This makes the facility the first live entertainment venue to deploy the latest version of wireless LAN in production. The arena seats over 18,000 “Dub Nation” fans for basketball games but also hosts concerts and other events.

In addition to the arena, the next generation Wi-Fi will provide connectivity to Thrive City, 100,000 square feet of restaurants and retail shops and over half a million square feet of office space across two buildings.

Chase Center Opts for Wi-Fi 6E

The network has over 250 active Wi-Fi 6E APs in the “bowl” of the arena and was live for the Alicia Keys concert on September 3, 2022, which was a demanding test of performance.

For all the ballyhoo around sporting events, concerts typically always consume more bandwidth than a game, making the concert a perfect way to christen the network. One of the surprising aspects of this announcements was that the Chase Center was one of the first to run Wi-Fi 6.

For those that aren’t familiar with Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, the APs are similar except 6E brings 6 Ghz spectrum into the equation, although there are currently very few 6E devices on the market. Because of this, most network professionals I talk to do not see enough incremental value between 6 and 6E to make that upgrade right now. But the Chase Center did see value.

Sporting and Entertainment are Fully Digital

I recently interviewed Daniel Brusilovsky, VP of Technology for the Warriors, and asked him why the organization felt compelled to make this upgrade right now.

He explained that 6E is about future proofing and staying one step ahead of the fans. “One of the things we realized during COVID is that we need to adapt faster to consumer behavior,” Brusilovsky said. “The pandemic forced everything to be mobile. Services like ticketing, food and beverage ordering and wayfinding are all fully digital and mobile.”

He added, “Interactions with customers and fans are changing and we are using technology to enable that change. Today social media and streaming are common during a game, and we are looking at other technologies such as augmented and virtual reality. It’s our goal to create the most connected experience possible and Wi-Fi 6E lets us future proof even more than we already were.”

Also see: NTT Addresses the Why and When of Private 5G 

Chase Taps Aruba for Next-Gen Wi-Fi

The network is built on Aruba’s enterprise class APs. These are not the lowest cost, but they are designed for business use.

There are several low-cost providers, and the manufacturing quality is noticeably different. I’ve personally tested several APs, including Aruba, and have found its APs to be well built and designed for use cases, like stadiums, hotels, airports, and other demanding environments. This matters quite a bit: the cost of having to swap one out can be high as well as disruptive to customers.

Aruba APs have a patented feature called ultra tri-band filtering that automatically adjusts channel selection to eliminate signal interference. This keeps performance high and, more important, consistent. Anyone that has used Wi-Fi in a public facility understands the frustration when it’s working one minute and not the next. I’ve been to the Chase Center several times and have found that the Wi-Fi performs well, even in the NBA playoffs when social interactions are highest.

Given there are no other venues of this size running Wi-Fi 6E, I asked Brusilovsky if there were any concerns in being somewhat of a guinea pig for the technology. He immediately told me there was not and, in fact, the organization loved the opportunity to be first.

“The Chase Center is a state-of-the-art facility and has a wide range of bells and whistles, including an indoor scoreboard and display that’s larger than many outdoor venues,” he said. “We felt moving to 6E was an incredible opportunity to be the first and do something unique in the industry. It is in line with our commitment of being obsessed with creating the best possible fan experience.”

He added, “The 6 Ghz spectrum lets us provide high quality connectivity in dense areas where people are tightly packed, such as the seating bowl. We have great service now, but we know people always want more.”

Also see: Best Data Analytics Tools 

Fans Should Expect Richer Services in the Chase Center

We then pivoted our discussion to the future and how Wi-Fi 6E will change fan experience.

Brusilovsky told me the organization, like all teams and leagues, is capturing massive amounts of data. Much of the analytics of the data is displayed on the screen in the Chase Center. He told me that the next challenge for the Warriors is to use the mobile phone as an integrated part of fan experience.

“Wi-Fi 6E gives us the ability to offer more services, faster with less latency and a better experience,” he noted. “Previously, we might have only been able to do a few mobile initiatives but now we can do maybe ten at once. This is what we are really excited about.”

I asked why kind of services they were considering, and he mentioned the reuse of content so streaming highlights, replays and then allowing digital sharing.

Customer and Fan Experience: If You’re Not First, You’re Last

The aggressiveness with which the Warriors are approaching fan experience is a good lesson for other businesses such as retailers, hospitality, gaming, and others. The world has become almost completely digital and it’s time to push the envelope on what’s possible.

Fans and customers are fickle and will spend money with brands that offer a differentiated experience. Mobile devices are packed with features and capabilities, but we need the networks to provide lighting fast access to fully leverage them.

Also see: Top Digital Transformation Companies

The post Chase Center Becomes First Sports Venue with Wi-Fi 6E appeared first on eWEEK.

Unfortunately, it is a mistake to believe that these disruptions are over. Far from it – the continuing appearance of Covid-19 variants suggests that many of the changes that companies hoped were temporary fixes have become and likely will remain in place. The question then becomes: what capabilities should organizations look for in new and next generation endpoint devices that help workers continue to thrive?

Dell’s new Latitude 9330 2-in-1 provides innovative answers that enterprises would do well to consider.

Also see: Digital Transformation Guide: Definition, Types & Strategy

Latitude 9330: Enterprise Performance and Privacy

Dell describes the Latitude 9330 as a 13.3-inch “ultra-premium 2-in-1 that is designed for the best collaboration and connectivity with intelligent performance, built-in security and privacy.” Since the company also notes that the Latitude 9330 is aimed at users such as C-Suite executives, account managers and consultants, exactly what do those qualities mean or imply?

Performance

Like other Dell business endpoints, the Latitude 9330 is available with up to Core i7 SKUs of 12^th gen Intel Core processors, including vPro options. Advanced thermal design helps the system stay cool and quiet while still delivering maximum performance. In addition, the inclusion of up to 32GB of LPDDR5 memory aids the use of heavy workloads and applications.

The 9330 offers features for enhancing other performance points empowered by Dell Optimizer, which include:

• ExpressCharge 2.0: enables up to 80 percent charging within 40 minutes.
• ExpressConnect: the first solution that supports simultaneous multi-network connections thus speeding video and data downloads, WiFi6E and 4G/5G cellular options.
• ExpressResponse: analyzes and boosts the performance of users’ preferred apps.
• ComfortView Plus: the 9330 optimizes esthetic performance with features that reduce blue light emissions; it offers AI-based background noise cancellation.

Privacy

Dell has been proactive in developing features that help mobile users maintain their privacy in public or unusual circumstances. The Latitude 9330 incorporates several of those solutions, like a camera mute key (F9) for quick and easy security and an enhanced camera with Dell SafeShutter that automatically opens and closes during video calls.

The system also sports new Dell Optimizer solutions, including Onlooker Detection which alerts users to people behind them and Look-away Detect which dims the screen and saves battery power when users turn away from the display.

Also see: Top Digital Transformation Companies

Dell’s Focus on Sustainability

It is also worth noting features and points about the Latitude 9330 that reflect Dell’s focus on sustainability and environmental leadership, including the 2030 “moonshot” goals discussed in the company’s recent Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report.

