Tablets

Apple's iOS 4.2 update for the iPad is coming, and unless you're inconsolable over the decision to change the screen rotation lock switch into a mute switch, this free update is nothing but win.

We've already run though the nuts and bolts of the update in last week's 4.2 Gold Master blog post and gallery. This week, we figured we'd sweeten the deal with a brief hands-on video overview, as well.

One thing to clarify from the video is that the new AirPrint feature is accessible in apps beyond the iWork suite, including Safari, Photos, and Email. Compatible printers include HP's latest ePrint machines.

We'll have more in-depth coverage of iOS 4.2 throughout the day.

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If you have a TiVo Premiere or you're an iPad owner thinking about getting a TiVo, the TiVo Premiere App for iPad might be enough to get you to buy the one you don't have.

The app, which will be available for free "in the coming weeks," essentially puts the entire TiVo Premiere interface on the iPad's screen. That means you can do everything--browse the program guide, schedule and manage recordings, and search for content across broadcast and broadband services--all without interrupting what's on screen.

Also, as you can see in the screenshot above, … Read more

Millions of people already own tablets, more of the devices will surely be gifted this year for the holidays, and next year more tablets like the RIM PlayBook will expand the market even further.

But as tablets are relatively new, they still have some evolving to do before some of us know exactly how they fit into our daily lives. Myself, I use my Apple iPad for browsing (which RIM thinks its PlayBook will be better at), plus reading comics and books, and rocking the Netflix Instant wherever I am. But that's just me; these new devices can do … Read more

Android fragmentation kills birds, dual cores everywhere, and use your phone as a time machine, all that and more on this week's edition of Android Atlas Weekly. Join Justin Eckhouse along side guest host, Senior Editor Kent German!

News Stories Sharp's 3D Android phones are coming to America in 2011 http://androidandme.com/2010/11/phones/sharps-3d-android-phones-are-coming-to-america-in-2011/

First Verizon 4G handset in February, delivering faster data speeds at premium prices http://androidandme.com/2010/11/carriers/first-verizon-4g-handset-in-february-delivering-faster-data-speeds-at-premium-prices/… Read more

There's the iPad, and there are Android tablets, but the most intriguing dark horse of them all might still be Windows 7. Despite many products we've seen that have been awkward grafts of Windows 7 touch technology, the imminent arrival of the Dell Inspiron Duo re-confirms that Windows 7 convertible tablets aren't dead yet.

However, are they shaping up to be better than what we've previously seen?

We reviewed the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t earlier this year, a well-designed but flawed convertible Atom / Windows 7 convertible tablet that felt bulky and slow. Recent designs such as the … Read more

Dell has captured the imagination of a tablet-crazed public with a handful of recent photos and details about a new convertible tablet called the Inspiron Duo. A prerelease sample has turned up in the CNET Labs for a hands-on test drive, and we're generally impressed with the design and concept, if less so with the performance.

Unlike traditional convertible tablets, which have screens that rotate 180 degrees horizontally, the Inspiron Duo screen flips 180 degrees vertically--hinged in the middle of the lid. When the screen is flipped over and the lid closed, the system launches a touch-friendly interface for interacting with photos, videos, and music (and returns to the basic Windows desktop when the transformation is reversed).

The flipping motion worked well on our demo unit, although the hinge felt a little loose. You have to take care to turn the screen only in the correct direction, essentially pushing the top of the screen back through the lid. Also, the screen occasionally collided with the keyboard with an audible thunk if we weren't careful about opening the laptop body wide enough for proper clearance. … Read more

This week: Facebook adds e-mail, but does anyone care? Apple's got some new iTunes plans; and we grab a Samsung Galaxy Tab for a head-to-head shootout with the iPad, which quickly turns contentious.

Also, tragedy strikes, as Dan's 42-inch plasma drops dead, leading to an epic quest to find a replacement.

Don't forget: You can download the show's theme song as a free MP3 here for a limited time!

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The world's largest mobile phone network operators today revealed an effort to expand the GSM wireless communications technology to navigation devices, cameras, handheld gaming systems, music players, and more starting in 2012.

The GSM Association, the consortium overseeing the widely used mobile phone network technology, said a task force of members including AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, China Mobile, and Deutsche Telekom has begun working on adapting SIM cards so they can be embedded in many more devices than phones. SIM cards are small, removable chips that provide phones an identity on GSM wireless networks, but the embedded SIM will be more an intrinsic part of devices and will be able to be activated remotely, the GSMA said.

GSM technology began its life as a technology for phone calls, but with today's 3G and just-arriving LTE incarnations, it's used for data transfer as well. The embedded SIM effort signals a further growth of the GSM lineage beyond just voice needs.

So far, SIM cards haven't made it far beyond mobile phones, though some tablets such as the iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab and some laptops include them. But it's easy to see why mobile phone network operators would be interested: mobile connectivity is ever more important, Wi-Fi networks are an incomplete patchwork, WiMax at least thus far hasn't lived up to its promise of bathing large areas with network access, and there's abundant subscription money to be made in connecting new devices to the Net.

"As our industry moves from connecting phones to connecting a wide range of devices, it is apparent that the embedded SIM could deliver even greater flexibility," GSMA Chief Executive Rob Conway said in a statement.

One trick will be to get new devices onto wireless networks without overtaxing the networks even more.… Read more

We're not saying Research In Motion's PlayBook tablet has a better browser than Apple's iPad (after all, it hasn't come out yet). We're just saying that RIM is saying its tablet has a better, or at least faster, browser. Surprised? We're not.

In a video posted Monday on RIM's official BlackBerry YouTube channel, the PlayBook and the iPad are placed side-by-side. Then Matthew, a member of the browser group at RIM, takes the tablets to the same sites on the same connection at the same time. The PlayBook appears to load the first … Read more