i/o

With Google's annual developer conference, Google I/O, fast approaching, it's time to once again predict some of the Android-related items that I expect out of the three-day event. As usual, there's no shortage of Android rumors to ponder, but this year seems to be just a little bit different. For the first time since Android was announced, we're expecting to see an Android device officially launch at the conference. Exciting? Sure, but there's much more. … Read more

June is the perfect time for backyard barbecues, lemonade and tablet warfare:

Microsoft is taking tablets into its own hands with the Surface. And next week, so will Google. It's expected that Google will show off the Nexus tablet at its developers conference that begins next week. And some reports have Google's tablet launching in July -- which will likely be before the Surface hits stores.

The Surface boasts solid hardware, a kickstand and a cover that also serves as a keyboard. But how much will it cost? All we know is that the light version, using Windows … Read more

The June tablet cavalcade will continue with a Google Nexus device, say Asia-based reports.

In the wake of Computex and today's Microsoft Surface announcements, June is turning out to be a hot month for new tablets.

And now it's Google's turn. The 7-inch Nexus tablet, jointly developed with Asus, will be unveiled at Google I/O, which starts on June 27, according to a report from Taipei-based Digitimes. An earlier rumor made a similar claim.

Other specifics include Wi-Fi-only connectivity and no rear camera, due to its low $199 price, the report said. (There is a front … Read more

The broad mainstream future of Thunderbolt is in question, but there's no doubt it's already useful for people with heavy computing demands.

With hundreds of gigabytes of high-resolution digital photographs and a smaller but still bulky collection of video, I'm one of them.

To supply fast external storage for my Dell laptop, for a few years now I've relied on eSATA -- an external version of the SATA standard used to connect hard drives inside computer chassis. It's functional but prickly: the external drive must be powered on before the computer, sleep and wake can … Read more

Intel believes Thunderbolt will remake mobile computing by endowing laptops with a high-speed, versatile port.

To match Intel's mainstream ambitions for Thunderbolt, though, Intel will have to prove to hardware designers and to consumers that it's got compelling advantages over the alternatives. Today, those are chiefly USB (Universal Serial Bus) and HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface. Tomorrow, another challenger could arrive in the form of PCI Express Cable, and it's got a strong ally in PC giant Hewlett-Packard.

Getting new input-output technologies to catch on is particularly hard because I/O standards only succeed with support from both … Read more

To some, Thunderbolt is just a port on the side of a MacBook, a mere check-box on a feature list.

But to Intel, the high-speed communication technology is an ambitious attempt to do something that only happens every decade or so in the computing industry: rewrite the rules of how people plug stuff into their computers.

Thunderbolt arrived in 2011 with the potential to bring the flexibility of a tower computer to something as compact as an ultrabook. And it's got a bright future in premium and professional products, as events this week show.

First, Apple's new Retina display-equipped MacBook Pro … Read more

Today we're rocking out in the cloud to take our minds off our mobile bills:

Verizon has completely restructured nearly all of its phone plans with something called a Share Everything Plan. The plans will give you unlimited text and unlimited voice. As for data, you have to pay for how much data you want a month. Then you have to pay another fee for each device that will use that pool of data.

Verizon is encouraging you to have multiple devices that can all share from the same plan, but it can make your bill more expensive if you're an individual. … Read more

For the first year that Intel's Thunderbolt technology has been available, relatively few devices have been released that use it. While the technology offers promise of extensive expansion, most Thunderbolt devices have been high-speed storage options. However, this trend is beginning to shift with the announcement of the new devices such as the Matrox DS1, a $249 Thunderbolt multi-I/O device that will be available in September, which can be used as a docking station among other purposes.

Following Thunderbolt's relatively slow adoption in the computer industry, in late April Intel announced an initiative to give Thunderbolt a bit more momentum. … Read more

If you wanted to use Thunderbolt devices with your Mac, previously it was necessary to purchase one of Apple's Thunderbolt cables, which at nearly $50 each may seem outrageously expensive. Until now Apple's cables have been the only option, but accessory company Elgato has recently begun selling a Thunderbolt cable of its own. However, while third-party options often have the advantage of a lower price, Elgato's cable is currently no cheaper than Apple's.

The Thunderbolt technology introduced in Apple's latest Mac models provides exceptionally fast I/O, in its current form allowing up to 10Gbps … Read more