Why is that important? As political and institutional bickering have derailed plans in the U.S. and elsewhere that address global warming and other environmental concerns, businesses and executives are increasingly providing leadership. Chairman Michael Dell and Dell Technologies have been especially active in this regard and the Latitude 9330 offers evidence of the company’s continuing efforts.

Recycled materials constitute 44 percent of the new solution’s keyboard and 50 percent of its battery frame. The cooling fan contains 28 percent ocean-bound plastic, a particularly challenging material to incorporate into commercial products. The Latitude 9330 is also shipped in packaging that is 100 percent recycled or renewed, making it the first design to meet Dell’s 2030 moonshot goals.

Overall, Dell’s Latitude portfolio includes 90+ products that meet the Global Electronics Council’s EPEAT goals. These are points worth remembering for organizations that support environmental issues and prefer working with vendors that have a similar bent.

Also see: What is Data Visualization

Final Analysis

So, what are the final takeaways for Dell’s new Latitude 9330? First, the new 2-in-1 follows and builds on the company’s longstanding leadership in enterprise endpoints. In essence, it serves as a premium platform that both incorporates and highlights Dell innovations developed for corporate customers that rely on personal technology to maximize executives’ and employees’ value and productivity.

However, the Latitude 9330 also reflects the unpredictable reality facing modern organizations where workplaces and workers can be located anywhere and face myriad challenges that are far easier to control and manage in dedicated office spaces.

As a result, the endpoints that businesses deploy should not simply be mobile and flexible—the points that informed and enabled the initial solutions for companies struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic. Modern endpoints must also be adaptable to the places and circumstances in which mobile executive and employees find themselves, either by intent or by surprise.

In essence, Dell designed the new Latitude 9330 2-in-1 to adapt to and succeed in all of those challenges and situations.

The post Dell’s Latitude 9330: Adaptability in Business Endpoints appeared first on eWEEK.

Let’s take a look at what’s new and improved among these endpoint products.

Also see: Top Edge Computing Companies 

CES 2022: Dell Reimagines XPS 13 and Collaboration

Launched originally at CES 2012, Dell’s XPS 13 has since become one of the company’s most best selling laptops, and for good reason.

That first generation (L321X) was Dell’s initial Ultrabook, a class of laptops that utilized a host of new technologies and features to deliver significantly better compute, battery and display performance. The XPS 13 also fundamentally altered the company’s reputation for product design and aesthetics. The XPS 13 wasn’t just a new laptop line—it was a signpost indicating Dell Technologies’ future direction.

Since then, next gen XPS 13 solutions have steadily highlighted new features and technologies developed by Dell and strategic partners, like Intel, and the 10^th anniversary XPS 13 Plus introduced this week at CES 2022 continues that progression. This is the first XPS 13 to incorporate 12^th gen Intel Core processors.

However, new Dell fan technologies (increasing airflow by 55 percent without raising noise or temperature) enable the XPS 13 Plus to use 28W Intel Core chips (up from 15W in prior gen systems), thus substantially improving overall performance.

Along with streamlined design changes that reinforce the XPS 13 line as a solid choice for use in the office or home, the new XPS 13 Plus offers practical enhancements, including Express Charge 2.0 (which brings the laptop up to 80 percent battery life in under an hour), larger (zero-lattice) keycaps, a glass touchpad, improved InfinityEdge display and redesigned quad speaker system. The XPS 13 Plus also meets the social impact plans in Dell 2030 Goals.

Dell’s new UltraSharp 32 4K Conferencing Monitor also offers new and improved features, as well as a sophisticated design aesthetic that fits both home and workplace use cases. The monitor includes Dell’s UltraSharp Webcam (with SafeShutter), echo-cancelling dual array microphones and 14W speakers, enhancing both collaboration and visual experiences.

The UltraSharp’s IPS Black technology and VESA DisplayHDR 400 features enables content to be viewed in 4K resolution, contrast, and color, and ComfortView Plus reduces harmful blue-light emissions without affecting color accuracy. Like other Dell video conferencing monitors, the new UltraSharp is certified for Microsoft Teams and comes with privacy and productivity features.

Both the XPS 13 Plus and UltraSharp 32 4K Conferencing Monitor will be available for purchase worldwide in spring 2022.

Also see: 5 Edge Computing Trends in 2022

Dell Concepts for Seamless Work Experiences

While the new solutions launched at CES 2022 address current issues and needs, Dell’s vision of the workplace of the future is apparent in the Seamless Work Experience Concepts outlined last month in a blog by Glen Robson, CTO of Dell’s Client Solutions Group:

• Concept Flow – is designed to remove the productivity-sapping friction workers can experience as they transition from location to location. To address that, Dell engineers are marrying devices, industry standard wireless charging technology, intelligent software applications and Wi-Fi 6E docking technology to create a singular, seamless proximity-sensitive user experience. As a result, workers will be able to get up and running faster and with fewer steps and headaches than they currently do.
• Concept Pari – Teams and team members often face communication and collaboration barriers when using video conferencing tools. To improve that situation, Dell engineers studied the impact of cameras and camera placement on communication and developed a small (~ 1 ounce/30 grams), simple, moveable wireless webcam with built-in microphone that can be placed and positioned virtually anywhere. Using the webcam, users can more easily maintain direct eye contact with those they are addressing and share offscreen content and images. While designed mainly for people who regularly engage in video calls, Concept Pari could be a worthwhile asset for anyone who regularly transitions between various work locations.
• Concept Stanza – Finally, traditional work activities like notetaking can also be improved with new digital tools. Concept Stanza aims to do that by providing workers a thin, light, port-less, 11-inch companion device for PCs. Designed to reduce distractions, using Concept Stanza is similar to handwriting notes but double tapping a note instantly converts it to text that can be saved, retrieved, searched and shared across multiple devices. Designed to be used with either a stylus or microphone, Concept aims to blend analog and digital processes, thus enhancing overall workplace productivity

Also see: Digital Transformation Guide: Definition, Types & Strategy 

Addressing Business Needs, Planning Innovation

The new Dell XPS 13 Plus and UltraSharp 32 4K Conferencing Monitor launched at CES 2022, along with the Seamless Work Experience Concepts announced last month, highlight how the company is effectively addressing business customers’ current requirements while planning innovative future products and tools.

What is clear from examining these new and potential offerings is Dell Technologies’ astuteness in balancing the market’s thirst for valuable new solutions and the need to continually evolve its portfolio of workplace endpoints.

The post Dell Technologies at CES: The Importance of Endpoint Evolution appeared first on eWEEK.

The decommissioning of these devices is another milestone in the long, slow demise of a company that ruled the mobile universe. But, as the Coldplay song, Viva la Vida goes, their castle stood on “pillars of salt and pillars of sand,” or in this case, legacy mindset.

In full disclosure, I’m a Canadian and was proud that the biggest tech company in the world flew the red and white flag. I got my first BlackBerry when I was in corporate IT in 1997 and was a die-hard supporter of the company, as were many other IT pros, business people and even consumers. Everyone loved their BlackBerry – but then the company quickly fell out of favor to Apple and Android.

