Lighter, smaller, sharper The GoPro Hero3 is 25
percent lighter than the previous-generation Hero 2's camera. It's also
30 percent smaller. However, all of that reduction manifests in reduced
thickness with a new depth of only 20mm. The height and width (42mm by
60mm) are unchanged to maintain compatibility with GoPro's line of
BacPac add-on modules and rear doors for the clear plastic shell.
On
the front panel, you'll find the new f/2.8, six-element aspherical lens
that is supposed to offer twice the image sharpness and reduce the
amount of barrel distortion at the extremes of its 170-degree field of
view. However, the characteristic fish-eye look of the video and photos
captured by the Hero3 hasn't been totally removed, as it's sort of a
hallmark of the action-camera style, adding a bit of drama to scenery as
it speeds by.
The Hero3 uses the same improved LCD of the Hero 2,
with its monochromatic dot-matrix display. I found the screen to be
easy enough to navigate using the GoPro's combination mode/power button
to change modes and the shutter release to make selections. However,
there is a bit of a learning curve. Expect to spend a bit of time on
your first outing just looping through the menus and getting used to
where the options are. I also found the LCD to be a bit difficult to
read in direct sunlight. The
Hero3 (right) is the smallest GoPro camera ever, edging out the
previous Hero 2 (middle) and the old-school Digital Hero 5 (left).
Antuan Goodwin/CNET
The
front panel is also home to two indicator lights: one red to indicate
that the Hero is recording and one blue that blinks to indicate that
Wi-Fi is active. There are also smaller red indicator lights on the top,
back, and bottom panels that are visible from most angles.
On the
back panel, you'll find the removable cover for the 1,050mAh lithium
ion battery. Swappable batteries are a good idea if you plan on being
out shooting all day. Next to the battery door, you'll find the
proprietary BacPac connection where the accessory BacPacs, such as the
LCD and Battery BacPacs, connect.
On the right side of the unit
(when viewed from the front), you'll find the Wi-Fi button that
activates and deactivates the wireless connectivity with the GoPro app
for smartphones or the Wi-Fi remote (which is included with the Hero3
Black Edition, but not the Silver or White editions). The details of how
the Wi-Fi remote works have already been detailed as part of our review
of the GoPro WiFi BacPac. However, this built-in Wi-Fi functionality
renders the WiFi BacPac itself obsolete for this new generation --
although you'll still need it if you have a few older Hero 2s kicking
around.
On the left side, behind a removable plastic panel, you'll
find the Hero3's greatly simplified bank of connections. There's a
Micro-HDMI output, shrunken down from the Mini-HDMI of the previous
generation, and a microSD card slot, shrunken down from a full-size SD
card slot for space savings. The Hero3 doesn't come with a microSD card,
but supports cards with capacities up to 64GB. Finally, there's a
Mini-USB port, which makes a return appearance, that is used for
charging and syncing. However, with the aid of optional adapter cables,
this Mini-USB port can also double as a 3.5 mm microphone input or an
analog video output. I like to see GoPro doing more with less space
here, but this connection scheme pretty much locks you into only using
GoPro's first-party adapters, which may not be too big a deal for some
users. The Hero3 consolidates the previous generation's inputs and outputs down to two ports and a card slot.
Antuan Goodwin/CNET
On
either side of the Hero3, you'll find a small pinhole microphone for
audio recording alongside your video. GoPro claims that its wind
reduction algorithms have been improved for this generation. Like the
previous generation, the camera comes with a swappable Skeleton back
panel for its clear plastic case that can be used to further improve
audio quality at speeds below 100 mph at the expense of waterproofing.
Rough and tumble shell
The Hero3's clear plastic shell is as much a part of the GoPro system
as the camera itself and has received an update as well to match the
smaller Hero3 chassis. Now thinner than before, the Hero3's shell also
offers three waterproof buttons that pass your inputs through to the
power/mode select button, the shutter release, and the new Wi-Fi button.
The
back panel is still removable to allow replacement, for example, with
the aforementioned Skeleton door or deeper doors that accommodate the
BacPac add-ons. The door also features a new two-stage lock that that
requires a tab to be pushed to the side before the locking mechanism can
be lifted and rotated out of place. This adds a bit of extra security,
keeping the camera sealed in its case, but I never really had any issues
with the old, single-stage lock, so this new, sometimes incredibly
difficult-to-open lock seems a bit unnecessary. Users who often submerge
their GoPro cameras might not think so.
Finally, the Hero3's new
shell features a new, flat lens that is supposed to work better with the
new lens' reduced distortion and offer better underwater image quality.
Like every generation of Hero shell before it, the Hero3's clear shell
is completely user-serviceable with the ability to replace any component
from the lens to the door to the body itself independently. It also
retains compatibility with GoPro's entire catalog of mounting options.
Build quality & handling
The plastic housing, like the previous version, is robust enough to be knocked, dropped, drenched and thrown about.
There's
an extra lock on the top hinge which can be fiddly with cold or gloved
hands, but will guard against accidental leverage of the hinge, although
we did find the hinge assembly coming off from time to time.
The
mount attachment is the same as previous models so you can reuse your
existing mounts without buying new ones, or take advantage of the many
Third Party options out there such as the K-Edge GO BIG mounts.
The
only things about the camera that have got bigger are the operational
buttons for the menu and shutter activation: an improvement over the
previous model, as it makes operating the camera inside and outside the
housing easier. The
menu system is unchanged although, as with previous HERO cameras, you
can find yourself pressing the same button over and over to cycle
through the menus when you've clicked past the option you wanted to
change.
Performance
The metering functions cope very well across a range of light conditions and rapidly changing light conditions.
The
sensor and compression improvements, in terms of quality over the
HERO2, are obvious when looking at 100% crops of identical photos with a
reduction in artefacts.
There is a tiny improvement in resolution and chromatic aberration is still present, but less so than with previous models.
The
white balance, which can be adjusted in nerd-friendly Kelvin, isn't
always right in auto mode, returning magenta-tinged blues at times, but
nothing that a little post production couldn't fix.
One
marked improvement is the ability to retain details in highlights. On
the previous model bright areas were easily blown out, but there's a lot
more detail now.
There is a sacrifice to be made in
detail in dark areas, which we found when shooting into low autumnal
light. But then this camera comes from California, where they love the
sun.
LCD touchscreen performance
The
optional touchscreen is a great addition, if only for navigating the
menus. Whilst only 5cm across the diagonal it eliminates the guess work
from lining up shots, and provides an opportunity to check back footage
quickly and easily.
The unit doesn't have its own power
supply so it is a drain on your camera's battery. There's no setting to
change the brightness and the screen isn't visible in bright sunlight.
Why they chose to use white graphics on light grey backgrounds is a
puzzler, when more contrasted icons would make for easier viewing.
It can be a little slow to respond to presses in video playback.
When shooting underwater, the touch functions won't work so you'll be relying on the regular buttons for menu selection.
Compared to the competition, such as the £100 ($150) cheaper
Sony HDR-AS15, which already has Wi-Fi built in for live streaming,
identical frame rates at 1080p and 720p plus a stereo microphone and
speaker compared to the GoPro's mono and no speaker; and the £160 ($250)
cheaper Drift HD which has a built in colour screen and more buttons
for menu navigation, is the GoPro worth the extra money?
Yes.
Especially if you're a professional videographer, because of the wide range of resolutions and frame rates it offers.
And yes again, if you want a small, light camera that is capable across a wide range of environmental conditions.
If
you're not that worried about weight or size and are looking for a
cheaper alternative, then the Sony offers a great picture for less money
and does pretty much the same job. Depending
where you want to use it, the GoPro already has a mature range of
mounting accessories. They're still a little flimsy and overpriced, and
difficult to attach with cold or gloved hands, but it does mean that you
can attach the camera to pretty much anything that moves.
With
the HERO3 the main takeaway in terms of image quality was the improved
detail in highlighted areas, but when shooting into the light you can
lose a lot of information in the dark areas of the image.
The
menu system is still a frustration too, but the LCD touchscreen negated
this annoyance and we hope the free GoPro App, which becomes compatible
in December for the Black Edition, will do the same job as the
touchscreen, as well as making framing of shots and shooting a more
controlled affair.
