Tablets

It's a good thing Apple came out with a white iPad 2. It fit in perfectly with the decor of Jonathan Alberico and Jamie Wilborn's wedding in Denver, Colo. Bridesmaid Renee Armstrong was 1,500 miles away in Richmond, Va., at the time, but she still got dressed up and appeared in her best friend's wedding party--via an iPad and FaceTime.

"Unfortunately, the economy sucks. She just didn't have the means to make it out to Denver. It was absolutely devastating when we found she couldn't come," the bride told CNET. As she sat around mulling over her options, the iPad idea came up.

A groomsman carried Armstrong's virtual presence down the aisle and she had a front row seat to the vows. "I got all teary-eyed during the ceremony, and I couldn't have got that from pictures," says the virtual bridesmaid in a video shot by wedding attendee Jamie Goswick.

You can hear muted giggles from some of the guests at the start of the ceremony as Armstrong's iPad is escorted along. That was probably due to the Max Headroom effect. "Everyone agreed that it was a super cool idea," Goswick says.… Read more

Who wouldn't want to blog for a living? Low pay, even lower esteem among your publishing peers, and the scorn of anonymous readers who aren't shy about telling you and the rest of the world what an idiot you are.

Yes, blogging is a career of the future, right up there with correctional officer and bankruptcy attorney.

Cynical? Moi? Actually, I've been blogging now for almost four years and I love it. Maybe somebody not named Arianna Huffington or Perez Hilton is making beaucoup dolares from a blog, but I haven't met that person. Still, money … Read more

Acer reported its first-ever quarterly loss yesterday, which it blamed on various expenses and excess inventory, though chairman J.T. Wang stressed that he sees a slowdown to the current wave of tablet fever.

For the quarter ended June, the Taiwanese PC maker suffered a net loss of 6.79 billion in Taiwanese dollars ($234.3 million). That loss compared with a net profit of NT$2.65 billion in last year's second quarter and was considerably larger than the NT$3.3 billion loss expected by several analysts polled by Reuters.

Sales fell by 32 percent from a … Read more

HTC's unannounced 10-inch Android tablet, the Puccini, has started making its rounds ahead of a rumored October launch.

A source to Engadget, who recently spent time with the Honeycomb-powered device, confirmed many of the rumored details.

According to the insider, the Puccini features a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and an 8-megapixel camera. Most notably, it should be one of the first AT&T devices equipped for the carrier's new 4G LTE network that's set to go live later this year.

Additional details expected for the Puccini include HTC's tablet-optimized … Read more

There's nothing worse than watching a movie on your tablet, only to have the screen dim every half hour. And no, I'm not referring to sleep mode, which would actually be worse...I guess. And I'm also not referring to the function of the ambient light sensor, which dims the screen when the ambient luminosity is at a high level.

I'm actually referring to the low power state induced either when the battery gets to a certain low life percentage (usually 15 percent) or when the tablet is idle for too long. Again, this doesn't refer to screen timeout, although KeepScreen will disable that as well.

OK, so apparently there are worse things than screen dimming, but if screen dimming is annoying you, I've got the remedy to stop it in its tracks!

1. First Go to the Android Market and download the app called KeepScreen by AxDroid.

2. Once downloaded, launch the app and tap Applications.

3. KeepScreen allows you to choose which of your Android apps it will function under, preventing the screen from dimming or the tablet from going into sleep mode while that app is running. Choose the appropriate apps and press Back.… Read more

Have you ever felt something and asked yourself, "Was that an earthquake?" If you live in an area with known fault lines, you're probably already aware of the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) earthquake Web site, earthquake.usgs.gov. If you have an Android device, you can track earthquakes easily with a couple of simple apps.

There are a few earthquake apps for Android devices, but we like Earthquake Alert and Earthquake. They are both easy to read and pull their data straight from the USGS. You can even create alerts so you'll know right … Read more

Vizio's 8-inch tablet will now support Hulu Plus, the company announced today.

According to Chief Technology Officer Matt McRae, Vizio's tablet has become "one of the first Android-powered tablets to support Hulu Plus."

Vizio launched its 8-inch tablet earlier this month. The device comes with Wi-Fi connectivity and the ability for users to control their home entertainment devices with the built-in universal remote. The tablet also comes with an HDMI port, allowing users to push content to their HDTVs in high-definition.

We all love our gadgets and computer gear, but how often do we actually take the time to clean them? Probably not often enough.

The cleaning tips below will not only make them look good, but will make them more sanitary and run better.

Keyboard and mouse Computer keyboards can get pretty filthy from just normal use, not to mention from eating at our desks or working while we're sick. Studies have shown that keyboards have more bacteria than toilet seats--ick! It's a good idea to regularly clean and disinfect your keyboard and mouse, especially … Read more

Sprint has begun offering new, no-contract data plans to new and existing HTC Evo View 4G owners.

Available immediately, subscribers can choose from three pay-as-you-go options for the 7-inch HTC tablet. A single-day pass runs $14.99 and delivers 150MB of on-network use over the course of a 24-hour period. A one-week pass allows for 500MB at $29.99, and the third option, a month pass, costs $49.99 and gives users up to 1.5GB of data over a 30-day period.

All of the plans allow for some off-network wiggle room, providing up to 150MB of roaming access. What'… Read more