BlackBerry Whiffed on the Shift to Mobile Web

What happened? It’s the age-old story of a vendor that doesn’t see a major shift coming or at least refuses to acknowledge it.

BlackBerry’s rise was driven by mobile e-mail, and with their keyboard-enabled devices did that better than anyone. In the early to mid 2000s, the primary mobile application moved from mobile e-mail to mobile web and then to social media. A touch interface was significantly better than a keyboard, as you needed more screen with fewer words.

Oh sure, BlackBerry eventually came to market with touch screens, like the Storm phone and Playbook tablet, but these were terrible devices, to the point where they were unusable.

Despite market trends, BlackBerry never took this shift seriously until it was too late. I recall being at a BlackBerry analyst summit where the product people defiantly stated that the belief that business users would always prefer a keyboard and the touchscreen was just a consumer trend. Obviously, that turned out to be incorrect: business people do far more than e-mail, which is why Apple and Android have big corporate customers now.

Also see: What is Digital Transformation?

Yes, You Can Get Fired for Buying IBM

This is a good lesson to IT pros to never be too complacent with any one particular vendor, no matter how big their share. There’s a phrase in corporate IT that goes something like, “You never get fired for buying X,” where X is the market leader in the space; often the name was IBM.

While this may be true in established markets, it certainly is not for emerging technologies. I experienced this early in my career when our IBM mainframe team pushed for the company I worked for to buy IBM micro-channel computers running OS/2 instead of Intel machines with Microsoft Windows. Had we gone the IBM route, I think we most certainly would have been fired, as OS/2 fell off the map faster than mobile devices with keyboards.

Incumbent Vendors Rarely Lead Through Market Transitions

History is littered with tech vendors that were too big to fail, yet did just that – and did so quickly.

For example, Dell, Compaq and other server manufacturers missed the shift to virtualization, as did Nortel and Siemens with VoIP. Cabletron and 3Com ignored the router market and saw their switching business usurped by upstart Cisco. Microsoft and Google were late to the cloud and have never become a serious threat to AWS and are still playing catch-up.

Another more recently example is the once nearly ubiquitous Riverbed, which crumbled with the shift to SD-WAN. Occasionally, a vendor can re-invent itself, like IBM has done a few times. And most recently Cisco has managed to become a software and cloud company despite being late to those markets. But these are rare exceptions and usually require a complete overhaul in company leadership.

IT Pros Must Always Be Looking Around the Corner

The takeaway for IT pros is that when selecting a vendor, it may seem like the safe choice to go with the market leader, like BlackBerry was at one time. But when markets transition, it’s rarely the incumbent vendor that leads the industry into the next phase.

It’s important to always be evaluating new vendors that are trying to shake up the industry. While it isn’t certain that every start-up or disruptor will become the “next big thing,” what is certain is that if a market transition is good for the customer, it will happen with – or more likely without – the incumbent vendor.

The end of BlackBerry Classic is long overdue, and the company is attempting to rise from the ashes as a security vendor by leveraging Cylance, which was an early artificial intelligence security vendor. Can BlackBerry regain its position as a major IT company, or will it follow in the path of Novell, Madge, Palm and so many others? Only time will tell but history is certainly not on its side.

The post The End of BlackBerry Classic: IT Pros, Always Evaluate Your Vendors appeared first on eWEEK.

If you dig deeper into edge, you’ll see that edge computing deployments – often supported by cloud computing providers – are part of a distributed infrastructure, which enables the compute power to be closer to the people who produce or consume that data.

Key to the idea of edge, whether your edge deployment supports machine learning, artificial intelligence or data analytics, is that it extends resources far outside the once-dominant datacenter. Edge is forward-looking today in the same way that the datacenter was a leader some dozen years ago.

The most important part of edge technology is that it’s a form of distributed computing. If you look back at computer history, you can see a cycle between more centralized computing (like the early mainframes) to more distributed models (like networked PCs). In recent years, the trend toward cloud computing has been a move to a more diffuse, multicloud computing model. The newer trend toward edge computing is a further extension of that distributed model.

Edge computing enables computing beyond the data center and cloud perimeter, which allows it to support mobile and IoT devices, including cell phones. 

Edge Computing Examples

You might not realize it, but you probably interact with devices leveraging edge computing every day. For example, if you work in a remote office or back office (ROBO) environment with your own computing infrastructure, that’s an example of edge computing.

The smartphone you have in your pocket does edge computing. So does your car. Your printer. Probably your TV.

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of edge computing devices:

• Smartphones
• Smartwatches
• Wearables
• Laptop and desktop PCs
• Edge servers
• Gaming systems
• Printers
• Smart routers
• Smart appliances
• Smart home speakers
• Computerized medical devices
• Connected cars
• Autonomous vehicles
• Smart traffic lights
• Smart agriculture
• Smart grid
• Cell phone towers
• Kiosks
• Point-of-sale devices
• Internet of Things (IoT) gateways
• Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) gateways
• Military and defense vehicles and weapons
• Robots

Edge Computing Architecture

Because there are so many different kinds of edge devices, there is no single edge architecture that covers all use cases. However, in general, most edge computing deployments do have some typical characteristics in common.

First, edge devices usually collect data from sensors. Those sensors might be part of the device itself (as in the case of smartphones and autonomous vehicles) or they might be separate (as in the case of gaming systems and many IIoT deployments).

Then the edge device does some processing and storage locally. In theory, a device could store the data at the edge indefinitely, but in most deployments, the device then sends a portion of the data up to the cloud for additional processing and analytics. Other devices and users can then access the processed data via the cloud.

It might be easier to understand this architecture by considering a particular use case. Think about the tablet-style kiosks you might see at each table in a chain restaurant. These edge devices collect data input by users, such as order information, payment details, and/or survey responses.

Those tablets then transmit all that data via Wi-Fi to a centralized server in the restaurant. That server processes and stores data, as well as forwarding it to various Internet-connected servers that process payments, monitor company financials, and analyze customer orders and survey responses. Administrators and business managers can then access that cloud-based data through various applications.

This combination of edge computing and cloud computing is becoming increasingly common in a variety of different use cases and industries.

What Are the Benefits of Edge Computing?

Edge computing offers a number of benefits over centralized computing models, such as faster processing speed, reduced network loads, reduced costs, and more. See the other the benefits below:

• Speed. If you process data near where it is generated, you don’t have to wait for it to go up to the cloud and back again. This reduction in latency results in faster performance.
• Reduced network loads. Today’s devices are generating so much data that it can be difficult for networks to keep up. Doing more processing at the edge reduces network bandwidth loads, freeing up capacity for the most important workloads.
• Reduced costs. Transmitting less data can also result in lower data transmission costs. This can be significant, particularly in parts of the world where mobile data fees are high.
• Improved security. If you store and process all your data in one location, that gives attackers a big, attractive target, but edge computing makes it less likely that attackers will gain a huge trove of data. In addition, edge computing makes distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks more difficult.
• Compliance. Some regions of the world have data protection laws that require data to be stored and processed in the area where it was created. Edge computing can make it easier for organizations to comply with these regulations.
• Better reliability. Spreading your data across multiple physical locations is a fundamental tenet of disaster recovery/business continuity (DR/BC) best practices. If many smaller devices are processing your workloads, you are less likely to experience a catastrophic failure if a single device goes offline.
• Unique products and services. Edge computing makes possible a number of mobile devices that wouldn’t otherwise be available to end users. Consumer demand for “smart” products continues to rise, and these products rely on edge computing.
• Improved monitoring. Edge computing also allows businesses to keep track of a lot of things they wouldn’t otherwise be able to track. This is particularly important for smart factories, smart agriculture, smart grids, and IIoT use cases.

