tablets

Apple looms over CES from afar

LAS VEGAS--The most buzzed-about device at CES 2010 wasn't even on display here.

A tablet or slate computer from Apple was basically all anyone wanted to talk about, and it's not even a confirmed product yet. As a result, Lady Gaga might be the only thing that was actually at CES 2010 that could even be described as generating large-scale buzz.

We can partly blame both Apple and Google for this. Google sucked all the air out of the Las Vegas Convention Center Tuesday, two days before this whole show even got started, thanks to its introduction of … Read more

Tablet runs Motorola-Verizon software, Android

LAS VEGAS--At CES here on Friday, graphics chipmaker Nvidia showed a tablet, or slate, computer running a "demo" Motorola-Verizon tablet interface on top of the Google Android operating system.

I stopped by the Nvidia booth, where an Nvidia representative gave a quick demonstration (see video) of the tablet from Seattle, WA-based ICD. It has an Nvidia Tegra 2 chip, which is expected to find its way into a number of tablets this year.

The tablet performed well for a prototype, though the unusable Wi-Fi connection on the CES show floor made wireless connectivity impossible. The device will also … Read more

Opinion: You should buy what Apple's selling

There is no hotter rumor right now than the content of the announcement Apple is set to make on January 27th, largely predicted to be a tablet computer device. For what it's worth, you might as well set that money aside--you will definitely want to buy it.… Read more

Slate mania grips PC makers

LAS VEGAS--Call them tablets or slates, but companies at CES seem obsessed with showing off the possibilities of PCs stripped of their keyboards and touch pads. These slate devices are essentially handheld screens that do some or most of what your laptop does, but with touch controls and, often, 3G data access.

We've seen several versions this week, in situations ranging from extensive hands-on demos to arms-length sneak peeks of devices that may or may not ever see the light of day. Of course, all of these products are operating under the very long shadow of Apple's still-unannounced tablet. (… Read more

Intel: Customers have 'lots and lots' of tablet designs

LAS VEGAS--2010 indeed many the year of the tablet. Intel Senior Vice President Sean Maloney said his company's customers are working diligently on tablet designs.

And Intel should know. It supplies the core silicon to virtually every PC maker in the world. "We have lots and lots of tablet designs going down with our customers," said Maloney in an interview Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Maloney favors the larger size tablets. "It seems likely to me that you have a large screen. And you want a pure Internet experience," he said about potential tablet … Read more

Dell says, 'Wait, we're doing a slate PC, too!' - plus hands-on impressions

Update: Hands-on impressions added below.

LAS VEGAS--At its Thursday morning CES press conference, Dell briefly announced plans to release a slate-style tablet PC, in the same vein as the rumored Apple Tablet or the HP/Microsoft prototype tablet shown earlier in the week.

Details are scarce, but the 5-inch device would be smaller than rival ideas coming from HP and (presumably) Apple. Describes as a "tablet concept," there's no guarantee the product would ever reach the public in its current form.

Update: We had a chance to check out the device behind closed doors after the press … Read more

Forget the Apple tablet, HP's TouchSmart tm2 is already here

With all the hype around Apple's still-mythical tablet, it's easy to forget that HP has been making a 12-inch consumer tablet for several years.

In fact, the product that started life as the HP tx1000, and is now called the TouchSmart tm2, is one of the only convertible tablet laptops aimed at mainstream entertainment consumers; most tablets are intended for medical, educational, or other specialized markets.

While convertible tablet laptops, which have screens that rotate 180 degrees to fold down over their keyboards, have never been a mainstream product, there's a certain appeal to using the multitouch … Read more

Lenovo meshes tablet and Netbook in one device with IdeaPad U1 Hybrid Notebook

UPDATE: Hands-on impressions added below. The IdeaPad U1 Hybrid is our Best of CES 2010 Award Winner in the category of Computers and Hardware. Also be sure to check out our hands-on impressions of Lenovo's other Netbooks and smartbooks from CES.

Tablets are rapidly becoming the hot chatter-buzzword of 2010. Netbooks were very 2009. Combine them both and perhaps you end up with a great idea--at least, so hopes Lenovo. In one of the boldest moves in laptop technology at CES, the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid doesn't just flip its screen to become a tablet--the screen detaches completely as … Read more

WSJ: Apple tablet shipping in March

While many have been fixated on when Apple will announce a new tablet product, The Wall Street Journal says it has found out when the device will actually be available to customers.

Sources have told the Journal that a 10- or 11-inch touch-screen tablet computer will begin shipping in March. Another source says that there are at least two different finishes for the device that Apple is either still deciding on or perhaps planning to charge different prices for each.

Though there's been a lot of speculation about the tablet, there are no confirmed details yet. Industry observers are anticipating a late January announcement (… Read more