DJI announces stabilized HERO mount, and camera-equipped Phantom quadcopter

Well, that didn’t take long. Just this January, DJI Innovations released its GPS-enabled Phantom quadcopter. Now, at this week’s National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas, the company has unveiled a self-stabilizing camera mount that can be added to existing Phantoms, plus an upgraded Phantom that includes its own HD video camera. Additionally, DJI’s new iOS app allows users to view onboard video output in real time on their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch via Wi-Fi.
One of the big selling features of the Phantom has been its included mount for the GoPro HERO actioncam. Unfortunately, as I discovered when doing my review of the Phantom, the existing mount allows vibrations to travel from the aircraft into the camera, creating jiggly video distortion known as the Jell-O effect. Both new products are said to eliminate that problem.

A Phantom with its own camera

The new version of the quadcopter, the Phantom Vision, is actually the same Phantom we already know, but with the addition of a 1080p video camera which can also capture 14-megapixel stills. It’s mounted on the underside of the aircraft, right where the user-supplied GoPro would ordinarily go.
Its mounting system consists of one plate that’s attached to the quadcopter and another that’s attached to the camera – the only thing connecting those two plates are four rubber dampers (one at each corner), which reportedly allow few if any vibrations to get through. Similar third-party mounts for GoPros are already available on eBay.
Using an iDevice running the DJI app, users can view the output from that camera, control the camera functions, and tilt it up and down via an integrated motor. There’s currently no word on recording formats or media, although one would assume that an SD card is involved.

A self-stabilizing GoPro mount

Users who wish to use their own camera, but don’t want the shot tipping sideways as the Phantom banks into turns, might be interested in DJI’s Zenmuse HERO mount.

The Zenmuse utilizes the same damping system as the Vision, but it also incorporates a two-axis motorized gimbal. Using algorithms running on a bult-in control module, that gimbal automatically moves the camera in order to compensate for the pitch and yaw of the quadcopter. As a result, the shot maintains a consistent, straight horizon at all times.
Using the control module and the iOS app, users can view the output from their HERO, tilt it, and start and stop recording. Given the Phantom’s 300-meter (984-foot) radio frequency range, presumably it’s possible to fly the quadcopter out of range of the Wi-Fi-based app – the camera would still keep recording, although users would no longer be able to see its picture in real time.

Availability

Both the Phantom Vision and the Zenmuse HERO should be available by the end of the second quarter of this year. Pricing has yet to be announced, although a DJI rep informs us that the Vision should come in at under US$1,000. Given that the current Phantom costs $679, and GoPro-like cameras run around $200 to $300, that sounds reasonable.
Footage shot using the Zenmuse HERO at the NAB show can be seen in the video below

Source: gizmag

Terrafugia Transition flying car makes first public flights

 

There was a ray of hope recently for those who are looking forward to a car that’s a bit more Blade Runnery as Terrafugia's Transition flying car made its first public flights at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. There, the Terrafugia team conducted two 20-minute flight demonstrations and also showed off the capability for the Transition's wings to be folded up so it can be driven about like a car.

Classed as a light sports plane by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Transition is also a road-legal vehicle. Technically, it isn’t a flying car so much as a roadable airplane capable of carrying a pilot/driver and one passenger. The company sees it as a way for private pilots to cover that “last mile” between a small airport and their destination without using a taxi of hauling along a motor scooter.

It’s been under development for seven years, including flight testing last year, but underwent a number of modifications this year in an effort to improve handling.

In a statement, the company said, "Terrafugia made a dream come true at this year's EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. The Transition performed its first public demonstrations for the aviation community during the show. Flown and driven by Phil Meteer, our Chief Test Pilot and Flight Test Coordinator, the Transition showed the crowd what it's capable of on Monday (July 29) afternoon and Wednesday (July 31) evening. The 20-minute demonstrations included flight maneuvers over show center, converting from airplane to car, and driving along the flight line."