In sum The $399.99 flagship GoPro Hero3 Black
Edition goes head-to-head and toe-to-toe with the top of line Contour+2,
which retails for the same price. Both cameras offer great HD video
quality and both cameras ship with waterproof, ruggedized plastic shells
to protect your investment. Both feature built-in wireless connectivity
with smartphone apps: GoPro uses Wi-Fi; Contour uses Bluetooth. The
Contour+2 wins a round with its ability to record and embed GPS
elevation and speed data into its videos and the fact that it ships with
video editing software, while the GoPro offers neither. I've also noted
on many occasions that the Contour is easier for novices to use, with
its slide and record control scheme. The
GoPro Hero3 Black Edition (pictured) is the best sports camera yet, but
the Silver and White editions are great value alternatives.
Antuan Goodwin/CNET
However,
the Hero3's smaller chassis, on-device display and controls, and
superior resolutions and available frame rates make it the obvious
winner in a spec battle. If you're a semi-professional or prosumer
sports camera enthusiast, taking an extra day to figure out the Hero3's
more complex control scheme is totally worth the greater amount of
on-device flexibility of shooting modes.
However, at about four
Benjamins, the Hero3 Black Edition may be too much camera for your
average consumer who only occasionally hits the slopes or is only
uploading to YouTube or Facebook. For those who don't need 4K video or
want to hold off on buying the Wi-Fi remote, the $299.99 Silver Edition
and $199.99 White Edition meet the right price points, but come into
competition with the newly announced ContourRoam 2.
The GoodThe GoPro Hero3
is smaller, lighter, and features built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. The
Black Edition offers a number of ultra-high-resolution capture modes and
high frame rates for standard HD resolutions; burst speeds for still
photos has been greatly improved.
The BadGoPro's
control scheme has a longer learning curve than the simpler slide-n-go
setup of the Contour cameras. Only 15fps on 4K video renders this
selling point mostly moot for action videography.
The Bottom LineThe
GoPro Hero3 Silver and White editions are strong contenders in the
sports camera market, but the faster, more powerful Black Edition is
head and shoulders the best sports camera on the market today.
Samsung is not, it would seem, a brand that likes chasing
anyone. It seems almost obsessed with being the pace setter, the race
leader, not the valiant runner up. This obsession has seen the brand
invest vast amounts of research and development time in recent years in
successfully hunting down seemingly unassailable rivals in the
smartphone, tablet and LCD TV sectors.
Now, if the
Samsung PS64F8500 plasma TV is anything to go by, Samsung's ruthless
quest for world dominance now has a new quarry in its sights: Panasonic.
Or more specifically, Panasonic's long-revered plasma TVs.
Samsung
is hardly a plasma virgin, of course. It's served up numerous plasma
television hits before. However, these previous plasma successes have
mostly traded on value for money - when it comes to absolute picture
quality, Panasonic has remained the king of the castle.
With
the Samsung PS64F8500, though, the brand gets so close to upsetting
this established order that you can practically hear Panasonic's teeth
chattering.
As its name suggests, the Samsung PS64F8500
is a 64-inch TV - a damn fine size for movie fans, and a heck of a lot
of television to be getting for a full price of £2,999.99 (around
AU$4,620/US$4,575).
What's more, despite its very
respectable price the Samsung PS64F8500 is no feature lightweight. On
the contrary, its highlights include active 3D playback, a comprehensive
multimedia playback system, a full iteration of Samsung's latest
startlingly powerful and flexible smart TV/online platforms and a much
more refined and uncompromising plasma panel design than anything the
brand has unleashed before. You
can even wave your hands at and talk to the TV if you want to - things
we've not previously felt inclined to do, to be honest, but which
suddenly, thanks to recent significant firmware updates from Samsung's
seemingly tireless engineers, have started to make sense.
Despite
Samsung putting so much effort into the PS64F8500, the TV doesn't sit
at the head of a long line of cheaper plasma models, as you might
expect.
There's a 51-inch 8500 model that costs
£1,899.99, but aside from that your only Samsung plasma options are the
60-inch and 51-inch F5500 models - priced at £1,299.99 and £899.99.
These use less high-grade panels and video processing, don't have
built-in cameras and don't support voice or motion control. If you'd rather have a Samsung LCD TV, the obvious options to consider would be the brand's flagship F8000
LCD TVs - a range of outstanding sets that currently top out at 55
inches but will ultimately be joined by 65-inch and 75-inch models.
But you should note that the biggest two models in this series will likely be far more expensive than the Samsung PS64F8500.
So
far as rival sets from other brands are concerned, the inevitable
competition will be Panasonic. Where models we've already tested are
concerned, the closest option is the Panasonic P65VT50. But we'll also soon be looking at the brand new Panasonic P65VT65 and flagship Panasonic P60ZT65 models.
Series information: I performed a hands-on
evaluation of the 60-inch Samsung PN60F8500, but this review also
applies to the other screen sizes in the series. All sizes have
identical specs and according to the manufacturer should provide very
similar picture quality.
Design
It's too bad many buyers well-off enough to afford an F8500 will likely
elect to wall-mount it, because it has the most unique stand I've ever
seen on a plasma TV. Set atop a table the big panel is kept upright by a
smoothly curving base that flares out in the middle and recedes gently
back to either side. Seen from the front it almost looks like it's
smiling, and the stand makes a beautiful complement to the TV's thin,
dark gray metallic frame. Samsung calls it "Titan Black," but it looks
dark gray in person.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Since the base spans the entire width of the TV, you might need a
wider table or TV stand than normal. The 60-inch Panasonic VT60, for
example, has a standard pedestal base measuring 21.8 inches wide, while
the 60-inch F8500 requires at least 54.8 inches of width. Despite its
floaty appearance the F8500 seemed stable enough when I tried to rock it
back and forth. As always with a large flat-panel TV, however, you
should use wall anchors, especially in households with kids.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The remote is even more remarkable than the stand. Samsung's recent
flagship TVs included daring if disappointing clickers, from the chunky QWERTY flipper of the D8000 to the unresponsive touch pad of the E8000.
The company totally redesigned the touch pad this year, and it's a
massive improvement. Despite a few flaws and the need for a learning
curve, in many ways it's the best remote control included with any TV
I've ever used.
Sarah Tew/CNET
It's small, with just a few buttons above and below a spacious touch
pad, but it fit perfectly in my hand. The remote is Bluetooth, so it
works without needing to be aimed at the TV. Responsiveness was superb,
so I found myself merrily swiping along large menus and rarely missing
my selection. Convenient slider bars above and on either side of the pad
worked perfectly to scroll past pages at a time. The whole pad
depressed with a satisfying click when I made a selection, although
(nitpick alert) a laptop touch-pad-style tap-to-click would be even
better. In total navigation was faster, almost as accurate and, I gotta
admit, much more fun than with a standard remote.
The main flaw
of Samsung's clever clicker comes with its lack of buttons. The few that
are included have raised, uniquely tactile shapes and useful
backlighting, but to improve the remote's size, design and perceived
simplicity, plenty of common keys go missing. To enter numbers, for
example, you have to hit the "More" button, which calls up a numeric
keypad (below) that requires tedious swiping around to select each
digit. You can also "rotate" the keypad -- it's fastest to use the top
slider bar -- to access additional controls, such as transport functions
(play, pause, stop, and so on), Picture-in-picture, an Info screen,
various set-top-box controls, and, well, more.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Sarah Tew/CNET
Most traditional remotes have dedicated keys for these functions, and
how much you'll miss them depends on how you typically use your TV
remote. For example, I rarely need to dial in channels directly, but I
do use the fast-forward, skip, and play/pause keys all the time when
watching TV (e.g. controlling my DVR). That's basically impossible with
Samsung's remote (see below).
Sarah Tew/CNET
Like most Smart TVs Samsung has two distinct menu systems, one for the
TV's settings and one for the Smart functionality. The former are
exactly the same as last year: opaque blue layers logically arranged and
featuring helpful explanations, a nifty preview pane, and very quick
navigation, thanks in no small part to the remote
Key TV features
Display technology
Plasma
LED backlight
N/A
Screen finish
Glossy
Remote
Touch pad
Smart TV
Yes
Internet connection
Built-in Wi-Fi
3D technology
Active
3D glasses included
4 pair
Refresh rate(s)
96Hz, 60Hz
Dejudder (smooth) processing
Yes
DLNA-compliant
Photo/Music/Video
USB
Photo/Music/Video
Other:
Built-in camera and microphone for voice and gesture recognition;
cable box integration and control via IR blaster; additional 3D glasses
(model SSG-5100GB, $19); optional Smart Evolution kit (available 2014 and beyond; price/model TBD); optional keyboard (model VG-KBD2000, $99)
Features "Featuritis" is one way to describe Samsung's "kitchen sink" approach to its high-end devices, from its phones to tablets, to TVs, to refrigerators, to -- yes -- actual kitchen sinks.
