Google Pixel C vs Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 vs Microsoft Surface 3:Hot cake is...................
Google Pixel C The Google Pixel C has a slim, compact aluminum build that feels sturdy. Its optional Bluetooth keyboard is equally solid and doubles as the tablet's cover and it has a powerful, long-running battery. The tablet runs the latest version of Android and its performance is lightning fast. The screen is sharp, bright and colorful, and gaming graphics look stellar. Screen The 10.2-inch screen is beautiful too, at a resolution of 2560 x 1800 in a screen with an uncommon aspect ratio: 1:√2. That’s the same ratio as a standard A4 piece of paper, which means that the Pixel C’s screen feels capacious whether you’re using it in landscape or portrait mode (it also has implications for multitasking, maybe, someday — more on that later).Google has crammed in a hefty 308ppi in its Pixel C display that pushes out a 2560 x 1800 resolution on a 10.2-inch screen. Google also says there's 500 nits of brightness and full sRGB colour gamut. While this sounds lovely we'd be a little worries about how much power all those pixel and that brightness will chew through. Performance
The Pixel C sports Nvidia's Tegra X1 processor, a 64-bit, quad-core chip which delivers a healthy blast of power into Google's aluminium-clad slate.
That's joined by 3GB of RAM, which means the Pixel C has more power under the hood than the iPad Air 2 and Nexus 9, although the octa-core Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 and Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet technically have greater capacity for higher loads.
Running the Pixel C through Geekbench 3 shows just how powerful it is. With an average multi-core score of 4449, it performs better than the Nexus 9, Sony and Samsung tablets, while pretty much matching the Air 2's result.
On screen I found the Android interface to be fast and fluid. Apps generally loaded in good time, and the Pixel C was able to run the graphically-intensive Real Racing 3 and Asphalt 8 Airborne without any hint of slowdown.
It's not the slickest experience I've ever had on a tablet though, and while everything runs well, the Pixel C just lacks that top level of polish for sublime performance and instant responses every time.
But,It's a bit heavy when attached to the keyboard (which is sold separately). Big-name apps and games still tend to hit iOS before Android.
THE BOTTOM LINE The Google Pixel C is the best Android tablet money can buy. Specs
Operating System: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Display: 10.2-inch LTPS LCD,2560x1800 (308 ppi)
500 nit brightness
sRGB color gamut Processor: NVIDIA Tegra X1
256 core Maxwell GPU RAM: 3GB LPDDR3 Internal storage: 32GB or 64GB Cameras: 2MP front
8MP rear Battery: 34.2 WHr Charging: USB-C Audio: Stereo speakers
Quad noise-cancelling microphones
3.5 mm audio out Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2x2 MIMO, dual-band
Bluetooth 4.1 + HS Sensors: Ambient Light, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Compass, Hall, Proximity Keyboard: Optional Bluetooth wireless keyboard Dimensions: 242 x 179 x 7 mm Weight: 0.517 kg / 1.139 lb Price:$499.00
VS Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 High-end Android tablets are becoming few and far between, indicating to us that the tablet segment in general has been seeing a slowdown. Most consumers seem to be more gravitated to either picking up a low-cost laptop hybrid, or the many inexpensive tablets that pack reasonable value for the money. On that note, it’s no surprise to us that many companies have stopped production and development for high-end tablets on the Android side. And then there’s Samsung!The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 has bright and vividly colorful screen. Its rail-thin design is comfortable and ultracompact. It comes with 32GB of storage, a microSD card expansion slot and fingerprint scanner. Battery life is long.
Unlike previous models, there's no IR blaster. Design
The Galaxy Tab S2 feels nicer to hold in two hands than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and its sibling, the Galaxy Tab 8.4. In fact, it's now light enough to comfortably clutch in one hand.
The Samsung Tab S2 is lighter in part because it's backed by a soft-touch plastic cover instead of an aluminium shell. Metal edges outline the tablet instead of a plastic frame this time.
The entire device may not be metal, but it does feel smooth. It's better than the dimpled plastic of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S, yet remains just as grippy.