The TerraFugia Transition is currently priced at US$279,000 but no delivery date has been announced.

The video below shows the Terrafugia Transition’s first public flights.

Source: gizmag

LG G2 vs. Motorola Moto X

 

Right before the holidays, it seems like there's a major new smartphone or tablet announced every other day. We aren't quite there yet this year, but we must be getting close. LG's G2 and Motorola's Moto X, both announced in the last couple of weeks, are significant Android phones that show their significance in very different ways. Let's compare their specs and features, and see if we can help you find which is better for you.

Size

Yep, the G2 is the much bigger phone. It's eight percent taller and nine percent wider. The stout Moto X, however, is 17 percent thicker.

Build

Unless you worship at the altar of thinness, though, the Moto X's size shouldn't give you anything to worry about. It has a curved back, which we found made it extremely comfortable in hand.

One of the most intriguing Moto X features is its Moto Maker website, which lets you customize its color, texture, accent colors, and a few other things before buying. Unfortunately, though, this feature is an AT&T exclusive at launch, putting an annoying limit on one of the phone's most eye-catching features.

According to LG, the G2's killer feature is its rear-facing buttons. They might want to sit down with their marketing team, because we have a feeling button placement isn't going to sell many phones. Especially when the verdict is still out on whether back-facing buttons are really any better than the traditional side buttons.

Weight

As the bigger phone, it's little surprise that the G2 is ten percent heavier than the Moto X.

Display

If a bigger, sharper screen is all you're looking for, then the LG G2 wins this round without question. The Moto X only gives you 82 percent as much display real estate as the G2. It also only gives you 44 percent as many pixels.

But that doesn't mean that the Moto X's screen won't hit a sweet spot for a lot of people. Do you care about the difference between "really sharp" and "extremely sharp?" Or the difference between "expansive" and "enormous?" Because that's basically what we're comparing here.

Keep in mind that both phones have a persistent onscreen navigation bar (home, back, etc.) so apps won't be using the full screen with either phone.

Processor

The G2 wins this round too, with what will likely be the fastest mobile processor of the year in Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800. But again, we're comparing "faster than what most people need" with "much faster than what most people need." Both phones are zippy, so unless you're obsessed with winning benchmark showdowns, we'd recommend prioritizing other features and categories.

RAM

Here's a place where all is even: both phones pack 2 GB of RAM.

Storage

Both phones are available in 16 GB and 32 GB flavors, though not all carriers will be stocking the 32 GB edition of the Moto X. We aren't yet sure how the different models of the G2 will be distributed.

Battery

The G2's battery holds more juice, but remember that it's also powering a display with 125 percent more pixels. For what it's worth, Motorola advertises up to 24 hours with mixed use, while LG is touting a full day for work or play.

Wireless

No shock here, as both phones max out on speedy LTE networks. The G2 does support the fastest LTE, LTE Advanced, but odds are extremely low that you have access to that. By the time the end of a two-year contract expires, though, those odds will be a little higher.

Cameras

The G2's camera wins on pixel count, and it could very well be the superior camera. Its Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), if it works as advertised, is also a huge bonus.

But the Moto X's solid camera has one very marketable trick up its sleeve: twist your wrist twice to activate it from anywhere, including while the phone is asleep. We suspect it's the kind of user-friendly feature that smartphone shoppers will gravitate towards.

Hands-free voice

The Moto X's killer feature is a bit, shall we say, sexier than rear-facing buttons. Its Touchless Controls let you activate Google Now without even touching your phone. Say "OK Google Now" and do something like compose a text message, set a calendar meeting, or search the web.

NFC

We don't imagine many people buy a smartphone based on whether it has an NFC chip, but if this plays a part in your decision, both phones fit that bill.

Infrared

If you want to use your phone as a remote control for your TV, the G2 can rise to the occasion with its IR blaster.

Software

Both phones run Android 4.2, but the G2 has LG's skin on top. The Moto X runs stock Android, apart from a new camera app, and a few cool features like Active Display (which subtly pulses notifications without having to turn your screen on).