But there's no avoiding the fact that products like the F8500 have more
options than just about any other competitor. I'll try to cover them
here, including whether they're useful or not, and I expect to augment
this section as I spend more time with it.
But first, let's look
at what I actually consider important: features that affect picture
quality. The main reason the F8500 costs so much more than the step-down
F5500 is its superior plasma panel. Samsung calls it
"Real Black Pro" or "Super Contrast Panel" depending on where you click
at the company's Web site, but the main differences between it and the
F5500's are better light output, deeper black levels, and a better
antireflective screen. I haven't compared the two directly yet, but
based on what I saw from the E550 and E8000 from last year, I expect the F8500 to be substantially better.
The two Samsungs share much of the same feature set, otherwise,
however, including the full Smart TV suite described below, the same
remote, and even voice control. The F5500 has fewer inputs, no built-in
pop-up camera (pictured below), and a dual-core processor compared to
the F8500's quad-core.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The
F8500 continues Samsung's tradition of including four pairs of active
3D glasses in the box. The new SSG-5100GB specs are slight retreads of
the SSG-4100GBs from last year with no real improvement made to
their flimsy design, but at least additional pairs are cheap. Panasonic
and Sony's throw-ins, for what it's worth, are better. Since the F8500
adheres to the universal standard, you can always purchase other glasses.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The set will also be compatible with future Smart Evolution kits. Acting as a sort of brain transplant, the kits debuted this year to upgrade the company's flagship 2012 TVs. Samsung
promises a semblance of future-proofing for its most expensive TVs by
offering a similar kit for the F8500 in early 2014, as well as "years
down the road."
Perhaps the single most significant thing about the latest
Samsung smart TV engine, though, is its ability to track the TV shows
and on-demand content you watch so that it can build up a profile of
what you like to watch and then make recommendations accordingly.
These
recommendations appear on the home TV screen when you select it, or you
can speak to the TV and ask it to recommend programmes it thinks you'll
like.
There
is an inevitable catch with this system in that it takes 2-3 months for
the TV to really get a close feel for your favourite content, leaving
you in the meantime sometimes feeling bewildered about some of the
recommendations it makes. But we guess you just need to stick with it.
One
last smart feature to mention is the way the TV enables you to control
it via Samsung apps for iOS and Android devices, additionally enabling
you to share multimedia between your devices and the TV, and stream
video from the TV to the Android or iOS app.
The Android
app also enables you to watch something from a second tuner while the
rest of your family watches the main tuner on the TV.
The
only problems here are that you have to use multiple apps to achieve
everything that's possible rather than having a single 'one-stop' app,
and that you're given no guidance anywhere over what apps you need and
how to set them up. We only found out everything via regular
communications with Samsung's technical people. Leaving
the impressive and ever-improving Smart Engine behind, the Samsung
PS64F8500 sports a comprehensive range of picture adjustments and
calibration tools, including all the gamma and colour management tools
even the most serious of tinkerers - or a professional calibrator -
could reasonably hope to find.
It's well worth dwelling
for a moment, too, on some of the major improvements Samsung has
introduced to the plasma panel at the Samsung PS64F8500's heart, because
these really do have a major bearing on its performance, as we're about
to discover.
For starters, a new Real Black Pro Filter
in the screen soaks up more ambient light than previous iterations,
enabling black levels to look deeper on the screen and light to emerge
from the screen more efficiently and potently.
Samsung
has also been able to speed up its panel response time so that it can
reach higher brightness peaks in real time, as well as introducing a
reworked discharge waveform that gives a further boost in contrast by
enabling plasma cells to go darker faster.
Brightness has
been further improved, meanwhile, by increasing the panel's active
discharge space - meaning that more of the screen area can receive light
from the plasma cells, by introducing Magnesium Oxide into its
conduction materials to boost energy efficiency, and by deploying an
improved discharge gas in the plasma chambers.
Smart TV Samsung's Smart Hub offers the usual
array of apps, social media hooks and access to local content, but that
stuff is presented as secondary to an ambitious "On TV" section.
Available from no other TV maker I've tested yet (although LG has
something similar this year), it basically attempts to replace your
cable or satellite box with the TV's own interface -- and when it can't
do that, at least control the box via Samsung's own remote.
The Hub's new design is reminiscent of an Android
smartphone, with five different home pages you can flip through by
swiping the remote touch pad's scroll bar. Navigation and the slick
animations were superquick on the quad-core F8500, although I wouldn't
be surprised if step-down Samsungs moved a bit more sluggishly. Overall
the design is refreshing, colorful, and relatively simple, a welcome
change from the cluttered feel of the company's previous Smart TV suite.
It's also a big step up in design from Panasonic's multipage suite,
although it doesn't provide the quite same level of customization. Setup:
Like many new TVs, Samsung greets new users with a step-by-step guided
setup, which I usually don't describe. In this case, however, it's
unusual enough to merit mention. First, it's accompanied by strange
Muzak. Second, it's quite involved, including setup not only for Wi-Fi
but also for cable box control, and requires you to choose your provider
from a list. I wasn't sure which channel lineup to choose between the
two different options for Verizon Fios, so I just picked one.
It
also asks you to sign your life away. In addition to the Smart Hub
terms and conditions policy and privacy policy, you'll have to consent
to supplemental privacy notices, one each for Samsung's Recommendations
engine, Voice Recognition, Nuance (the company that powers the voice
recognition software), Synch Plus, Yahoo, and the Online Remote
management. Upon completion of setup, the message reads: "Your Smart TV
is ready to use. The more you use your TV, the smarter it will get!"
Once you get it set up, you're taken to the default home page for the
Smart Hub. Unfortunately, as with Panasonic's 2013 TVs, you'll be
greeted with this page every time you turn on the TV. A tweak from the
default (Menu>Smart Features>On TV Settings>Auto Start>Off)
is enough to fix it, but it's still annoying. At least there are no
pop-up ads.
Sarah Tew/CNET
On TV and Recommendation engine:
The default Smart Hub home page, On TV, consists of a grid of TV show
thumbnails along with a large window showing live TV. Below each
thumbnail is a progress bar showing time remaining. You can also switch
to a "timeline view," which displays a list of five shows for every
hour.
On TV basically acts as a very select electronic program
guide (EPG), replacing the staid grid of hundreds of channels with a few
cozy images of your favorite TV stars. As you use the system to select
shows, Samsung's "recommendation engine" kicks in to surface more shows
it thinks you'll want to watch. I didn't spend much time trying to make
those reccs make sense for me, but as someone who doesn't watch much TV
beyond sports and the occasional series like "Mad Men" and "Game of
Thrones," I probably wouldn't be a good subject. I usually know what I
want to watch, and I don't need suggestions from the likes of TiVo (one
service that has incorporated "suggestions" for years) or Samsung.
I also wouldn't normally use On TV to select my shows, because most of
the TV I watch is stored on my DVR's hard drive. That list of recordings
isn't incorporated into On TV at all, so On TV has no idea which of
them I watch and can't make suggestions based upon them. For people like
me, who almost never watch live TV, Samsung's attempt to replace the
cable box simply doesn't work.
Even someone who watches a lot of
live TV and doesn't know what they want to see will experience some
hiccups with the system. One issue is that choosing a show, for example,
"The Price Is Right," took me to the standard-definition channel on my
system, not the HD one. Another is that the On TV page shows just six
shows each under Now Playing and Coming Up; If you want to browse more
than that, you have to turn to your cable box's trusty EPG.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Cable box control:
The system uses a single, old-school wired IR blaster (above) to send
commands from the TV to the cable box. Like most such systems it's
disappointing, and further hobbled by the Samsung remote's paucity of
controls.
I set up the system to control my Motorola DVR from
Verizon Fios. Samsung's remote navigated my DVR's menus and EPG nicely,
entered channel numbers as expected (complete with a handy channel
history list) and items like a swipe-to-fast-forward were nice. On the
other hand, mainstay buttons like "Guide" and "DVR" on the Samsung
remote, and the transport keys on the virtual remote, didn't work at
all. So, absurdly, I couldn't stop fast-forwarding once I'd swiped to start.
