Sachin Tendulkar

iLoud speaker offers musicians studio quality audio on the move

Thanks to mobile audio processing and recording apps, composing on the road has never been easier. Showing off your latest killer riff to the rest of the band through tablet or laptop speakers is less than satisfying, however. There are a good many battery-powered micro amps out there which might help a little, but the output is often, to put it delicately, sub-par. Italy's IK Multimedia demonstrated a wired/wireless audio thrower at the Winter NAMM show back in January that promised studio monitor sound quality in a portable, chunky tablet-sized package. Developed specifically for musicians and audiophiles, the 40 W iLoud has now been released.

The iLoud features four Class-D amplifiers in a bi-amp configuration that caters for phase-accurate and time-aligned digital crossover, which the company says makes it virtually impossible to detect the transition between low and high frequency speakers. Two of these amps drive a pair of 16 W, 3-in neodymium woofers, and the other two are assigned to two 4 W, 0.75-in tweeters for a total portable power output of 40 W RMS. Combined with an onboard 24-bit digital signal processor that uses a proprietary algorithm, the device aims to keep the accurate, hi-fi quality output as clear as a bell, even at higher volumes.

The 9.84 x 6.3 x 2.36 in (250 x 160 x 60 mm), 47 oz (1.3 kg) unit has a frequency response of 50 Hz to 20 kHz, tuned bass reflex porting in its reported resonant-free casing, an even, flat response throughout the whole of the bottom end and stereo imaging that, according to IK Multimedia, can't be found in similarly-sized portable speaker systems. Its built-in Li-ion battery can last up to 3 hours between charges at maximum volume, or up to 10 hours at normal levels.

Musicians can plug a guitar or microphone into the 0.25-in instrument input at the back, which benefits from the same circuitry as the company's iRig mobile instrument interface, then connect an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch to the 0.125-in stereo analog line in, start a favorite audio processing app (such as AmpliTube or VocaLive) and strut their funky stuff using the digital effects running on the mobile device. The line in port can also be used to feed in music from wired-only audio sources, but the iLoud also packs Bluetooth with A2DP support for wireless tune streaming from iOS and Android devices, PC or Mac.

The portable speaker is available now for US$299.99, and comes supplied with a 3.3 ft (1 m) TRRS audio cable.

You can judge the iLoud's output prowess for yourself by watching IK Multimedia compare the device with three other popular wireless speakers in the video below.

Product page: iLoud

2013 Tablet Comparison Guide

Planning on putting a new tablet on your holiday wish list? Or maybe you're trying to find the perfect slate for a loved one? There are a lot of tablets out there, but Gizmag is here to help you sort through the mess. Join us, as we compare the features and specs of the year's most popular tablets.

Meet the tablets

We had to narrow our list down somehow, so we went with what we consider to be the highest-profile tablets of the holiday season. If you stroll into your local electronics or retail store, these are the models you're most likely to see.

Are they also the best tablets? Many are, others maybe less so. But for the sake of simplicity, we had to cut it off somewhere, so "high-profile" it is.

We also left out hybrid tablet PCs that run full desktop operating systems, like the Surface Pro and Lenovo Yoga. Their software, internal guts, and prices basically make them laptops trapped in tablets' bodies, so we left them out of this round.

We divided our picks into two groups, based on size. We have the large (8.9" and larger) tablets:

• Apple iPad Air
• Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9"
• Microsoft Surface 2
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1
• Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition)

And we have the miniature (8.0" and smaller) tablets:

• Apple iPad mini with Retina Display
• Apple iPad mini (1st generation)
• Amazon Kindle Fire HDX
• Google/Asus Nexus 7 (2013)
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8-inch
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7-inch
• Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0

For each category, you'll see two visuals: one showing the five big boys, and another with the seven little guys. The images sit smack dab on top of each other, so you can easily ogle all twelve at once.

Got it? Good. Without further ado, we present to you our 2013 Tablet Comparison Guide.

