Best Office Technology for 2017
Microsoft, Canon, NVIDIA, DELL, Nikon, Apple, Vortex, Plantronics, and Samsung lead the way with their refined and innovative Product Introductions for 2017.
Best Display in 2017
Samsung 49″ CHG90 Super Ultrawide Curved QLED HDR Monitor
Samsung introduces a 49″ Super Ultrawide Monitor featuring a 32:9 aspect ratio, 3840 x 1080 Resolution, a 1ms response time, 144hz refresh rate, and a brilliant HDR QLED display that will make your desktop feel like what 3 monitors will produce. While this monitor was built for gaming, the giant of a new Ultrawide Monitor from Samsung will make every Office task easier having the screen real estate to accommodate room for every document, browser tab and program while displaying an HDR color that will be a joy to view.
The Samsung CHG90 is VESA mount compatible with 1 Display Port, 1 Mini Display Port, 2 x HDMI 2.0, and a USB 3.0 Hub with Super Charging for an excellent amount of ports.
Switching to an Ultrawide if you haven’t yet had the experience is as seamless as it gets. Having one as my main monitor for the past year at a 29″ has been nothing but an excellent investment.
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Best All in One Desktop 2017
Microsoft Surface Studio
Microsoft has reinvented the All in One Desktop by combining the form factor Offices have come to love with a powerful tool to rival Wacom devices for Creative Professionals featuring a 28″ 4500 x 3000 resolution Touchscreen Monitor offering the new Surface Dial as an add-on, for on and off screen interaction, along with Surface Pen compatibility.
The new Microsoft Surface Studio rivals the processing power of modern desktops with 6th generation Intel i5 or i7 Processors, up to 32 GB of DDR4 Ram and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M 4GB GDDR5 mobile GPU.
A 5.0 MP camera with 1080p HD video, 4 x USB 3.0 Ports on the rear base, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and a 1 Gigabit Ethernet port for modern internet options. We recommend the additional Surface Dial, Surface Pen and the extra Pen tips to round out what will be an excellent creative tool.
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Best Business Laptop 2017
DELL XPS 13″ 9360 or 15″ 9560
A Desktop replacement with the latest tools you will need in a compact form, including the smallest footprint of their respective classes, the DELL XPS 13″ 9360 and the DELL XPS 15″ 9560 set the standard with a CNC machined aluminum frame, carbon fiber palm rest, and the best looking displays you will find on the market.
Both the DELL XPS 9360 and 9560 include 1 HDMI 1.4 connection, 2 USB 3.0, and 1 Thunderbolt™ port with 2 lanes of PCI Express Gen 3. The 13″ DELL 9360 is quite the competitor maxed out and featuring an Intel i7 8550U quad core and eight thread processor running at at 4.0 GHz, 16GB of LPDDR3 1866MHz RAM, and the beautiful 13.3″ QHD Infinity Edge touch display, at 3200 x 1800 resolution.
The 15″ DELL 9560 steps up the performance to the top of the class with its 7th generation Intel 7700HQ quad core and eight thread processor running at 3.8Ghz, up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM at 2400 MHz, and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 with 4GB of GDDR5 Memory running at a base clock of 1,354MHz and a boost clock of 1,493MHz which work to expedite tasks on proprietary business programs using its 640 CUDA cores. The DELL 15″ 9560 also includes the 4K resolution 15.6″ 3840 x 2160 px InfinityEdge touch display for which DELL has become famous. DELL has made the XPS the top of the laptops for 2017.
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Best Hybrid Laptop 2017
Microsoft Surface Book 2 13.5″ or 15″
The 13.5″ and 15″ Surface Book 2 both offer excellent specs far beyond what laptops have offered in the past and better than 80% of the market for 3-1 hybrid laptops currently. Quad Core i7 Processors, 16GB of LPDDR3 Ram, 10 point multi touch G5 monitors and NVIDIA 1050 2GB’s with 640 CUDA cores and 1060 6GB’s with 1,280 CUDA cores are available in both the 13.5″ and 15″ Surface Book 2 models, respectively.
