Tablet

CNET's full, rated review of the HP TouchPad is now available, and before you guys let me have it in the comments, let me say that I came to this tablet with high hopes (maybe too high).

Really, the HP TouchPad may be the last great hope the tablet market has for a choice beyond the iPad and Android. RIM had its shot and it remains to be seen if Microsoft's Windows 8 is any more than Window's 7 in a fancy dress.

I've said my piece, but be sure to check out Erica Ogg's write-up of HP's new WebOS app catalog, as well as TechRepublic's unboxing and hardware teardown. And you can find a slideshow walk-through of the TouchPad's WebOS features below.

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Tablet PCs aren't just for playing super-sized versions of Angry Birds or streaming Netflix movies. They're increasingly being used in the work place.

The popularity of the Apple iPad is spilling over into the workplace, where everyone from executives to nurses to sales associates to people who stock the shelves at your favorite retailer are using tablets. It should come as little surprise given the small form factor and touch screens that make these devices so appealing.

Cisco Systems, the world's biggest maker of infrastructure equipment that helps businesses connect to the Internet, wants a piece of … Read more

On the eve of the launch of its TouchPad, Hewlett-Packard is signaling that it's ready to stir things up in the mobile-OS business.

Today, CEO Leo Apotheker told Bloomberg that HP has had discussions about licensing WebOS.

"We are talking to a number of companies," Apotheker said. "I can share with you that a number of companies have expressed interest. We are continuing our conversations."

Bloomberg says it's heard from unidentified sources that Samsung is one of those companies, but a Samsung spokesman denied that. HP did not elaborate on who potential partners could be.

HP has revamped the WebOS operating system it bought with Palm almost exactly a year ago and made it ready for tablets. Apotheker's comments today expand on earlier statements that he would entertain the idea of licensing WebOS to other players in the mobile-devices business. … Read more

Research In Motion has reportedly put the brakes on a 10-inch PlayBook tablet and is instead focusing on a new BlackBerry "superphone," according to enthusiast site N4BB.

Previous rumors had pointed to RIM launching a 10-inch follow-up to its current 7-inch BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. But N4BB said yesterday that it had received "word" that the company has changed its mind and has stopped development on the new tablet, citing the focus on the new superphone as the reason.

Though the alleged superphone has no name or launch date at this point, N4BB listed some of its … Read more

Hewlett-Packard has announced a $50 rebate on its upcoming TouchPad tablet.

The company will offer the mail-in rebate on the purchase of its 32GB TouchPad, HP wrote on its Palm blog yesterday. The deal is good through July 31.

However, before consumers get too excited, there is one major catch: the $50 rebate is available only to those who can prove they own a Palm Pre, Pre Plus, Pixi, or Pixi Plus.

"When the first WebOS phone came out, a lot of you took a chance on our new platform," HP said on its blog. "We appreciate … Read more

The percentage of American adults who own an e-book reader has doubled over the past six months, outpacing the growth of tablets, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center.

E-reader ownership climbed to 12 percent in May from 6 percent last November, marking the first time that the adoption of these devices in the U.S. has reached the double digits. Over the same period, growth in tablet ownership slowed a bit following a previous surge. In May, 8 percent of the adults surveyed by Pew said they owned a tablet, compared with 7 percent in January … Read more

iPad users have been very patient with Facebook.

They have been begging the social-networking giant for more than a year to release an iPad-native app. And it was reported recently that such an app was in final testing and would likely be released in just a few weeks.

That may still be the case, but now it's conceivable that iPad users may be waiting in line for a tablet app behind owners of the HP TouchPad, according to TechCrunch.

Screenshots published by the tech blog purportedly show the Facebook tablet app running on WebOS. Erick Schonfeld notes that the … Read more

Hewlett-Packard will reportedly unveil a 7-inch tablet in August following the July 1 debut of its 9.7-inch TouchPad.

HP has ordered 400,000 to 450,000 TouchPad tablets per month from supplier Inventec, says a story in Friday's Taiwan Economic News. Inventec will supply HP with the upcoming 9.7-inch TouchPad as well as the new 7-inch tablet.

An industry insider cited by Taiwan Economic News says that HP will order around 3 million tablets from Inventec this year.

Beyond the August kickoff date, no details were revealed about the 7-inch tablet. A request to HP for comment … Read more

The Nook Simple Touch is out, and while it's touted as Barnes & Noble's simpler, bare bones e-reader, we think it's nonsense to call any gadget "simple." Nook Touch (and Nook Color) owners should know that their devices can do a lot more than just read books from B&N--we're here to show you how.

With your Nook in front of you (and an enthusiasm to get creative), follow this guide to make your Nook a little more useful, fun, and worth every penny you spent.