Size

Quite a variety here. We have everything ranging from Microsoft's big honkin' Surface 2 to Samsung's teeny Galaxy Tab 3 7". How big of a difference is it? Well, the Tab 3 only gives you 46 percent as much surface area as the Surface. All the other tablets lie somewhere in between.

We'll get to displays in a minute, but it's worth noting that the screens of the three iPads and the 8-in Galaxy Tab take up the highest percentage of their front faces. Other tablets, like the Kindle Fires and the Surface 2, have much more space devoted to their bezels.

Weight

Among the big tablets, the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 is the lightest, but remember that it also has a 27 percent smaller screen than the feathery iPad Air. The Surface 2, despite being a hair lighter than the 1st-gen Surface RT, is by far the heaviest in this group.

The Nexus 7 is the lightest in this bunch, but the small tablets are all in the same general weight class. That's a win for the 8-in tablets, as they all give you significantly more screen real estate than the 7-in slates do (more on that in a minute).

Build

Plastic shows up the most, but it's also generally going to give you the cheapest feel. Only the Surface and the iPads use metallic build materials.

The two Kindle Fires and the Nexus 7 all lack physical navigation buttons. So you'll sacrifice a portion of their screens, in exchange for virtual buttons.

Also worth noting: the Surface 2 is the only tablet in this group that gives you a kickstand. It helps to use it as a faux laptop, when paired with one of Microsoft's keyboard covers.

Colors

Here are your color options, with eight of the 12 tablets giving you some choice in the matter.

Display

If you're wondering about those percentages above, that's a quick reference to show you the relative size of each screen (with the biggest screen, the Surface 2, marking 100 percent). These stats are based on screen area, not the misleading diagonal measurements that manufacturers use.

When is a 7.9-in screen bigger than an 8-in screen? When they have different aspect ratios, that's when. The iPad mini's 4:3 aspect ratio gives you four percent more screen area than the Galaxy Note 8.0's 16:10 screen.

Speaking of aspect ratios, the iPads' 4:3 is easily the best for portrait mode use, and is also good for landscape. The 16:10 tablets can work decently for portrait mode, but are more oblong. The Surface's 16:9 screen is, more or less, strictly landscape. Use it in portrait, and you'll feel like you're reading a long scroll of parchment.

The majority of the tablets in this group have razor-sharp, high resolution displays (which you'd call "Retina" if you were Apple). The exceptions? Four Samsung tablets and the 1st-gen iPad mini all have much lower resolution.

Stylus

Samsung's Galaxy Notes are the only slates in this group that are centered around stylus input. They also include some software features that take advantage of the S Pen, including quick note-jotting from anywhere, screen annotating, and scrolling through web pages by hovering your pen over the screen.

You can buy third-party styluses that are compatible with the other tablets, but they don't have the system-wide software integration that the Notes' S Pens do.

Software

Each platform has its own fans, but when it comes to apps, the iPad still rules this roost. Apple's most recent stats (from October) boast of over 475,000 total tablet-optimized apps in the App Store. A recent reportestimated that Google Play's count of tablet apps is "in the low tens of thousands."

Curiously, the Surface's Windows Store has over 120,000 apps. It must be loaded with lots of useless filler apps, though, because our experience paints a very different picture. Despite those stats, we're confident in declaring its app selection the weakest in this group.

Of course you can also run scaled-up smartphone apps on all the Android tablets. You can get away with that on smaller tablets like the Nexus 7, but the bigger the screen gets, the more ridiculous those stretched-out apps will look. Expect lots of blank space and unattractive layouts.

Bundled office apps

Apple is throwing in its iWork suite of office apps (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) with every new iPad purchase. Microsoft also includes the RT version of Office, which looks and behaves almost exactly like the desktop version, with the Surface 2. Not to miss out on the fun, Amazon is tacking on a third-party office app called OfficeSuite Pro 7 with Fire HDX purchases.

