Tablets

It May be an iPad World, but What of the Original Tablet PC?

Defining Our Terms The mention of the word “tablet” to most people today would conjure up an image of an iPad or a similar looking product. What they may not know is that the tablet has already been in existence for roughly a decade. The original tablet PC was Microsoft’s vision of a mobile computer that maximized productivity. It was a laptop with a swivel screen that allowed you to write on it. The term used for it describes it well, they called it a convertible-tablet PC. I believe they had some good ideas and it can be seen in…

Reviews

Tablet Accessory Review: Verbatim Wireless Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard

One of the pleasant surprises I found when I first started checking out the BlackBerry Playbook was the fact that it is a fantastic blogging tool. Unlike the iPad, which continues to fall short in the mobile blogging department, the PlayBook is a complete blogging system that works beautifully. The rear camera is surprisingly good, and the file management allows you to upload images to the web just the way you would from a full traditional computer. Sadly it is one of the only pleasant surprises since, weeks later, there are still little to no useful apps for the PlayBook….

Reviews

BlackBerry Playbook Case Review: Case-Mate Barely There

I’m a huge fan of minimalist cases and that tends to hold true for pretty much every device I use. I want something as thin as possible on my iPhone 4. I want something that doesn’t add too much bulk to my iPad 2. And I want to get a case for the BlackBerry PlayBook RIM gave out at the launch event that adds some protection but doesn’t remove the key advantage this “completely and totally unfinished but still has potential” device has over the iPad and other 10″ tablets: its small size and light weight. That’s where Case-Mate’s Barely…

Gear Bits

Mobile Computing as It Was Meant to Be

I can think of far worse work stations than this! Take one gorgeous spring day, an 11″ MacBook Air and Rain Design’s awesome laptop stand and you get one rather nice place to work. Elana has never raved about a computer as much as she does her 11″ MBA and being able to edit a business proposal for someone while looking out at the lake is pretty darn nice! I think THIS is what mobile computing was made for! 🙂 And speaking of mobile computing… Posted from my RIM Playbook!

Editorials

BlackBerry PlayBook First Impressions

First impressions mean a lot when you are talking about technology. No, it does not sell a device or keep you using it, but it does make the difference when you’re considering a purchase in the first place. Given that many of the initial reviews are less than stellar, I wasn’t sure what my first impression of the BlackBerry PlayBook would be. That noted, I just had the chance to have my hands on one for a few minutes, and my first impressions are actually quite good. I have always liked the size of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and this…

Editorials

Tablets the Answer to Smartphone Distraction in Classrooms and Meetings? Could Be!

There is an interesting article that appeared in yesterday’s Financial Times. The article makes the point that smartphones are a tremendous distraction when used in meetings and classrooms. The cure? Tablets like the iPad and Motorola Xoom. Before you dismiss it hear the author out. The article picks up off of an MP delivering a speech in the House of Commons using his iPod. (As someone who uses the iPad for services, weddings and funerals this isn’t all that newsworthy for me but, then again, I’m far from the norm.) Shortly thereafter the Speaker of the House said that he…

Reviews

Tycoon Windows 7 Tablet Review

It’s been quite some time since I last mentioned Tangent’s Tycoon Tablet. Part of the challenge with also getting to often evaluate technology during my ‘day job’ is that I’m often not the only one who needs to work with it during any given time. After it got the once over by a few of my colleagues, I (finally) got it back and can now give you my full review. So how does this Windows 7 Professional tablet stack up to the competition? While I don’t believe you’ll be rushing to exchange your shiny new iPad 2 for the Tycoon, I was…

Events

MWC: Hands-On with HTC’s Newest Devices

Helena and I were able to spend some time at the HTC VIP lounge this afternoon, time that was well spent fondling the six devices introduced by HTC earlier today. Of course the one that most captivated us was the 7″ Flyer, HTC’s new tablet device. It will be shipping with Gingerbread instead of the newer Honeycomb, which seemed odd given that all of the other tablets and the majority of new phones we’ve seen have featured the newer version of Android. If it means that we can get our hands on it sooner (and that there might be a…

Reviews

Review: Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablet: Go Paperless

When I saw the Boogie Board at CES 2011 I was intrigued. The device is small, thin and amazingly light. It is a touch-sensitive LCD screen that truly makes it possible for you to never use notepaper again. Since it is always on you simply pick it up, jot your note and go. When I saw one at Brookstone yesterday I knew I just had to have one so… I bought it. It is a neat device that does exactly what it saws. And yet it is going back. Why? Read on to find out. From Boogie Board- The next…

Events, News & Features

MWC: AppUp, MeeGo, Open Source, and Tablets

The partnership between Nokia and Microsoft that was announced the other day has caused some speculation that the Intel powered AppUp store in general, and the MeeGo in particular might be the losers in this story. Helena and I spoke with Peter Biddle, General Manager to AppUp Products and Services, and he said that despite this partnership, AppUp and Meego will thrive. Proprietary systems have a place in the ecosystem, and so do open ones. Further scaling the development of flexible, open software platforms and applications for all mobile devices, Intel demonstrated a compelling new MeeGo tablet user experience to…

Reviews

iPad Accessory Review: Kensington PowerBack Battery Case with Kickstand and Dock

One of the more unusual iPad accessories that we saw one meeting with Kensington representatives at CES was the Kensington PowerBack. The PowerBack is described as a “battery case with kickstand and dock”. Effectively, the power back serves as a case with a built-in stand for hands-free viewing when the iPad is in landscape and it contains a battery that adds an additional 50% runtime to the iPad. That translates to being able to use the iPad for about 15 hours without ever having to worry about charging the device. I have been using for about two weeks so let’s…