Two small, springy buttons are embedded into the back of the Tab S2, but they're meant for clipping a cover onto the tablet and aren't releases to pop off the back. It's all sealed shut.
There is, however, a microSD card slot on the frame to optionally boost the 32GB and 64GB configurations with an additional 128GB of expandable storage.
Alongside this same rail are a solid-feeling power button and volume rocker. Stereo speakers, a headphone jack and an off-center micro USB port line the bottom of the tablet.
The Tab S2 has a physical, fingerprint-sensing home button in front with the usual oval shape, and two capacitive buttons on either side. These keys light up by default every time the display is touched.
The beams of light are a bit distracting when scrolling and reading text near the bottom of the screen, and turning them off in settings doesn't help orient your fingers in the dark. This wider tablet isn't like a narrower phone, where you know the exact location of these keys.
The latest Galaxy Tab comes in three colors: Black, White and Gold. Gone are the fancy names like Dazzling White and Titanium Bronze, reflecting Samsung's minimalist design with this year's ultra-thin tablet. Display:
A tablet is all about the display and we've seen some unusual flip-flopping in resolutions over the past few years. With the 2012 Nexus 10 (which is made by Samsung) plopping out a 2560 x 1600 pixel display and the original Samsung Galaxy Tab S following suit, the Tab S2 now steps down to 2048 x 1536 pixels (264ppi density).That's the same resolution as we saw on the 2014 Nexus 9 tablet and it's the same as the iPad Air 2, which is the exact same size at 9.7-inches too. The shift from higher resolutions might be partly due to the shift in aspect ratio from 16:9 (or 16:10) to 4:3, or it could simply be that the returns for that resolution weren't hugely apparent.However, the Tab S2 is equipped with an AMOLED display whereas most competitors offer LCD. Samsung is known for AMOLED and has enjoyed great results on its Galaxy smartphones and Note tablets with this technology. On the Tab S2, you're again rewarded with great contrast, lots of punch in visuals, and deep, rich colours that are typical of such a panel. You might notice that the richness makes some content look a little dark so you have to bump up the brightness to get best out of movies and videos. We found the colours a little overwrought in the opening scenes when watching Mockingjay, for example, but the deep blacks and brilliant blues set up Gravity nicely. On the flipside, some games are incredibly rich, making us wish we could dial it down a little for a more natural view. AMOLED can also struggle to produce clean and bright whites as a result, something that Samsung has worked hard to improve on recent devices - but there's a hint of cool blue white here. The thing you will notice, however, is that on this size of display some of Android's apps don't scale as well as they should. You'll find softness becomes apparent in some games, for example, or some of the graphic elements in apps don't look as sharp as they do on your smartphone, phablet or smaller tablet. Take Real Racing 3 as an example: it looks blocky, so visually it's not as pleasant as on smaller or even 16:9 tablets with less display height. If that's a factor for you, the smaller 8-inch Tab S2 model might be the better choice. The display aspect also means the Tab S2 works a little better in portrait orientation than 16:9 devices, making for a better reading experience, whether that's on the included Flipboard-based Briefing newsreader, or when using something like the Kindle app. On the flip side, you'll have a lot of empty space top and bottom when watching movies in landscape - especially if they are shot in the cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio.
Hardware
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 houses an octa-core Exynos 5433 chipset, comprised of a 1.9GHz and 1.3GHz quad-core CPU. It also has 32GB of internal storage and a microSD card expansion slot that's expandable up to 128GB. The Samsung website lists a 64GB version, but only the 32GB model is available for purchase; Samsung hasn't released details on when and if the 64GB one be available.
Other features include Bluetooth 4.1 with low-energy function (BLE) and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac MIMO -- which is faster than regular Wi-Fi.
SOFTWARE
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 runs the latest version of Android with the scaled-down version of TouchWiz. It's a similar software experience to what we see on the Note 5 and latest Galaxy S6 devices.