Confusingly, there's a separate universal remote control setup routine
that goes unmentioned in the initial setup, but even after playing
around with it, I was unable to get full functionality. The system
failed to properly control my Denon receiver, for example, and even when
it worked, the Volume keys on the remote controlled the TV's volume,
not the receiver's. There's no way to reprogram Samsung's remote to
perform these functions, so in the end I had to use other remotes in
addition to Samsung's, defeating much of the purpose.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Cross-platform streaming video browse:
The second page, called "Movies & TV Shows," is a portal to
Internet-based streaming video services -- despite the name, it doesn't
surface any cable-based TV shows. The recommendation engine works here,
too, to suggest new content based on past selections. Choose a TV show
and you're taken to a page listing related shows, cast information, a
description, and a "Watch Now" button. Clicking it will show you results
from Netflix, Vudu, CinemaNow, and Samsung's Media Hub, along with
per-episode pricing. Unfortunately, Amazon (including Prime), Hulu Plus,
and HBO Go aren't included in the results; you'll have to go into the
individual apps to search those. Update: I originally
wrote that there's no way to search the system without using voice
commands. Turns out you can, but it's hidden. Hitting the "recomm
search" area on the remote once brings up recommended shows. Hitting it a
second time quickly thereafter brings up a virtual keyboard for
searching. Unlike voice search, however, results from your cable service
won't show up in these search results--only results from those same
four Internet-based streaming video services will appear.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Media and Social: The fourth page accesses music,
photo and video content, whether from an attached USB thumb or hard
drive, DLNA device (NAS drive or PC) or smartphone, or the cloud.
Naturally the TV is compatible with Samsung's AllShare system, and it
can also access cloud storage from DropBox, SkyDrive, and SugarSynch, as
well as work with MHL and Miracast to screen mirror-compatible smartphones. I didn't test this functionality, nor did I test Samsung's remote control apps for tablets and smartphones.
The fifth page is called "Social," and it's filled by default with
YouTube clips. You can link it to Facebook, Twitter, and Skype accounts,
which seems mildly interesting. When I did so, however, the only things
that surfaced were "Friends' Pick" on Facebook, and there was no easy
access to tweet or post status updates. As it stands, except for easy
Skype access, this page is even more useless than I'd expect from
"social" on a Smart TV.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Apps and Web browser: Samsung's selection, available on the fifth page, is second to none, and it's still the only TV maker with HBO Go. Other
notable apps among the hundreds available include Spotify, Fios TV,
Amazon Cloud Player, a Camera app, and Samsung's "Explore 3D" app.
There's a cool "Fitness VOD" app that you can use in conjunction with
the camera to put yourself alongside a workout coach on screen, and
many, many more.
The page design, which is basically a bunch of
small icons again reminiscent of a smartphone, is much cleaner than
before. "Recommended" apps appear above a large editable grid of "My
Apps" in the bottom area. Most of the important apps come preinstalled,
and the chaff is all happily hidden inside the Samsung Apps section one
layer down.
The Web browser is the best I've used on any TV,
thanks in large part to the touch pad remote. The scrollbars work as
they should, the "Return" key is a handy shortcut for "Back," and the
virtual keyboard makes entering URLs and search terms as easy as
possible with its smart suggestions for letters, terms and sites.
CNET.com loaded quickly enough, including comments, and the browser
passed this Flash support test.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Of course, you'll experience even less frustration if you connect an
external wireless keyboard. The TV can pair with a Bluetooth keyboard or
mouse; I used two versions of the Samsung Wireless Keyboard (VG-KDB1000
and VG-KDB1500) that worked great, and the set should also work with
newer KDB2000 models too. I was also able to use a cheaper wireless USB
keyboard, the Logitech K400,
whose touch pad worked just as well as the Samsungs'. It's true when
they say that all functions might not work within all apps, however; I
was unable to type search terms into Amazon Instant or Netflix using
either keyboard (although arrow-key navigation and Enter worked fine,
for example).
Voice and Gesture control: If you
got this far expecting a thorough evaluation of what Samsung claims is
new and improved control via voice and gestures, I'm sorry to disappoint
you. I didn't test those features at all for this review, so I can't
say one way or the other whether the F8500 improves on last year's effort. Stay tuned for that.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Picture settings:
In true Samsung tradition, there's plenty on tap here, including
2-point and 10-point grayscale control, an excellent color management
system, and four picture presets. The company also includes a "Black
Optimizer" setting that has a real effect on black levels, a Film Mode
option that does as well, and, yes, a dejudder control to turn the Soap Opera Effect on or off. I can't really ask for anything more.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Connectivity:
Nothing major goes missing here. Four HDMI ports, three USB, and an
optical digital output do the digital heavy lifting, while analog video
is served by a single component-video port that's shared with composite
video. There's no VGA-style PC input, but there is an RS-232 port for
custom AV control systems, as well as port for the included wired IR
blaster.
The F8500 deserves a spot in the upper echelon of TVs you can buy, and
in a bright room it's the best plasma I've ever seen. In moderate
rooms, it doesn't quite match up to the picture quality of the
like-priced Panasonic TC-PVT60 series, and while I'd say it's a superior
performer to the ST60 by a nose, they both earn the same 9 rating in
this section.
This plasma manages to combine exceedingly deep
black levels with the potential for whites brighter than any other
high-performance plasma available. Color accuracy is superb, if not
quite reference level, and of course it exhibits the perfect off-angle
and picture uniformity characteristics of the breed. Its video
processing unfortunately requires you to make a choice between correct 1080p/24 film cadence
and the deepest black levels, however, something you won't have to do
with other TVs. One tertiary weakness is sound quality, while its 3D
picture quality, aided again by superior light output, was outstanding.
Click
the image at the right to see the picture settings used in the review
and to read more about how this TV's picture controls worked during
calibration.
Black level:
The F8500 can produce some of the deepest levels of black of any
display I've seen, beating the depth of all but the very best plasmas
and local dimming LEDs. In our lineup, which includes the best flat-panel
TVs we have available (and, I'd argue, most of the best ever made), it
looked just a shade lighter than only the VT60, the Kuro, and the Elite
in most dark and mixed scenes. In the very dark "Drive" Blu-ray, for
example, the depth of the F8500's letterbox bars and black areas like
Driver's car
stereo and leather gloves (4:12) was superb. Even sitting right between
the Kuro and the VT60, the F8500 looked almost as deep -- and made the
VT50, ST60, and especially the E8000 seem slightly grayish as opposed to
inky black.
Unfortunately, you do have to trade away true film
cadence if you want the absolute deepest black levels the F8500 can
deliver. When I switched the Film Mode setting from Off to Cinema
Smooth, those inky blacks got slightly brighter, reaching about the
level of the ST60 and the VT50 (from 0.002 fL to 0.004, if you're
counting). That's not much of a jump, so film cadence purists might not
mind making it. On the other hand, of course, all of the other sets
delivered correct cadence without sacrificing black levels.
Shadow detail was another strong suit for the F8500. As Irene grasps
Driver's hand under the vacillating light (30:29), all of the folds in
his pants and jacket, along with the shadows along the steering column
and door, looked correct, neither too bright nor too dim, and every
detail was preserved. That said, I'd still give a slight advantage in
most scenes to the Panasonics, particularly the VT60, where certain
shadow details appeared just a bit more distinct, especially in areas
very close to black. The walls during the slow pan over Driver's room
(37:20) or, even better, the very deep shadows and gasses in the
Creation sequence from "Tree of Life" (23:48), again showed the
Panasonics' slight advantage. In any case the difference was very
subtle, and it was tough to pick a clear winner between the F8500 and
the three Panasonics, even with the benefit of side-by-side comparison.
It was easier to see the F8500's superiority to the E8000 in this area.
I watched a lot of Drive as well dark parts of other films, and I
didn't notice any instances of abrupt changes in overall black level --
aka "brightness pops." I also checked out the two pops tests that created
the artifact in 2011 Samsung plasmas, in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," but the F8500 didn't show the
issue there either.
