Tablet

After first breaking cover less than a week ago, the first details for the upcoming HTC Flyer are starting to emerge. And as it turns out, the 7-inch tablet will feature hardware very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Norwegian site Amobil was the first to publish the specs, which include a 7-inch 1024x600-pixel resolution screen, a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 5-megapixel rear camera, and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera. Other details, later confirmed by a second source, include support for HDMI and DLNA (media streaming) as well as Skype preinstalled (video conferencing). Just like the Galaxy Tab is often considered … Read more

The growing wave of tablets is spurring mobile app developers to put the devices at the top of their priority lists, according to a new survey.

An IDC and Appcelerator survey of app developers (PDF) found that interest in Android tablets shot up 12 points over the past three months with 74 percent "very interested" in developing for the Google OS-based devices.

But the iPad is still king, with 87 percent of those polled "very interested" in developing for Apple's tablet. Interest in Research In Motion's upcoming BlackBerry Playbook nearly doubled to 28 percent. … Read more

I have a lot of hope for Motorola's Xoom tablet. With its Android 3.0 operating system, 10-inch screen, and 4G network compatibility, it's the most eagerly awaited tablet of the year (for me, at least). Unfortunately, greed will probably screw it all up.

Pessimism isn't an approach I typically take. If anything, I love underdogs to a fault. I'm the guy who owns both a Zune and a Chumby. No joke.

For the record, I think Motorola is going to make a great product. Using a deadly combo of marketing firepower and killer hardware, Motorola fashioned the Droid smartphone into an iPhone-terrorizing antihero. With all the advantages Motorola has (including Google's coveted Android 3.0 blessing), there is little to no chance the Xoom will suck.

Unfortunately, it's exactly this kind of can't-fail thinking that will probably have Motorola and its partners shooting themselves in the foot. Here are all the ways greed may hold the Xoom back from greatness. Let's hope I'm wrong. … Read more

Consumers may soon be able to pay for items on the go directly through their iPhones or iPads.

Apple is reportedly working to outfit the next generation of its smartphone and tablet with near-field communications (NFC) technology, which would let consumers use the devices to make mobile payments as an alternative to cash and credit cards, according to a story today by the Bloomberg news service.

Richard Doherty, director of the technology consulting firm Envisioneering Group, told Bloomberg that both the iPhone 5 from AT&T and the iPad 2 would likely include NFC chips, citing engineers working on … Read more

As February 9 draws nearer more details about HP's slate of WebOS tablets that the company is expected to announce keep leaking out.

Today's edition is brought to us by PreCentral.net, which obtained a very detailed spec sheet for the Topaz tablet HP is reportedly working on. PreCentral's document is about a year old, but appears to jibe with one that Engadget posted last week. Both note that the Topaz is set to have a 1024x768 resolution 9-inch screen; have premium audio, sporting the Beats by Dre branding, and a wireless dock.

Today's document shows … Read more

Microsoft may have laid out its plans to have Windows running on any device while unveiling the next version of Windows at CES earlier this month, but it's not there yet. In the meantime, we're still stuck with the current version of Windows, which, for better or for worse, cannot fit into the types of devices its successor promises to fit.

That very situation--along with a lack of product from Microsoft's hardware partners, has led to a relative dearth of Windows 7 in tablet PCs. It can also be argued that it's responsible, in part, for … Read more

Research In Motion will soon debut software that can segregate the personal from the professional.

Set to launch in two months, the BlackBerry Balance software will be able to separate personal e-mail, apps, and other content from those used on the job, Jeff McDowell, RIM's senior vice president for business and platform marketing, said in a Reuters interview published yesterday.

The goal behind the software is to let BlackBerry owners rely on a single smartphone, so they can use the same device for business and social reasons. IT administrators--concerned about personal devices tapping into their networks--will also be able … Read more

There are ways of telling a rival that you don't respect them. You can shun them. You can rise above them. You can even steal their lover.

Toshiba, however, has decided on a slightly different strategy when it comes to Apple. In a move redolent of the New Zealand haka war dance, Toshiba has decided to stick out its tongue, widen its eyes, and tell Apple that the iPad is, as they say in certain English quarters, pants.

I am grateful to the sensitive eyes at AllThingsD who first spotted that Toshiba has created a Website for its new … Read more

Advanced Micro Devices executives made relatively upbeat statements about tablets and seemed to go beyond previous comments by former CEO Dirk Meyer, who was ousted earlier this month.

AMD posted fourth-quarter earnings today of 14 cents a share (non-GAAP basis), higher than the 11 cents per share that analysts had expected. Net income fell to $375 million, or 50 cents a share, from a year earlier when it reported net income of $1.18 billion, or $1.52 a share. Revenue was $1.65 billion, flat compared with the previous year.

A sore point for AMD was servers. Interim CEO … Read more