There are not too many apps loaded out of the box, but since this is an AT&T LTE model you get plenty of bloatware from this US carrier. AT&T apps include myAT&T, AT&T AllAccess, AT&T Locker, Device Help, AT&T FamilyMap, AT&T Ready2Go, YP, WildTangent Games, and AT&T Messages. Given the recent DIRECTV deal, you will also find a DIRECTV app installed on the Tab S2.
Samsung apps include Galaxy Apps, Hancom Office Viewer, Memo, Samsung Milk Music, SideSync, and Smart Manager. You will also find several Google apps, but these have been reduced by Google so loading up your preferred Google apps is up to your own preferences in many cases.
One of the reasons to pick up a Samsung tablet is to be able to use a couple apps at the same time in a side-by-side format. As you can see in a couple of screenshots in my gallery, many apps look absolutely terrible in this format and neither app ends up being useful.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2's brilliant screen, plentiful storage capacity and slender build make it a great tablet for everyday use at home or on the go. Price ;$347.99
VS Microsoft Surface 3 The Surface 3 is a thinner, lighter, smaller and cheaper version of theSurface Pro 3. It has a 10.8-inch screen and weighs just 887g with the keyboard attached (622g without). The 10.8-inch display makes the Surface 3 wider than 10.1-inch tablets, so the keyboard is bigger than most. This allows Microsoft to use large keys on the Type Cover. Those keys are wonderful and it's possible to type as fast as on any laptop keyboard. The keys have just the right amount of travel and the tactile feedback is first rate.
The top row of keys have tablet control keys along with some standard Windows keys -- Home, End, PrtScn, and others. They also serve as Fn-1 - Fn-12.
There is a small trackpad on the Type Cover that works well, but due to the small size I usually just tap the touch display. Still it's nice to have the trackpad available.
The new Surface 3 costs less than the Pro version, but trickles down much of the design and materials of its more expensive sibling. This budget model finally runs the full version of Windows. The keyboard cover remains the best way to transform a slate into a laptop. The Surface 3's IPS panel provides excellent viewing angles which means you won't have to crane your neck when leaning over to watch video or other content with a friend.
Even at a smaller 10.8-inches in size, its 1,920 x 1,200 pixel-resolution allowed me to comfortably fit two screens side-by-side, making it great for getting productive on the go.
The display supports full 10-point multi-touch, which I found fast and responsive - although it's easier to pick out toolbars and menus using the Surface Pen if you have scaling set to a low percentage in Windows. The Surface 3's benchmark figures are higher than those generated by the Asus T100 Chi. In PCMark 8 Home test, its 1.6GHz Intel Atom x7-78700 proved 32% faster than the Z3775 in the Chi while beating it by 19% in Cinebench 11.5's Multi-Core CPU test and 48% in its GPU test.
If that was something of a fair fight, things become predictably one-sided when comparing the Surface 3 to the Surface Pro 3, which saw its Core i5-4200U chip hammer the Surface 3's Atom chip in Cinebench 11.5's CPU test, producing a 196% bigger number. The Surface Pro 3 also scored higher in PCMark 8's Home test by 26%, while graphics came on top by 75% on Cinebench 11.5's GPU test. The Surface 3's 13-watt micro USB charger stretches from to nothing fully-charged in around 2.5 hours and once juiced up can go for a long time due to the efficiency of the 1.6GHz Intel Atom x7-78700. It packs a 27Wh battery, just short of the 30Wh battery in the T100 Chi - and PCMark 8's battery tests, which simulates real-world applications and loops video, produced similar scores as a result.
The high-end Surface 3 finds itself in an unusual position. Compared to the entry-level model, you get 4GB of RAM (instead of 2GB) and 128GB of storage (compared to 64GB) for $121 more. It means you'll be able to store more data on it while enjoying slightly less slowdown when multitasking, but the benchmarks show that it's nowhere near as powerful as the Surface Pro 3 - so its capabilities are still relatively limited.
But,Trading down to a low-power processor means this isn't a full-time PC. The clever keyboard case is still sold separately, and costs a lot compared to the base hardware. The kickstand has only three preset angles.