A strange image retention artifact did occur
on the F8500 that I've never seen before. When I paused the image or
the shot lingered for long enough on a dark stationary element, purplish
noise would begin to gradually accumulate in shadowy areas. It happened
in the upper-right of the screen on the beige car interior (between
4:14 and 4:19), for example, and became quite obvious if I paused. It
wasn't overly distracting, and disappeared nearly immediately when the
image changed, but it's still unusual and potentially distracting in
certain stationary shots with near-black material. I also saw it during
calibration (see the picture settings above for details), but in any
case this issue doesn't spoil my recommendation. Color accuracy:
The colors on the F8500 are superb. The rich saturation imparted by its
deep black levels combined with very low measured error levels to
create a palate that stands against the lineup extremely well. The only
flaw was a spike in blue in the middle of the grayscale that adjustment
couldn't tame, an issue that perhaps manifested in slightly cooler skin
tones in areas like the face of Irene in the restaurant (46:54).
On the other hand, the F8500 came closer than the others to the E8000
which, according to our measurements, has the best overall color in the
lineup. It's difficult to say which was "better" -- the warmer Panasonic
VTs or the slightly cooler Samsungs -- but to my eye the Panasonics did
appear a bit more pleasing and saturated. Regardless, the F8500 looked
slightly more accurate than the ST60, and significantly more accurate
than the Kuro and the Sharp Elite.
The measurement of the
F8500's near-black (5 percent) was also among the best I've ever seen,
leading to pleasingly neutral dark areas and shadows. Of course, most of
the others were also extremely good in this area, but the F8500 was
just a bit better. Video processing: As I
mentioned above, this area is the F8500's only major stumbling block.
The only way to achieve the correct film cadence of 1080p/24 sources,
like most Blu-ray movies, is to engage the Cinema Smooth setting under
Film Mode -- which lightens black levels somewhat. When I did so, I saw
the nice, smooth-but-not-too-smooth movement in areas like the swinging
camera in the grocery store in "Drive" (15:30) and of course even more
clearly in my traditional such test, the pan over the aircraft carrier
from "I Am Legend" (24:58).
Switching back to Off, which
delivers the deepest black levels, caused the cadence to assume the
characteristic, slightly hitching motion of 2:3 pull-down. It's a subtle
difference, but videophiles will have to choose between correct cadence
and the deepest blacks. I chose the latter, for what it's worth.
The F8500 offers two levels of dejudder that introduce the
characteristic Soap Opera Effect. Even the weakest, Standard, produced
an exceedingly smooth image that won't appeal to those who dislike that
effect. Unlike Panasonic's plasmas, however, engaging dejudder did not
affect my motion resolution measurements.
As with previous
Samsungs, the default Auto2 Film Mode setting for 1080i sources didn't
result in proper deinterlacing; I had to switch to Auto 1 to get the
PNF8500 to pass that test. Update: In Game mode the Samsung showed a relatively poor input lag measurement of 107.5ms. But there's a "trick" that
allows it to achieve a much more respectable lag score of 53.1ms. To use
it, select an HDMI input from the Input menu, go to the Options menu in
the upper-right and rename the input "PC." Doing so allows it to
achieve a better lag score. Bright lighting:
The performance of the F8500 in high ambient light is better than any
other plasma I've tested, and in this lineup is second only to the Sharp
Elite LED. Its largest advantage over the other plasmas came in the
form of prodigious light output.
Compared directly to the
also-60-inch VT60, the F8500 almost doubled its maximum light output; I
measured a peak of 83 fL (footlambert) in Dynamic mode on the Samsung,
compared to 49 in Vivid mode on the Panasonic using window patterns.
The F8500 also maintains higher light output with full-screen
patterns, measuring 19.1 fL compared to just 9.8 on the Panasonic.
Hockey or skiing, where much of the screen is occupied by white or very
bright material, appears markedly brighter on the F8500 than on other
plasmas this size, and other content is proportionately brighter too,
depending on how much of the screen is occupied by white. Most content
is more mixed between light and dark, however, making this F8500
advantage less important. It's also worth noting that most LEDs can
maintain an even brighter image than the F8500 with near- or full-white
content.
Speaking of importance, here's the part where I remind
readers that 40 fL, the amount to which I calibrate, is plenty for a
moderately lit room. But if you have an extremely bright room or just
prefer watching an extremely bright picture (like Vivid or Dynamic on
your current TV), the F8500 comes closer to the light output of an LED
TV than any plasma I've tested. Of course an LED can get even brighter;
the 60-inch Elite, for example, can achieve a scorching 300 (window) and
133 (full-screen) fL in certain settings.
The F8500 has an
excellent screen filter to go along with its light output potential. It
preserved black levels under bright overhead lighting better than any TV
in my lineup aside from the Sharp, keeping the image punchy instead of
washed out. All of the plasmas aside from the Kuro were quite close in
this regard; the VT50 was actually second-best at preserving black,
followed by the VT60 and then the ST60 and E8000.
The ability
to reduce reflections is also very important, and while none of these
displays can match a matte-screened LED/LCD in that area, the F8500 was
one of the best. Again, its least wasn't much, but reflections were a
bit brighter on the VT60. Sound quality The
F8500 was the worst-sounding TV in the lineup. Its audio was thin, bass
was distorted, and the instruments of Nick Cave's band from our test
track were less distinct. Dialogue during "Mission: Impossible 3" was
also relatively muddy, and Ving Rhames' deep voice sounded like it was
coming from another room. The ensuing explosions had little visceral
feel, and details like breaking glass were nigh inaudible. The
great-sounding VT60, in particular, trounced it, but the VT50 and ST60
also sounded better, as did last year's E8000. 3D:
The F8500 is probably the best 3D performer of any plasma TV I've
tested. Its image quality in the default settings for Cinema mode was
better than what I saw on the VT60, mainly due to superior light output
and better shadow detail. The latter difference can be equalized in
calibration, perhaps (we don't calibrate for 3D), but the former is a
distinct advantage.
In terms of crosstalk, the F8500 performed
as well or better than any of the other plasmas, but not at the same
level as my 3D reference, the LED-based UN55ES8000 -- which I subbed into the lineup in place of the 2D-only Kuro. Crosstalk is a bugaboo of 3D TVs that use active 3D technology, and appears as a ghostly double-image
around many onscreen objects. During my favorite crosstalk tests from
"Hugo," including Hugo's hand as it reached for the mouse (5:01), the
tuning pegs on the guitar (7:49), and the face of the dog as it watches
the inspector slide by (9:24), the F8500's crosstalk was quite dim and
unobjectionable -- about the same level as the ST60 and VT60, and better
than the E8000.
The image of the Samsung F8500 had more punch
and impact, however, because it got substantially brighter. No, it
didn't reach the same level as the LED ES8000, but it was still visibly
superior to any of the plasmas, particularly in brighter scenes. Details
in shadows, like the bulkhead at the beginning of Chapter 2, were also
more distinct on the F8500, although black levels were a bit deeper on
the VT60. Color also seemed a bit better on the F8500, with more neutral
shadows compared to the bluer Panasonics.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Panasonic's throw-in 3D glasses fit much better than Samsung's. The
flimsy temples of the Samsung 5100GB's barely kept them secure on my
head, especially when I wore my prescription glasses, and the design let
in a substantial amount of light from the side. At least they were very
light. Power consumption: Light output is a major factor in how much juice a TV uses, so it stands to reason that the F8500 is more of a
power hog in its brightest picture mode. Unlike other plasmas, its
default picture mode, Standard, is quite bright (with the ambient light
sensor disabled), clocking 82 fL and a correspondingly massive power
drain. After calibration to a standard light level, however, it's right
in line with what I'd expect from a 60-inch plasma.
The current Energy Star specification is still version 5.3, which still imposes a hard cap of 108 watts for any size of TV. According to Energy Star's April 2013 list of qualified TVs, no 1080p 2013 Samsung plasma earns the blue sticker, although its 43-inch 720p sets series do. Editors'
note: CNET has dropped TV power consumption testing for 60-inch or
smaller LCD- and LED-based TVs because their power use, in terms of
yearly cost, is negligible. We will continue to test the power use of
larger LCD or LED models, as well as all plasma models.
The GoodThe Samsung PNF8500 series
exhibits outstanding picture quality with a class-leading bright-room
image, exceedingly deep black levels, very good shadow detail, highly
accurate colors and superb off-angle and uniformity characteristics;
mind-boggling feature list with touch-pad remote, IR blaster with cable
box control, four pairs of 3D glasses, motion and voice command, and the
industry's most capable Smart TV platform; unique styling with
full-width ribbon stand and slim-bezel metallic finish.