Is LG approaching Samsung territory with the list of (possibly gimmicky) features it threw into the G2's software? There's a new multitasking mode that lets you run a few select apps in hovering windows, there are restricted profiles for kiddies, and there's a feature called KnockOn, which lets you power your phone on or off by rapping twice on the screen. Some of these could be useful, but others could be bloat that go unused for most users, much like Samsung's Galaxy S4 software.

Wrap-up

Here we have two very different approaches to getting customers' attention. LG seems to have borrowed Samsung's playbook, mixing the highest-end specs with software features that might be a little desperate to be branded as "innovative."

The Moto X, meanwhile, offers some features that could be truly game-changing for geeks and their parents alike. Touchless Controls alone are unprecedented. Active Display and the camera activation gesture make up a package of some of the most user-friendly features we've seen on a phone. If you're on AT&T – or can wait until that annoying exclusive deal expires – the Moto Maker customizations could also be a huge draw. Taken as a whole, it's the kind of feature set that you might expect the iPhone to have by now, were Steve Jobs still around.

That doesn't mean that the G2 won't make a lot of people happy. We haven't yet put it through its paces, and we're pretty psyched to get our hands on that big, gorgeous display, put that Snapdragon 800 processor through its paces, and see if its OIS really does eliminate camera shake.

In the meantime, you can peruse our Moto X review to see if it tickles your fancy.

Source: gizmag

LG G2 vs. Samsung Galaxy S4

 

The high-end of the smartphone market isn't an easy fortress to penetrate. LG has made some solid phones over the years, including the fraternal twins known as the Nexus 4 and Optimus G. But the company isn't usually mentioned in the same breath as Samsung or Apple. Will any amount of hardware or software features be able to change that? Let's try to find out, as we compare the new LG G2 to the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Size

The G2 is the bigger phone, but LG managed to squeeze a larger screen onto a surface that's only slightly bigger. It's only one percent taller and wider than the GS4, making the difference basically null and void. The G2 is, however, 13 percent thicker.

Weight

The G2 is also ten percent heavier than Samsung's flagship.

Build

LG ditched the glass from last year's Optimus G for Samsung's favorite, plastic. But the real story here is the G2's button placement. The only physical buttons on the phone sit on the back, just below the camera. It's easy to snicker at LG's marketing this as an innovative breakthrough in smartphone design, but it is a move that could potentially be handy in real-world use.

Display

What we're much more interested in, though, is the G2's display. Moving the buttons from the sides to the back helped LG to trim the bezels down to a minimum. We aren't quite swallowing LG's "edge-to-edge display" description here, but it is the closest thing to that we've seen so far.

Both phones have 1080p resolution, which will be razor sharp on either display, though the GS4's is technically a bit denser.

Interested in just how much bigger the G2's display is? Well, the Galaxy S4 gives you 92 percent as much screen area. Just don't forget that, unlike the GS4, the G2 has persistent onscreen navigation buttons, voiding some of that advantage.

Processor

The G2 is among the first batch of phones to pack Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 processor, probably the cream of 2013's CPU crop. But make no mistake, both phones provide much more horsepower than 99.9 percent of the smartphone buying public will need anytime soon.

RAM

Both phones pack 2 GB of RAM.

Storage

LG's website only lists a 32 GB model for the G2, but the company's press release also mentions a 16 GB version, so we'll go with that for now. Unlike the Galaxy S4, there's no microSD slot in the tightly-sealed G2.

Wireless

The G2 supports LTE-Advanced, which you probably don't have access to yet, but potentially could sometime during the lifespan of your next phone. Samsung is also rolling out an LTE-Advanced version of the GS4, but the standard version doesn't support the speedier LTE.

If you have to "settle" for standard LTE, though, there's really nothing to worry about. As long as your carrier supports it, it will likely be plenty fast for anything you'd need while away from Wi-Fi.