THE BOTTOM LINE The budget-priced Surface 3 is a solid tablet that finally runs the real version of Windows, but it would be a much better value if the must-have keyboard cover was included. Key Features: 10.8-inch, 1,920 x 1,280 display; 662g; 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor; Bluetooth 4.0; 802.11ac Wi-Fi; USB 3.0; Mini DisplayPort; microSD; 3.5-megapixel front camera; 8.0-megapixel camera
Manufacturer: Microsoft Price:$499
The Pixel C sports Nvidia's Tegra X1 processor, a 64-bit, quad-core chip which delivers a healthy blast of power into Google's aluminium-clad slate.
That's joined by 3GB of RAM, which means the Pixel C has more power under the hood than the iPad Air 2 and Nexus 9, although the octa-core Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 and Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet technically have greater capacity for higher loads.
Running the Pixel C through Geekbench 3 shows just how powerful it is. With an average multi-core score of 4449, it performs better than the Nexus 9, Sony and Samsung tablets, while pretty much matching the Air 2's result.
On screen I found the Android interface to be fast and fluid. Apps generally loaded in good time, and the Pixel C was able to run the graphically-intensive Real Racing 3 and Asphalt 8 Airborne without any hint of slowdown.
It's not the slickest experience I've ever had on a tablet though, and while everything runs well, the Pixel C just lacks that top level of polish for sublime performance and instant responses every time.
But,It's a bit heavy when attached to the keyboard (which is sold separately). Big-name apps and games still tend to hit iOS before Android.
THE BOTTOM LINE The Google Pixel C is the best Android tablet money can buy. Specs
Operating System: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Display: 10.2-inch LTPS LCD,2560x1800 (308 ppi)
500 nit brightness
sRGB color gamut Processor: NVIDIA Tegra X1
256 core Maxwell GPU RAM: 3GB LPDDR3 Internal storage: 32GB or 64GB Cameras: 2MP front
8MP rear Battery: 34.2 WHr Charging: USB-C Audio: Stereo speakers
Quad noise-cancelling microphones
3.5 mm audio out Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2x2 MIMO, dual-band
Bluetooth 4.1 + HS Sensors: Ambient Light, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Compass, Hall, Proximity Keyboard: Optional Bluetooth wireless keyboard Dimensions: 242 x 179 x 7 mm Weight: 0.517 kg / 1.139 lb Price:$499.00
VS Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 High-end Android tablets are becoming few and far between, indicating to us that the tablet segment in general has been seeing a slowdown. Most consumers seem to be more gravitated to either picking up a low-cost laptop hybrid, or the many inexpensive tablets that pack reasonable value for the money. On that note, it’s no surprise to us that many companies have stopped production and development for high-end tablets on the Android side. And then there’s Samsung!The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 has bright and vividly colorful screen. Its rail-thin design is comfortable and ultracompact. It comes with 32GB of storage, a microSD card expansion slot and fingerprint scanner. Battery life is long.
Unlike previous models, there's no IR blaster. Design
The Galaxy Tab S2 feels nicer to hold in two hands than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and its sibling, the Galaxy Tab 8.4. In fact, it's now light enough to comfortably clutch in one hand.
The Samsung Tab S2 is lighter in part because it's backed by a soft-touch plastic cover instead of an aluminium shell. Metal edges outline the tablet instead of a plastic frame this time.
The entire device may not be metal, but it does feel smooth. It's better than the dimpled plastic of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S, yet remains just as grippy.
Two small, springy buttons are embedded into the back of the Tab S2, but they're meant for clipping a cover onto the tablet and aren't releases to pop off the back. It's all sealed shut.
There is, however, a microSD card slot on the frame to optionally boost the 32GB and 64GB configurations with an additional 128GB of expandable storage.
Alongside this same rail are a solid-feeling power button and volume rocker. Stereo speakers, a headphone jack and an off-center micro USB port line the bottom of the tablet.
