tablets

Razer Edge preorders begin March 1

Razer's PR sends word that its versatile Windows 8 gaming tablet is due for a first-quarter launch as promised. Preorders being March 1, and the company says the units will ship out to customers "later that month."

As announced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, the Razer Edge is due to ship with two configurations, the vanilla Edge, with an Intel Core i5 CPU and a 64GB solid-state drive (SSD) for $999, and a higher-end Razer Edge Pro with a Core i7 chip and a 128GB ($1,299) or 256GB SSD ($1,449).… Read more

Samsung says it plans to double its tablet sales this year

BARCELONA, Spain--After a rocky start, Samsung Electronics is finally seeing the light when it comes to the tablet business.

The Korean consumer electronics giant, already the world's largest handset manufacturer, plans to double its tablet sales from a year ago, according to Y.H. Lee, executive vice president of the company's mobile unit.

That would peg its sales to about 40 million units in 2013, although Samsung's hasn't officially disclosed its full-year 2012 unit sales yet.

"We expect to be very aggressive," Lee said in an interview with CNET.

The bullish expectation further underscores … Read more

Tablet Tuesday: Get a 10-inch Acer Iconia for $199.99 shipped

Looking for a big tablet? The iPad famously (or infamously) starts at $499. The Google Nexus 10: $399. Even the comparatively affordable Kindle Fire 8.9 will set you back $299.

For a limited time, and while supplies last, Acer (via Ebay) is selling the refurbished Iconia Tab A210 10.1-inch Android tablet for $199.99 shipped. Deal? More like steal.

The Iconia A210 features a 1.2GHz Tegra 3 processor, 16GB of storage (expandable via microSD cards), the aforementioned 10.1-inch screen (running at a competitive, if not spectacular, 1,280x800), and Android 4.0. Acer will push out … Read more

Lenovo doubles-down on 7-inch Android tablets (hands-on)

With Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and a 1.2GHz processor, this 7-inch tablet is entering a very crowded marketplace. There's 16GB of storage on-board, front-facing speakers and it's available in black or white.

These days, I can't help but be disappointed when a 7-incher features anything less than a 1,280x800 screen resolution. Call me spoiled, but recent entries in the 7-inch market have simply raised my expectations and this doesn't leave much room for the A1000's 1,024x600 7-inch screen to impress. Text was noticeably blurry, there was visible warping whenever I tapped … Read more

How do you use your tablet? (poll)

When the iPad first came on the scene back in 2010, most people bought them without having much idea how they'd use them. It was more out of curiosity, to see if a tablet would indeed meld with modern life.

Fast-forward three years. Now we all know exactly what tablets are good for and what they're not. We buy different sizes to accommodate different needs and purposes. Heck, some of us are already moving on to our second or even third tablet.

But why? What drove you to buy one, and what's your primary use for it … Read more

Stacking up the tablets, large and small, of MWC 2013

Mobile World Congress is generally all about phones, but this year there are a fair number of tablets out and about. Feeling like you're losing track? Check out the roundup below, covering the biggest hits (HP Slate 7 and Samung Galaxy Note 8) and a few unknowns (ZTE, anyone?).

Microsoft to launch Surface tablet in Japan

Microsoft's Surface tablet may surface in Japan as early as next month, according to a story from the Nikkei news service, as reported by the Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch.

A Microsoft spokeswoman confirmed to CNET that Surface will reach Japan in the near future but didn't specify a launch date.

"As part of our phased approach to Surface availability, Surface will be coming to Japan in the near future," the rep said, promising to provide more details soon.

Microsoft is expected to sell the Surface RT edition to Japanese consumers. That version can run certain … Read more

The Asus PadFone Infinity delivers on specs, doesn't come cheap (hands-on)

BARCELONA, Spain--While "PadFone" wouldn't be the first name to spring to mind while attempting to come up with a marketable brand, the name has apparently worked for Asus. The company announced today that it would continue its PadFone line with the unveiling of the PadFone Infinity. It's a 5-inch LTE smartphone that becomes a 10.1-inch tablet when docked into the included PadFone Infinity Station. The whole package comes out this April for 999 euros.

The phone Thanks mostly to its metal edges, the phone piece looks and feels not too dissimilar from an iPhone 5, … Read more

Sony's waterproof Xperia Tablet Z is the thinnest, lightest 10-inch tablet yet (hands-on)

BARCELONA, Spain--The Sony Xperia Tablet Z has been announced for U.S. and European markets. The Xperia is a 10.1-inch tablet and features a quad-core Qualcomm processor. This is Sony's third large-form Android tablet in two years. While the previous entry had some technical issues, the Xperia Tablet Z has the potential to be the company's best tablet yet.

Very, very thin and awfully light Sony claims the Xperia Tablet Z is the thinnest, lightest 10-inch tablet yet, and while I didn't have a chance to break out my scale or tape measure, it definitely felt … Read more