What Are the Challenges of Edge Computing?

As you might expect, edge computing also has some downsides. Here are some of the most significant:

• • Increased maintenance burdens. If your enterprise has dozens or hundreds or even thousands of edge computing devices, your staff then needs to maintain all those devices. That can add more burden to IT departments and require staff to travel to a lot of different locations, all of which can increase costs.
  • Security risks. As mentioned above, edge computing does decrease some security risks, but it also creates some others. In some cases, attackers might be able to gain access to networks by compromising an edge device. And instead of having a few centralized systems to protect, teams must now secure many smaller devices. Ensuring that each device has an adequate level of protection can be time-consuming and costly.
  • Missing data. If you transmit only a subset of your data to the cloud after it has been processed at the edge, it’s possible that you might be missing a critical piece of information. Organizations need to design their edge computing environments with care to ensure that they have access to all relevant information when they need it.
  • Scalability. Scaling out your edge computing network requires you to deploy new hardware. That is generally more difficult than scaling in a cloud computing environment.
  • Environmental challenges. Cloud servers live in highly controlled data centers, but edge devices are often outdoors where they can be affected by weather, dust, pollution, human beings, or even animals. Depending on the use case, you might need to design your edge devices so they can withstand being hit by lightning, run over by a truck, or nibbled by wildlife.
  • Lack of standards. In many edge computing use cases, industries have not yet settled on one standard for key pieces of the technology stack. This makes it difficult to achieve interoperability, and it exposes organizations to the risk that they might bet on a technology that soon becomes obsolete.
  • Logistical hurdles. Getting an edge computing environment up and running can be difficult from both a technological and human resources point of view. For example, organizations may face challenges in powering devices, ensuring that devices turn on automatically when necessary, or even finding room for devices in use cases where physical space is limited. While these hurdles are not insurmountable, organizations should consider them before embarking on an edge computing initiative.

Why Is Edge Computing Important?

Despite these challenges, enterprises should be paying attention to the edge computing trend and considering how their company might participate. Here’s why:

• • • The market for edge computing devices is huge—and growing. According to IDC, the edge computing market will be worth about $250.6 billion in 2024. And the market is growing every year. Your competitors are certainly participating in this trend, and if you want to keep up, you need to be examining how your company could profit.
    • Edge computing complements cloud computing. For more than a decade, cloud computing has been on the rise. But it doesn’t make financial sense to do all your data processing and storage in the cloud—and it might not be feasible for security or compliance reasons as well. A solid edge computing strategy is often a necessary balance for a good cloud computing strategy.
  • Edge computing can make enterprises more efficient. As previously mentioned, edge computing can save both time and money. Organizations should carefully examine ROI to determine where edge computing might make sense for their operations.
  • Edge computing enables new products and services. Consumers and businesses alike are looking to purchase new products and services that integrate computing capabilities into daily life. Edge computing can open up new business models and new ways of serving customers.
  • Edge computing can make life better. Edge computing drives a whole lot of innovation that makes the world safer and more enjoyable. It helps make cars safer, shopping and dining more convenient, farms and factories more productive, supply chains more efficient, and living rooms more fun.
  • Edge computing is here to stay. Given the tremendous benefits offered by edge computing and how deeply it is integrated into daily life, it’s highly unlikely that edge devices will be going away anytime soon. Instead, as with cloud computing, it’s likely that we’ll just begin to think of edge computing as “computing.”

The post What Is Edge Computing? Your Complete Guide appeared first on eWEEK.

Microsoft recently held its Education Event, where it announced the Surface Laptop SE and Windows 11 SE, which address the digitally transformed world of education. When COVID hit, and K–12 grade schools went online, many students could not participate online because it required a computing device. Microsoft is looking to make its ecosystem more accessible and inclusive with the Surface Laptop SE and Windows 11 SE. These devices, of course, must be placed in the context of the larger market.

Computing and the Education Market

When looking at the state of digital North American K–8 education currently, it is heavily Chrome OS-based or headed in that direction. Chromebooks are targeted at education because of their natural low price point and their simplicity. Since Chrome OS relies on the browser, it does not need high-end compute power, and it makes it simple for students to use and for schools to regulate what is done on these devices, especially from a managerial standpoint when Chromebooks are bought in bulk by schools. Additionally, the accessible price point, depending on which Chrome device you get, is appealing to educators and students.

We also have to keep in mind that schools and school districts choose education suites for students – that is, young learners – and a major factor driving the decision is the platform’s simplicity. Microsoft and Google both have a suite for education, just as they have business suites. 

For my company Moor Insights & Strategy, I chose Google’s business suite 10 years ago for its simplicity, as I run the IT myself, and I imagine that many of these school boards are doing the same. I also advised my kid’s high school on tech purchases where they often talked about complexity and the need for simplicity. Ironically, many K–8 schools are choosing Google based on simplicity first, cost second. Although, if price was the priority, Microsoft wouldn’t be losing K–8 market share. 

The Surface Laptop SE is taking a direct jab at Chromebooks, and Windows 11 SE is a simplified version of Windows going after Chrome OS. In addition, Microsoft is saying it has simplified Intune.

Let’s look at the Surface Laptop SE, Windows 11SE, and Intune, and how they are innovating this new era of education.

Windows 11 SE

Simplicity should be the biggest factor when it comes to deploying Windows 11 SE. Microsoft says it took into consideration feedback from teachers and school IT admins to be distraction-free, secure, and easy to deploy and manage. 

To implement these goals, Microsoft says Windows 11 SE has a controlled app installation, and when apps are launched, they are launched in full-screen mode. While Chrome OS takes a web-based approach to its applications, I think Microsoft is heading in a better direction with its controlled and immersive application experience. It puts more control in the hands of IT admins to designate which apps are on a student’s device without having to rely on the Internet to access applications. 

Microsoft says third-party apps like Zoom and Chrome can be installed, giving school IT admins greater flexibility when deciding which platform to use. It also gives students the ability to focus by having full-screen, distraction-free applications with a two-window limit compared to Windows 11’s default of four when windowing. 

On the other hand, while multitasking has its place in productivity, it is not always beneficial to the end-user. In this case, it is not beneficial to students who are learning how to use technology healthily. 

Windows 11 SE is also taking a cloud-first storage approach with 1TB of cloud storage per device while allowing applications and OneDrive to sync content offline. Giving the opportunity for content to be either offline or online is inclusive to students who may not have access to the internet from home. 

While having content offline is an option for Chrome OS devices, it has fairly low on-premises storage and favors cloud-based. Microsoft’s approach to storage is advantageous for Windows 11 SE because it makes the matter of home Internet a non-issue in a world of equal opportunity. 

