tabs

With the iPad tablet computer, Apple is poised to dominate yet another tech category (remember MP3 players) before the competition has a chance to react. For Apple's devotees, the iPad is nothing less than a slam dunk.

Samsung begs to differ. Its Galaxy Tab tablet is a clear threat to the iPad and a worthy consideration to anyone shopping around for a tablet. The Tab offers a smaller, more convenient size, Adobe Flash support, front and rear cameras, and the fastest growing mobile OS: Google's Android 2.2.

But can the Tab unseat the incumbent Apple iPad as … Read more

The hype around tablets is deafening this year--but is it really the right time to buy one? It's a good question (and a loaded one), so let's get to the bottom of it.

What features are you waiting for? Currently, the Apple iPad holds the majority stake in the tablet market, with a growing share coming from Android-based tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The features you can expect from this current crop of tablets include the core capabilities of e-mail, Web browsing, and multimedia playback, along with Wi-Fi, cellular, and Bluetooth wireless communication. Other features--such as gaming, over-the-air media downloads, printing, keyboard support, supported App stores, e-book reading, cameras, video chat, GPS navigation, and multitasking--are also available on today's crop of tablets.

From where I'm sitting, there's not much more we can ask of tablets.… Read more

Samsung Electronics said Sunday it had sold more than 600,000 Galaxy Tab tablets worldwide in the first month of sales, according to a report in the Korea Herald.

The 7-inch tablet was released about a month ago and is now available in United States, Japan, South Korea, and Italy, among other countries. In South Korea, about 30,000 units have been sold through SK Telecom since November 14 when it was launched there, the newspaper said.

The Galaxy Tab has gotten a lot of attention because it's seen as the first major Android-based rival to Apple's iPad. … Read more

The latest Firefox 4 beta comes with an easy hack to help tab addicts cover the high cost of memory-devouring tabs. Watch how to enable this key function of the BarTab add-on, without installing the add-on itself.

Linky is a free Firefox add-on that increases your power over hyperlinks. You can use it open all or some of the links on a given page, including images--even links on different tabs.

Linky installs normally; when we restarted Firefox, it was listed among our add-ons. We clicked Options, which called up a dialog with tabs for General and Advanced settings as well as an About tab with links to the developer's Web site. We selected several General options, such as the ability to open both new tabs and windows, show all images, and copy links to the Clipboard. … Read more

Business software maker SAP says it is working to adapt its market-leading enterprise resource management software to Research In Motion's PlayBook tablet and that mobile versions of its software will be ready to go by the gadget's launch date of early next year.

SAP Chief Information Officer Oliver Bussman told The Wall Street Journal that all of the company's ERP applications are being readied for the tablet.

"SAP is definitely supporting the RIM PlayBook," Bussman said.

That's good for RIM, which is hoping that loyalty on the part of its BlackBerry business customers will … Read more

PALO ALTO, CALIF.--The Samsung Galaxy Tab has found a sweet spot the Apple iPad will miss--apparently.

I'm writing this on Wednesday during a brief sojourn in Silicon Valley. I had some time to burn so I spent about 30 minutes using the Galaxy Tab at a local Best Buy. Granted, that isn't a long time by product review standards, but it was long enough for me to realize that I was hooked on the size.

Let me be clear, I have no gripes about the 10-inch screen on the iPad (which, by the way, I use all … Read more

U.S. Cellular today announced its fourth Android-based smartphone, the LG Apex, for a November 19 release. After last month's Samsung Mesmerize, the Apex uses Android 2.1 and carries a price tag of $79.99 after an $80 mail-in rebate.

Unlike the Galaxy S Mesmermize, however, the hardware details for the LG Apex indicate an entry-level device with a 3.2-inch touch screen, sliding QWERTY keyboard, and 3-megapixel camera. The smartphone should pair well with the new Primary Plus Plan.

As handset makers continue to push the envelope with cutting-edge technology and high-end hardware, phones like the Apex … Read more

This week, Apple is looking up at Android's popularity, the iPad gets its first real competitor in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and iPhone slider cases are causing scratches on iPhone 4. Also, Sprint releases an iPhone 4 case that brings 4G service to iOS, Hitachi is working on a touch screen for use with gloves, and the MacBook Air is top-rated by Consumer Reports.

On an iOS device? View the Apple Byte

Be sure to follow MacFixIt on Twitter and contribute to the CNET Mac forums.