Storage

The two new iPads offer the most storage options, but everything else (apart from last year's iPad mini) is available in multiple flash storage tiers.

Wireless

The Surface 2 is the only tablet in this bunch that isn't sold in a cellular version, but that will supposedly come sometime in 2014.

Processor

There shouldn't be too much concern about performance anywhere in this group, but expect the 7-in Galaxy Tab to be the most questionable. The 1st-gen iPad mini is no speed demon either, but the two new iPads are about as fast as it gets right now.

RAM

RAM ranges from a mere 512 MB in the first iPad mini, all the way up to 3 GB in the 2014 Galaxy Note 10.1.

Battery

We haven't put all of these tablets through our standard battery test, so the above visuals show their capacities (at least where they're known). From where we stand now, we'd say the iPad Air and Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 are the ones to beat here.

Cameras

Who's up for some awkward tablet photography? Everything but the 7-in Kindle Fire HDX includes a rear camera.

On-device customer service

We'll throw Amazon a bone here, and highlight the Kindle Fire HDX's "Mayday" button. If you want help using your device, tap the button, and an Amazon rep will pop onto your screen to lend a hand. It's kinda like one-way video chat: you can see the Amazon rep, but they can only hear you. They can, however, see your screen, draw on your screen, and even control your device, if you're into that kind of thing.

Release cycle

The original iPad mini is the only 2012 holdout on this list (Apple kept it around for a second year at a lower price). Most of the other tablets just launched within the last few months, so there isn't too much to worry about here.

The Galaxy Note 8.0 has been around since April, so it's possible we'll see its follow-up in around five months.

The iPad mini with Retina Display hasn't yet released at the time of publication. But you should expect it around the end of November, possibly in extremely short supply.

Starting prices

And it all leads up to this. As you can see, prices are all over the place. Apple has never been known for budget pricing, and the iPads are no exception. That includes a US$70 hike for the 2nd-gen iPad mini over what the original went for last year. In exchange, the 1st-gen model got a $30 price drop.

Apple's high margins leave room for Amazon and Google to price their tablets pretty aggressively. You could easily argue that the two Kindle Fires and the Nexus 7 give you the most hardware bang for your buck. They all have razor-sharp screens, fast performance, and modest price tags.

... just remember that the base prices for Amazon's tablets include advertising on the lockscreen. You'll need to fork over an extra $15 to turn those ads off.

Wrap-up

So there you have it, your most high-profile tablets of the 2013 holiday shopping season. The iPad is still the most popular tablet, and we think the iPad Air is the best full-sized tablet you can buy today. But Samsung's tablets are growing in popularity, and Kindle Fire and Nexus tablets always provide that great value.

The odd man out is the Surface 2: it's improved over its predecessor, but its app selection isn't great, and its supposed productivity advantage is dampened by the fact that it doesn't run desktop apps (you'll need to check out the Surface Pro 2 for that). Plus you'll have to fork over an extra $120 or so to get one of Microsoft's keyboard covers, an integral part of the Surface experience.

But hey, we aren't here to make up your mind for you. What fun would that be? We can say that there aren't any tablets in this group that we'd avoid like the plague. The hardest sell might be the 7-in Galaxy Tab 3 ... not because it's a terrible tablet, but because you can get a much better device, the Nexus 7, for only $30 more.

5 great Android KitKat features you could get right now

Android 4.4 KitKat is finally here! But as longtime Android users knowtoo well, its official rollout will be slow, gradual, and for many, non-existent. That's why many people don't wait around for official builds to pass through carriers and hardware manufacturers, instead opting to flash custom ROMs or download leaked APKs. Yes, it's a tad impatient, but for us techie folk whoto live on the bleeding edge, it's worth it. 

Now, KitKat didn't introduce that many ground-breaking features, and it didn't reinvent the mobile landscape; it simply refined what has become a solid operating system. But that's not to say that it doesn't have some cool features. 

Thankfully, a few of those cool features are available now, either through official APKs or third-party apps. 

