ie8 fix

g-slate

Super slates: Tablets with a little something extra

When you're up against the Apple iPad, you need more than just a cool name and a low price. You need a hook. You need a feature that no one else has--not even Apple.

Whether it's the waterproof design of the Pantech Element, the stereoscopic camera on the back of the T-Mobile G-Slate (shown right), or the remote control IR blaster integrated into the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, tablet makers have really shown remarkable inventiveness when it comes to giving their slates a little something extra.

To honor these creative efforts, we've rounded up our … Read more

DisplayMate puts tablet screens in their place

I love conducting in-depth analysis of technology; however, the problem with such analytic endeavors is that the deeper you go, the more time it takes to reach your goal.

This is why I'm always impressed with the abyssal depths of analysis DisplayMate's Ray Soneira travels when he covers display quality. In his latest article, the man gets downright subterranean.

Soneira takes the iPad 2, Xoom, and Asus Transformer and completely scrutinizes their screens on the basis of brightness, contrast, color quality, screen reflectiveness, viewing angle, and backlight power consumption. That's pretty much anything and everything important when … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1-inch: The iPad 2 of Honeycomb tablets

Editor's note: The full review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 can be found here.

If there's one thing I've realized in my short stint covering tablets, it's that apparently there can never be too many Honeycomb-based products in the wild. Today, at Google's I/O conference, the company gave away 5,000 Wi-Fi-only Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1s. CNET was fortunate enough to have a few good men in the field willing to wade through cell phone belt holders and short sleeve button shirts to get us one.

Design and features The first thing that struck us upon taking the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 out of its box was its slight profile. In fact, when lying next to the iPad 2 we honestly can't tell which tablet is thicker and unfortunately we don't have a micrometer handy to get down into the business of microns.… Read more

Web speed tests: Tablet tournament!

Yes, I'm a huge Mortal Kombat fan. This should be evident to anyone after watching the video above. However, I can't take credit for the whole tournament idea. That was the brainchild of my producer, Jamie Yee (she's actually a hidden Easter egg in the video, if you watch closely). Jamie's a huge sports nut (or at least, an San Francisco Giants nut) and apparently thinks only in terms of brackets and tournaments.

Anyway, last week was a fairly busy week for the CNET tablet reviews team. Donald Bell and I received three new tablets in the span of only a few days.

With all that glamorous reviewing we were doing, I didn't really have the bandwidth to conduct any official speed tests, until now.

As I alluded to before, we split the tests into two rounds. The first round, featuring the Acer Iconia Tab A500, T-Mobile G-Slate, and the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, would determine which tablet would take on the Xoom and iPad 2 in the final round.

So yeah, it's a two-round tournament. We thought about extending it, but decided that doing so would involve too much repetition in the video.

Check out the results below (or above if you prefer your results in talkies form).… Read more

Kindle app updated for Android Honeycomb tablets

Amazon.com has updated its Kindle Android app with features designed to tap into the Honeycomb interface currently found on the Motorola Xoom and T-Mobile's LG G-Slate.

Available now at Amazon's Appstore for Android, Kindle for Android 3.0 is geared for all Android devices but takes special advantage of the larger displays and other attributes offered by Honeycomb-powered tablets.

The updated version offers a virtual bookshelf that stretches across the screen to let people visually browse and view titles at the Kindle store. The new interface also provides quicker access to customer reviews, recommendations, and other items … Read more

Dialed In #170: Playing with the PlayBook (podcast)

The BlackBerry PlayBook finally arrives at CNET for review and Dialed In picks it apart to see what makes it tick. Sure, we're grumpy about a few things (like AT&T fudging on the BlackBerry Bridge app), but we did like the new tablet's browser. We also go 3D with the LG Slate, Nicole talks of her love for the LG G2x, and Sprint's CEO introduces a new eco-friendly phone while also complaining about AT&T. Bonnie was off on assignment so we didn't spend our usual 20 minutes piping her in from New … Read more

Amazon selling T-Mobile's 3D-enabled G-Slate

T-Mobile's new LG G-Slate tablet, the first enabled with 3D, went on sale at Amazon today for $799.

The Amazon price covers the new 4G tablet off-contract, so buyers aren't locked into any long-term data plan. In contrast, T-Mobile is selling the G-Slate for $549 after a $100 rebate, but that price includes a two-year contract. Either way, the data plan will tack on an additional monthly charge of $29 for 200 MB, $49 for 5 GB, or $84 for 10 GB.

Following in the footsteps of the Motorola Xoom, the G-Slate becomes the second Android tablet to … Read more

T-Mobile G-Slate review: To 3D or not to 3D?

I love the Honeycomb OS. It's not perfect by any stretch, but it's such an improvement over using Android 2.2 on tablets, that I'm willing to accept it and all its imperfections. I'm sure at some point I'll grow dissatisfied with it and begin blaming it for every inadequacy in my life.

You have to understand, before Honeycomb, testing tablets using the Android 2.2 OS increased chances of apoplexy by 89 percent. Really.

OK, that's not actually true, but on many tablets, it was a very frustrating experience.

The T-Mobile G-Slate by … Read more

T-Mobile G-Slate to cost $529.99 with contract

ORLANDO, Fla.--Well, T-Mobile certainly isn't holding back. Along with news of the T-Mobile G2X, pricing for the T-Mobile Sidekick 4G, and the Nokia Astound, the carrier finally revealed pricing for the T-Mobile G-Slate by LG. The Honeycomb tablet will cost $529.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

It's a lot of dough and commitment, but the G-Slate also comes with a couple of features not found on other tablets, including 4G support on T-Mobile's HSPA+ network and the ability to record and play back 3D video, with the use of glasses … Read more

Hands-on with the T-Mobile G-Slate

BARCELONA, Spain--The T-Mobile G-Slate by LG isn't a new announcement. The 4G Honeycomb tablet was actually first introduced at CES 2011, but it only made a brief appearance during T-Mobile's press conference before it was quickly whisked away by LG executives.

However, our appetite for the G-Slate was satiated at Mobile World Congress 2011 where T-Mobile and LG provided us with some hands-on time with the tablet. Now, I haven't seen all the tablets out there, but I've certainly checked out a number of devices, including the iPad, the HP TouchPad, and Samsung's Galaxy Tab … Read more