Battery

LG's engineers squeezed a pretty high-capacity battery into the G2. We'll have to wait for the official word on battery life, but LG is touting it as "more than ready for a full day’s work or play."

Camera

This is another area we're eager to learn more about. The G2's camera has impressive resolution, but also throws some Optical Image Stabilization into the mix to help avoid the effects of camera shake.

Software

Both phones run Android 4.2.2, and each also has its own custom UI dominating the Android experience. We weren't over the moon for LG's UI in the Optimus G, but the company did add at least one very cool feature this time around: KnockOn lets you turn your screen on or off by tapping twice on the screen. Sometimes it's the little things like this that make smartphones fun.

Among other software features in tow on the G2 we have Audio Zooming, which lets you control which audio source(s) the three built-in microphones amplify when recording video. Text Link supposedly makes it easier to transfer text from one app to another, and Guest Mode lets you set up a restricted profile for, say, a child borrowing your phone.

Google Play Edition

We love the marriage of stock Android with the Galaxy S4 and HTC One on their Google Play Editions, but LG hasn't announced anything on that front. If last year is any indication, though, the G2 may end up serving as the blueprint device for the Nexus 5. Rumors have suggested this, and the Nexus 4 was basically a modified version of the Optimus G.

Infrared

Yep, both phones have IR blasters. Most likely, the only thing you'd use this for is to turn your phone into a remote control for your TV. Handy, but probably not game-changing for most customers.

NFC

Both phones also have Near field Communication chips, for whatever that's worth. Maybe it will be just the excuse you were waiting for to back that groovy NFC Ring on Kickstarter.

Hi-Fi Audio

We'll throw LG a bone here, since it's boasting about the G2's 24-bit, 192 kHz Hi-Fi playback. This could be handy, but remember that unless the audio files you're playing are of equally high-quality, this probably won't make any difference.

Release cycle

The G2 will be gradually rolling out globally within the next month or two. The Galaxy S4 has been around since April.

Pricing, by the way, will vary by carrier, and we don't know anything more about that just yet.

Wrap-up

Can LG elbow its way into the League of Extraordinary Smartphones? It's going to be a tall order, and it's also way too early to say. But the G2 has enough promising ingredients that we're going to keep an eye on this one. Unfortunately, it might be a little while until the G2 starts showing up on store shelves, giving that question time to potentially lose some of its luster.

If you're leaning towards the Galaxy S4, you can check out our in-depth hands-on comparisons with it and the HTC One and iPhone 5.

 Source: gizmag

Next iPhone could be unveiled in a month

 

After many months of rumors and speculation, it appears we finally have an arrival date for the next iPhone. AllThingsD reports that sources have told it to expect Apple to introduce the follow-up to the iPhone 5 at a special event on September 10. The date is almost exactly a year after the iPhone 5 was introduced in a media event at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Arts Center on September 12, 2012.

While it seems certain that an updated, top-flight iPhone to take advantage of the improvements in iOS 7 will be announced, it's less clear if the rumored lower-cost iPhone will also debut.

Since earlier this year we've been hearing rumblings about a budget iPhone, perhaps based on the iPhone 5 design, that could help Apple secure more market share in places like China and emerging markets.

As for a new flagship iPhone, we've heard that upgrades to the display and camera are in the works, as well as the possible addition of a fingerprint sensor. The device is also said to be available in multiple colors, perhaps like the upcoming customizable Moto X from Google's Motorola.

 

The stakes are high for Apple right now, as the company hasn't delivered a product that really wows consumers in at least the past year, and arguably since Steve Jobs' passing. The smartphone market has become particularly crowded with premiere Android devices in the last few months, including the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, and more recently announced offerings like LG's G2, the new series of Droids from Motorola, and the Moto X.

If AllThingsD is correct, and I have no reason to doubt that they are, we'll see what Tim Cook, Jony Ive and company have up their sleeves in about a month from now.

