Tablets

Microsoft Surface 2012 Sales Set to Disappoint, According to Reports

Gear Bits

Microsoft Surface 2012 Sales Set to Disappoint, According to Reports

Last week Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stated that initial sales of the Surface tablet have been ‘modest’, though Microsoft quickly spun that to be about other stuff such as their approach and so on and focused more on the ‘Pro’ version. At the same time, just after the initial release of the Surface complaints started coming in about build quality and fraying of the cover material and other issues. Further clarifications have shown that what Ballmer said was simply poorly worded and really was about their approach … but for many the image of ‘modest sales’ remains. This, along with…

Weeks Number 2 & 3 of My iPad-Only Challenge!

Editorials

Weeks Number 2 & 3 of My iPad-Only Challenge!

Welcome to the second ‘weekly’ (yes, it has been a month since my last one) report on my quest for the 99% computer! (Here is my first update) As noted, my plan was to use my iPad for as much as I possibly could, and note whatever functions required me to use a ‘real’ computer. I had planned on reporting weekly, but I haven’t done that – what could that mean? Anyway let’s get to it! Business as Usual The biggest thing that has kept me from writing much about this process was … nothing really changed. I already had…

Windows Phone 8 Launch Event

Events

Windows Phone 8 Launch Event

I’m at the Windows Phone 8 launch event this morning in San Francisco, waiting in the lobby of the Bill Graham Civic Center with roughly 150 other members of the media. There are probably fewer in attendance than originally intended, due to Hurricane Sandy’s grip on the Eastern states, but the mood here is upbeat and we are looking forward to seeing how Microsoft will (hopefully) wow us this morning. I’ll have more soon, we still have 15 minutes before the doors open … And we’re in and seated. Joe Belfiore is on the stage, welcoming us and saying that…

How Do You Like Microsoft's First Commercial for 'Surface'?

Gear Bits

How Do You Like Microsoft’s First Commercial for ‘Surface’?

Last night while watching a rerun of The Mentalist, a commercial for the upcoming Microsoft Surface tablet came on. Clearly the focus is on the design, and in particular the magnetic click-on keyboard/cover, as well as the integrated ‘kickstand’. In fact, that is pretty much ALL you see in the video other than a few touch-gestures to make it clear this is a tablet device, and someone tapping to start a video and to end the commercial. Oh, and a user interface paradigm NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT (i.e. Windows 8, only tech folks have a clue about it yet). For…

Kindle Fire HD Quick Hands-On Review and Comparison to Fire and Nexus 7

Reviews

Kindle Fire HD Quick Hands-On Review and Comparison to Fire and Nexus 7

Last year Amazon stunned the world with the $199 Kindle Fire, melding a 7″ tablet that was a solid front end for Amazon with a decidedly budget price. A few of us at Gear Diary bought them, but whether they remained varied quite a bit based on usage. Since then there have been some other 7″ tablets but only one worth noting – the Nexus 7. Now Amazon is back with the next entry – the Kindle Fire HD. Let’s take a quick look and see how the three titans of 7″ tablets compare! The Hype: World’s most advanced 7″…

Gammatech T7Q Ruggedized Tablet Review

Reviews

Gammatech T7Q Ruggedized Tablet Review

TEN HUT!  Ok not really, but that’s what I thought as I opened this interesting pen-based Gammatech T7Q’s box.  This tablet is not your normal every day tablet computer; in fact, most people would never want to carry this device.  However, there are many who have a business where this device might be just the very thing they need.  The Gammatech T7Q should be right at home with construction crews, delivery persons, geographic information system engineers and more. How durable is it? The Gammatech T7Q is made for situations where it may be dropped, possibly get wet, or be jostled…

In an Apple and Everything Else Funk

Editorials

In an Apple and Everything Else Funk

Lately I’ve been in a funk.  I thought, at first, it was an Apple funk.  I thought it might be about the fact that Apple today doesn’t seem to have the same excitement  and vision as it did under Steve Jobs.  I thought it might be about a sequence of products that is becoming very evolutionary instead of revolutionary.  I thought it was about Apple and where it might be heading. But it’s more than that.  It’s about where the mobile industry as a whole is heading.  It’s about what kinds of things we think are important (and it’s not…

Have a Nexus 7? Waterfield Design Has You Covered

News & Features

Have a Nexus 7? Waterfield Design Has You Covered

If you got one of Google’s already-popular Nexus 7 tablets no doubt you want a way to keep it protected. Waterfield has options… lots of options. In fact, WaterField offers so many different options that they are calling it a “line of Nexus 7 cases“. What’s in the line? There the Nexus 7 Smart Case, the Nexus 7 Ultimate SleeveCase, the Nexus 7 Slip Case, the Nexus 7 Suede Jacket, and the Nexus 7 Travel Express. As WaterField Designs owner, Gary Waterfield put it, With the Google Nexus 7 flying off shelves and the 16GB version delayed, many eager early adopters…

GearFest GearChat #1, Tablet or Notebook? Which One When?

Events, Gear Bits

GearFest GearChat #1, Tablet or Notebook? Which One When?

While together this past weekend the editors took some time out to talk tech. We’ll share the conversation/s over the next few days. Each of us brought a tablet, a notebook and at least one smartphone along with us. Two used the tablet almost exclusively while the others traded off between them fairly evenly. In this first one we talk about when and how we choose to use one or the other. Has your tablet become a primary productivity tool for you? Let us know in the comments.

