Battery life makes the iPad a wonder

by tolomea

iPad: It’s All About The Battery Life
[Via MacSurfer's Oped]

Globe-trotting IT executive Steve Shantz wrote a short post comparing the battery life of his Windows 7-running Dell XT2 tablet with that of his colleague’s 3G iPad.

Flying from Chicago to Singapore on business, Steve’s Dell battery gives out on him after just 2.5 hours of work. There are many more hours to go. His iPad-toting colleague, meanwhile, lands in Hong Kong and still has plenty of juice left.

Again, in the conference the two of them attend, Steve is left running around looking for power points, while his friend happily cruises through the day without them.

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The iPad does many things really well but what separates it from every other device I have used is the long battery life. For the first time I have a computer I can carry around that does not tie me to an electrical outlet.

When I walk into a meeting, I can look for a good seat. Others are looking for the nearest plugs. It then becomes a game of musical outlets since there are never enough plugs.

I am confident that my iPad will last as long as I need it without needing to be charged up.

Everyone looks at me with my iPad and no connection to the wall. Nothing to trip over. Siting in the seat with the best view.

This has been one of the best selling points for the iPad. That and apps like SoundPaper that allows me to take note and draw pictures while recording the meeting.

Better projectors for 3D

Toy Story 3 in 4K 3D: does higher-res equal higher enjoyment?
[Via Engadget]

We’ll be straight with you, the Engadget staff is somewhat ambivalent about 3D: some of us believe it to be a gimmick, while others see it as a legitimate advance in film technology that takes our movie enjoyment up to its next logical station. What you won’t find us disagreeing on, however, is that everything looks better when it’s taken to a 4K resolution. Sony has been busy rolling out its new 4K projectors across the US and Europe, and invited us yesterday to see Toy Story 3 in some ultra-advanced 4K 3D. Because of it having four times the resolution of the more conventional 2K stuff — which Avatar, the big 3D (and 4D) flagship, was delivered in — Sony’s projector is able to deliver both the left- and right-eye frame on the screen at the same time, rather than having to alternate them in hummingbird fashion. That should ideally provide a more pleasurable overall experience for the viewer and ultimately pay off for the company in more people ponying up more cash for the extra goodness. So, we moseyed along to an Apollo Cinema in central London — the chain has already installed Sony’s hero 4K projectors in 11 of its venues — and all you’ll need to do is click past the break to see what we thought.

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Now I know where to look because these projectors can display both images simultaneously rather than flickering them. This can reduce eye strain.

You can find the theaters in your area online at Sony’s site.