Google Experience Launcher 

The new stock launcher in KitKat isabout Google. Scrollthe way to the left, and you're making a Google search. Tap on the persistent search bar at the top, and you're making a Google search. Say, " OK Google" at any time, and you're making a Google search. I think you get the idea. 

But this newfangled launcher is actually a pretty sweet improvement over the stock Jelly Bean launcher. To get it requires installing three different APKs because for the launcher to work, it also needs Google Now to be updated and Play Services.Launcher-1You can view some detailed instructions and get help over on the XDA-Developers forum for the topic, but the basic premise is simple: Download this ZIP file (mirror), unzip it, place the three APK files on your phone, and install them. When you press the home button, it should prompt you to "Launcher" as your default launcher. 

Hangouts 2.0 

One day, Hangouts will be the amazing, all-encompassing communication app that the world needs, but that day is not today. However, that day is a little bit closer as Hangouts jumpsversion 1.2 to 2.0 with the KitKat update, allowing for the app to handle SMS, MMS, animated gifs, and improved Emoji support. 

Unfortunately, Android users don't get the calling features and Google Voice integration that iOS users received recently (Why, Google? Why?), but they have promised to bring those features "soon." Oh well. In the meantime, you can enjoy using Hangouts as your default SMS app, and don't forget to snag some awesome animated GIFs to make use of the new feature. 

To get started, download Hangouts 2.0one of the mirrors below, transfer the file to your Android device, and installnormal. If you have any major issues, you can always uninstall it and reinstall version 1.2the Play Store. 

Mirror #1 - Android PoliceMirror #2 - Android PoliceMirror #3 - Android PoliceMirror #4 - XDA-Developers Senior Member l. 

Screen Recording 

KitKat supports native screen recording! Hooray forthose tutorial makers! But we've actually been able to do that for a while as long as you have root access. If you're new to rooting, be sure to check out our extensive Android rooting guide. 

There's a number of apps that will let you do this, a quick search of the Play Store will show you that, but my favorite is SCR Screen Recorder. It's simple to use: you just install it, tap record, grant it root permission, and you're on your way. It also has a settings menu so you can adjust things to your liking if need be.SRC-Recorder-1There is a free version as well as a $5.21 paid version that removes the watermark, notification icon, and allows you to record for longer than 3 minutes. 

Caller ID 

The new caller ID in the KitKat dialer looks awesome. It searches through Google's databases for people or businesses registered to that number and shows you their name and photo even if they're not in your contacts. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a lot of luck getting the dialer to function properly on non-KitKat devices, so you're stuck with third-party options.Thread-Caller-ID-1There are some great choices out there, though! We've gone through four great caller ID apps that should tie you over until you can break yourself off a piece of that KitKat. Above are some screenshotsThread, the best of the Caller ID apps that displays relevant informationwhoever's calling, including their picture, previous text messages, and social media updates. 

Gallery 

Keeping up with Google's continued efforts to improve Android's photo capabilities, the new default Gallery has a quality photo editor built-in. Asidethat, it looks largely the same. 

The editor has a few preset filters, preset border options, the ability to manually tweak many aspects of the filters, and options for cropping, rotating, mirroring, and straightening your photos. 

There's even a slide-out menu to the right that displays your edit history, allowing you to revert back to any point at any time. Plus, the photo editor is nondestructive, so any changes that are made are saved as a new photo, ensuring that your original photo is preserved. 

You can download the Gallery apkthis XDA thread. To install it, though, you'll have to use a file browser with root permission to place it under System > Apps and then restart your phone. 

Others 

KitKat comes with a lot of new features, but most of them are pretty minor. Some of the smaller updates include the stock appsEmail, Clock, Camera, and several new fonts, wallpapers, sounds, and boot animations.of these can (hopefully) work on your Jelly Bean device thanks to the amazing folks over at Android Police and XDA-Developers. Follow the links for installing/flashing instructions.