The BadExtremely
expensive; correct film cadence requires sacrificing some black level;
remote lacks numerous direct commands; imperfect cable box control;
consumes more power than LCD TVs.
The Bottom LineSamsung's best-performing TV ever, the PNF8500 series pushes the plasma picture quality envelope, especially in bright rooms.
Last year Apple went where I
never thought it would, with the iPad mini bringing the Apple tablet
experience to a brave new budget world.
Now usurped by the new iPad Mini 2,
the older tablet is still on sale at a wallet-friendly £249 for the
basic version, with 16GB of storage on offer for the Wi-Fi version on
Apple's site (although it can be had slightly cheaper if you shop
around).
You
can also add 4G cellular, which brings the price up to £349. This
entry-level model comes in a single 16GB capacity, while the iPad mini
with Retina display goes up to 128GB, costing a whopping £659 for the
top model which also includes 4G.
Then
again, the first generation iPad mini isn't about top-end specs with a
whopping price tag – it's about beating the likes of the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD in the budget stakes.
The
two competitors have been getting plenty of column inches thanks to
their super-cheap prices and the impressive specs on board. But with
both offering only a 7-inch screen compared to Apple's 7.9-inch display,
the Cupertino company is confident its device will win over
budget-conscious consumers.
However,
more frugal shoppers may not agree with this idea, as the Nexus 7 and
Kindle Fire HD cost quite a bit less. When faced with a choice between
the three, they might opt for the familiar Amazon brand or the sheer
power of the Nexus 7, with its impressive spec list and legions of
Google apps.
That said, Apple fans need not worry too much when it comes to whether the iPad mini
is a worthy addition to the iBrand. It comes with enough power and is
Ive-inspired enough to make it a worthwhile addition to the range. This
isn't a shrunken-down iPad, it's a whole new product all over again.
Be
it the larger screen size, impressively low weight or alternative
design compared to the competition, there's a lot to chew over when it
comes to the iPad mini. But is it worth spending your hard-earned cash
when a handful more will get you larger version of Apple's tablet? And
how does it stack up next to the second-generation mini with its higher
resolution display and faster hardware?
Features and design
The
iPad mini exists because the market started to dictate its presence…but
that doesn't mean Apple doesn't want to put its own spin on things.
To
that end, the border has been reduced and the screen is larger at 7.9
inches relative to the dimensions of the original iPad. Additionally,
the design is completely different to the likes of the Google Nexus 7.
In fact the whole ethos has been created from the ground up, partly
under the stewardship of Sir Jony Ive, according to Apple.
None
of that really matters though. What is important is the fact that it's a
superbly designed device that gives a measure of why it costs so much
more than the likes of the Kindle Fire HD.
The aluminium chassis shares the same colouring as the iPhone 5S, with the darker black slate and white silver options both bringing a touch of class to proceedings.
At
308g it's twice the weight and then some of the iPhone 5S, but compared
to other tablets on the market (and combined with the aluminium
chassis) it feels lightweight in the hand.
The
screen is something of a worry though – with the 1024x768 resolution in
the expansive display, you only get a sharpness akin to the iPhone 3GS.
While the display quality is better than that thanks to improved IPS
LCD technology, it's still light years behind the Retina display on the
bigger iPad Air and the second-generation mini.
If
you own a modern iPad, you'll notice the difference straight away. But
then if you have one of these, then you won't want an iPad mini.
The tablet will struggle to impress iPhone users, as it doesn't have the wow factor of Apple's smaller devices.
In a side-by-side test of the same movie running on the iPad mini, the Nexus 7
and the Kindle Fire HD, the iPad looked the least impressive (although
the contrast ratio was certainly more than decent in my eyes).
Then
there's the issue of holding the actual tablet. As Apple says, it's as
light as a pad of legal paper, and there's definitely no risk of it
causing wrist strain. However, the iPad mini doesn't really lend itself
that well to any manner of grip.
The
most comfortable and secure way to hold a tablet is to grip right
around the back – something Apple thinks you can do easily according to
its promotional materials.
Well,
you're wrong there, Cupertino-gadget-people. It's just too far to
stretch around with average-sized hands. Instead you're forced to hold
it in the corner, covering part of the screen. It's good that Apple has
chucked some technology in there to distinguish an intentional touch
from an accidental one, but it's not the most comfortable way to use the
device.
In landscape
orientation using two hands, the iPad mini is a much nicer device to
hold, with the aluminium covering giving it a nicely textured back.
However, the aluminium covering similar to the iPhone 5 has led to
another design problem: scratching.
The
handsets have been getting criticism for exposing the silver metal
below with minimal scratching. This started to happen within a day on
the iPad mini – which is all the more confusing seeing as it doesn't
live in the pocket with keys and coins.
It's
something we hoped Apple would have changed in the manufacturing
process, and means you'll need to keep an eye on how you look after the
tablet or invest in a protective case immediately.
The
top and bottom of the bezel are wide enough to comfortably rest your
hands on, while web browsing and accelerometer-based gaming in landscape
orientation is excellent.
The
rest of the design is predictably ergonomic. The volume rocker keys are
close but not too near to the mute switch on the top right-hand side.
This
is near the power button, which is intuitively placed to be easy to hit
when you want to reactivate the iPad mini… although many will just hit
the home button to achieve the same thing.
The
traditional Apple home key remains, although it's shrunken somewhat to
fit into the smaller chassis. However, during testing I found it just as
easy to hit, despite the dinkier dimensions.
It's
interesting that Apple has popped the headphone jack at the top of the
iPad mini, given it's put so much effort into repositioning it at the
bottom of the iPhone 5S and 5C... but I do prefer it staying above the screen.
The
speakers sit at the bottom of the iPad mini, flanking the Lightning
connector, which offers faster speeds of data transfer and can be
connected either way round. This is handy when you're charging before
bed and can't be bothered to put the light on.
The
speakers provide decent enough sound, but in landscape mode they create
a distorted sense of audio because of their mono-directional firing.
The
processor inside is Apple's last-generation A5 effort, which may worry
some, but it's likely to be enough for most actions, coupled as it is
with 512MB of RAM. It's still miles away from the raw grunt of the new
Google Nexus 7 or the iPad Air with its A7 processor, but Apple reckons
it helps it hit a sweet spot in terms of price.
Apple
also has expertise in optimising iOS to run as well as possible on
older hardware, and iOS 7.1 certainly restored a lot of the snappiness
that had been lost with the move from iOS 6 to 7.
The iPad Mini's extremely whittled-down side bezels are much less
conspicuous than the larger iPad's bezels, which always made it resemble
a MacBook screen that had floated away from its keyboard. The Mini
truly feels like a large iPod Touch, which is exactly what we used to
call the iPad back in 2010. It's far more apt now.
Scott Stein/CNET
You
probably won't think that, though, because the iPad Mini won't easily
fit in your pocket, or even your jacket pocket. It's more of a purse,
small bag, or large-coat-pocket device. It'll fit wherever you'd fit a
softcover book.
The construction feels solid, stellar, fun to
hold. The home button clicks crisply. It doesn't feel like a
lower-priced product in your hands. It might be, in terms of form, the
most addictive iOS product in existence. And it's perfectly sized for
kid hands. It's far more suited for use in cars and traveling.
CNET
But the Mini shouldn't be a surprising product. A device smaller than
the iPad that can run apps? That's always existed. That's called the
iPhone. The really impressive feat of the iPad Mini, the surprise, is
that it seems to handle all the iPad's normal duties while being
shrunken down. All except effortless onscreen typing, although it comes
close.
Interface and Performance
Onto the iPad mini interface. iOS
7 was a complete redesign that ditched the gradient-heavy look that had
been around since the introduction of the first iPhone.
While
it was a bit of a shock at first, the general consensus is that it was a
much-needed shake-up by Jony Ive who replaced the ousted Scot Forstall
as interface designer.
Gone
are most of the shadows in favour of a much flatter design. Since iOS 7
runs on all recent iPads, iPhones and iPod touches (I'm currently
testing version 7.1 here), it should be a familiar experience to anyone
with an existing Apple device.
Holding
the iPad mini in portrait mode is easy enough thanks to the weight.
Prodding the icons on screen isn't too difficult, nor does it feel like
you're going to push the tablet out of your hands and onto the floor.