The Tab S2 has a physical, fingerprint-sensing home button in front with the usual oval shape, and two capacitive buttons on either side. These keys light up by default every time the display is touched.
The beams of light are a bit distracting when scrolling and reading text near the bottom of the screen, and turning them off in settings doesn't help orient your fingers in the dark. This wider tablet isn't like a narrower phone, where you know the exact location of these keys.
The latest Galaxy Tab comes in three colors: Black, White and Gold. Gone are the fancy names like Dazzling White and Titanium Bronze, reflecting Samsung's minimalist design with this year's ultra-thin tablet. Display:
A tablet is all about the display and we've seen some unusual flip-flopping in resolutions over the past few years. With the 2012 Nexus 10 (which is made by Samsung) plopping out a 2560 x 1600 pixel display and the original Samsung Galaxy Tab S following suit, the Tab S2 now steps down to 2048 x 1536 pixels (264ppi density).That's the same resolution as we saw on the 2014 Nexus 9 tablet and it's the same as the iPad Air 2, which is the exact same size at 9.7-inches too. The shift from higher resolutions might be partly due to the shift in aspect ratio from 16:9 (or 16:10) to 4:3, or it could simply be that the returns for that resolution weren't hugely apparent.However, the Tab S2 is equipped with an AMOLED display whereas most competitors offer LCD. Samsung is known for AMOLED and has enjoyed great results on its Galaxy smartphones and Note tablets with this technology. On the Tab S2, you're again rewarded with great contrast, lots of punch in visuals, and deep, rich colours that are typical of such a panel. You might notice that the richness makes some content look a little dark so you have to bump up the brightness to get best out of movies and videos. We found the colours a little overwrought in the opening scenes when watching Mockingjay, for example, but the deep blacks and brilliant blues set up Gravity nicely. On the flipside, some games are incredibly rich, making us wish we could dial it down a little for a more natural view. AMOLED can also struggle to produce clean and bright whites as a result, something that Samsung has worked hard to improve on recent devices - but there's a hint of cool blue white here. The thing you will notice, however, is that on this size of display some of Android's apps don't scale as well as they should. You'll find softness becomes apparent in some games, for example, or some of the graphic elements in apps don't look as sharp as they do on your smartphone, phablet or smaller tablet. Take Real Racing 3 as an example: it looks blocky, so visually it's not as pleasant as on smaller or even 16:9 tablets with less display height. If that's a factor for you, the smaller 8-inch Tab S2 model might be the better choice. The display aspect also means the Tab S2 works a little better in portrait orientation than 16:9 devices, making for a better reading experience, whether that's on the included Flipboard-based Briefing newsreader, or when using something like the Kindle app. On the flip side, you'll have a lot of empty space top and bottom when watching movies in landscape - especially if they are shot in the cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio.
Hardware
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 houses an octa-core Exynos 5433 chipset, comprised of a 1.9GHz and 1.3GHz quad-core CPU. It also has 32GB of internal storage and a microSD card expansion slot that's expandable up to 128GB. The Samsung website lists a 64GB version, but only the 32GB model is available for purchase; Samsung hasn't released details on when and if the 64GB one be available.
Other features include Bluetooth 4.1 with low-energy function (BLE) and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac MIMO -- which is faster than regular Wi-Fi.
SOFTWARE
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 runs the latest version of Android with the scaled-down version of TouchWiz. It's a similar software experience to what we see on the Note 5 and latest Galaxy S6 devices.
There are not too many apps loaded out of the box, but since this is an AT&T LTE model you get plenty of bloatware from this US carrier. AT&T apps include myAT&T, AT&T AllAccess, AT&T Locker, Device Help, AT&T FamilyMap, AT&T Ready2Go, YP, WildTangent Games, and AT&T Messages. Given the recent DIRECTV deal, you will also find a DIRECTV app installed on the Tab S2.
Samsung apps include Galaxy Apps, Hancom Office Viewer, Memo, Samsung Milk Music, SideSync, and Smart Manager. You will also find several Google apps, but these have been reduced by Google so loading up your preferred Google apps is up to your own preferences in many cases.