Like the Microsoft Surface Studio, the Surface Book 2 is compatible with the new Surface Dial and the Surface Pen, to transform the ease of use of your workflow. Whether docked in the accompanying keyboard, used as a tablet, or reversed to be an art studio canvas the Surface Book 2 is a beneficial tool.
The PixelSense™ Display rates at a large 267 PPI for at 3000 x 2000 resolution for the 13.5″ and 260 PPI for the 15″ at 3240 x 2160 resolution which really do look extra crisp. With PCIe SSD drive options up to 1TB, 1 USB type C @ Version3.1, 2 USB 3.1, a full size SD card reader and front and rear facing 1080p HD cameras, the Surface Book 2, in a clean Magnesium case, is an elegant Office solution for everyday tasks, travel and work from home.
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Microsoft Surface Book 13.5″ Intel Core i7 | 512 GB SSD | 16 GB RAM | NVIDIA GeForce GPU
Best Tablet for 2017
Apple iPad Pro 10.5″ or 12″
Technically a tablet, this Apple iPad Pro specs rival most low end business laptops and adds the touchscreen interactivity to make it a valuable tool to take to meetings, note taking, and as a means to add to any creative process in the form of a drawing tablet attached to your main desktop.
Touted as the most advanced display on the planet, the Apple iPad Pro includes an excellent 264 PPI Retina screen, with a 120Hz refresh rate including a LED Multi-Touch sensor, with Touch ID for unlocking the device.
An A10X Fusion Processor with 6 CPU Cores and 12 GPU Cores built on a 64 bit architecture is the core of the new The iPad Pro. The iPad Pro has a rating of up to a 10 hour battery and a GPU rated 40% faster than the previous iPad Pro. The iPad Pro offers options of up to a 512 GB NVMe SSD drive, up to 4GB of RAM in the 12″ version, and 2GB of RAM in the 10.5″.
An optional Apple Pen and smart keyboard add to its versatility. While the keyboard isn’t necessary, we do advise a purchase of the Apple Pen to really transform the ease of use of the device for every day tasks and for the Creative Professional looking for an artistic tool.
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Best GPU for 2017
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition
3584 CUDA Cores to expedite task processing speed with 11GB of GDDR5 Memory and an exorbitant 484 GB per second the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti even runs parallel rates to the flagship NVIDIA Titan X Pascal on many specialized applications.
1480MHz clock speed and a boost speed of 1582MHz, the 1080Ti is a gain of 15% computing speed over the previous 9 Series GPU’s and a definite worthy investment. The 1080 Ti supports Open GL 4.5 to meet the most modern of standards.
The NVIDIA 1080 Ti can run 4 monitors simultaneously through its 3 Display Ports at Version 1.4 and 1 HDMI 2.0b Port with Direct X 12 enabled. The 1080 Ti also comes complete with a full back plate to add structural integrity and to help alleviate heat.
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Best Peripheral Device for 2017
Vortex Pok3r Keyboard with Cherry MX switches
To be honest, I was first attracted to the 60% Vortex Pok3r keyboard by its looks. Though, after purchasing a Pok3r with Cherry MX Brown switches, my typing has never been more enjoyable. Short travel keys in membrane keyboards do not offer the same tactile response nor the same ease of accuracy that a MX keyboard can offer.
Actuation force is one way to measure the difference in membrane vs MX switches. A membrane keyboard, on average, is around 13 to 19.5 grams of actuaion force. Conversely, an MX Brown switch has an actuation force of 45 grams. When a key is hit, you know it and you will know exactly which was hit without having to look down. So, while the force for MX keyboards is greater, it works to your benefit in a number of ways, including less ghosting of improper keys struck, a greater tactile feedback for a satisfying bump or click, and as such a MX keyboard can offer a quicker pace to accomplish tasks. A pure linear MX switch is also available to eliminate the bump or click of the keys, though we recommend you try each variety of MX switch to see which weight is best and which matches your typing style.