Reviews

The Notion Ink Adam Unboxing and Initial Hands-On

So the day has finally come for the Notion Ink Adam to become a reality. On pre-order day I ordered myself a Pixel Qi WiFi model and my brother a LCD WiFi model. Unfortunately due to some broken hardware reported during initial shipping, mine has yet to even post a ship date. Today the LCD model arrived on our doorstep and so far I can tell you it was worth the wait. After all the bad mojo Notion Ink was experiencing, I think the tablet was well worth the wait and heartbreak, well at least as far as I can…

Reviews

MeeGo 1.1 Review

It’s been a little while since Intel and Nokia came together to merge Moblin and Maemo together to create the MeeGo project. Moblin started out as a project by Intel and the Linux Foundation to produce a Linux-based OS, interface and application stack for mobile internet devices. In February of 2009, they merged with the Maemo project that was used by Nokia in the Nseries tablets like the N770, N800, N810 and the N900 smartphone. Intel was nice enough to send me a Lenovo S10-3t convertible netbook with MeeGo preloaded so I could get a look at the state of MeeGo in version 1.1….

Events, News & Features

Gear Diary Live at CES- The Lenovo U1: A Year Later It Looks Better than Ever

Dino and I spent some time this afternoon at the Lenovo display. We had the opportunity to look at all of the new computers that will be offered by Lenovo this year. Trust us, there are a ton of them and we will have a look at many over the next few days. Right now, however, we wanted to take a few minutes to look a little more closely at their most unusual and innovative product–the Lenovo U1. This is both a tablet and a notebook computer. We saw a version of this computer last year when we were here…

Events

CES: T-Mobile Press Event and their Newest Tablets

Very exciting tablet details coming from T-Mobile at CES! Phillip Humm, T-Mobile CEO & president and CEO and Dr. JS Park, president and CEO of LG introduced the G-Slate from LG & T-Mobile. T-Mobile has fastest data in top 10 markets according to Nielsen. 900K 4G devices sold. T-Mobile is focused on affordable smartphones and tablets, aggressive plans and pricing, and rich and compelling services. Aggressive 4G data plans starting at $10/month. Data traffic on their network doubles every 12 months. Neville Ray, T-Mobile CTO, said that their network is 160% larger than Verizon’s new 4G, and 40% more major…

Events, News & Features

Lenovo Reveals the New IdeaPad U1 with LePad Slate

We’ve been hearing about the Lenovo IdeaPad U1 since CES 2010. Well Lenovo is finally ready to reveal and demo the IdeaPad U1 with LePad slate at CES 2011 at the Venetian. The U1 is a ultramobile laptop uses a slate running Android 2.2, called LePad as it’s screen. Specs for the tablet include a Snapdragon processor and the laptop portion will be a 1.3 GHz CULV Core i5 chip with 2 Gig of Ram running the 64 bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium. It will be available first in China in the first quarter of 2011 with no…

Editorials

As 2010 Comes to an End We Ask: Was it a Good Year in Tech? And We Answer… Nope

As 2010 comes to an end we ask… Was it a good year in tech? And we answer… Nope Nope??? Nope! It was a great year in tech. That’s right. 2010 finally saw some of the key things we have been hoping for come to fruition. iPad Baby!! First and foremost 2010 gave us the iPad. The iPad wasn’t significant just because of what it did for Apple but because it finally showed that a tablet form factor can and will work… And be loved by consumers… if it is done right. Think about it for a minute–the iPad is…

eBooks, Reviews

NOOKColor Morphs from Quiet Little eBook Reader to Killer Little Android Tablet

If you have been following along here at Gear Diary you probably have seen Carly’s review of the NOOKColor. The NOOKColor was noted as Barnes and Noble number one seller for the holiday season and it’s pretty easy to understand why. I am not really an eBook user and don’t often find myself reading too many books, but what I do enjoy is pretty much anything Android and the hardware that it runs on. So far you’ve seen what the $250 devices gets you, a full featured, beautiful color screen eBook reader powered by Android 2.1. It was not days…

eBooks, Reviews

E FUN NEXTBOOK Next2 eBook Reader/Tablet Review

Last year it seemed like the hot new item was ebook readers. Everyone and their brother seemed to be offering one, but those projects quickly gave way to a veritable army of Android-based tablets after the iPad was released. Some of these are relatively generic tablets, but lately, we’ve seen a rash of tablet-esque devices designed around the reading experience. One of the newest (and most budget-conscious) of these devices is the E FUN NEXTBOOK tablet, a reading-oriented tablet with Borders eBookstore integration. Is it worth pursuing over a NOOKcolor or an iPad? Read on for my full review! Let’s…

Reviews

Five Minutes Hands-On with the Archos 70 Android Tablet

Archos has been experimenting with Android for a while now. Dan did not like the Archos 5 and from what I have read from across the internet that was universal. A friend of mine purchased a Archos 70 to use as an adjunct to his Sprint Hero since he still has a year on contract. I was able to play with it for a few minutes, and what follows are some of the impressions I got while using it. The thing that most impressed me was how thin this thing is. It’s thinner than an iPad and a lot…

News & Features

Proof of How Deeply Tablets Have Already Penetrated…

My friend David just pointed me toward some of the best proof of just how deeply tablets have already penetrated. (Or should I say… TABLET… singular) Take a look at this shot form the New York Times homepage… see something funny? Yes, as David pointed out the text says TAP not CLICK. TAP as in on an iPad… TAP as in TAP using the Livescribe Paper Tablet. TAP as in… I don’t need no stinking mouse…

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