tablet PCs - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

  • Tablet or netbook? How to choose the right mobile tech

    Tablets, netbooks, smartphones--these days, you can't buy a microwave without being upsold on the touchscreen, app-store model. But when you're picking out your preferred mobile tech for work (or even for play), you can't rely on a features chart or a list of specs to tell you what you should buy.

  • Four reasons why you don't really need a tablet PC

    Tablet PCs are the in thing right now. In fact, you'd be hard put to walk into any sort of electronics store today and not be bombarded with displays for the latest and greatest tablet. But are tablets all they're cracked up to be? Or has Apple and its uber popular iPad duped consumers into tablet envy, and its competitors into a mad scramble to develop their own "iPad rivals?"

  • Apple iOS: Why it's the most secure OS, period

    In June 2007, Apple released the iPhone, and the device quickly took off to become a major brand in the smartphone market. Yet when the iPhone shipped, security on the mobile operating system was nearly nonexistent. Missing from the initial iOS (then called iPhone OS) were many of the security features that modern-day desktop software has as a matter of course, such as data-execution protection (DEP) and address-space layout randomization (ASLR). Apple's cachet lured security researchers to test the platform, and in less than a month, a trio had released details on the first vulnerability: an exploitable flaw in the mobile Safari browser.

  • Why BlackBerry PlayBook is an ideal tablet for business

    The BlackBerry PlayBook is available for pre-order, and will be on the street in a matter of weeks. I am not sure the RIM tablet will see much consumer success, but then consumers have never been RIM's primary market. Consumer tablets aside, the PlayBook has some unique features that make it an ideal tablet from a business or IT admin perspective.

  • The tablet is here to stay

    Tablets are hot. At the CTIA tradeshow in Orlando, FL, it seems like everyone and their mother is announcing a tablet.

  • Hands on with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

    At this week's Samsung Forum 2011 in Singapore, we got the chance to get some hands-on time with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, the successor to the original Galaxy Tab Android tablet. The new Tab 10.1 runs version 3.0 of Google's Android operating system, dubbed 'Honeycomb'. Unlike previous versions of Android, Honeycomb has been designed for use with tablets. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a fancy new 10.1in TFT screen and an 8-megapixel camera.

  • Tablet deathmatch: Apple iPad 2 vs. Motorola Xoom

    Let's cut to the chase -- the iPad 2 that Apple just released pulls further ahead in the battle with the only real competitor on the market: the Android OS 3.0 "Honeycomb" Xoom tablet from Motorola Mobility. In our previous comparison of the first-gen iPad and the Xoom, the Xoom showed its mettle as a serious contender, beating the iPad in areas such as its inclusion of cameras and ability to mirror its video display.

  • iPad 2 v BlackBerry PlayBook: 7 enterprise considerations

    Steve Jobs tried to dismiss iPad's tablet rivals as "copycats" at Wednesday's iPad 2 launch. But whether Steve likes it or not, the tablet wars are officially on. And this battle will be decided not only by consumers and gadget lovers seeking the latest and greatest slates, but also by businesses and corporate workers looking for the next game-changing productivity tool.

  • Motorola Xoom: Tablet impresses, but drawbacks remain

    All eyes are on the Motorola Xoom tablet, and for good reason: It's the first device in an expected multitude to ship with Google's tablet-optimized Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). The Xoom has a lot of features to like, and a lot to set it apart from the ever-growing crowd of tablets; but it also has some drawbacks that temper my enthusiasm about it.

  • BlackBerry PlayBook hands-on

    The BlackBerry PlayBook is nearing its final build with fully working tablets on public show at Mobile World Congress and one stand representative going so far as to refer to a PlayBook as "my own". All that's left, we're told, is battery optimisation - something that's actively being worked on.

  • iPad 2 and iPhone 5: What's coming?

    Kyle Wiens and his team at iFixit, a Web site that provides free repair manuals and advice forums, are some of the smartest Apple geeks around. They've taken apart countless iPhones, Macs and iPads to see what makes them tick-and, of course, to find out how to repair them.

  • Android 3.0 tablet: Five key features

    Tablet application developers can rejoice now that Google has released its software development kit for Android 3.0, the new edition of the platform designed specifically for tablets.

  • Telstra T-Touch Tab vs Optus MyTab: tablet showdown

    The Telstra T-Touch Tab and the Optus MyTab are two of the first low cost tablet devices launched in Australia that attempt to provide an alternative to the Apple iPad. Both of these Android tablets are smaller than the iPad, sitting somewhere between a largish touchscreen phone like the popular HTC Desire and the iPad tablet.

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