tablets - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• Michael Gartenberg: Looking beneath the Surface

  The physical keyboard and inclusion of Office are differentiators that make a straight-up comparison with iPads and Android tablets impossible.

• Surprise -- the iPad Mini doubles as business tablet

  The iPad Mini's small size doesn't hinder many apps, whereas the fourth-generation iPad adds little value

• Tablet deathmatch: iPad Mini vs. Nexus 7 vs. Kindle Fire HD

  A new generation of small tablets has reinvented entertainment on the go, but which is best? Find out now and gear up for holiday gift-buying

• As it turns five, Android solidifies its smartphone OS dominance

  Five years after its inception, Android is more dominant than ever in the smartphone OS market, despite facing a number of challenges along the way.

• Microsoft Surface RT: First impressions

  We finally go hands-on with the Surface RT. Here's our first impressions.

• Analysts dissect Microsoft's Windows 8 pitch

  Microsoft's big launch for Windows 8 and its sibling, Windows RT, in New York City was either the best Windows launch in nearly 20 years or 'bupkis.'

• iPad Mini vs. Google Nexus 7 vs. Kindle Fire

  Here's how the iPad Mini's announced tech specs stack up against popular 7-inch tablets from Google and Amazon. (Of course, while the specs are important, there's more to a tablet than a data sheet. Computerworld will have a hands-on review of the iPad Mini soon.)

• Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime: The Rolls-Royce of Android tablets

  Watch out, Android tablets: There's a new king in town.

• Technology argument 5: iPad vs. everything else

  We debated whether to call this piece "iPad vs. Motorola Xoom" or "iPad vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1" or whatever the Android tablet du jour is. But really it's still "iPad vs Everything Else."

• Gartner: The top 10 strategic technology trends for 2012

  ORLANDO -- The technology that makes up many of the systems in the ITworld today is at a critical juncture and in the next five years everything from mobile devices and applications to servers and social networking will impact IT in ways companies need to prepare for now, Gartner Vice President David Cearley says.

• How to buy a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia

  Apple has just won a Federal Court case which prevents Samsung from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android tablet in Australia in the immediate future. However, if you're an Aussie who desperately wants to get your hands on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 right now, there are a few ways to do so.

• Apple and Samsung: What's behind the patent fight

  Samsung took a step toward finding a kind of "pax tabletica" with arch-foe Apple in an Australian court last week, offering to remove features from its Galaxy Tab to avoid a court ban on sales of the device in that country. But what's really interesting about the case isn't the technical litigation, but the underlying attempt to define how much of a product's design is actually protected under existing, fragmented international laws.

• A look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and TouchWIZ UX

  Most Android tablets currently on the market appear to scream "me too", but Samsung appears to be trying to change these similarities with its upcoming Galaxy Tab 10.1.

• Apple iPad 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1: Tablet showdown

  Apple's iPad 2 is clearly the market leader, but Samsung has ruffled a few feathers with its upcoming Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android tablet -- so much so that Apple has blocked it from going on sale in Australia, and forced Samsung to postpone the launch event

• First look: Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet

  Tablets are the hot tech product of 2011, but most seem to offer very little differentiation in screen size, specifications and software. Lenovo is at least attempting something new with its ThinkPad Tablet: it's aimed squarely at business users and comes with a digitiser pen for drawing.