Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 vs Apple iPad Air:Best performer is..........................

Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2                                                                                                                   Samsung had announced a new larger-screened Android tablet in the form of the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2. The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro's gigantic bright screen serves as an unhampered stylus pen canvas. The included apps and software features trump anything you'll find on a pure Android tablet. MicroSD storage expansion is a welcome plus.

But,The Note Pro's laggy performance when running multiple apps at once limits its usefulness as a workstation replacement. And with a $750 starting price, only power tablet users need apply. Writing on the screen doesn't feel as smooth as with the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition.                                                     The Samsung Galaxy NotePRO is a 12.2-inch tablet targeting more business-minded users. As well as playing host to the company’s now familiar S-Pen stylus, the high-end device packs in a raft of productivity features around a premium array of components and an all new user interface.Although pricing has yet to be announced, Samsung has confirmed that the NotePRO will start a global rollout this March in white and black versions.The specs on the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 are top of the range, the 2560 x 1600 TFT LCD display is dazzling, add to that 3GB of RAM; an 8MP rear-facing camera & a 2Mp front-facing camera; a 9,500mAh battery; Android Kitkat 4.4 and you’ve to the blueprints to a big screened tablet with a lot of power.                                                                                                                                               Not quite a workstation replacement, the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro is an expensive behemoth of a tablet with a vast amount of features that will benefit only the most serious of tablet users.                                     VS                                                                                                                                                             Apple iPad Air                                                                                                                                           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. 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.

But, 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.                                                                             Performance:                                                                                                                                               The iPad Air shares the same processor with Apple’s flagship phone, albeit with a slight bump in clock speed. While the 5S runs at 1.3GHz the Air runs at 1.39GHz. It can achieve this because of the increased space and improved heat dissipation of the Air compared to the much smaller iPhone 5S.

Indeed, before we go into the detail about performance it’s worth noting that the iPad Air manages to keep its cool with consummate ease. Even when running intensive 3D games and apps for hours it barely breaks a sweat and, therefore, neither do your hands.

In practice, the iPad Air is blisteringly fast. Apps open instantly and games like Infinity Blade 3 look sumptuous and run smoothly. The benefits of having a SoC means that the GPU can be used to tackle compute tasks, which makes video editing and compute intensive apps, like AutoCAD, show no hint of slowdown.

The iPad Air performs 59% faster than the iPad 4 in the 3D Mark Ice Storm Unlimited CPU and GPU test and 91% faster in Geekbench 3 tests. The Peacekeeper browser test, which assesses web browsing performance, shows that the Air trounces its predecessor by being more than twice as fast. It's also faster than the stonking Snapdragon 800 processor on the likes of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra and Google Nexus 5. We're talking matter of degrees here, but the difference is there all the same.

Battery life:                                                                                                                                                   Battery life on the iPad Air is quoted at "Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music". We would say that's actually not a bad estimate, although the drain was closer to 2% every 10 minutes in general use, which equates to around nine hours' use.

Standby time is much, much better though. We found that we could stick the iPad Air in a bag, taking it out for the commute and messing about with on the sofa at home, for at least three days before it began to get low on battery.

In fact, the only real task that killed it was connecting to our amplifier via Wi-Fi while simultaneously streaming music to the same device through Bluetooth. It's doing things like this that make you realise that this is the kind of thing that we envisaged at the turn of the century, a tablet that has the brains and connectivity to do all the tasks we could want.In terms of connectivity, we've already mentioned the excellent Wi-Fi performance (in terms of distance from router, rather than improved speed) through the Multiple In, Multiple Out (MIMO) technology.

4G bands are now covered throughout the globe, and low power Bluetooth is also on board as well, making it an incredibly well-connected device.

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.                                                                          Specifications

Release date11/1/13

Display type9.7 in

OSApple iOS

ProcessorApple

Wireless connectivityWi-Fi

Dimensions (WxDxH)6.6 in x 0.29 in x 9.4 in

Weight1 lbs                                                                                                                                                 Price:$479.00