Microsoft Surface: The Trojan Tablet For Digital Textbooks?

eBooks

Microsoft Surface: The Trojan Tablet For Digital Textbooks?

Just about two months ago, Barnes and Noble and Microsoft announced that B&N would spin off their NOOK and college bookstore businesses into “Newco”, to be jointly owned by both companies. Obviously this has been good news for B&N’s finances, but aside from the press release both sides have been very quiet. There were rumors that B&N would be part of Microsoft’s Surface tablet event, but that was proved wrong. However, I think Surface tablets are a big part of why Newco was formed. When the joint venture was announced, I pointed out this benefit on the Microsoft end: As…

Mo’Beats Portable Stereo Bluetooth Speaker Stand Brings Sleek Design and Good Functionality to a Tablet Near you

News & Features

Mo’Beats Portable Stereo Bluetooth Speaker Stand Brings Sleek Design and Good Functionality to a Tablet Near you

I’m really loving some of the new gear iLuv is offering these days. We are currently working on a full review of their iMM377 MobiAir Bluetooth Stereo Speaker Dock for Smartphones. (Check it out here.) Now they have released another Bluetooth speaker and this one is truly universal… and practical! The Mo’Beats Portable Stereo Bluetooth Speaker Stand looks great, holds your tablet or smartphone at just the right angle for view and includes a Bluetooth stereo speaker in the base. As iLuv Notes: Mo’Beats is a slim, compact portable stereo speaker stand that comes with a cradle that can hold…

Encourage a Child's Creativity with the Kids Designer II Learning Graphics Tablet

News & Features

Encourage a Child’s Creativity with the Kids Designer II Learning Graphics Tablet

If you’re the parent of a youngster under 10, as I am, chances are your child will invariably start experimenting with learning how to draw and later on learning to write. If you are as old as I am, you probably learned to draw on boring sheet planes of cellulose from dead trees with a yellow-orange cylinder containing an allotrope of carbon, though hearing it from my kids you’d think I was using reeds on wet clay tablets.  How interactive stylus technology has progressed since then! Today, to assist in children’s intellectual and creative grow, peripherals designer Genius offers an…

Teething Troubles for Tablet Adoption in the Workplace

Editorials

Teething Troubles for Tablet Adoption in the Workplace

It’s always tempting to impute Unlikely virtues to the cute. – Ogden Nash The tech world is abuzz with them, many of us own our own and several of us use them at work. They have transformed the personal computing landscape and become a standard in their own right, sized  from the neighborhood of 10″ down to 7″. I am speaking, of course, of tablets. Whether the Apple iPad, the varying Android builds, HP Touchpad or even the BlackBerry PlayBook, tablets have become very popular mobile devices and increasingly showing up in the business world. Before you start gallivanting off…

Not into the iPad? Here Are Some Smaller, Cheaper Alternatives

Editorials

Not into the iPad? Here Are Some Smaller, Cheaper Alternatives

  After a week of record busting sales if you were uncertain before then you should be now. The iPad is indeed the ruler of the roost on all things tablet. Everyone at Gear Diary was thrilled by this model’s updates, and it’s clear that the new HD display, 4G/LTE, 5MP camera graphics upgrade was enough to put sales through the roof and beyond. Reports were 3 million units moved the first weekend and probably double that count since then. This honestly comes to no surprise as the consumer support behind Apple is evident by its sheer volume of sales…

Is it really the Post-PC Era, or Is the Plus-PC Era Simply Continuing?

Gear Bits

Is it really the Post-PC Era, or Is the Plus-PC Era Simply Continuing?

Ten years ago I bought one of the first devices I ever had that could be classified as a post-pc device or as I like to call it, a plus pc device.  That was a Toshiba e740 Pocket PC.  This was the first device I had outside of a laptop that included wi-fi.  I remember taking the e740, a flexible USB keyboard, the keyboard adapter and a compact flash modem on a trip with me and chatting with my wife and other family members every night on a SLOW modem.  It wasn’t ideal, but it worked.  I also remember my…

Save Big for 72 Hours on Skooba Designs V.3 Collection

News & Features

Save Big for 72 Hours on Skooba Designs V.3 Collection

Back in November we reviewed Skooba Designs’ new V.3 Tablet Messenger. I liked it a lot and wrote this: What I Like: Small and light; lots of well-organized pockets; Special slot for your tablet; Grab and go handle; interior tablet access without opening the flap; Funky closure method for the flap What Needs Improvement: The blue highlights make it a bit less professional-looking You can read the full review here and find out more details here on the product page. That’s not the reason for this post however. No, the reason for this post is that Skooba Designs is running…

JustMobile Encore for iPad and Other Tablets Review

Reviews

JustMobile Encore for iPad and Other Tablets Review

We’ve become big fans of JustMobile’s offerings. The company has a great way of merging sleek aesthetics with a high degree of functionality. This time out we are taking a look at the JustMobile Encore stand for iPad and other tablets. Let’s take a look.

No Picture

Editorials

Gear Chat 2012- We’re Back!!

It has been over a year but Gear Chat is back and we’re talking tech. In this first episode Thomas and I talk about the Samsung Galaxy Note, the Series 7 Slate tablet and what configuration of Apple computing products is best. Future episodes will include Gaming and eBook segments and much more. We also want to hear from you! What content do you want covered? What questions do you have? Would you like us to do the podcast as a live, call-in conversation? We want to know. Happy listening and, as always, thanks for sharing via Twitter and Facebook.