Tablets

CES: Sharp Galapagos coming to America in 2011

LAS VEGAS--Like seemingly every other company at CES 2011, Sharp is jumping on the tablet/e-reader bandwagon. But at least the company has one of the more unique names out there: Galapagos.

If the name sounds familiar (in the electronics arena, that is), it's because it's not exactly a new product. The Galapagos is already available in Japan, and it's been spotted making its way through the FCC approval process in the U.S.

But one thing is clear: the North American version of the Galapagos may bear very little resemblance to the existing Japanese one. For … Read more

CES: Lenovo unveils Windows 7 IdeaPad Slate

LAS VEGAS--We thought we had seen everything Lenovo was ready to throw at us at CES 2011 in the laptop/tablet universe, but a surprise new addition was unveiled late last night: a Windows version of the LePad slate coming later this year, tentatively called the IdeaPad Slate.

The 10-inch tablet has nearly the same hardware design as the LePad, with different internal components: the same flash storage, but a next-gen Intel Atom CPU instead of the LePad's Qualcomm Snapdragon. The Windows tablet, at this point not officially named, has a stylus for pen input as well as multitouch, … Read more

CES: BlackBerry PlayBook gets 4G model via Sprint

In a bid to be the most blazing tablet around, RIM has announced that its Blackberry PlayBook will be up and running on Sprint's 4G network by summer.

The 4G-enabled PlayBook will exist as a separate model from the Wi-Fi-only offerings due in the first quarter of 2011, and will bear the name BlackBerry 4G PlayBook. Beyond the added wireless connectivity, all other features should be identical.

Sprint's 4G service is currently available in 71 markets, including Atlanta, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York City. The addition of 4G wireless speed to the PlayBook … Read more

CES: BlackBerry PlayBook (hands-on)

LAS VEGAS-- I've been waiting patiently to try out the BlackBerry PlayBook ever since I first glimpsed it under glass at last year's September DevCon announcement. Since then, RIM has published a handful of videos showcasing the tablet's capabilities, testing browser speeds against the iPad, and more or less doing my job for me.

Needless to say, when I finally got my hands on the BlackBerry PlayBook at CES 2011, I arrived well-versed in its story and capabilities. Aside from the mild thrill of holding a product that has taken on a mythic aura, the only real … Read more

LG, T-Mobile announce G-Slate tablet

Editor's note: This post was updated on Feburary 2, 2011 with new information on the G-Slate.

LAS VEGAS--The deluge of tablet news, 4G news, and tablet 4G news just keeps pouring in.

LG and T-Mobile today announced the two companies' long-awaited and oft-rumored tablet running on a Google operating system.

The G-Slate will use Android 3.0, also known as Honeycomb, as its OS. Honeycomb is the forthcoming version of Android that purportedly was developed from the ground up for tablets. The tablet will also make use of T-Mobile's 4G network.

Specs and details:

8.9-inch "3D … Read more

Motorola unveils Xoom tablet at CES (live blog)

Editor's note: This live event has concluded, but as expected, it featured the introduction of Motorola's new Xoom tablet, as well as a parade of other new wares including the Atrix, Cliq 2, Droid Bionic and a laptop shell for docking your phone. Click here for a recap of what was announced at the event. You can also replay our live blog in the Cover It Live module below.

LAS VEGAS--Motorola is expected to finally take the wraps off the long-awaited Google Android tablet at the Consumer Electronics Show here Wednesday.

The device uses Google's Android operating … Read more

E Fun launching three new Android tablets

Consumer electronics company E Fun is bumping up its lineup of Android tablets.

Appearing at CES this week, E Fun will be demoing its new Next4, Next5, and Next6 tablets, all with built-in Wi-Fi and access to the Borders e-book store.

Running Android 2.2, the 10.1-inch Next4 will retail for $349.99, while the Android 2.1-equipped 7-inch Next6 will cost consumers $269.99. Both models include 2GB of memory, an SD card slot, a viewer for MP3 files and photos, built-in speakers, 25 pre-loaded books, and a G-sensor accelerometer that reacts when you tilt and move the … Read more

Android Honeycomb video shows slick tablet OS

Google released a video today showing off the upcoming version of the Android operating system, called Honeycomb--and it is indeed just for tablets.

After a premature release earlier in the day, Andy Rubin, Google's vice president of engineering in charge of Android, published the video officially on a blog post. Here's what he had to say about Android 3.0:

Honeycomb is the next version of the Android platform, designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes, particularly tablets. We've spent a lot of time refining the user experience in Honeycomb, and we've … Read more

Samsung introduces Sliding PC 7, a unique Windows tablet

LAS VEGAS--Now here's a new idea...how about a tablet that runs on Windows instead of Android? Samsung's newly announced Sliding PC 7 is a funky hybrid touch-screen device with its own slide-out keyboard. It's a revamp on the idea of a Netbook, and an attempt to finally make a Windows tablet work a little bit better.

The 10.1-inch mini-laptop has a striking design, and has a multitouch screen so it can operate in both tablet and Netbook-esque format.

Specs are Netbook-esque: an Intel Atom Z670 CPU, 2GB DDR2 RAM, 32 or 64GB SSD drive, and … Read more

iPad joystick at CES 2011

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Nvidia announces a 3D sharing page called 3DVisionLive

HP may not announce a tablet at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show after all, but rather may wait until February if press invites are a decent indication of the company's plans

Asus announces a line of Android and Windows tablets as well as a new Android phone

Video streaming site Vudu is going to start streaming 3D movies

The Fling is a suction joystick for the iPad