Now that Microsoft Teams is built into Windows 11, there has been a greater focus to create Teams as a platform for education in Windows 11 SE. 

Surface Laptop SE and Intune

The Surface Laptop is two things for Microsoft: it is Microsoft’s premium line of devices for users of Windows, and it is Microsoft’s realized vision of what Windows 11 should be for OEMs. Alongside the Surface Laptop SE are Windows 11 SE-specific laptops from OEMs like Lenovo, Acer, and Dell, with the Surface Laptop SE guiding these laptops.

The Surface Laptop SE comes with an Intel Celeron Processor and eMMC storage for up to 128Gb of storage. It has an 11.6-inch display that automatically adjusts brightness. It has a 720p HD camera and digital mic, and speakers from video calls. Microsoft says it has edited details like UEFI code for better power management. The Surface Laptop SE has a reasonable port selection with a USB-C, USB-A, and a headphone jack. 

Although an HDMI port for school projects for the older kids would be a plus, the USB-C port covers that concern. The USB-A should be great for students wanting to use a mouse, and the headphone jack is a must for online classroom video calls. 

While the laptop’s specs are nothing to write home about, it really does make a difference when affordability is high on the priority list. The Surface Laptop SE starts at $249, and other Windows 11 SE laptops move up from there. This price point of $249 is great for education laptops with a Microsoft tag.

Another aspect of the Surface laptops that makes a huge difference for schools is the level of repairability. For schools with limited budgets, this feature makes for a world of difference. Kids are not always the best with electronic devices, and accidents do happen. Repairability means longevity for schools with limited budgets and students who cannot afford these devices. 

Microsoft says it has also made the Surface Laptop SE easy to deploy with Microsoft Intune for Education, and it can be tuned to the school IT admin’s preferences out of the box while maintaining the safety and security of the Microsoft platform. Microsoft Intune is Microsoft’s cloud management solution that is powered by Microsoft’s Intune service for the enterprise, so there is no doubt it has the security you might expect from an enterprise standpoint.

Simplicity and Affordability

Microsoft’s launch of Windows 11 and Surface Laptop SE could be successful if it can nail the simplicity of its devices for the entire educational ecosystem, including teachers, students, and school IT admins. Windows has always been a robust operating system, and this quality is one of the reasons why Chrome OS is dominating the K–8 North American education tech space. Microsoft simplified many features in Windows 11, so it is more inclusive for students and simpler for students and teachers. 

By leading the charge under the Surface branding, it could also be successful by providing the quality of Microsoft devices in a more affordable and friendly package for education. Its repairability and offline capabilities should also appeal to schools looking for devices on a lower budget. 

Note: Moor Insights & Strategy co-op Jacob Freyman contributed to this article.

The post Microsoft Focuses on the K–8 Education Market: Windows 11 SE, Surface Laptop SE, Simplified Intune appeared first on eWEEK.

Turn the iPhone 13 Pro around and look at the back, and you’re sure to notice that the three camera lenses protrude farther from the back than they did in the previous model. They also take up more space, which means your iPhone 12 Pro case won’t fit the new phone even though they look a lot alike.

Storage and Faster Processor

As is always the case, there’s a lot more to an iPhone Pro than what you see in the first impression. For example, the new iPhone Pro can now have up to one terabyte of storage, which is twice as much as the iPhone 12 Pro. It’s got a faster processor in the A15 Bionic chip which features a 6-core CPU, a 5-core GPU and a 16-core neural engine.

Apple also sells the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which has a 6.7-inch screen compared to the 6.1-inch screen of the iPhone 13 Pro. Other than the larger size of the iPhone 13 Pro Max, and the corresponding larger battery, the two iPhones are the same. You’ll certainly notice that the notch at the top of the screen is still there. The notch contains cameras for facial recognition as well as for pictures and video. Apple said it’s about 20 percent smaller.

In use, you’re likely to notice that the screen scrolls more smoothly due to the adaptive refresh rate that goes up to 120 Hz. The adaptive screen refresh rate means that the phone can change the screen refresh rate to meet the needs at the time. When looking at fairly static screens, for example, the refresh rate can be as slow as 10 Hz. This helps the phone save power, which in turn helps preserve battery life.

The design of the A15 processor also helps reduce power use. It has 2 performance cores with 4 efficiency cores. Likewise it can reduce the brightness of the screen as needed. Apple says that the iPhone 13 Pro  has 1.5 more hours of battery life, with 2.5 more hours on the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

My experience bore this out. I noticed that the phone never reached the halfway point on battery use by the time it was ready to be charged each night. Like its predecessors, the iPhone 13 supports wireless charging as well as allowing a plug-in charger through its Lightening port.

Bigger Sensors, Better Lenses

As you can tell from the prominence of the cameras, these are where Apple (ahem) focused its efforts. The new cameras have bigger sensors, better lenses and better software than previous iPhones. Serious photographers won’t mistake the iPhone images for something from a professional grade SLR, but the cameras on the iPhone 13 Pro are very good. What’s more, Apple has improved the already good low-light capability and the stabilization.

The three cameras are a telephoto, wide angle and ultra wide angle, all with 12 megapixel sensors. The wide angle camera also supports macro photography. The macro photography mode happens automatically when the camera is asked to focus on something very close. There’s also a 12 megapixel camera on the front of the iPhone 13 Pro which is used for facial recognition and for photos and video.

All of the cameras will support 4K video recording as well as full high definition. Apple has introduced a feature called Cinematic Mode, which can record video with a shallow depth of field, similar to how Portrait Mode worked in the iPhone 12.

Those photos and videos will benefit from the iPhone 13’s support for 5G communications. Depending on your carrier of choice and your location, you may find fast 5G in your area. Tests in the Washington, DC, Metro area showed that the iPhone 13 Pro could reach speeds of just under a gigabit per second using T-Mobile’s 5G network. Similar speeds can be reached with WiFi 6 which the iPhone 13 also supports. The difference compared to the iPhone 12 is that the iPhone 13 supports more 5G bands, but you’re still at the mercy of your phone carrier whether you’ll be able to use them.

The iPhone 13 Pro costs the same as the iPhone 12 Pro did last year, starting at $999.00. However carriers are offering huge discounts in return for a contract. This year, the Pro line comes in four colors with gold and Sierra Blue being added. If you’ve already got an iPhone 12 Pro, the only reason to upgrade is if you really need one of the new features. Otherwise you might want to wait.

This is my last column for eWEEK. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to write for you over all of these years. When I wrote my first story in what was then PC Week in 1983, I never would have guessed that I’d still be here in 2021. Thanks for reading.

(Editors note: Thank you Wayne! You are a pro!) 

The post The iPhone 13 Pro is Mostly About the Camera appeared first on eWEEK.

Creating exceptional user experiences across a plethora of mobile devices and platforms is imperative, but seeing and solving performance issues can be a struggle and time-consuming. While testing an application before it ships is important, many times test environments do not replicate real conditions, and performance regressions may not show.

