Samsung No Longer Content to Beat Apple in Just Smartphones

by Michelle Maisto

The ATIV Q features a 13.3-inch touch-screen with a resolution of 3200 by 1800, for a pixel density of 275 pixels per inch (ppi). The Apple iPad with Retina display has 265 ppi. It comes with an S Pen, runs a full version of Windows 8 and can also run Android apps.

The ATIV Q measures 12.87 by 8.54 by 0.55 inches. For context, the Apple iPad, with its 9.7-inch display, measures 9.5 by 7.3 by 0.37 inches. The Q is notably larger, then, and can strike four poses.

The screen pops up to reveal a hidden keyboard. The screen can be propped up, laptop style, or hover parallel to the keyboard—a scenario that could be helpful in instances when users are standing up, perhaps at a service kiosk or counter.

The display can also be folded back, a useful pose for watching movies on an airplane tray table or for giving a presentation. The fourth pose, of course, is standard tablet mode.

The ATIV Tab 3 also runs a full version of Windows 8—and is the thinnest tablet on the market to do so. It’s 0.32 inches thin, has a battery life of 10 hours and also comes with an S Pen.

Some might call the Book 9 Plus Samsung’s answer to the MacBook Air. It features an aluminum uni-body design and is 0.54 inches thin. The MacBook, at its thickest point, is 0.68 inches thin.

The Book 9 Plus is said to boot from cold in less than 6 seconds, wake from sleep in less than 1 and last 12 hours on a charge. SideSyn and HomeSync technology enable it to easily share data with a Galaxy smartphone and even control the phone.

The Lite is a more affordable version of the Plus. Many of the key features are identical, though the Lite gets 8.5 hours of battery life, up to a 1.4GHz quad-core processor (versus the Core i7 possible in the Plus), has only one USB 3.0, to the Plus’s two, and comes in white or black, while the Plus ships only in the latter.

Days after the introduction of the S4 Zoom, a device that’s more a camera with a smartphone, than the reverse, Samsung showed off the Galaxy NX, the first interchangeable-lens camera with Long Term Evolution (LTE) connectivity. It runs Android 2.2 and has a 20.3-megapixel APS-C sensor, a DRIMe IV image signal processor, a 1/6,000-second shutter speed and shoots 8.6 frames per second.

The NX offers users more than 30 smart modes and a Camera Studio with easy digital scrolling, where users can customize their settings. A Multi Exposure setting will merge shots into two images; Animated Photo will create a GIF of images; and Sound & Shot will store an audio recording with a photo. It’s compatible with a variety of lenses, from ultra-wide fisheye to pancake lenses.

The One Style 5 features a 21.5-inch full-high-definition (1920 by 1080) touch-screen and runs Microsoft Windows 8.

Like the new ATIV laptops, the Style 5 features SideSync, for sharing files with a Galaxy smartphone, and HomeSync, so members of a family can set up individual accounts each can sync. It comes with up to a 1-terabyte hard drive and features 4GB of memory, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) in and out, a three-in-one card reader and an RJ45 dongle. It’s available only in white.

Since introducing the Galaxy S 4 in March, Samsung has also marched out the Galaxy S 4 Mini, the Galaxy S 4 Zoom and the Galaxy S 4 Active, in addition to a handful of other devices. “We are committed to the diverse needs of our customers,” Samsung marketing head DJ Lee told the crowd at Samsung’s London event.

The Active should find a strong following, from military folks to parents. It’s dustproof and water-resistant. It could sit in a fishbowl—as U.K. television personality Jason Bradbury here pretended was the case—for 30 minutes without incident. Samsung added underwater photography software and the ability to use the volume rocker as a shutter, since the touch-screen doesn’t work underwater.

In case you were distracted from the fact, the Galaxy S 4 is Samsung’s flagship smartphone. Lee announced that it’s now available in five more colors—pink, red, purple, blue and brown. “In the last few months, we have received so much support for the Galaxy S 4,” he said.