Source: gizmag

Review: Evoluent VerticalMouse 4

                                   Source: gizmag.com         

                              

While the future of the human–computer interaction is looking more promising by the day, for every Leap Motion or Oculus Rift in the wild, there's still millions of people who rely on a mouse to do their job – a device that by its very nature forces their forearm and wrist into a variety of unnatural positions, inevitably causing varying levels of discomfort and/or pain.

The VerticalMouse is far from a new product, with this being its fourth generation device in over a decade on the market. Despite several brushes with moderate to excruciating RSI in my mousing arm over the years, I've somehow managed to avoid it until this year. A recommendation from my physiotherapist pushed me over the edge about a month ago.

My initial impression was that the mouse was a bit lighter than I would have liked, and ultimately a bit less "premium" than I'd hoped given the US$99.95 price tag – the buttons aren't particularly satisfying to operate, with a bit more clack than clunk.

But these matters seemed utterly trivial after I'd actually plugged it in and used it for a couple of minutes.

If you've ever moved from an unergonomic desk to an adjustable or standing desk that's configured perfectly for your height, with your forearms parallel to the ground when using the mouse and keyboard, you might be familiar with the immediate feeling of relief in your mousing shoulder – almost like your body sighing.

The VerticalMouse gave me the same immediate relief in my wrist and forearm.

The vertical orientation seems to promote moving the mouse with movements of the elbow rather than the wrist, which feels a little odd at first but is easily adjusted to and obviously helps prevent wrist fatigue.

Mac users might miss the two-finger scrolling of their Magic Mouse or Trackpad, however I've solved this by keeping a Magic Trackpad on the left side of the keyboard for times when the scroll wheel just isn't cutting it.

The ability to tweak the pointer speed from the mouse itself came in handy more often than I'd imagined – designers and gamers will likely appreciate this. And yes, it's surprisingly capable for gamers, with five buttons to assign, and obviously far less wrist fatigue during those marathon sessions.

There's a variety of models available – the left handed and those of you with smaller hands have models specifically for you, there's wireless models with either a USB receiver or Mac-compatible Bluetooth, and the plain old wired, right-handed model I chose due to my distaste for batteries.

The verdict

Highly recommended. Anyone who does long periods in front of the computer, and especially those who experience discomfort or pain in their mousing wrist or forearm, needs to get hold of one of these.

Product page: Evoluent VerticalMouse

Holho turns your tablet or smartphone into a 3D projector

                                Source: gizmag.com

Owning a smartphone is a bit like being a kid who got too many toys for his birthday. No matter how many apps you have, you still want it to do something more. Imagination Farm USA LLC, based in Houston, Texas, decided that the something more was the Holho “hologram generator,” which uses a set of mirrors perched on a smartphone or tablet to produce the illusion of a moving 3D image.



The Holho is the focus of a Kickstarter project running until September 24. It comes in several versions, with the most distinctive being the Holho Full Pyramid. As the name suggests, this consists of a four-angled mirror on an inverted base sized for smartphones and tablets, which provide the illusion of a 3D image floating in space that can be seen from any angle. It’s actually four images generated by an app and positioned beneath the mirrors. The images have full motion, so you can watch jellyfish swimming, fireworks bursting, or a couple dancing in silhouette. According to Imagination Farm, a number of videos have already been developed and the app also allows users to create their own images and videos.
Other versions of the Holho include the Naked, which is designed for 10-inch tablets and uses a simple fold-up mirror to create the 3D effect. When closed, it doubles as a tablet case. A step up is the Holho Zed, where the tablet goes into the top of a perspex stand and shines the image on an angled transparent screen and can also include a picture stand that projects an image using a white LED and then generates a 3D-effect picture frame around it.

