tablets

Foxconn taking Firefox OS to tablets, not just phones

Foxconn and Mozilla announced a partnership Monday under which the Chinese electronics manufacturer will build not just Firefox phones, as others have announced, but tablets, too.

The rumored partnership was confirmed as Mozilla and Foxconn announced their tie-up at the Computex show in Taiwan. By including software in its devices, Foxconn gets to sell a more complete and therefore potentially valuable product to those companies that actually will attach their brands to the hardware.

"We believe that the integration of software and hardware development will offer greater benefits to our customers and consumers," said Young Liu, the general … Read more

Intel amps up horsepower, battery life with Haswell chip

Intel's next-generation chips have officially arrived.

Developed under the codename "Haswell," the new line of chips has been engineered to enable thinner and lighter designs and longer lasting computers, and the company hopes it will reinvigorate a market that's in the doldrums.

The processor, the fourth generation of Intel's Core line, boasts double the graphics performance of the previous generation and a 15 percent raw computing boost, according to the company. That means the computer speed should be snappier, and users can perform more graphics-intensive tasks without always needing a discrete graphics chip.

Intel also … Read more

Intel's new fourth-gen 'Haswell' processors: What you need to know (FAQ)

Intel has officially revealed its next-generation lineup of desktop and mobile processors in the Core i3, i5, and i7 family, also known as "fourth-generation" or code-named "Haswell." The two-part announcement started over the weekend with Intel's quad-core enthusiast-level processors, and now the veil has been lifted on dual-core desktop and mobile processors, too.

This FAQ will mainly focus on the dual-core processors and what they'll do for mobile systems. For a detailed rundown on the quad-core processors, check out our hands-on look.

What is it? Haswell is Intel's code name for the fourth … Read more

The Sony Xperia Tablet Z is thin, light, and pricey

The Xperia Tablet Z is the thinnest and lightest large tablet I've yet held. A fact made somewhat more impressive given that Sony doesn't skimp physical features. An MHL connection, expandable storage, and two better-than-decent cameras -- tablets with quality cameras are still somewhat anomalous -- all made the cut.

The Tablet Z is also fully waterproof: I've had it submerged in half a foot of water for minutes at a time and have thoroughly hosed it down with a level of fervency only the most diligent of corrections officers can relate to. Yet after a quick … Read more

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 reaches for the stars but gets grounded by underwhelming specs

According to Samsung, the recently announced Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 is "built to be the leading 10-inch tablet in the market." This market Samsung speaks of must be in a galaxy far, far away, because the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1's underwhelming specs make its latest effort at creating the top 10-inch tablet over before the device even hits stores.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 features a 1,280x800-pixel resolution TFT display, houses a 1.6GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, and will run Android 4.2. The tablet will come with the options … Read more

Samsung unveils 8-inch Galaxy Tab 3

Samsung's ever expanding universe of tablets welcomed a new 8-inch member to its Galaxy Tab 3 series. The Galaxy Tab 3 8.0, which fits comfortably between the 7-inch and 10.1-inch models in the series, ships with Android 4.2, sports a 1,280x800-pixel resolution TFT display, and houses a 1.5GHz dual-core processor with 1.5GB of RAM.

The 8-inch tablet will come with 16GB or 32GB of internal storage and is designed to fit comfortably in one hand. It also features a 5-megapixel rear camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and microSD card expansion slot.

The tablet'… Read more

Can Microsoft thrive if just 20 percent of devices run Windows?

In the PC era, Microsoft's Windows dominated with more than 90 percent market share of systems, including desktops and laptops. It was a virtual monopoly, and Microsoft was able to attract the best and brightest talent and developers. With the massive shift to mobile devices, however, Microsoft has fallen behind where the market is heading.

But reports of the death of the PC are premature. According to Net Applications, Microsoft is still the king of the desktop, with about an 83 percent share of the desktop market.

However, that market is in steep decline, with PC sales falling nearly 14 percent … Read more

Acer sees most of its products sporting touch screens in 2015

Acer expects to dive heavily into the touch screen pool over the next year or two.

The company said Monday it anticipates that up to 80 percent of its products will be outfitted with touch screens in 2014 or 2015, Reuters reported. Acer is eyeing new tablets and touch-screen laptops as the ticket to rejuvenate the sluggish PC market, which continues to suffer from slumping sales.

Touch-screen devices are expected to account for 30 to 35 percent of Acer's total notebook sales by the end of 2013, Acer Chairman and CEO J.T. Wang told Reuters. Last quarter, the … Read more

Father's Day deal: $20 off any Kindle Fire HD

Attention, everyone in my family (immediate and extended): Father's Day is Sunday, June 16. You have less than two weeks left to shop. That is all.

Oh, I mean, just being a dad is gift enough. Heh. Heh. (Seriously, though, where's my cake?)

Never one to let a holiday go by undiscounted, Amazon is offering $20 off any Kindle Fire HD tablet when you apply coupon code DADSFIRE at checkout.

That means you can get the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD (16GB) for $179 shipped, the Fire HD 8.9 (32GB) for $279 shipped, the Fire HD 8.9 … Read more