Tablets

Barnes & Noble's Nook Not a Best Seller in Q3
March 01, 2013

Barnes & Noble reported this week that it will be rethinking strategy for its Nook division, since slow sales of its e-reader led to a tough recent quarter for the nation's largest book retailer. The company reported an overall total revenue slump for its third quarter, down 8.8 percent to $2.2 billion.

Exploring the New World of Travel Apps
March 01, 2013

When Richard Rygg, the co-founder of HipGeo, sailed with his family last year through the islands of French Polynesia, he used his company's app to document the experience. The result is a multimedia blog complete with a GPS track of his adventure, and a collection of dozens of geo-tagged photos of sunsets, beaches and bays.

Judge Nixes Samsung's Request to Ban Apple Devices in Japan
March 01, 2013

Apple won a victory over Samsung in a Japanese district court Thursday that will allow it to continue to sell iPads and iPhones in that country. Samsung tried to block the sale of the Apple devices in Japan because it said they stepped on some data transfer patents that the company owned.

Despite Security Issues, Pentagon Clears Android, iOS for Duty
February 27, 2013

The Department of Defense announced Tuesday it would be opening up its communications platform to allow Apple and Android tablets and smartphones, a move that acknowledges the impact of mobile technology in the civilian world while also increasing the potential for added security risks.

Samsung's Galaxy Note 8.0 Takes a Poke at iPad Mini
February 26, 2013

It's a phone, it's a tablet, it's the Galaxy Note 8.0, which Samsung unveiled this week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This device seems to hit the sweet spot between the 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II phone-tablet hybrid and the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. In terms of size, it's a step up from many of the 7-inch tablets on the market, including Samsung's own Galaxy Tab 7.

HP Revives Its Tablet Strategy With a New Slate
February 25, 2013

HP, battered by its previous forays into the tablet category, tried again Monday with its announcement of a new 7-inch Android tablet, the HP Slate 7, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The device will be available in April for $169. The company's previous tries at tablet devices -- and mobile operating systems -- have landed with loud thuds in the marketplace.

Sony's Xperia Tablet Z Can Really Make a Splash
February 25, 2013

Sony introduced the Xperia Tablet Z on Monday, touting its thin form factor and powerful components at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Sony has been in the tablet market since 2011, when it introduced the Android-powered Tablet S, but the company now seems to be making a more serious play.

Killing Tesla Slowly: Horse vs. Gas vs. Electric and 1 Foolish CEO
February 18, 2013

I watched in horror last week as Tesla's CEO Elon Musk attempted to turn a New York Times reporter into the next Ralph Nader and kill his company. It brought back memories of the Chevrolet Corvair that died as a result of GM's decision to fight what turned out to be false allegations instead of just making the car better.

HP's Mobile Revival May Include Android
February 15, 2013

HP is reportedly working on a series of Android devices, the first of which could be a high-end tablet powered by Nvidia's Tegra 4 processor. The move is a sensitive one for HP, which tried to crack the mobile market in 2010 by purchasing Palm for $1.2 billion, but saw that investment go down the drain.

Mobile Devices Help Chart the Future of Marine Navigation
February 15, 2013

Daniel Collins, an avid sailor and sailing instructor, has traveled solo across the Gulf of Mexico and up the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. to Nova Scotia, using only his iPhone and iPad for navigation.He's part of a new breed of boaters who use tablets and smartphones in addition to -- and sometimes in lieu of -- traditional onboard electronic navigation and chartplotting systems.

M-Commerce Is on a Tear, Survey Says
February 14, 2013

Mobile commerce sites showed growth during the 2012 holiday shopping season as they gave consumers more on-the-go options for buying and researching products, according to the latest ForeSee Mobile Satisfaction Index. ForeSee, a customer experience analytics firm, saw the Index jump two points over Christmas 2011 to a score of 78 on a 100-point scale for its Holiday Retail Edition.

Nemo, Early Reviews Freeze Out Surface Pro Launch
February 09, 2013

Microsoft scrapped plans for Friday night's launch of its Surface Pro tablet at the Best Buy store in New York City because of an impending blizzard meteorologists have dubbed "Nemo." "Surface Pro launch activities in NYC have been canceled due to weather," said Microsoft spokesperson Dani Reese.

Count the iPad, and Apple Rules PCs
February 08, 2013

Apple lands the top spot among PC makers for the holiday quarter -- as long as the iPad is included in the figures, according to the latest report from Canalys. The market research firm, which includes tablets in its worldwide PC numbers, reported this week that overall PC shipments increased 12 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, with 134 million units shipped during the holiday season.

Wikipad Tablet Gets Back in the Game
February 08, 2013

It could have been game over for Wikipad after a flaw in the initial production run of its gaming tablet forced a launch delay late last year. The company used the extra time, however, to rethink the Wikipad, and this week it said the revised version will debut this spring. The new version will be smaller.

Apple Opens Its Arms to Self-Publishing E-Book Authors
February 06, 2013

Apple has staked out some precious ground in the e-book battle with Tuesday's debut of Breakout Books, a new section in the iBookstore. This move is a no-brainer for Apple as it seeks to match what Amazon is doing with its Kindle platform, said Ben Bogardus, an assistant professor of journalism at Quinnipiac University.

Google Victorious in 6-Year Aussie Legal Battle
February 06, 2013

A court in Australia has ruled in favor of Google in its lengthy legal fight with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The case, which lasted six years, concerned search results from 2006-07. The Commission claimed that sponsored links published by Google diverted users to rival companies.

Kindle Fire Users to Get Pennies From Heaven
February 06, 2013

Amazon announced Wednesday that it will be offering a virtual currency, called "Amazon Coins," for purchasing apps, games and in-app items on Kindle Fire. The new currency will become available in the U.S. this May. At launch, Amazon plans to give Kindle Fire users tens of millions of dollars' worth of free Amazon Coins to spend on apps in the Amazon Appstore.

Little Inferno Gleefully Ignites the Deep Dark Pyro Within
February 04, 2013

From what I've seen of humanity, there's a little pyro locked inside most of us. Maybe it's a universal longing to chase away the darkness with warmth and light, or maybe it's just a genetic quirk coded into our DNA from the days of the Ice Age when cooking up a wooly mammoth meant survival. Or maybe we just really like to see things burn.

Apple Makes Play for Even Higher-End Tablet Niche
January 30, 2013

Apple revealed a new version of its iPad Tuesday, a 128-GB version that comes with twice the storage capacity of its previous high-end tablet. The newest iPad is still under the fourth-generation iPad umbrella, and will have the same features as its predecessors, including a 9.7-inch Retina Display, an HD camera and an A6X chip.

Apple Offers iPad for Conspicuous Consumption
January 29, 2013

Apple announced a 128-GB version of the fourth-generation iPad with Retina Display on Tuesday. This latest version of Apple's popular tablet computer, which doubles the capacity of the previous top-end model, is now available with WiFi as well as WiFi-plus-4G service. While Apple has been pushing its products further into the cloud, the new iPad seems to be targeting more down-to-earth usage.