To catch the most frustrating performance issues, mobile development teams need to explore what’s happening on users’ devices. This requires visibility into how fast the app starts, duration of HTTP requests, number of slow and frozen frames, how fast views are loading, and more.

Although there are a number of metrics to consider, below are the five most important that every mobile team should track to better understand how an app is performing.

1. Crash-Free Users and Sessions

A crash is considered to be an unhandled error. This could happen during the initial load phase of an application or at any time during an application’s use. Tracking the percentage of users that did not experience a crash, as well as the number of sessions that did not end by the crash of the application, are important KPIs for measuring application stability.

Tracking and comparing these numbers from release to release can also surface trends and provide valuable insights about code health.

2. Cold and Warm App Start Times

When a user taps on an app icon, it should start fast. App start time values represent the amount of time elapsed between launching the process and finishing drawing the corresponding activity on the screen.

Apple recommends that iOS apps take—at most—400 ms to render the first frame. The Google Play Console warns Android developers when an app’s startup times are excessive. This includes when a cold start (defined as when an app is launched for the first time or after a reboot or update) takes longer than 5 seconds or a warm start (an app launched at least once and is partially in memory) takes longer than 2 seconds.

No matter the platform, it is crucial that an app starts quickly, as this is a user’s first touch with a company, and slow load times leave a bad first impression. On iOS, Mac Catalyst, tvOS, and Android, companies should track how long their app needs to draw the first frame. This information can help improve the duration of the app start.

3. Slow and Frozen Frames

Unresponsive user interface, animation hitches, and other app jank annoy users and degrade the user experience. Two mobile vitals that measure these issues are slow and frozen frames.

A phone or tablet typically renders with 60 frames per second (fps), though the frame rate can be as high as 120 fps. With 60 fps, if an app takes longer than 16.67 ms for a frame to render, it is considered a slow frame. Frozen frames are UI frames that take longer than 700 ms. An app that is running smoothly should not experience either.

4. User Misery

User Misery is a user-weighted performance metric to assess the relative magnitude of application performance. While developers can examine the ratio of various response time threshold levels, User Misery counts the number of unique users who were frustrated based on four times the satisfactory response time threshold (ms). User Misery highlights transactions that have the highest impact on users.

Resolving Mobile Performance Issues

These mobile vitals can unlock valuable insights into user experience and enable developers to better understand how code changes impact their applications. Decreases in crash-free sessions or users, slow cold and warm starts, and slow or frozen frames are all key indicators that performance is diminishing, and quick action should be taken to determine where the issues lie.

An effective way to resolve mobile performance issues is distributed tracing, defined as a method of recording the connected operations of multiple services. Typically, these operations are initiated by requests from one service to another, where a “request” could be an actual HTTP request, or work invoked through a task queue or some other asynchronous means.

Although this is a standard technology used for understanding what’s going on across distributed services, it is still relatively new for mobile applications. Ultimately, teams looking to manage and optimize mobile performance will find great success when monitoring the right vitals and adopting distributed tracing techniques to more efficiently debug mobile applications.

About the Author: 

Philipp Hofmann, software engineer, Sentry

The post Four Mobile App Performance Vitals Every Company Should Measure appeared first on eWEEK.

Indeed, for nearly a decade, industry pundits have been telling enterprises to embrace digital transformation, and many of them have been heeding that call. Enterprise technologies like cloud computing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence all drive the growth of digital transformation.

Today, the term “digital transformation” has become nearly ubiquitous. It’s hard to find a company that hasn’t embarked on at least one digital transformation project. In a 2021 Gartner survey, only 3 percent of the data and analytics leaders surveyed said they were not involved in a digital transformation project.

Firms have good reason for tackling these projects. Several studies have found that digital transformation correlates with better business outcomes. For example, a Deloitte Insights study found, “Greater digital maturity is associated with better financial performance. The higher-maturity companies in this year’s sample were about three times more likely than lower-maturity companies to report annual net revenue growth and net profit margins significantly above their industry average—a pattern that held true across industries.”

And while digital transformation was already well underway at many companies by 2019, the coronavirus seems to have accelerated the process. A 2021 BDO Digital study found that 43 percent of organizations surveyed where accelerating their existing plans in response to the pandemic, and 51 percent were adding new digital projects. Looking ahead, 90% of middle market organizations planned to maintain or increase their digital spending in 2021.

In the same vein, when Boston Consulting Group surveyed 5,000 managers and employees about how the pandemic was affecting their business, more than 80 percent said that their digital transformation efforts were helping them deal with the economic slowdown.

But what exactly is digital transformation? And what should organizations be doing if they want to experience the benefits associated with this trend?

Also see: Top Digital Transformation Trends Shaping 2022

What Is Digital Transformation?

You will get widely different definitions of digital transformation, depending on who you ask. And almost everyone shades the definition slightly so that it benefits them. For example, Salesforce, which sells customer relationship management software, will tell you, “Digital transformation begins and ends with the customer.”

Red Hat, which sells software and services that touch all areas of business, says:

Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how you operate and deliver value to customers. It’s also a cultural change that requires organizations to continually challenge the status quo, experiment, and get comfortable with failure.

Analyst firm Gartner, which makes its money by selling information about broad, complex topics, makes digital transformation look broad and complex:

Digital transformation can refer to anything from IT modernization (for example, cloud computing), to digital optimization, to the invention of new digital business models. The term is widely used in public-sector organizations to refer to modest initiatives such as putting services online or legacy modernization.

The eWeek definition of digital transformation is a bit more general: “Digital transformation is the adoption of digital technology that has the capability to transform the business.”

Critically, digital transformation involves more than just deploying some new technology. And it is about much more than becoming more efficient or increasing productivity.

Digital transformation is about finding new markets and new ways of doing business, about interacting with customers in new and different ways. It involves harnessing the power of emerging technology to do things that have never been done before. It often leads to new revenue streams, increased margins, greater competitiveness and meeting other business goals.

It carries a high degree of risk. But it also brings significant opportunities.

Digital transformation represents the intersection of numerous constantly evolving sectors, from cloud computing to data analytics to social media. 

Also see: Top 10 Digital Transformation Companies

Types of Digital Transformation

Well-known companies that have publicly discussed their digital transformation efforts include GE, Nike, Home Depot, Walmart, Target, John Deere and many others. But because every organization is unique, digital transformation looks different at every single company that attempts it. And often organizations are deploying more than one kind of transformational technology at once.

Having said that, many organizations are drawn to similar types of technology. Here are some of the more popular types of digital transformation projects:

• Converting from primarily brick-and-mortar sales to ecommerce.
• Migrating from on-premise data centers to cloud computing.
• Using big data analytics to become more efficient and optimize business processes.
• Deploying artificial intelligence and machine learning into business analytics to uncover new insights.
• Creating mobile apps that allow customers to interact with the company from their phones.
• Integrating new technologies like Internet of Things sensors, digital twins, blockchain and others directly into products.
• Abandoning traditional advertising methods like direct mail, television and newspapers in favor of digital marketing and social media.
• Utilizing virtual reality and augmented reality to improve product design and service processes.
• Enabling employees to work remotely, thus improving their employee experience.

