tablet

Office retail giant Staples appears to be getting serious about tablets as evidenced by two leaked roadmap images. Coming from two separate sources, they confirm the company's plan to offer at least eight Android tablets from a variety of manufacturers. While some devices are a few months old and currently offered through carriers, other products have yet to be announced and have been treated only as rumors until now.

The first tablet expected to arrive at Staples is the 10.1-inch Motorola Xoom. While previously listed with a price of $599.99, PreCentral's documents show a $649.99 sticker, which is slightly higher than the $600 price Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha mentioned back in February. Staples also could get the Wi-Fi-only Xoom.

As to when the Xoom will arrive remains a mystery. DroidLife lists April whereas PreCentral taps the tablet with a launch on March 17. Both are different from DroidLife's previous listing of March 27 but still on track for the next few weeks. … Read more

I'd like to hear your opinion on whether reports of the laptop's death are greatly exaggerated. Gartner research reported this week that tablet sales will grow from 15 million in 2010 to 54 million in 2011 and that laptop sales will slow down dramatically. But I'd like to know what you think. What are you more likely to buy next year--a laptop or a tablet?

The Wi-Fi-only versions of Motorola's Xoom and Samsung's Galaxy Tab tablets could reach consumers very soon, at least according to a couple of product flyers discovered by the folks at DroidLife.

Displaying what appears to be an upcoming flyer for Staples, DroidLife has zeroed in on a launch date of March 27 and a price tag of $599 for the Wi-Fi-only Xoom. Though the price seems accurate based on information from Motorola, the new date contradicts earlier information sent to DroidLife indicating an April 3 debut for the Wi-Fi-only Xoom.

Motorola Mobility's CEO Sanjay Jha recently revealed that the Wi-Fi-only version Xoom would sell for around $600. Staples' price for the Wi-Fi Xoom is a bit higher than the $539 that Sam's Club reportedly will charge. But if accurate, the difference makes sense since Sam's Club discounts its prices for members. The Wi-Fi Xoom is slated to launch in Europe starting in the second quarter.

We've reached out to Motorola and Staples for comment or further details.

Meanwhile, another supposed product flyer uncovered by DroidLife says the Wi-Fi-only Galaxy Tab will start shipping by April 4 and sell for $399. Launched last November, the 3G version of the 7-inch tablet currently sells from a variety of carriers for a variety of prices, with T-Mobile offering the Tab at $249 with a two-year contract.

A Samsung spokeswoman told CNET that the company has not announced pricing or availability for the Wi-Fi-only version of the Tab.… Read more

Apple may have sold anywhere from 400,000 to 500,000 units of the iPad 2 during the tablet's launch weekend, exceeding the company's expectations, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

Those numbers compared with 300,000 of the original iPad sold during its debut weekend last April.

But the new numbers are even stronger when viewed as a one-day sales total.

Many retailers ran out of stock by late Friday, only hours after the iPad 2 launched, and were unable to replenish those supplies over the weekend, said Munster in a research note released Sunday night … Read more

The Apple iPad 2 hits store shelves at 5 p.m. local time today all over the country, and the second-generation tablet is already generating a lot of buzz with a few eager customers lining up outside some Apple stores at least a day in advance.

Unlike notable Apple product launches of the past, this time, the company didn't offer an extended preorder period. And it wasn't allowing customers to reserve devices weeks in advance of the sale. Instead, the company only began taking orders for the iPad 2 starting at 1 a.m. PT with orders expected … Read more

Today is iPad 2 day. People are once again lining up to buy Apple's latest new shiny toy. Why? What does Apple get right that other tablet vendors don't? We're going to talk about this release as well as how Google, Microsoft, HP, and RIM are faring in this new market.

As usual, we have two expert guests. First in the studio, Josh Lowensohn, our CNET News Apple reporter, freshly back from braving the line at the downtown San Francisco Apple store.

Joining us via Skype from Raleigh, N.C., Anand Shimpi, founder of the great tech analysis site AnandTech.

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Some of our discussion points… Read more

Motorola and Verizon Wireless have begun to roll out a minor update to the 10.1-inch Xoom tablet this week, preparing the Honeycomb device for Flash 10.2.

Released as a staged over-the-air update, Android 3.0.1 also addresses (PDF) a bug in the Xoom affecting daylight saving time and calendar appointments. It's expected that the update will be delivered to all tablets ahead of Flash 10.2's arrival in the Android Market on March 18.

According to Adobe's blog, this latest build of Flash will be available initially in beta form for all tablets that have the Android 3.0.1 update. Once loaded, the 10.2 version is expected to offer better battery performance and higher frame rates than its previous iterations. … Read more

As the iPad juggernaut continues with today's launch of the iPad 2, can any other tablet maker truly compete with Apple?

The odds seem to be against it, at least according to the results of a survey released yesterday by ChangeWave Research. Questioning more than 3,000 consumers last month, ChangeWave found that 27 percent of them plan to buy a tablet, 2 percentage points more than a similar poll found last November.

Among those eyeing a tablet, 82 percent said they'll opt for an iPad. That number compares with 4 percent looking into a Motorola Xoom, 3 … Read more

On the day the Apple iPad 2 goes on sale, CNET Senior Editor Donald Bell will be live-blogging his full review. Follow along for his complete analysis of the design, features, and performance. Updates will be added throughout the day.

The competition must really hate Apple. The Apple iPad wasn't just a successful tablet computer in 2010--it was the tablet computer. In one fell swoop, Apple created the new tablet market and sold tens of millions of iPads in spite of a global economic downturn and considerable skepticism.

The same, only better With the iPad's second go-around, Apple … Read more