)

534

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11

741

Sony Vaio Tap 11

982

   

Video playback battery drain test (in minutes)(Longer bars indicate better performance)

MacBook Air 11-inch (June 2013)

637

Microsoft Surface Pro 2

415

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11

311

Sony Vaio Tap 11

309

Microsoft Surface Pro

271

Conclusion The Surface Pro 2 feels like a modestly improved sequel to what we had seen before, rather than a true 2.0 version of Microsoft's flagship tablet. Anyone shopping for a new Windows 8 system right now should rightly demand Intel's fourth-gen CPUs, available since June, if only for the increased battery life and power efficiency. The Pro 2 gives you that, and the new second angle on the kickstand does make it more convenient to use in your lap. The biggest disappointment is that it's still got that first-gen hardware look, while Sony has managed to shave its competing Tap 11 system down to a thinner, lighter package. With no major new features or design changes, the Surface Pro 2 still relies heavily on its accessories to stand out as the market leader. But, with only a few new slate-style Core i5 tablets coming out (most competing models are hybrids that spend much of their time in clamshell-laptop mode), Microsoft's Surface Pro 2 manages to maintain a strong position in its small corner of the market.

 

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, June 2013) review

A familiar MacBook Air, with an all-day battery

The good: New Intel fourth-gen CPUs help the updated MacBook Air achieve amazing battery life. The multitouch trackpad is still the industry's best, and even better, the 13-inch MacBook Air now starts at $100 less than the previous model. The bad: Newer features such as touch screens and higher-resolution displays are still missing. The ultrabook competition is catching up, in terms of design. The bottom line: Apple keeps the latest MacBook Air updates on the inside, but greatly improved battery life and a lower starting price make up for a lack of flashy design changes.   It may be a case of "the more things change, the more they stay the same." The new 2013 versions of both the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air look very familiar indeed, as these slim systems have hardly changed at all physically over the past few generations. The Air was the only Apple laptop line to get a June 2013 update at Apple's WWDC conference. At first glance, it looks like a relatively minor set of changes, with the primary selling point being a move to Intel's new fourth-generation Core i-series CPUs, also known by the code name Haswell. There is, however, one very important difference in the new models, and one that's especially noteworthy if you spend a lot of time on the road and away from your power adapter. We've previously tested Haswell chips in a few laptops and been impressed by both the performance and battery life gains (to be realistic, the latter is much more important for consumers). If you add Haswell to Apple's already-stellar battery life reputation, you get a system, in the 13-inch Air, that Apple claims will run for up to 12 hours, and in our tests (spoiler alert) ran even longer.   Having a Haswell-generation CPU also gives you Intel's improved HD5000 graphics, which promises improved game performance over last year's HD4000 graphics (itself an improvement over the preceding HD3000, and so on). It's still not anything like having a discrete GPU, as in the 15-inch Retina Pro, but with game services such as Steam and EA's Origin now being Mac-compatible, it may make some small inroads for OS X gaming. Also new is 802.11ac Wi-Fi, a new standard that will eventually be found in wireless routers, as well as Apple's new AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule hardware. If you have an 802.11n router, which is a much more likely scenario, this may not help you, but it's a nice piece of future-proofing. Apple also says the solid-state-drive storage included in the Air laptops is now faster, although I think bumping the base $999 11-inch model up to a full 128GB of SSD storage (from the paltry 64GB previously sold at that same price) is a much more important development. It's easy to say that this new version of the 13-inch MacBook Air is a modest step forward, with no physical changes to the exterior, and still no higher-res display, touch screen, or HDMI port. The battery life is a very big deal, however, and when you couple that with a $100 price cut on the base model, down to $1,099, the 13-inch MacBook Air is, despite not being the newest design on the block, still one of the most universally useful laptops you can buy.  

	MacBook Air 13-inch (June 2013)	MacBook Air 11-inch (June 2013)	Sony Vaio Pro 13
Price	$1,099	$999	$1,249
Display size/resolution	13.3-inch, 1,440x900 screen	11.6-inch, 1,766x768 screen	13.3-inch, 1,920x1,080 touch screen
PC CPU	1.3GHz Intel Core i5-4250U	1.3GHz Intel Core i5-4250U	1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U
PC Memory	4,096MB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz	4,096MB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz	4,096MB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz
Graphics	1,024MB Intel HD Graphics 5000	1,024MB Intel HD Graphics 5000	1,659MB Intel HD Graphics 4400
Storage	128GB SSD	128GB SSD	128GB SSD
Optical drive	None	None	None
Networking	802.11a/c wireless, Bluetooth 4.0	802.11a/c wireless, Bluetooth 4.0	802.11b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
Operating system	OSX Mountain Lion 10.8.4	OSX Mountain Lion 10.8.4	Windows 8 (64-bit)

