Best New Tech for Boston, MA Marketing Agency or PR Firm

With the Spring of 2015 finally approaching, the weather in Boston appears to be taking a turn for the better. Had I written this post 3 weeks ago, the smart-aleck response to "Best New Tech for Boston, MA Marketing Agency or PR Firm" likely would have been "a better shovel?". Instead, we can once again focus on top technology to make your typical work day more productive. 

Today, we'll be taking a look at two of the top Windows 8 tablet/laptop hybrids available, along with a top Apple Mac notebook and the top Apple iPad tablet available. All options are sure to afford your business a high degree of produtivity and flexibility.

Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro

Perhaps one of the most flexible (literally) "laptop-first" devices available, the Lenovo Yoga series debuted two years ago as perhaps the most versatile devices ever created. In the time since, other devices have come to market with similar feature sets, but the Yoga still has an uncommon (in the PC world) amount of mindshare when people think of hybrid "tablet laptops". This particular shape-shifting machine, the Yoga 3 Pro, represents Lenovo's thinnest and lightest device yet, inching ever closer to "tablet with a keyboard" territory, while still running full Windows 8. Having said that, the hinge mechanism on the new Yoga 3 has been described as "awkward", as is placing the keyboard face-down when using it in tablet mode.

Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display (13", early 2015 model)

Apple's newest 13" MacBook Pro with Retina Display builds upon the feature set of its previous versions, now adding flash storage that's twice as fast (meaning start-up/shutdown will occur more quickly, and files will save to memory faster, too). Additionally, the new Force Touch trackpad introduced as part of the new 2015 MacBook announcement finds its way into this updated MacBook Pro, meaning this computer will support all new apps designed for the new pressure-sensitive vibrating touchpad. If you like using Mac OS X (as many marketers do), this is a nearly perfect blend of the beautiful display/power of the larger 15" MacBook Pro, and the portability of the smaller MacBook Air series.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3

Microsoft's Surface Pro line first surfaced (pardon the pun) a bit more than two years ago as "the tablet that can replace your laptop". Many (including yours truly) thought the attempt to make a device that could function as both a laptop and a tablet would mean that it was a jack of all trades and a master of none. While that may have been true for the first two generations, the slighty larger display of the Surface Pro 3 has clearly had a massive impact - this is widely considered to be the first truly GREAT multi-function Windows 8 machine. I'd go so far as to say that it singlehandedly proves Microsoft's "one operating system for all devices" vision to be achievable in the very near future.

Apple iPad Air 2

And now we come to the granddaddy of all modern tablet devices - Apple's iPad needs no introduction. The new iPad Air 2 is the thinnest and lightest full-size iPad ever, and WOW is it fast. Its performance is nearly in the same realm as a new MacBook Air from less than two years ago, and the device is thinner than a pencil and less than a pound. While it's an engineering marvel and certainly the most portable device mentioned in this post, some marketers may find it to be inadequate for day-to-day tasks. While it's certainly very capable, the fact remains that it still has more in common with a large iPhone than it does a small MacBook due to limitations with its iOS operating system.

THE VERDICT

While all four devices are incredibly capable machines, we can only wholeheartedly recommend either the Surface Pro 3 and 2015 MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Plenty of new computers have a significant number of compromises; the Surface Pro 3 and new MacBook Pro have VERY few. In choosing between the two, your decision will come down to whether you'd rather use Mac OS X or Windows 8 - either way, you can't go wrong with either computer.