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Best Smartphone for 2017
Samsung Galaxy S8 & S8+
A striking 571 PPI 5.8” Samsung S8 and a 528 PPI on the 6.2″ Samsung S8+ through a Super AMOLED screen and a new Samsung DEX docking station are the highlights for the Galaxy line in 2017 and help set it apart from the pack.
The S8, with a 3,000mAh battery, and the S8+, with a 3,500mAh battery, get up to 12 more hours of usage time than its competition while carrying 64GB of internal flash storage, 4GB of RAM and and a microSD slot supporting up to an additional 256GB of storage.
When necessary, the Samsung DEX docking station lets you transform your phone to be a desktop on the go with its ambitious base featuring 2 USB-A 2.0 ports, 1 USB-C port, 1 Ethernet hardline, and an HDMI port for display Output, which leaves the Galaxy line as the only phone with a dock capable of running an OS with multiple separate windows like a desktop or laptop experience continuing in development. The Windows Phone, while having a dock, is no longer going to be updated.
One of the main programs that has gained our favor over the years is an oft overlooked program accompanying the Galaxy line in Samsung Sidesync. If you are not a fan of the DEX dock and prefer a light weight software solution, the Sidesync program allows one to view the phone on the desktop display and interact with it as one would as a handheld, but with your own mouse and keyboard. Sidesync is a great way to write and reply to text messages without terribly interrupting your workflow and having to constantly switch between devices. When a call comes in with Sidesync active, you have the ability to answer the call through your PC desktop, or laptop, mic or through your preferred head set like the Plantronics described below.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are the best cell phone pick for 2017.
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Samsung Galaxy S8 | 64GB | US Version | Midnight Black
Best Bluetooth Headset for 2017
Plantronics Savi W745-M SAVI 3 in 1
An Office Bluetooth headset than can connect to multiple devices including a land line, cell phone and Computer is a game changer. Plantronics has been making excellent devices for some time, and their new Savi W745-M is what can be considered the best in the business for switching between devices and for clarity of call.
A new charging dock has been introduced to make switching between devices easy by pressing a button on the base. The headset is the lightest DECT™ headset available to create a more comfortable call, even on extended sessions. Noise canceling works exceptionally well to tune out background noise. And, with a push of a button or voice commands, the Plantronics will accept calls coming in to create a personal assistant like experience.
Having used a Plantronics device for the past two years we can attest they offer a worthy investment that holds up to daily use and that offers greater flexibility at your desk to help you complete several tasks at once.
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Best Cameras in 2017
Nikon D850 | Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
Depending on your Company needs, we recommend two different levels of products with different specialties to suit your task as hand. Both DSLR’s listed offer options that top their class for Photography and Videography, though we find each has their own respective features which make them shine.
For Photography alone, Nikon always has the best color reproduction available for a DSLR and the Nikon D850 representative of Nikon’s best quality and is an excellent camera for enthusiast and Professional photographers alike. The D850 shoots at a 45.7 MP resolution, 7-9fps, ISO 64-25.6000, 4K Video at 30fps, and features an 8k slow motion video with a new silent photography mode which can result in less shutter shock and possible softening. The D850 adds focus stacking options to gain clarity among levels, starting at the subject of the image working backwards, and done through full resolution RAW files.
For Videography, the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II has the best specs, short of a Canon Cinema Series which ranges in a 10-20k investment. The Canon 1D X Mark II excels by recording 4K video at 60fps, 30 fps better than the competition. As well, the Canon features a new EOS Intelligent Tracking and Recognition AF subject tracking system for stills and video with a 360,000-pixel metering sensor ensuring the quality of the subject captured.
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Best Office Technology for 2017
- Posted by Jim Liberi
- On 10/24/2017
