tablets

Acer says it has a tablet in the works, but it won't be ready for several months.

At an event in Beijing Thursday, Acer Chairman and CEO Gianfranco Lanci demonstrated a few forthcoming Acer gadgets including a tablet running Android, according to reports. The details on the tablet are few so far: it has a 7-inch screen and appears to have a physical keyboard similar to Amazon's Kindle.

Lanci did not announce a price, but said it would go on sale sometime between October and December. There could also be the option of 3G service: Lanci made a … Read more

The first CNET Showcase event, on 3D TVs, was enough of a success that we've turned right around and set up another one.

On June 24, we'll be putting on Showcase No. 2 at our San Francisco headquarters, this time focusing on slates, tablets, and Netbooks.

We'll kick off the event with a discussion among me and two CNET Reviews experts: Donald Bell (slates and tablets) and Dan Ackerman (Netbooks and notebooks). Then we'll open up a mini trade show, giving our live audience the chance to check out the latest slim and small computers and … Read more

Microsoft needs an answer to Apple's iPad and that should be some sort of Windows-based consumer tablet.

At least that is the position that analysis firm Forrester takes in a new report, which argues that tablets are "the next important computing form."

"To keep its products front and center, Microsoft needs a partner to produce a successful Windows tablet that competes with the Apple iPad," analysts JP Gownder and Sarah Rotman Epps said in a report released on Thursday. "At stake is nothing less than the future of the operating system."

Microsoft CEO … Read more

We've seen a nonstop parade of cases, docks, and stands for Apple's iPad tablet, but one configuration we would have thought would be a natural is mounting it on a wall. After all, the iPad offers many useful widget-like apps, requires no separate keyboard or mouse, has a large bright screen that can be seen across the room, connects to data wirelessly, and--most importantly--has a long-running battery that can display useful info all day long without recharging.

We trekked down to our local hole-in-the-wall hardware store and picked up a handful of plastic hooks from the 3M Command … Read more

If you're in the market for a Netbook, why not choose one that has a split personality?

I'm talking about the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t, one of the world's few convertible Netbooks. That means it starts out like a traditional model, complete with QWERTY keyboard and all that, but then magically transforms into a touch-screen tablet.

List price on this bad boy? A fairly steep $599 if you buy direct from Lenovo. But the company currently has them on sale, and a coupon code adds significantly to the savings.

Specifically, you can get the IdeaPad S10-3t Netbook tablet for $399 shipped (… Read more

Finally, we have solid details on Dell's tablet.

After a vague press conference announcing the device at CES in January, followed by months of leaked details, we now have almost the full story on what is officially called the Streak.

As previously stated by Dell, it's a 5-inch touch screen tablet that will run the Android operating system. On Tuesday, Dell said that the tablet will later be upgraded to Android version 2.2, just announced at Google I/O. The device comes with an ARM-based Snapdragon chipset and 1GHz processor, 2GB of storage (expandable to 32GB with … Read more

Editors' note: Updated January 12, 2011.

As manufacturers rush to capitalize on the attention given to the Apple iPad, there's seems to be a new tablet announced every week. We can't keep track of every slate thrown into the wild, but if you're curious to know what options are out there, we've compiled a general overview of the tablet landscape.

iPad

There's probably no explanation needed for this one. With a million iPads sold within the first month of its introduction, the iPad has quickly taken the lead position in the tablet category.

Pros: Elegant hardware; vibrant App Store; ideal for media playback; large selection of games; fast processor; responsive multitouch screen; long battery life; priced as low as $499.

Cons: Users must buy their software from Apple; existing Mac and Windows software isn't supported; lacks Adobe Flash compatibility; limited hardware support.

CNET's Apple iPad resource page | Full review: Apple iPad

Windows tablets

Historically, tablets running Microsoft's Windows operating system made up the major share of the market. These include several subcategories, such as slates, convertible laptops, UMPCs, and MIDs. Windows-based tablets still thrive, especially in niche professional applications that demand the capabilities and broad software compatibility of Windows.

Pros: Familiar interface; broadest software and hardware compatibility; Adobe Flash support; multitasking; wide range of screen sizes, pricing, and implementations.

Cons: Windows desktop interface doesn't always translate well to the touch screen without intermediating software or stylus input; typically longer boot times compared with mobile OS; cumbersome software installation; more prone to computer virus; typically shorter battery life.

Examples: Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t, Archos 9 PC tablet, Asus Eee PC T91

Android tablets

Smartphones running Google's Android OS are some of the biggest competitors to Apple's iPhone. Android takes an approach similar to Apple's iOS, offering a streamlined interface based around lightweight, third-party apps.

In 2010, CNET reviewed several tablets running versions of Android up to 2.2 (aka Froyo), which essentially duplicated the Android smartphone experience onto a larger screen. Since that time, Google announced its tablet-optimized version of Android 3.0, named Honeycomb, due out in the first quarter of 2011 on Motorola's Xoom tablet.

Pros: A large variety of apps; quick boot time; third-party manufacturers competing to provide hardware; one-touch access to Google Web search; options priced as low as $199.

Cons: Many Android features and developer specs (pre-Honeycomb) are more fitting for smartphones than tablets; legacy apps designed for phone screens don't scale well; accessory compatibility changes from manufacturer to manufacturer; not all tablet hardware will support Android Honeycomb.

Examples: Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Dell Streak, ViewSonic ViewPad 7

… Read more

WebOS will be on a Hewlett-Packard tablet sometime in the next five months.

That's what Marty Wong, the head of HP's Personal Systems Group in Taiwan, said in an interview with Digitimes Friday.

"The HP Slate will hit the market before the end of the fiscal year ending in October, and consumers could see a wide range of software and application support at launch," Wong said.

WebOS is Palm's touch-screen operating system that now is only used in smartphones. In April, HP announced its intentions to purchase Palm for $1.2 billion. The Palm acquisition … Read more

When Apple first started selling the iPad, it didn't allow consumers to buy its tablet with cash. The idea, the reasoning went, was that forcing people to buy the iPad with a debit card or credit card would help ensure that no one violated Apple's two-iPads-per-person rule.

But all that has changed. Recently a California woman named Diane Campbell went to an Apple store in the hopes of buying an iPad with greenbacks. She was turned away by the store's employees, who cited the no-cash policy. After she contacted KGO, an ABC television affiliate in California, the … Read more