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HP goes Android with x2 hybrid

Hewlett-Packard has a newfound affinity for Android.

After announcing the Slate 7 in February, HP announced Tuesday that it is adding a second Android tablet, the SlateBook x2.

The SlateBook takes its well-received Envy x2 design and loads Android 4.2.2 and Nvidia's brand-new Tegra 4 chip inside a sleek 10.1-inch tablet that can double as a laptop.

An Android laptop, mind you, not a Chromebook.

"With an advanced magnetic hinge design and dual battery system -- one battery in the base and one in the tablet -- users can easily switch from notebook to tablet … Read more

DOJ: Apple colluded with publishers to raise e-book prices

Apple violated antitrust laws by colluding with book publishers to raise the price of e-books in an effort "to strip retailers of pricing authority," federal prosecutors said in a court filing released Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.

In an antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in April 2012, the government accused Apple and five book publishers of conspiring to illegally fix e-book prices to boost profits and force e-book rival Amazon to abandon its discount pricing. All five of the publishers involved -- Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Simon & Schuster (owned by CBS, which … Read more

Apple envy? Microsoft exec cites MacBook Air design

At least one Microsoft executive believes that Apple designs are good enough to cite as a yardstick.

After revealing that Windows Blue would officially be called 8.1 at the JP Morgan Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference on Tuesday, Microsoft Chief Marketing Officer Tami Reller moved on to the topic of tablets, convertibles, and detachables.

"The HP envy x2 is a classic example of a beautiful detachable. When the tablet and base are together it looks like a MacBook Air competitor," she said.

How good is the Envy x2's design? "This 11-inch ultraportable laptop is cute, … Read more

BlackBerry CEO likes tablets, just not as they are

ORLANDO, Fla.--OK, so is BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins a fan of tablets, or isn't he?

Heins, who made waves last month when he said he didn't see a place for tablets in five years, made some seemingly contradictory comments on tablets when he spoke on Tuesday during a Q&A session with the media while at the BlackBerry Live conference.

"We believe in a single element of mobile computing: one on your hip," Heins said.

Roughly 15 minutes later, Heins said BlackBerry was looking at the future of tablets and investing R&D … Read more

Review: KeyRemap4MacBook allows keyboard settings alteration

Mac users may want the ability to alter their keyboard settings to change keys, as well as other options. KeyRamp4MacBook for Mac permits a number of settings and key changes that could be useful for a small number of users.

KeyRemap4MacBook for Mac downloaded quickly, but to install it the system needed a complete restart, which was an inconvenience. Technical support was not available, but the program did not reveal any bugs during testing. The lack of tutorials would be problematic for early Mac users since the interface was very cluttered and difficult to decipher. After the computer restarted, the … Read more

Apple wins trademark lawsuit over use of 'iBooks' term

A federal judge in New York has dismissed a trademark lawsuit against Apple over its use of the term "iBooks."

Black Tower Press sued Apple in 2011, claiming that Apple's use of the term to describe its e-reader platform violated a trademark the small New York-based publisher acquired in 2006 and 2007. The publisher of science fiction and fantasy titles asserted that it acquired the trademark along with various assets of Byron Preiss, who had published more than 1,000 books under the "ibooks" brand starting in 1999.

The lawsuit acknowledged that Apple has a … Read more

Google, authors wrangle in court again over digital books

Google and the Authors Guild are wrangling in court again, with the latter asking for $3 billion in damages related to Google's digital books project.

Lawyers for the two companies on Wednesday presented their oral arguments in an appeal hearing related to class action status for the suit. A judge in the Second Circuit Court in New York last year had granted the Authors Guild the ability to sue Google as a group, but the search giant on Wednesday argued that such status shouldn't be granted.

The company in the past has cited a survey that showed more than half of the authors polled approved of Google scanning their books … Read more

Hooked Up: Hang out with Nelly and his must-have gadgets

In this week's episode of Hooked Up, Kevin Frazier hangs out with Grammy Award winner and multi-Platinum recording artist Nelly. He talks about all the tech he can't live without, and how he co-founded Vatterott College in St. Louis and the Extreme Institute to teach students skills for making music.

Nelly also talks about his MacBook Pro, Canon EOS 7D that he uses for shooting videos, and the Monster Diamond Tears headphones that surprised him with their sound.

I'll break down the best dSLR cameras for shooting video with Kevin that broadcast professionals are using today. And … Read more

Review: Keep your Facebook and Mac contacts organized using AddressBookSync for OS X

Users who keep contact lists between multiple programs need a way to sync them. AddressBookSync for Mac is designed for this purpose alone, but its lack of user guidance and poor performance detract from its usefulness.

Download of this freeware program completed quickly with no problems or user agreements required. There were no user instructions either, which, despite the easy-to-use program features, made AddressBookSync for Mac difficult to operate, initially. The menus appeared dated with few options or features that were identifiable. Two buttons allowed the user to look at matched and unmatched contacts between Facebook and the computer. There … Read more