The
iOS interface is simplicity itself. Any users not familiar with Apple's
mobile operating system will pick it up in no time. The icons are
presented in a 4 by 5 layout, and unlike on the iPhone they rotate when
you move the tablet into landscape format.
The
ability to place icons in the bottom dock means you can have the apps
you want on the home screen. Dragging and dropping said apps on top of
one another allows you to create folders with ease, which you can rename
to anything you want.
With
iOS 7, Apple has greatly improved the number of controls you can access
directly from the Home screen, and indeed from any screen.
To
enter the app switcher, simply double-click on the Home button to see a
Cover Flow-style view of all your app windows. Swiping left and right
lets you see all the apps that are open but in a 'suspended' state,
while tapping on one launches it.
Swiping
on the screens themselves scrolls them normally, but swiping on the app
icons moves them more quickly, which is great if you have lots of apps
open that aren't currently in use. Force quitting apps is done in this
view by swiping upwards on an app window, and you can use two fingers to
quit two apps at once.
As
iOS matured, there were increasingly loud grumblings about the fact that
many commonly used controls were buried in subsections of the Settings
app, with only volume, brightness and AirPlay available via quick
controls. Thankfully Apple has addressed this with a new control overlay
that you call up by swiping upwards from the bottom of the screen.
There
are buttons here for volume and brightness, AirDrop and AirPlay, music
or video playback, as well as shortcuts to the clock, timer and camera
functions. Perhaps best of all, a row of five buttons in the centre
provides quick on/off switches for Airplane mode, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth,
Do Not Disturb mode and rotation lock.
These
were almost all available in iOS 6 but much more fiddly to get to,
requiring drilling down into various different Settings menus. Do Not
Disturb is a new, handy mode that stops all notifications except for any
you choose specifically to allow.
The
Lock screen will show the cover art of any music track that's playing
and also gives you playback and volume controls as well as a shortcut to
Camera mode. Handily, the Control Centre overlay can also be swiped in
from the Lock screen.
Searching
your iPad is done using Spotlight and this is revealed from any Home
screen by swiping downwards form the centre of the screen with one
finger.
It searches pretty
much all the content on the device, though you can exclude certain
things like Notes or Messages from searches in the Settings. If you
search for something that isn't on the device you get an option to run
the search on the web or Wikipedia.
However,
Apple is still catering for the iPad owners with some handy gestures to
make things easier to move around. Instead of double tapping the home
button to switch apps, touching the screen with four fingers and swiping
left and right will move you through the most recently-used apps, and
pinching all digits together will return you to the home screen.
This
is really helpful when using the tablet on the move, as it means you
don't need to shuffle the palm around to hit the home button - and it's
really cool too. It's an even more intuitive system on the iPad mini
than the iPad 'proper', as it somehow fits the screen size better.
By
default, iOS 7 does quite a lot of animation when you open and close
apps, and has a slightly space-age "parallax" effect that uses the
built-in gyroscope to move the wallpaper slightly to the left or right
depending on how you tilt the device.
This
isn't to everyone's taste: indeed some users reported it gave them
motion sickness. Luckily it can be disabled by going into Settings >
Accessibility and choosing Reduce Motion, where you will also find
options to increase contrast and reduce transparency effects.
Disabling
these settings lightens the processing load, so they are worth looking
at if you're not particularly partial to zooming.
The
Notification Centre, revealed by swiping down from the top of any Home
screen, can show notifications from any supported apps and you can
enable or disable these using the Settings app.
By
default you'll see a Calendar view with a weather summary, but you can
also see messages, emails, eBay notifications and much more here if you
choose to switch them on.
Apple
might be criticised for bringing older technology to the iPad mini, as
the A5 chip with 512MB of RAM doesn't sound like a lot when you can buy
the quad core Google Nexus 4 smartphone with 2GB of RAM for the same price as the mini, and with the same amount of storage too.
However,
in practice it's really rather hard to fault Apple's interface
performance when using the device in day to day use. It's definitely not
got the grunt of the larger new iPad Air or even the iPad mini 2, but the performance of iOS 7.1 even on this older hardware is still perfectly acceptable.
The
only real gripe, and it's one you'll hear time and again from me
throughout this iPad mini review, is the fact that the screen is too
low-res.
It simply saddens me
to see menus we're used to on both iPads and iPhones not having the
same sharpness as before... and we're certainly not used to seeing Apple
take a step back in quality.
If
you've never used a top end smartphone or tablet, this won't be an
issue as the display is fine, and technically still HD in terms of pixel
count. But the Retina display on the mini 2 is unquestionably superior
and once you're used to Retina quality the lower resolution of the older
screens is very noticeable.
Gripping, swiping, and typing: Thumbs and fingers
So, what about that smaller bezel? Holding it suddenly becomes a
delicate-seeming proposition. I worried I'd accidentally start an app
with my big palms, or turn a page by accident. That didn't happen to me.
Apple has worked finger-rejection technology into the hardware and
software of the iPad Mini that's context-dependent. All I know is that
when reading books on the Kindle app or iBooks, I found holding on the
side wasn't a problem. When I typed, the entire edge-to-edge surface
became sensitive to my entire hand. CNET
In landscape mode, the longer and thicker top and bottom bezel come in
handy: it offers more of a grip when viewing videos, and I found that it
also helped make the iPad Mni comfier when playing games.
The tweener size of the Mini means you can hold it in portrait mode and
thumb-type like on an iPhone or iPod. It works pretty well, for the most
part. I was even able to thumb-type in landscape mode, with a little
stretching. Typing more traditionally works better than I expected,
although I became more of a finger hunt-and-pecker than a spread-finger
typist. The 7.9-inch display certainly isn't as wide as the average
laptop keyboard, and the virtual keys, while well-sized, require a bit
of adjustment to use.
You can also hold the iPad Mini in one
hand and thumb-swipe, but I wouldn't recommend it. It's not as intuitive
as on an iPhone, although it could be fine for simple page-turning
taps.
The screen: Retina-free Your
feelings about the iPad Mini's screen will all depend on how much time
you've spent with Retina Displays or high-pixel-count devices. If you
own a recent iPhone or the last iPad, you'll feel that this screen is
blurry. Text isn't as sharp. The pixels per inch don't even match what's
available on a Kindle Fire HD or Nook HD.
The iPad Mini has a 1,024x768-pixel display, just like the iPad 2's,
but writ smaller with a denser pixel count per inch. However, the
smaller-screened Kindle Fire HD has a 1,280x800-pixel display. So does
the Google Nexus 7. The Nook HD has an even higher-res display at 1,440x900 pixels. The Nexus 7, iPad Mini, Nook HD, and Kindle Fire HD.
Josh Miller/CNET
All
three cost considerably less than the iPad Mini, and all three have
much higher, denser pixel counts. The iPad Mini's 7.9-inch screen has
more physical real estate in terms of square inches (let's just call it
an 8-inch screen, because it very nearly is), but fewer pixels per inch.
You're trading size for high-res crispness.
So, the iPad Mini
not only has a lower-resolution screen than much of the competition, but
it's probably the least impressive screen of Apple's 2012 stable of iOS
devices. The iPod Touch, iPhone 5, and fourth-gen iPad all seem
brighter, more vibrant, and far higher-definition.
Sarah Tew/CNET
However, if you've used an iPad 2, the text is crisper. It's readable,
even with smaller fonts such as those used in e-mail. With games and
videos, you won't notice quite as much because graphics and videos are
often in constant motion. Even there, though, I could see a clear
difference playing HD videos and a variety of games. The IPS display has
excellent wide-angle viewing, and it's very bright. It may not be as
good as a Retina Display, but it's every bit as good as the iPad 2's
screen. I held both up side by side and found the colors and vibrancy to
be similar, although the iPad Mini is less bright at its highest
setting. In deeper, in-depth tests using CNET's TV-testing
equipment, the iPad Mini's display was revealed to indeed be less bright
at its highest setting, but also less color-accurate than the
nearly-perfect Retina Displays on the iPhone 5 and third and fourth-gen
iPads. When looking at photos or movies, you can definitely tell the
difference side-by-side.
Even if, for all the incredible design
that the iPad Mini has going for it otherwise, that screen feels like a
comparative letdown, there's big ace in the iPad Mini's hole. A huge
one, actually. It has to do with aspect ratio.