  Design and features  The MacBook Air keeps the same external look as the previous couple of generations, a look that still rivals the newest ultrabooks, although some new systems, such as Sony's Vaio Pro line, are getting thinner and lighter without sacrificing much in the way of productivity. Both the 11-inch and 13-inch versions of the MacBook Air still have the same thickness, ranging from 0.11-inch to 0.68-inch. Spread over the larger footprint of the 13-inch chassis, the 13-inch version still feels satisfyingly thin. As with the previous version, the rigid aluminum construction makes the Air feel sturdy enough to just throw it in a bag and carry along with you without a protective case or sleeve, and it's interesting to contrast the aluminum unibody construction here with the lighter carbon fiber in the aforementioned Vaio Pro. I'd still trust the Air and its unyielding lid more in a throw-in-your-luggage field test. The backlit keyboard and trackpad are the same as on the previous models, and the trackpad especially remains the standard by which all others are judged. Many other laptop makers have moved to larger clickpad-style touch pads, but we have yet to find a touch pad that comes close to this for multitouch gestures. The pad is again hinged at the top, allowing the entire pad to click down, and we strongly suggest going into the Preferences menu and turning on all of the tapping options for further ease of use. It will be interesting to see how Apple's user interfaces develop in the face of both Windows 8, which tries (not terribly successfully) to reinvent the entire concept of working with a computer OS, and the upcoming OS X Mavericks update. For now, flicking around with three-and-four-finger gestures on the MacBook trackpad remains the most seamless way to swap between windows and applications, at least in my experience. Unlike on the 11-inch MacBook Air, the 13-inch screen is still not a 16:9 display. The screen area also lacks the edge-to-edge glass over a black bezel found in the MacBook Pro; instead the screen is, as in previous years, surrounded by a thick silver bezel. On the positive side, the native resolution of the display is 1,440x900 pixels, which is better than the 1,366x768 you find in many 13-inch laptops, although even midpriced models are quickly switching over to 1,600x900 or even 1,920x1,080. Of course the Retina Pro models, along with a handful of laptops from Toshiba, HP, and Dell, are experimenting with even-higher-than-HD resolutions. While the Air screen isn't flat matte, it's also not terribly reflective, which is a step up from the "mirror image" effect you get on some laptop screens.  

	Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, June 2013)
Video	DisplayPort/Thunderbolt
Audio	Stereo speakers, headphone jack
Data	2 USB 3.0, SD card reader
Networking	802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Optical drive	None

  Connections, performance, and battery The ports and connections remain unchanged on this version of the MacBook Air. That gives you two USB 3.0 ports and a Thunderbolt port to play with, with the latter used for both external accessory and video connectivity. The faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi will play nice with Apple's own upcoming new AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule hardware, but I suspect you're still working off an 802.11n router. There's more on what 802.11ac means for you here. The base configuration for the 13-inch Air now costs $1,099, versus $1,199 previously. Most of the system is unchanged, with the main difference being the new Haswell-generation Intel processor and platform. Interestingly, last year's base model CPU was a 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, while the newer Haswell version is a 1.3GHz Intel Core i5-4250U. The step-up $1,299 configuration keeps the same CPU as the $1,099 one, but doubles the SSD to 256GB. The actual difference in our test results between the 2012 and 2013 models was minor. Year-over-year application performance doesn't show any real improvement, and the new Air actually ran some tests a hair slower. As a longtime MacBook Air user, in everyday use -- Web surfing, social media, HD video playback -- the 2013 MacBook Air didn't feel any different than the previous version. Any of the past few generations is more than powerful enough for mainstream users. What is decidedly different, however, is the integrated HD 5000 graphics from Intel, a step above the HD 4000 in the previous Air. In our older Call of Duty 4 test (one of the few standard gaming benchmarks for OS X), at the native 1,440x900-pixel resolution, the game ran at 39.0 frames per second on the 2013 Air and 21.9 frames per second on the 2012 Air. Neither is a gaming machine (and you'll have to move all the way up to the 15-inch Retina Proto get a discrete Nvidia GPU), but our anecdotal gameplay tests in Portal 2 show that the Air can handle mainstream games that lean a bit more on the casual side. Battery life is where the new MacBook Air (both the 11-inch and 13-inch versions) really stands out. The previous-generation 13-inch Air ran for 7 hours and 27 minutes in our video playback battery drain test. The 2013 version blows that out of the water, with an astonishing 14 hours and 25 minutes on the same test. That's better than Apple's estimate of 12 hours, and one of the only times our tests have indicated longer battery life than a manufacturer's claims. Now, before we get too excited, there are a few caveats for that number. Much of the credit must got to Intel's fourth-generation Core i-series platform, which was pitched as being incredibly power-efficient. Our early tests confirm this, with the new 13-inch Sony Vaio Pro 13 running for nearly 9 hours. And, while this is a much better score than last year's Air, the CPU itself runs at a lower clock speed, and the new Intel chips are especially optimized for video playback, which is the heart of our battery test. Using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth heavily or playing 3D games would cause that number to drop. But even keeping those factors in mind, Apple's typically stellar battery achievements and Intel's new Haswell chips have combined to make this a truly all-day laptop. Conclusion  For a laptop that looks and feels so identical to last year's model (and frankly, the prior year's as well), there's actually a lot going on behind the scenes in the new 13-inch MacBook Air. The overly familiar design and lack of trendy new features (touch screens, higher-res displays, NFC) can make it hard to get particularly excited about the 2013 Air, especially considering the basic application performance is so similar to the 2012 version. The updated Intel GPU is welcome, even with the still-sparse OS X gaming environment, and the lower starting price helps, too, making this just a couple of steps above an impulse purchase, at least as far as laptops are concerned.

But if all that adds up to a modest step forward, the amazing battery life, which Apple and Intel must share credit for (with the scale tilting towardsthe Intel side), makes this feel like a brand-new era for the MacBook. Even if our 14-hour video playback battery life run is cut by a third or more in rigorous real-world conditions, you've still got a true all-day, always-on computer. Couple that with OS X and the best-in-show trackpad and gestures, and I'd be hard-pressed to think of a single competitor that comes close to the ubiquitous usefulness of this system.