Today, most digital transformation efforts incorporate several of these types of technologies. And they also usually require a change in business strategy as well.

Challenges in Digital Transformation

As digital transformation continues to accelerate, businesses must consider the challenges that arise during implementation. Here are some of the most common challenges businesses face when implementing a digital transformation:

• Culture and Onboarding. Digital transformations are not as simple as adopting technologies for each aspect of your business. Businesses must provide the right tools, onboarding assistance, and general company culture for employees to encourage the transformation. A major factor in this challenge is having effective senior leaders in an organization, particularly a Chief Data Officer (CDO).
• Budgeting. Digital transformations are an investment. If businesses do not have a clear transformation strategy in place, budgeting becomes more challenging. Having foundational knowledge of what types of technologies you should adopt and why is a critical first step before budgeting comes into play.
• Lack of Strategy. As we previously mentioned, not having the right experts assisting with your digital transformation could ultimately prove detrimental. In the same vein, going into a digital transformation with a lack of strategy could lead to wasted time and money. If you’re looking to get a rundown of what a traditional strategy looks like before making any decisions, digital transformation frameworks can provide clarity and insight into proven strategies.
• Not Prioritizing Cybersecurity. Although this is becoming less and less of an issue as businesses take cybersecurity more seriously, businesses must put security at the forefront of their digital transformation. Prioritizing cloud migration is a practical start to ensuring your newly adopted technologies are secure.

How to Create a Digital Transformation Strategy

The most successful digital transformations are those with well-planned and well-implemented strategies. How can you create a successful strategy? Here are some tips:

• Identify your business goals. Deciding to start a digital transformation project because everyone else is doing a digital transformation project is a surefire recipe for disaster. Before you begin, make sure everyone on your team understands why you are undertaking the effort. You need to have agreement on your current situation and a clear vision for where you want to go. Often, the most effective digital transformation goals come with key performance indicators (KPIs), metrics that allow you to track your progress toward your goal.
• Hire an expert. Chances are good that no one on your current team has ever shepherded a successful digital transformation before. If that’s your situation, you might want to think about bringing in some help. This could take the form of hiring a full-time employee with digital transformation experience, or it could entail hiring an outside consulting firm. Some companies also hire other key personnel in IT, marketing, or other areas who have experience or expertise in the kind of transformation you want to make.
• Build on your strengths. It’s tempting to throw out everything you are currently doing and start from scratch, but that is usually a mistake. Think about what you already do well. Do you have loyal customers? What does your brand stand for? As you go through your digital transformation you need to make sure you aren’t doing anything to undermine the success you already have. The digital transformation projects that meet their goals often seem like a natural extension of a company’s previous efforts into the digital arena.
• Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. A common theme among digital transformation frameworks (more on that below) is an emphasis on the customer experience. Digital transformation will change the way your customers interact with your organization. You need to make sure that this new experience is positive and reinforces the brand image you want to have.
• Establish new procedures and policies. New technology is completely unhelpful if no one uses it. Before you roll out a new tool or application, think carefully about how you want your employees to use it. If you don’t clearly define procedures and institute some enforcement mechanisms to make sure that people follow them, your staff will likely revert back to the old way of doing things. In some cases, digital transformation will require a complete cultural transformation, which is a lengthy, difficult process.
• Iterate. You can’t transform your organization in an instant. Instead, make a small change, evaluate and repeat. Digital transformation projects that evolve through a series of steps are more likely to succeed than a wholesale change that you attempt to implement all at once. If you keep your strategy somewhat agile, you can make slight modifications along the way and react to changing conditions in a timely manner.
• Consider following a digital transformation framework. Several analyst and consulting firms have laid out digital transformation frameworks that can help give form to your strategy. Remember that your actual strategy should be unique to your organization, but following a proven strategy can help you avoid missing key steps or repeating mistakes that other organizations have made before. A framework isn’t necessary, but it might be helpful, particularly if your management team doesn’t have prior experience with digital transformation.

What is a Digital Transformation Framework?

According to Boston Consulting Group, less than a third of companies (30%) navigate their digital transformation successfully. In order to help businesses improve their odds, a number of consultants, vendors, and other experts have published digital transformation frameworks.

A digital transformation framework is a step-by-step plan for successfully implementing a digital transformation strategy. Usually, it comes along with a graphic representation that shows how the consultants perceive digital transformation.

Some of the most well-known digital transformation frameworks include the following:

• MIT Sloan’s Path to Digital Transformation The MIT Sloan Digital Management Review offers a host of resources related to digital transformation, including several different step-by-step guides that could be classified as digital transformation frameworks.
• Boston Consulting Group’s Six Factors of a Successful Digital Transformation include integrated strategy, leadership commitment, high-caliber talent, agile governance, effective monitoring and a modular platform. It says that 80 percent of organizations with these factors in place success in their digital transformation efforts.
• PwC’s Digital Transformation Framework has five steps: evolve your business, create new value, protect for the future, accelerate through technology and know your customers.
• Cognizant’s How to Win with Digital Playbook claims that only 30 percent of digital transformation projects succeed. It says that in order to be one of the winners you need to take a human-centered design approach, cope with emerging technologies and digitize your business strategy.
• Gartner’s IT Roadmap for Digital Business Transformation describes the key steps of digital transformation as ambition, design, scale, deliver, refine. And it notes that digital transformation continues to be a top priority for business leaders.No matter which digital transformation strategy and/or framework your organization chooses to pursue, it’s worth noting that planning and strategizing is only part of the effort. In order to succeed, you will not only need a good plan, you will need to execute it well. As more and more companies embrace digital transformation, those that rise to the top of their industries will be those that execute digital transformation well.

The post Digital Transformation Guide: Definition, Types & Strategy appeared first on eWEEK.

One of the things I discovered when Microsoft announced Windows 11 is that my three-year-old Lenovo T-Series laptop will not be able to run the new operating system. According to Microsoft’s minimum system requirements, you’ll need to have enough memory and storage as well as a Trusted Platform Module version 2.0 and a compatible processor. Microsoft has a list of compatible Intel and AMD processors.

If your computer doesn’t meet some of the requirements such as storage or memory, you can fix that. But chances are, you’re not going to be able to add a TPM or a new compatible processor. If your computer doesn’t meet those requirements, the only real way to upgrade to Windows 11 is to get a new computer. Of course, you can stay with Windows 10, which Microsoft ways will be supported until late 2025.

Fortunately, Microsoft has provided links to stores with compatible computers along with the minimum system requirements. To simplify your choices, I took a look at a Windows 11 compatible laptop from each of the top three laptop makers. These are premium laptops of the kind used in business, but there are many less expensive computers that also run Windows 11. If you buy one of these now, it’ll come with Windows 10, but will receive a free upgrade when the new version is available for that machine.

Windows 11 Laptop Testing

When the laptops arrived at our Northern Virginia testing location, each was unboxed and turned on so that I could run the initial Windows 10 setup. They were connected to the 5 GHz signal of an Asus WiFi 6 router, after which I ran Windows Update. All of them required updating, and doing so would mean that they were all running the same version of Windows 10.

