Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet vs Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro vs Apple iPad Air:Hot cake is...............................

Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet                                                                                                                                 The Xperia Z4 Tablet runs the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system, Android 5.0.2 Lollipop. This means you’re treated to the new Material design and all of the layout tweaks that come with it.The Sony Xperia Z4's slim, waterproof design is simultaneously sleek and solid. Running the latest version of Android, it features a colorful user-friendly overlay. It has a sharp HD screen, and its performance is fast and smooth. The 64-bit octa-core processor clocked at 2GHz and 3GB of RAM combine to excellent effect, making the Xperia Z4 Tablet very powerful indeed. This is reflected by our benchmark results.

It scored 4,500 in the Geekbench 3 multi-core speed test, placing it and the iPad Air 2 (4,509) on an even keel. It’s streets ahead of Android rivals, leaving the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 (2,669) in the dust.

The Xperia performs even better in the graphics department, scoring a sublime 24,283 in the 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited test. That’s a terrific result. Even the iPad Air 2 (21,797) can’t keep up, with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 (13,500) again way behind.

However, benchmarks aren’t everything. Fortunately, the Xperia’s performance is generally excellent. It blitzes through 3D games, including Real Racing 3, Asphalt 8 and Dead Trigger 2, delivering a flawless experience. Similarly, movies and videos play smoothly, without a hint of lag.

On occasion, we did find that sound and videos sometimes stuttered when rotating the screen, and we’re not sure why. However, it seems to happen on an irregular basis, and is so fleeting that few users will actually be bothered by it.                                                                                                                                          Sony claims you'll get 17 hours of video playback from the Z4, and from our tests, that's not too far from the truth. The Z4 managed almost 15 hours of continuous video while syncing Twitter every 10 minutes over WiFi. That's pretty damn impressive given the battery is exactly the same size as last year's model, and the same test drained the Z2 in just eight hours.

The storage options aren't overly generous, and it would be nice if Sony offered a 64GB version; microSD storage is handy, but files on there don't perform as well as on the main memory. The optional Bluetooth keyboard is cramped to type on and has a frail plastic build.

THE BOTTOM LINE For novice Android users with a desire to greatly personalize their experience, the Sony Xperia Z4 is a beautifully constructed tablet with high-end specs that won't disappoint.                       Key Features: 10.1-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 IPS display; Android Lollipop; Snapdragon 810 processor; 3GB RAM; 6,000mAh battery; 393g; 8.1-megapixel rear camera; NFC; Bluetooth 4.1

Manufacturer: Sony

 Price:$599

VS                                                                                                                                                           Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro                                                                                                                             The YOGA Tab 3 Pro’s QHD display is perfect for immersive gaming and rich, detailed video. It also delivers crisp, bright visuals for a great viewing experience under all angles and ambient lights.The Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro has a built-in pico projector and an ergonomic design with a kickstand. Performance and gaming is fast. Screen is sharp and speakers are loud. Battery life is long.

Performance

The tablet is powered by a quad-core Intel Atom x5-Z8500 processor that clocks in at 2.24GHz, and its performance is in line with other high-end tablets.The 10.1-inch screen delivers a very impressive 2,560 by 1,600 pixels - that's 299ppi. Colours are sharp and bright, and both text and video look great.                       The button configuration is unconventional. As already noted, the power button and an on/off button for the projector sit at opposite ends of the tube that supports the stand. The projector button is marked as such, but there's no tactile difference between the buttons and we constantly got them confused. The Micro-USB charging slot and volume rocker are on one short edge, with the headset jack on the other.

A covered slot under the hinge accommodates the MicroSD and Micro-SIM slots (the latter only if you have chosen the LTE model, of course).

The CPU’s paired with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, which puts it behind similarly priced Android competitors. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 comes with a more robust 3GB of RAM.

The Yoga Tab 3 Pro performed reasonably well when benchmarked, despite its lower memory. The tablet scored 48,867 on Antutu and ran in with a 3,269 multi-core Geekbench score. On the gaming-focused 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited test the Yoga Tab 3 Pro scored 25,774.

This puts it roughly on a par with most flagship tablets. By comparison the Galaxy Tab S2 (8-inch) scored 51,815 on Antutu, 4,206 on Geekbench 3 and 19,306 on Ice Storm Unlimited.

The Tab 3 Pro performs admirably with real-world use. Videos and music stream seamlessly and games like Riptide GP2, Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition and Shadowrun Returns run chug free.

The only minor performance issue I noticed was that, on occasion, the tablet would stutter slightly when navigating between windows – though this happened very rarely and never severely slowed down the device. Battery life

Lenovo has packed the Yoga Tab 3 Pro out with a huge 10,200mAh battery, which is evidently another area in which that chunky hinge comes in handy.

To place that in context, the iPad Air 2 comes with a 7,340mAh battery, and theSony Xperia Z4 Tablet has a 6,000mAh battery.

It's arguable that such a sizeable battery is essential to the Yoga Tab 3 Pro. With power-hungry components like a 10-inch QHD display and a pico projector, this is a tablet that's going to be used for watching a lot of high-definition TV shows and films.                                                                                                               Lenovo claims its tablet is good for 18 hours of battery life. Naturally, this depends on what you're using it for, but in general usage I wouldn't dispute that claim.

When it comes to more intensive usage, though, things are perhaps a little less impressive.                             I ran the Yoga Tab 3 Pro’s  usual battery test, which involves running a 90 minute 720p video with the screen brightness cranked right up. The result was that the battery level dropped to 85%.That's better than rivals such as the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet (79%) and theSamsung Galaxy Tab S2 (84%), but not by a massive amount.

As for the Yoga Tab 3 Pro's projector, I found that streaming a 50-minute 1080p Netflix show sapped 14% of its battery. That suggests you could get through half a dozen films in between charges, which is pretty good going.

But, It's a bit heavy and its cylindrical spine makes it awkward to hold in landscape orientation.

THE BOTTOM LINE The Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro is the best Android tablet for watching video. Either alone or, thanks to its built-in projector, with a large group of friends.                                                          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