The Holho Zed

Finally, there is the Holho Three-Face Pyramid, which uses a three-faced pyramid inside a case. It’s intended for commercial use and product display, and uses a special app for generating the three faces.
No projected retail price or release date for the Holho Collection has been announced, although a pledge of US$28 will get you a Full Pyramid, when and if they reach production.
The video below introduces the product line.
Source: Kickstarter via Dvice

2013 MacBook Air (11-inch) vs. Microsoft Surface Pro

 

                                 Source: gizmag.com

Mobile devices have turned the traditional PC market upside down. While Apple's "post PC" strategy is all about the iPad, the Mac still gives it a horse in the traditional PC race. Microsoft's strategy is more convergent: it wants hybrid devices like the Surface Pro to become our primary computers. How do the two measure up? Let's find out, as we compare the specs (and other features) of the 2013 MacBook Air to the Microsoft Surface Pro.

Before we get started, note that Apple offers configurable (and more expensive) Macs with faster processors and more storage. But, for simplicity's sake, we're only comparing the standard models. Microsoft doesn't offer any built-to-order options for the Surface.

The MacBook Air also comes in a 13-inch model, but we're just dealing with the smaller 11-incher here. Additionally, Microsoft sells the cheaper Surface RT, which doesn't run traditional (x86) Windows apps. We're focusing on the full Windows 8 Pro version.

Tablet mode

This probably goes without saying, but in case you're new to all of this, we're looking at two fundamentally different machines here.

The MacBook Air is a laptop through-and-through. The Surface Pro, meanwhile, is basically a laptop in a tablet's body, but then you can add one of Microsoft's keyboard covers to use it as something closer to a laptop. Got it?

Size

As you can see, the MacBook Air is quite a bit larger than the Surface Pro. Of course we're comparing a laptop to a tablet, so that shouldn't be too surprising.

One thing to note here, though, is that the MacBook Air's depth is only counting its thickest point. Unlike the Surface, its side is tapered, so you'll want to take those measurements with a few grains of salt.

If you're adding one of Microsoft's keyboard covers to the Surface (almost essential to get your money's worth), it will become a bit thicker, totaling 16.75 mm with the Touch Cover attached, and 19.5 mm with the Type Cover.

Weight

When using the Surface Pro as a tablet, it's about 16 percent lighter than the MacBook Air. When you add one of Surface's keyboard covers, though, it becomes four percent heavier (with Touch Cover), or 12 percent heavier (with Type Cover).

Build

The MacBook Air has an aluminum unibody build, while Microsoft is branding the Surface's custom metal alloy as VaporMg. The "winner" here will come down to your personal preferences, as both devices have high-end finishes and are a pleasure to hold.

When you're using Surface as more of a laptop, it has a built-in kickstand, which will prop your device up at a fixed 26-degree angle. Like all laptops, the MacBook Air's screen angle can be easily adjusted.

Display

The first thing to know about the displays is that the Surface's tablet screen is, naturally, a touchscreen (with 10-point multitouch). Apple has never made a MacBook with a touchscreen.

Both screens are in the same 11-inch ballpark, but the MacBook Air's is a bit larger. The Surface Pro's display gives you 84 percent as much real estate as the MacBook Air's does.

The Surface does, however, give you a much sharper screen. The MacBook Air only has 51 percent as many pixels as the Surface's 1080p display. If you want a MacBook with a razor-sharp screen, you'll want to look at the MacBook Pro with Retina Display (or wait for the inevitable MacBook Air with Retina Display).

The Surface Pro also employs Microsoft's "ClearType" tech, which is the company's version of subpixel rendering. It can make text look a bit sharper than its (already impressive) resolution would suggest. Surface's screen also gives you impressively deep blacks.

External displays

Both Apple and Microsoft know that an 11-inch screen probably won't cut it as your primary PC. So both devices will let you plug into an external monitor to better serve as a desktop replacement.

If you're balking at the high costs of both machines (see below), this is something to keep in mind. You can have a workstation waiting on your desk – complete with monitor, external hard drive, mouse and keyboard – to instantly transform your laptop or tablet into a fairly powerful desktop PC.

Stylus support

If you like working with a stylus, then you'll want to look at the Surface Pro. Its touchscreen ships with a Wacom-based stylus that gives you a finer, pressure-sensitive input method for apps like Photoshop.