This 7.9-inch
display isn't 16:9 like the iPhone 5 or most Android tablets. That means
the screen width is wider, more like a page of a book. It's the same as
on the iPad, but on this smaller screen, with the iPad Mini's
shrunken-down side bezels like an iPod Touch, it feels extra-wide. Web
pages fit more across the screen, allowing the text to be bigger. More
importantly, digital magazines and illustrated books can be rendered
without squishing down too much.
Apple's made a big deal of
this, but let me tell you the real killer apps here: the future of
digital publications. Textbooks. Basically, any layout-sensitive
graphically intensive e-books. The iPad Mini doesn't squish that content
down like what often happens to it on 16:10 7-inch screens. An iBooks
version of DK Publishing's "Dinosaurs" looked wonderful and engaging. So
did the kids' book/app "Bobo Explores Light."
CNET
Maybe most impressively, nearly every larger iPad app I've thrown at it
feels usable and comfortable at this smaller screen size. Board games
with tiny buttons, media-editing apps, games with virtual control pads,
and even using the onscreen virtual keyboard. It's book-size, but the
apps feel largely the same.
iPad Mini as e-reader You could be of two
minds about this. Yes, the non-Retina Display means text that's less
sharp. It feels like a miscalculation on a device so clearly targeted at
reading. Yet, hold the iPad Mini back a foot and increase the font
size, and you probably won't notice.
CNET
The more booklike 4:3 aspect ratio and its more natural compatibility
with PDF files, comics, magazines, and layout-sensitive graphic novels
give the iPad Mini an edge over other 7-inch tablets. For pure text, the
Mini may not be the best. For other media, it has its advantages, even
without a Retina Display. I never found myself unable to enjoy a
magazine or book, although I did find myself wishing the resolution were
sharper (reading the "Dark Knight Returns" comic, in particular).
One big advantage of the iPad Mini with iOS: it's compatible with
all the big services (Kindle, Nook, Google Books). It's the closest to a
universal e-book reader. Sarah Tew/CNET
iPad Mini as video player
That 4:3 aspect ratio has a drawback, of course, and that's video
playing. Movies and HD TV shows will inevitably be more letterboxed than
on a 16:9 tablet like the Nexus 7
and Kindle Fire HD. On a Retina Display iPad, you at least have enough
pixels to make for sharp video viewing in the space provided. On a
1,024x768-pixel display, it means the letterboxed video has an even
lower resolution.
CNET
Most shows still look very watchable, no worse than on the iPad 2 (and a
little better since the pixels are smaller), and there are plenty of
apps and services that the iPad Mini is compatible with, from
subscription-based streaming to cable accessory TV apps to video stores
like iTunes and Amazon Video on Demand. The iPad Mini has the greatest
flexibility for apps and services among competing tablets, which is its
huge edge.
Two speakers tucked on either side of the Lightning
connector on the bottom edge pump out decent volume for such a small
device. They're good enough to listen to music and videos with. Two
aluminum volume buttons on the right edge are flat like on the iPhone 5,
but longer, and not tapered like the plastic iPad's volume button.
They're easy to feel for and press. Sarah Tew/CNET
iOS 6 For more on all the various features of iOS 6, read CNET editor Jason Parker's full review.
Most the iOS 6 features you'd expect are here, including Siri, which is
curiously absent from the equally well-equipped iPad 2. Apple's
Passbook app, oddly, didn't make the cut, even though it's included on
the iPod Touch. CNET
Of course, Apple's controversial Maps app is also present, with 3D
Flyover and direction capabilities. I haven't been able to test whether
turn-by-turn works on the LTE version.
Siri
Oh, hello Siri – what are you doing here? Given
the iPad 2's processor is the same as in the iPad mini, surely it can't
handle Siri? So however did it find its way onto this device? (Yes, I'm
looking at you, Apple.)
But, there it is, and nicely
incorporated too. The little pop-up window that gives access to the
voice recognition is nicely unobtrusive. The accuracy is much improved
over the first iteration of the software, and the range of functionality
also enhanced. With
its ability to tell you how your football team is doing, what the
weather's like in Paris and to open an app on command, the iPad mini has
the same implementation as the iPhone when it comes to Siri…and
therefore as much use.
There's no way you'll ask it to
book an appointment for you, because a) it doesn't always work, and
you'll wish you had just typed it in, and b) you're likely to be with
someone, and the risk of failure and looking stupid in front of them is
too high to try it.
The Google Now cards on Android are
much better when it comes to information, as being told what's going on
with your team is easier than having to ask for it. Both are different
systems, but Siri is never going to gain mass appeal until it finally
becomes almost unerringly accurate at recognising what you're saying.
I
still like the little pop-up window, though, and you can now hold down
the home button for as long as you need to speak to Siri which makes the
process a little easier.
iPad Mini as camera
One improvement in the iPad Mini compared with the iPad 2 is its
cameras. It has a 5-megapixel iSight rear-facing camera and a FaceTime
HD front-facing camera, the same cameras that are on the third-gen iPad
and later. The fifth-gen iPod Touch has a better camera, with more
features and an LED flash. The Mini lacks app features such as HDR and
Panorama, although other apps from the App Store have those functions. Sarah Tew/CNET
The point is, the Mini's cameras are more than good enough for
snapshots, 1080p video recording, and high-quality FaceTime calls.
They're above average for budget-tablet cameras. Photo taken with the Mini's back camera. My taste can be discussed later.
Scott Stein/CNET
Holding the iPad Mini is an easier affair, so it's also feasible to use
this device to take photos and video, something I've yet to see a
normal friend of mine do with a larger iPad. It's not your next
point-and-shoot, but it could do in a pinch. Photos taken with the Mini
turned around are about as good as any iPad photo I've ever seen.
Smart Cover, gone mini The iPad Mini even has
its own little Smart Cover ($39) available in six colors, although the
design is different from the larger version available for the 9.7-inch
iPad. The all-polyurethane design doesn't have an aluminum latch, so it
grips more softly to the Mini's side. The cover also has one fewer
segment in its folding design. Sarah Tew/CNET
The
Smart Cover still folds up to be a stand or a keyboard riser, but it
joins into a similar triangle with no fold-over. It's just strong enough
to support the iPad Mini, working equally well for typing and for
picture-stand use. And it feels a bit more fun on a smaller device.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Unfortunately, just like with the larger iPad, the Smart Cover doesn't
protect the iPad Mini's back. People will be tempted to buy a full-body
case or a back cover as well. CNET
In the box: Lightning and charger, no headphones
The included gear is -- as always -- limited when it comes to the
iPad. The iPad Mini includes a Lightning cable and an AC adapter, which
is actually the smaller version that comes with the iPhone 5. The two
are cross-compatible. No larger AC brick is needed. EarPods, Apple's newly designed headphones, are not included. Earbuds never came with any other iPad, either.
CNET
The new Lightning connector, introduced with the iPhone 5, is easier to
plug in and takes up less space, but most other gadgets use Micro-USB.
Extra Lightning cables can add HDMI-out and camera/SD card slot input
capabilities. If you have older 30-pin connectors you can use a separate
adapter, although it's not guaranteed that it'll mean a fit with older
accessories and devices.
Battery life
Apple claims 10 hours of battery life for the iPad Mini, 9 hours using
LTE. That's equivalent to the claims for the larger fourth-gen iPad, and
iPads in general going back to 2010.
Our battery test told an
even better story: the iPad Mini held up through 12.1 hours of video
playback, which is remarkable for such a small tablet. The Nexus 7,
comparatively, only lasted 8.4 hours on the same test. Over a week of
use the Mini seemed to last well more than a full day of use, and then
some. After playing games, streaming videos, downloading large files,
and using the tablet for everything I could think of, I had a hard time
fully depleting its battery over the course of a single day. The new
fourth-gen iPad lasted an hour longer at 13.1 hours, but you'd expect it
to. CNET
The GoodThe iPad Mini's
ultrathin and light design is far more intimate and booklike than the
larger iPad, and its cameras, storage capacities, optional LTE antenna,
and general functionality offer a full iPad experience. The screen's
dimensions elegantly display larger-format magazines and apps.
The BadThe
iPad Mini costs too much, especially considering the lower resolution of
its 7.9-inch non-Retina Display. The A5 processor isn't as robust as
the one in the fourth-gen iPad and iPhone 5. Typing on the smaller
screen is not quite as comfy.
The Bottom LineIf
you want the full, polished Apple tablet experience in a smaller
package, the iPad Mini is worth the premium price. Otherwise, good
alternatives are available for less money.