Once the updates were done, I installed Ookla Speed Test from the Microsoft Store, and Geekbench 4 and Geekbench 5 from Primate Labs. Geekbench 5 is the latest benchmarking software from the company, but I also ran Geekbench 4 because that’s the version that I’ve used for all previous eWEEK tests, so I could compare the results.

The Ookla Speed Test does not provide useful benchmarking because the results depend on factors outside of the test environment and can vary widely regardless of the machine they’re running on. But the test does confirm that each of these machines can communicate at nearly gigabit speeds using WiFi 6. Access to the Internet used a symmetrical gigabit fiber connection from Verizon FiOS. Maximum WiFi speeds for all three laptops reached 850 megabits per second for both uploads and downloads.

The Windows 11 Laptops: HP, Dell, Lenovo

I looked at three laptops, an HP EliteBook 840 Aero G8, a Dell Latitude 9420 and a Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9.

At first glance, there were, as we might say here in the South, as alike as peas in a pod. They were thin, they were intuitive to use, and their benchmark results using Geekbench 4 and 5 were close enough that you’d never see a difference in real-world use.

However, there are important differences that might impact some users. For those who like mysterious black monoliths, the X1 Carbon is a sure choice, especially considering its unique (and a little creepy) human presence detection feature. Yes, this laptop knows whether you’re looking at it, and it responds accordingly.

All three laptops are Intel Evo certified, which includes fast charging, long battery life, instant wake and WiFi 6 and Thunderbolt 4. They all use USB 3.1 Type C charging, and have additional Type C ports. Choosing any one of these will give you a fast, well-built business laptop that will slide into your briefcase easily, last through even long flights on battery and survive the insults of travel.

Dell Latitude 9420 2-in-1

The new Latitude features a 14-inch screen with the new 16:10 aspect ratio. This gives you more screen real estate than the previous 16:9 widescreen aspect ratios that were a little cramped when doing actual work. The Dell’s 2560 x 1600 touchscreen display is clear and bright, and the screen uses Corning’s Gorilla Glass, meaning luggage handlers will have to try extra hard to break it.

While Dell doesn’t claim the human presence detection that Lenovo has, its front camera can detect when you sit down in front of it, and automatically log you in. Along the top of the screen the webcam is protected with Dell’s SafeShutter, which is an automatic privacy shutter. According to Dell, the shutter knows when to open for conference calls. When I tried it with a Zoom call, it worked.

Dell clearly realized that office life had devolved into a never-ending series of Zoom calls, and installed four noise-cancelling microphones in a directional array to provide clear audio. The speakers are top-firing to make audio clearer.

In addition to the four USB Type C ports, there’s an HDMI and two Thunderbolt ports, a memory card reader, a USB Type A port and an audio jack. You can order a SIM slot and a fingerprint reader. This 2-in-1 laptop weighs 3.2 pounds. There’s also a laptop (non 2-in-1) version that’s slightly lighter.

The Dell Latitude 9420

HP EliteBook 840 Aero G8

The first thing I noticed about the HP EliteBook: it doesn’t have a touch screen. I found this annoying on a laptop where your fingers are usually close enough to the screen where using a touch sensitive screen can be very convenient.

There is a touch screen available with a different display, however. Both available 14-inch screens are full high-definition in the older 16:9 format. The graphics card will support UHD on an external monitor, which is accessible through one of the USB Type C ports or the HDMI port. There’s also a headphone port and a space for an optional SIM card. This laptop weighs in at 2.496 pounds.

The keyboard includes a pointing device in the center along with the touch pad on the front of the keyboard surface. The keys are the flat “Chicklet” type, and I found the center pointing device slow to respond. The spacebar on the keyboard is recessed below the surrounding surface, making this laptop the least useful for typing, at least for fast touch-typers.

HP stresses the security of this laptop, and with the HP Sure Start feature, along with tamper detection, embedded re-imaging, and a long list of other security features, it certainly has the full range. However, the privacy shutter is optional, and was not present on the unit I looked at. Like the other laptops, the HP EliteBook supports WiFi 6 and has Thunderbolt ports, and you can get an optional 4G/5G wireless network card.

HP has included two front facing microphones and one that it calls “world facing” that’s used to detect ambient noise so that it can cancel out background noise including voices during conference calls. The company notes that its audio system is designed by Bang & Olufsen with upward firing speakers for clarity. But despite the prestigious designer, one quick listen to some random Mozart will make it clear that there’s more to good audio quality than a name.

The HP Elite 840

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9

You walk past the X1 Carbon and glance in its direction, and it briefly flashes the Windows Hello eyeball and turns on, ready to use. You don’t have to sit down in front of it to make this happen. What’s happening is that Lenovo has developed a radar-based means of detecting your presence.

The screen features the new 16:10 aspect ratio, which delivers additional screen real estate over the 16:9 ratio on prior laptops. That may not sound like much, but in use that extra height adds a lot. At the top of the screen, the webcam includes a standard manually operated privacy shutter.

Lenovo joins in the war of high-end sound designers with a Dolby Atmos speaker system. I tried the Mozart test with this computer, and while it sounds slightly better than the HP, you’ll never confuse the sound that emanates from a laptop speaker with high fidelity. The Dolby Atmos speaker system is part of what Lenovo calls Dolby Access, which includes Dolby Vision and Dolby Voice. The sounds system includes two downward firing woofers, with the rest of the speakers firing upwards.

Like the other laptops in this review, Lenovo has included features designed to make video calls sound better. In this case, it’s four 360 degree far-field microphones. These microphones can help in noise suppression and in focusing on the sounds of the people speaking in a group setting.

Lenovo does not make security as much of a selling point as does HP, but it does include some advanced security features such as its self-healing BIOS, which can restore the computer after a malware attack or events such as a failed update. The X1 Carbon includes a feature called Privacy Guard, which can narrow the viewing angle of the screen when needed.

Lenovo ThinkPads are legendary for their toughness. They meet 12 military-grade certification methods and over 20 procedures of MIL-STD 810G. My personal experience includes having a ThinkPad survive an “emergency landing” while on assignment for eWEEK. A ThinkPad was the only electronic device in my briefcase to survive undamaged. Note that we did not apply this test to these laptops because of a shortage of airliners we could crash-land.

One important usability difference featured by the X1 Carbon is the keyboard. Lenovo employs a lifting mechanism beneath the keyboard that lifts the keys when the lid is opened. This added height, plus the sculpted shape of the keys, makes the X1 Carbon much more useful for typing.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1

Choosing a Laptop for Windows 11

Each of these laptops has its strengths. The right choice will depend on secondary factors that matter to you. For example, Dell’s high resolution touchscreen and its use of Gorilla Glass aren’t available with the other laptops. HP’s security is a level above the others, while Lenovo’s toughness and human presence sensing are important points.

It’s worth noting that none of these laptops is cheap. In fact, if you go through the custom configuration process and make the right choices, you could spend nearly $4,000.00 on any of these laptops. But these are meant to be critical business tools that will keep running when lesser machines might give up. They are all excellent machines, and sometime later this year or early in 2022, they will all run Windows 11.

The post Three Top Laptops Compatible with Windows 11 appeared first on eWEEK.