iYogi Reviews: Samsung Gear S – A smartest watch for Gen Next

Is it possible to receive and make calls from your watch? It definitely is. The newly launched Samsung Gear S from the electronic giant Samsung has made this possible. Samsung has created a smart watch that allows you to receive and make calls from your wrist, without the use of phone. Though it still needs the latest Samsung phone to function, yet it can be termed as purely revolutionary and stylish!

As reviewed by iYogi, the new Samsung Gear S has been curved with elegance. It is designed with AMOLED display that provides the user with a comfortable fit. To meet your style expressions, you could easily change the Samsung Gear S’ straps; white, red, blue and black are the colors available for the straps at present. This smart watch has many screen clock faces which can be customized as per your interest.

The Samsung Gear S is a seamless advanced communicator with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G facilities. But it still needs the latest Samsung smart phone for activating the services and loading of applications. Communicating through a watch may mean draining the battery a lot. However, the best thing about this Samsung product is that it has a decent battery life which doesn’t drain easily. The watch comes with a cradle that acts as a portable charger.

The Samsung Gear S has navigation facilities installed, which helps the user to get to their destinations with ease. Enhanced S Voice application can be used for completing tasks hands free. It also is your fitness and health companion that has built in GPS, multi-sensors and robust S Health features that let you keep check on your fitness schedule. The watch also is equipped with Nike+ Running application that allows you to keep a track on your fitness regimen.

And now, here are a few quick technical specifications of this wearable gadget:

• It is set with 512MB RAM
• 4GB internal storage memory
• Dual core 1.0GHz chipset
• Accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, UV, barometer and ambient light
• And over and above an affordable price!

 

iYogi Reviews: Microsoft Band – Smartest Way to Keep a Track of Your Health!

Are you really looking out for a device that keeps a track of your complete health – whether it is about your heart rate, or sleeping pattern or your skin texture and so. If these are your demands, then you should definitely give Microsoft Band a try – it is designed to fit your health first.

So, you have been looking for a device that always keeps you updated about your current health status? What would be the best if your health tracking device is compatible with your latest iPhone 6? It will be definitely like an icing on the cake. Wouldn’t it be?

Microsoft has recently launched a health tracking band, which is very much compatible with the Apple’s iOS and comes inclusive with a dedicated OS X app for easy syncing. iYogi reviews the latest band from Microsoft and how it can benefit you in the long run. Take a look at it:

Hardware and Design

Microsoft Band is the first fitness and health tracking device, which sounds highly active at offering step tracking, heart rate monitoring, sleep monitoring and many more to name. The best and the most intriguing feature is the integration of GPS, which allows the band to keep a track of our outdoor runs without accessing our iPhone’s GPS.

The design of the Microsoft Band is tough in looks, but very comfortable on wearing it. It comes embedded with a 1.4-inch touchscreen that measures 11 mm by 33 mm, having a resolution of 320 by 106 pixels.

The band is designed to add up to your looks. It is comfortable on your wrist, while allowing you to adjust its tightness of the Band using a unique side-locking clasp.

The benefits of Microsoft Band

The first thing that needs to be cleared up is that Microsoft did not launch this band as a competition to Apple watch or Android Wear hardware. Instead, Microsoft has diverted its focus onto the fitness market where brands like Nike, Garmin, Fitbit, Jawbone and many others are in the competition list.

Here is the list of usage that stands the band out in the market:

• Apart from tracking heart rate, the band also keeps a track of our sleep, steps and movements, skin temperature, Ultraviolet light and many more things.
• It comes with a built-in GPS that allows easy outdoor monitoring of your health.
• Includes unique and selective guided workouts that are definitely going to be interesting.

At the same time, you will not have to face any issues regarding its battery performance as Microsoft clearly stated that the Band can last up to two days on a single charge. But, if it is used along with GPS, the battery time is expected to go down.

iOS Compatibility

Syncing and customizing the looks of the Microsoft Band through iOS App is very simple and convenient. Once, synced using the iOS App, the Microsoft Health app allows users to review their health related activities, such as runs, exercises and skin or sleep patterns.

With all these features, the Microsoft Health should definitely be proud of its comprehensive and detailed approach towards fitness. The health tracking capabilities and out-of-the-box easy support for Apple’s iOS definitely stands the device out in the crowd.

Conclusion

Priced at $200, Microsoft Band is clearly not focusing at the same market as the Apple Watch or Android Wear. The Band – a health tracking device from Microsoft is more focused towards the fitness market along with basic smartwatch functions.

So, if you have been looking for a health tracking device, then what else can fit your choice than the Microsoft Band.

 

iYogi Reviews: Lenovo ThinkPad 10 – Costlier over Performance!

Lenovo has tried to build the difference between design, performance and features of high and low end tablets and hybrids by bringing up its new product – ThinkPad 10, a 10-inch Windows 8 tablet.  iYogi brings a review on Lenovo ThinkPad 10 highlighting the addition of new features and more.

Design and features

The 10-inch ThinkPad 10 from Lenovo comes with a thinner chassis, flat matte surface on the back, which gives the ultimate grip on hold. Apart from good body, the 10-inch ThinkPad is included with a keyboard, which is worth $120 and is definitely a must-have add on. The keyboard is designed extremely beautifully with large, well-spaced island-style keys.

The display of any hybrid of tablet plays a very important role and the 10-inch tablet from Lenovo is a real system highlight. The attractive part about ThinkPad 10 is that its IPS panel looks good even from the wide viewing angles with 1,900×1,200 resolution.

The windows 8 interface adds a heavy value to the tablet by doing excellent job scaling to the high screen resolution.

Connection, Battery and Performance

One thing is very clear that with a slim tablet, it is for sure that you are not going to get a large number of ports for expansion or connectivity. Lenovo ThinkPad 10 comes inbuilt with a single full sized USB 2.0 port with the micro sized HDMI and SD card slots. What sounds a little disappointed is that Lenovo did not thought of moving onto to a better USB port or to the newer 802.11ac standard over 802.11n Wi-Fi.

You shouldn’t face any performance issue as the latest ThinkPad 10 from Lenovo includes an Intel Atom CPU.  At a time when you are running one app, you are surely going to get good performance, but on the other hand, if you would try to run multiple apps at a time, you are likely to face occasional pauses or slowdown.

Last, the battery life of ThinkPad 10 is undoubtedly a good effort by Lenovo. The system can run for 8:09 hours, which is considered to be better and longer than the other recent 10-inch and 11-inch PCs.

Conclusion

Priced at $529.99 Lenovo ThinkPad is definitely a good deal if it’s taken into consideration for the built and design. It feels great to hold it in hands, but the price especially considering the sold-separately accessories, it can give you a pause. In simple words, it sounds overpriced over the performance that it is capable of delivering.