Tablets

Road test: Aviiq Portable Charging Station

As a traveling journalist who stays on the move with a MacBook Pro, iPhone, digital camera, and iPad 2, I was eager to get ahold of the Aviiq Portable Charging Station to see if it might offer a compact mobile power source capable of dismissing my worries about whether my devices are juiced and ready to roll.

The idea behind the Charging Station is simple: Give buyers a place to tuck away all of their USB-charged devices and cords while they charge. You can keep all of your high-tech eggs in one basket while they juice up, if you like to mix your food and drink metaphors.

The resulting kit is about the size of a hardcover book. The tri-fold design includes multiple pockets inside for everything from MP3 players to cell phones. An internal four-port USB power station plugs into a wall outlet and charges up the devices tucked into the Charging Station. … Read more

Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet hit by patent lawsuit

Though it won't reach store shelves until next month, Amazon's new Kindle Fire is already the target of a patent lawsuit.

A company called Smartphone Technologies filed the suit last Friday in Texas Eastern District Court accusing the Fire tablet of violating four of its patents.

Smartphone Technologies is owned by Acacia Research, a firm that buys and licenses patents and is seen by many as a patent troll. Acacia has kept the courts busy launching suits against the likes of Apple and Research In Motion.

The patents named in the suit against Amazon seem to include several … Read more

T-Mobile touts two 4G Android tablets: SpringBoard, Galaxy Tab

The U.S. carrier T-Mobile announced plans today to sell to two Android tablets with 4G networking abilities in coming weeks, its own 7-inch SpringBoard and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Each will come with the newest version of Google's tablet-oriented Honeycomb incarnation of the Android operating system, version 3.2, and will go on sale "in time for the holidays," the company said.

Samsung's 10.1-inch tablet first debuted months ago, but without 4G networking abilities. It's at the heart of a swirling collection of patent infringement lawsuits with Apple, whose iOS-powered iPad … Read more

How to change font in Notes app on iOS

At one point, the iOS Notes app had one font, and one font only. There was no option for users to customize the look and feel of the app. This eventually changed, giving users three different fonts to chose from.

Changing the font for the Notes app on iOS is a very simple process.

Open the Settings app on your iOS device. Scroll down until you come across the Notes option, and tap on it. Choose your font.

It doesn't get much easier than that.

One more tip regarding the Notes app: if you had multiple accounts set up … Read more

Chopstakes: Chopsticks for iPad, not sushi

If one stylus is good, then two styli must be better, right? That's the premise Ipevo's Chopstakes are working under. The new styli for iPad come in pairs.

Chopstakes look like something you'd find at the local Chinese restaurant wrapped in a paper sleeve. Each stylus is made from aluminum alloy with a rubber tip and is weighted for balance. Chopstakes come in two lengths and run $34.95 and $44.95.

Other than looks, versatility is the selling point for the styli. Use one. Use one in each hand. Demonstrate your nimble finger dexterity by using both in one hand, you show-off.… Read more

Plug in a USB cord the right way, the first time

Visualize yourself holding a USB plug. Now visualize yourself trying to put said USB plug into its port on your computer. Hmm, it didn't go in? You must be holding it the wrong way; try turning it over. Still nothing? Odd, try it the first way again. Oh look, it fits now.

This scenario is something a lot of computer users have gone through at least once. Wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have to spend time fiddling with the USB plug every. Single. Time?

The problem at hand can actually be avoided rather easily. One … Read more

Ruling on Apple-Samsung spat in Australia coming next week?

Apple will need to wait until Monday at the very earliest to hear whether its request for a preliminary injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be granted in Australia, a new report claims.

According to Reuters, Judge Annabelle Bennett promised a quick decision on the case after lawyers for Apple and Samsung completed their arguments in the Australian federal court earlier this week. Although the attorneys expected a decision today, it appears now that Bennett will use the weekend before making a final determination on the matter.

Apple and Samsung have been locked in a bitter patent … Read more

BlackBerry tablet update fixes Flash but nothing else

Research In Motion has pushed out an update for its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with the latest version of Flash but still no native e-mail or instant messaging, at least not yet.

Described yesterday in the official BlackBerry blog, the new BlackBerry Tablet OS version 1.07.3312 offers a security fix to the Flash Player that Adobe rolled out on September 21. Available now for all PlayBook users, the new BlackBerry update can be downloaded over the air.

As usual, PlayBook owners will receive a message notifying them of the new update, or they can manually check for it under Software Updates in the settings menu. Customers who buy a PlayBook as of yesterday will automatically receive the latest Adobe Flash Player already installed.… Read more

Android apps to run on iPad with Alien Dalvik 2.0

Android apps will now be able to run on Apple's iPad and a host of other non-Android devices, courtesy of new software from the crew at Myriad Group.

Announced yesterday, Myriad's Alien Dalvik 2.0 will support Android apps on tablets, e-books, TVs, and even cars.

Initially unveiled for the MeeGo OS earlier this year, the software allows most Android Package--also known as APK--files to run on a myriad of devices with little or no tweaking, according to the company. Users can simply trigger the APK file to install and then launch the app on their chosen device.… Read more

How to view Facebook photos with Pixable Photofeed

Last month, I wrote about the Facebook Photo Album app that turned your iPad into a photo album of Facebook photos. It was free and provided a unique way to browse photos your friends posted on Facebook, though there was a limit to how far back you could browse before you were asked to pay.

I recently discovered a new Facebook photo-browsing app called Pixable. It's free and provides access to all of your friends' photo albums. It's available for either the iPad or the iPhone. Since the iPad has yet to receive an official Facebok app, I … Read more