Tablets

Microsoft Bets on Surface Pro's Business Bona Fides
November 30, 2012

Microsoft on Thursday laid out the specifications and pricing of its Surface tablet with Windows 8 Pro, which goes on sale in January. It will offer the 64 GB standalone version at $899 and the 128 GB standalone version at $999, both including a Surface pen with Palm Block technology. Palm Block prevents pen-based input from being interrupted when users place their palms on the tablet's screen.

The End of the Printing Press?
November 28, 2012

Electronic communications are reshaping personal life, and may right now be causing the rapid demise of print. Media academics know well the theories of Marshall McLuhan. He came up with the phrase "the medium is the message," and the term "global village," among other juicy contributions to our comprehension of media.

iPad Owns Black Friday Mobile Shoppers
November 28, 2012

Apple's retail stores were bustling with shoppers this Black Friday, but this year, its iPad tablet won the day as the favorite mobile device for online shoppers to use while buying other things. Mobile shopping overall was on the rise this year, according to a report from IBM.

Kindle Burns Up Sales Records
November 27, 2012

Cyber Monday was the biggest day ever for Kindle sales worldwide, Amazon reported. Although it did not release specific figures -- it typically doesn't -- Amazon did say Kindle sales were more than double last year's figure for the holiday weekend. Nine of the 10 best-selling items on its site are Kindles or accessories or digital content for the devices.

UK Tweeters Face Libel Threats Over False Rumors
November 26, 2012

As many as 10,000 Twitter users in the United Kingdom face the threat of legal action because of their tweets regarding recent sexual abuse allegations. The tweeters could be in trouble because of comments -- either posted to Twitter or forwarded to other people -- in which they refer to a BBC report that incorrectly linked a former Conservative Party official to sexual abuse of a child.

Innovation vs. Magic: Why Apple and Microsoft Need James Bond
November 26, 2012

After seeing the new Microsoft offerings, Steve Wozniak recently lamented that Microsoft is now out innovating Apple. Wozniak is the surviving founder of Apple, and his perspective clearly is important, but he was the guy who got the product to work. It was the other Steve who was largely responsible for creating the entity that was Apple and making it a huge success.

CRM's Eeny, Meeny, Miny Mobile Problem
November 20, 2012

In the beginning, there was Apple's iPad. For a long time, "tablet" meant the iPad and nothing but the iPad. Then competitors began to make an appearance in the tablet market. For CRM vendors, that state of affairs made developing mobile products and strategies much easier. Now, there are several tablets of varying sizes competing in the market.

It's Off to the Tablet Races for Amazon's Big Kindle Fire
November 16, 2012

Amazon began shipping its 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD on Thursday, ahead of its original planned schedule. The specs and price point of the device are interesting enough that it will certainly make some inroads in the tablet market: Among other features, it sports a front-facing HD camera, 16-GB or 32-GB storage options, and 10 hours of battery life.

The Magical Xbox Tablet
November 12, 2012

One of the most interesting rumors floating around last week was that Microsoft was working on a small form factor tablet that will be focused on gaming and branded Xbox. This could be a very interesting tablet, especially coupled with the initial success of the Surface tablet. This is becoming a family.

Xbox Gamers May Get a New 7-Inch Playing Surface
November 07, 2012

Microsoft is reportedly working on a 7-inch Xbox Surface gaming tablet. The 7-inch tablet has become a battleground of sorts lately, with Apple's iPad mini being the latest entrant. "We are seeing a shift in demand for 7-inch devices so it wouldn't be all that surprising," said Ryan Reith, program manager at IDC, adding that things are still at the rumor stage.

Apple, Microsoft and Google Play High-Stakes Musical Chairs
November 05, 2012

The last decade seemed to be about the decline of Microsoft, the dominance of Apple, and the emergence of Google. This decade, Microsoft seems to be trending up, Apple looks increasingly at risk, and Google looks more and more like the Microsoft of 10 years ago. It is almost as if the companies have shuffled and changed chairs.

Court Orders Apple to Revise Cheeky Apology
November 02, 2012

The British court that ordered Apple to post a statement declaring that Samsung didn't infringe on its designs isn't happy with the way the order was carried out. Apple posted a statement to its UK website, but it was apparently not what the three-judge appeals panel had in mind.

Google's Nexus 10 Hits Apple Where It Lives
October 30, 2012

Google canceled its New York press event Monday due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast, but that didn't stop it from announcing its new Nexus 10 tablet, along with the Nexus 4 smartphone and Android 4.2, an update to Jelly Bean. A step up in size from the Asus-made Nexus 7, released in July, the Samsung-made Nexus 10 will be available beginning Nov. 13.

What Lies Beneath the Surface Tablet's Screen
October 29, 2012

The last thing people probably consider when buying a new gizmo or gadget is how hard it might be to fix, but according to the teardown team at iFixit, Microsoft's shiny new Surface tablet is easier to repair than the latest iPad, but it is still difficult to take apart. The online teardown site rated the Surface's "repairability" a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the easiest.

Microsoft Boxes Apple's Ears With Surface Tablet
October 29, 2012

You really don't get a sense of just how limited the iPad is until you actually explore the Surface tablet that Microsoft released last week. It is like the designers sat down over beers and argued over every single shortcoming they found in the iPad and then built into Surface just the right features to make the iPad look inadequate.

Surface Success May Hinge on Cool Covers
October 26, 2012

The Microsoft Surface tablet made its official debut on Thursday, and many are judging this tablet by its two magnetic keyboard cover options. The keyboards are one of the main components allowing the Surface to be positioned as much as a laptop as a tablet. They could allow the new Windows 8 machine to break out and claim its own niche in the market.

iPad Mini: The Difference Is in the Details
October 26, 2012

Feature for feature, the iPad mini mainly bests its rivals in the 7-inch tablet market, but it does so at a price that's 65 percent higher than those competitors. The mini has a larger display than Amazon's Kindle Fire HD and Google's Nexus 7. Its screen measures 7.9 inches diagonally, while the Fire and Nexus have 7-inch displays. Apple's tablet is longer than both its competitors and wider than Google's slate.

Windows 8 Embarks on Perilous Journey
October 25, 2012

Some 1,000 people gathered in New York City to see the long-ballyhooed Windows 8 unveiling on Thursday, and countless others watched a live stream from the Microsoft website. "Windows 8 shatters perceptions of what a PC really is," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told the audience. "We've truly reimagined Windows."

Chinese Company Rips Off iPad Mini and Its Tagline
October 25, 2012

Goophone, a Chinese company best known for cloning Apple products, reportedly will release its iPad mini doppelganger in November. The "GooPad mini," which already appears on posters, will sell for $99, while Apple's iPad mini will cost $329 but won't be sold right away in China. Goophone has even taken the liberty of ripping off Apple's "Every inch an iPad" tagline: "Every inch a GooPad mini."

Ecosystem Agnostics May Tip Scales for iPad Mini Sales
October 24, 2012

All eyes were on Apple on Tuesday as the company held its second product launch this fall to announce the iPad mini, along with refreshes to its iPad, iMac, MacBook Pro and Mac mini lines, ahead of the holiday shopping season. The iPad mini features the same dual-core A5 processor as the iPad 2. The 7.9-inch device was designed to be light and thin for one-handed use.