If you want to use a stylus with the MacBook Air, you'll need to buy a separate graphics tablet.

Processor

Both the MacBook Air and Surface Pro pack Intel Core i5 processors, but the new MacBook has a leg-up here. Intel's new Haswell microarchitecture gives it a huge battery life advantage over older Ivy Bridge-based computers, like the Surface. More on battery life in a minute.

Graphics

The MBA also gets updated Intel (integrated) graphics. We've yet to put both through their paces side-by-side, but, for what it's worth, Intel advertises twice the power performance of the previous generation that is found in Surface.

RAM

Both devices have 4 GB of RAM.

Storage

This was a big upgrade for the new 11-inch MacBook Air. It doubles the storage options of both the 2012 MBA and the Surface Pro.

You can, however, expand both devices' storage easier than you could with, say, an iPad. The MacBook Air has USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt ports that you can use for external drives. Surface Pro has both USB 3.0 and a discreet microSD card slot to help make up for its somewhat cramped storage.

Cameras

The MacBook Air has Apple's standard 720p front-facing "FaceTime" camera. The Surface has two 720p cameras.

Wireless

Here's another one of the new MacBook's big updates. It supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi, while the Surface maxes out at 802.11n. This won't matter unless you have an 802.11ac compatible router and an internet connection that keeps pace, but it's still nice for future-proofing.

Many tablets ship with LTE mobile data options, but no such luck for Surface. You'll need to tether your smartphone or invest in a portable mobile hotspot in order to get internet on the go for the Surface Pro. Ditto for the MacBook Air.

Battery

The battery hardware favors the Surface, but you can basically forget about that. The MacBook Air's new Haswell chip gives it insane battery life. You're looking at the cutting edge of laptop uptimes, with an estimated nine hours of web surfing.

Battery life isn't the Surface Pro's strong suit. You'll be lucky to get five or six hours out of it with regular use. We'd be surprised if we didn't see a second-generation Surface Pro with a Haswell processor sometime in the next year, with much improved battery life.

Software

Software might be as important as all of these hardware features combined. Comparing Mac OS X and Windows is beyond the scope of this relatively brief comparison, but there's a good chance you already know which platform you prefer anyway. If not, the internet is full of facts and (often very angry) opinions on the subject.

The biggest thing to remember about Surface is that it runs full Windows 8 Pro, not the limited Windows RT found on the Surface RT. So any app you could run in, say, Windows 7 will run on the Surface Pro. That's not something that an iPad, or many other tablets, can give you.

In addition to legacy desktop apps, Surface also has the Windows Store, which favors apps that are geared more towards touchscreens. This isn't the Surface's strong suit, but the Windows Store will continue to improve. You can also use an emulator to load many Android apps onto Surface.

Both devices will get big updates later this year: Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks for the MBA (it will probably cost US$20), and Windows 8.1 for the Surface Pro (a free update).

Starting prices

The Surface Pro technically undercuts the MacBook Air by $100, but we'd may as well call this about even because there's little point buying the Surface without one of its keyboard covers. That will add an extra $120 (Touch Cover) or $130 (Type Cover) to your checkout price.

Remember also that the entry-level MacBook Air gives you 128 GB of storage, while the cheapest Surface Pro only gives you 64 GB.

Wrap-up

It's a lot to consider. Do you want a traditional laptop, or a more futuristic hybrid device? Do you want a device that's really good at being one thing, or one that can potentially serve as a tablet, laptop, and a desktop? Stellar battery life and a built-in keyboard, or a sharper screen and greater portability? Mac OS X or Windows? These are the questions you want to be asking yourself.

Whichever you prefer, this is an interesting time to be shopping for a new PC. The entire definition of PC has been thrown into question, along with the future of a multi-billion-dollar industry. Hopefully this comparison will help you to narrow down your priorities, and find which kind of computer works best for you.