One of the reasons to pick up a Samsung tablet is to be able to use a couple apps at the same time in a side-by-side format. As you can see in a couple of screenshots in my gallery, many apps look absolutely terrible in this format and neither app ends up being useful.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2's brilliant screen, plentiful storage capacity and slender build make it a great tablet for everyday use at home or on the go. Price ;$347.99
VS Microsoft Surface 3 The Surface 3 is a thinner, lighter, smaller and cheaper version of theSurface Pro 3. It has a 10.8-inch screen and weighs just 887g with the keyboard attached (622g without). The 10.8-inch display makes the Surface 3 wider than 10.1-inch tablets, so the keyboard is bigger than most. This allows Microsoft to use large keys on the Type Cover. Those keys are wonderful and it's possible to type as fast as on any laptop keyboard. The keys have just the right amount of travel and the tactile feedback is first rate.
The top row of keys have tablet control keys along with some standard Windows keys -- Home, End, PrtScn, and others. They also serve as Fn-1 - Fn-12.
There is a small trackpad on the Type Cover that works well, but due to the small size I usually just tap the touch display. Still it's nice to have the trackpad available.
The new Surface 3 costs less than the Pro version, but trickles down much of the design and materials of its more expensive sibling. This budget model finally runs the full version of Windows. The keyboard cover remains the best way to transform a slate into a laptop. The Surface 3's IPS panel provides excellent viewing angles which means you won't have to crane your neck when leaning over to watch video or other content with a friend.
Even at a smaller 10.8-inches in size, its 1,920 x 1,200 pixel-resolution allowed me to comfortably fit two screens side-by-side, making it great for getting productive on the go.
The display supports full 10-point multi-touch, which I found fast and responsive - although it's easier to pick out toolbars and menus using the Surface Pen if you have scaling set to a low percentage in Windows. The Surface 3's benchmark figures are higher than those generated by the Asus T100 Chi. In PCMark 8 Home test, its 1.6GHz Intel Atom x7-78700 proved 32% faster than the Z3775 in the Chi while beating it by 19% in Cinebench 11.5's Multi-Core CPU test and 48% in its GPU test.
If that was something of a fair fight, things become predictably one-sided when comparing the Surface 3 to the Surface Pro 3, which saw its Core i5-4200U chip hammer the Surface 3's Atom chip in Cinebench 11.5's CPU test, producing a 196% bigger number. The Surface Pro 3 also scored higher in PCMark 8's Home test by 26%, while graphics came on top by 75% on Cinebench 11.5's GPU test. The Surface 3's 13-watt micro USB charger stretches from to nothing fully-charged in around 2.5 hours and once juiced up can go for a long time due to the efficiency of the 1.6GHz Intel Atom x7-78700. It packs a 27Wh battery, just short of the 30Wh battery in the T100 Chi - and PCMark 8's battery tests, which simulates real-world applications and loops video, produced similar scores as a result.
The high-end Surface 3 finds itself in an unusual position. Compared to the entry-level model, you get 4GB of RAM (instead of 2GB) and 128GB of storage (compared to 64GB) for $121 more. It means you'll be able to store more data on it while enjoying slightly less slowdown when multitasking, but the benchmarks show that it's nowhere near as powerful as the Surface Pro 3 - so its capabilities are still relatively limited.
But,Trading down to a low-power processor means this isn't a full-time PC. The clever keyboard case is still sold separately, and costs a lot compared to the base hardware. The kickstand has only three preset angles.
THE BOTTOM LINE The budget-priced Surface 3 is a solid tablet that finally runs the real version of Windows, but it would be a much better value if the must-have keyboard cover was included. Key Features: 10.8-inch, 1,920 x 1,280 display; 662g; 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor; Bluetooth 4.0; 802.11ac Wi-Fi; USB 3.0; Mini DisplayPort; microSD; 3.5-megapixel front camera; 8.0-megapixel camera
Manufacturer: Microsoft Price:$499
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