Top 5 Android 4.0 tablets

Posted on July 12th, 2012

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean a sweet Android update

The Nexus 7 is the first tablet to ship with Android 4.1 (see above for details) and with its release imminent, I couldn't in good conscience update the top Android 4.0 tablets without including it.

So although the title states "4.0," think of it as "4.0 and above." Everyone cool with that? Cool. Cool, cool, cool.

I imagine this list will need frequent updating over the next few months as some big-name Android 4.0+ releases like the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 are coming down the pike. For now, however, here are the current top Android 4.x tablets.

Editors' note: This post was originally published May 31, 2012, and updated July 12, 2012.

I've definitely warmed up to the folded-back-magazine look and feel of the Tablet S.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Sony Tablet S Sony recently bestowed an Andro... [Read more]

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Posted in Digital Devices

Apple-Like Solar-Powered Keyboard Controls Mac, iPad, iPhone

Posted on May 31st, 2012


Love portable keyboards? You’re going to want to see Logitech’s latest offering.

The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K760 for Mac, iPad and iPhone lets you pair up to three of those devices at a time.

That means no more disconnecting and re-entering a code each time you want to switch between devices, from your Mac to your iPad, say. Just one push of a button does it.

The Solar panel means never having to change batteries again. The keyboard can be charged either from sunlight, if you like to work outside, or from indoor lamp light. Logitech says that fully powered, the keyboard will run for three months, based on an average 8 hours of use a day.

The new solar keyboard is an upgrade from the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 we reviewed in 2010, and has some welcome improvements for Apple users.

For starters, it looks a lot like the regular Apple Wireless Keyboard; Logitech has designed the layout and keys to more closely resemble those on a Mac. The dedicated Home key works like the Home button on your iPad or iPhone.

The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K760 hits stores in the U.S. and Europe in June with a list price of $80. If this report is correct, it may be followed by another hot sun-fueled Apple gadget from Logitech: a solar-powered iPad case that can charge your tablet.

Logitech Brand Manager Todd Walker demos the keyboard in the video below:

Are you using a portable keyboard with your tablet? Have you tried a solar keyboard? Let us know how it’s working for you in the comments.

More About: Bluetooth Keyboard, logitech, solar power, wireless keyboard


Posted in IT & Tech | Tagged as: ,

Gadget Lab Show: Asus Zenbook Prime and MindWave Mobile Headset

Posted on May 31st, 2012

                    

This week on the Gadget Lab Show, we take a look at the new Asus Zenbook Prime ultrabook, the MindWave Mobile Headset, and talk about Star Wars‘ recent 35th anniversary.

To start, staff writers Christina Bonnington and Roberto Baldwin take a look at a preview version of the Asus Zenbook Prime. The 13-inch ultrabook weighs 2.89 pounds and will run you anywhere from $799 to $1599, depending on the model. It’s a very attractive ultraportable notebook, but it has a few caveats: a loud fan, and a laggy touchpad, primarily.

Next up, the gang goes “heads-on” with the Mindwave Mobile Brainwave Headset. It’s an EEG headset that lets you play iOS and Android games using the powers of your mind — specifically, the powers of concentration, relaxation, and blinking. There are close to 100 PC and mobile apps compatible with the $130 headset, but it’s still a hefty investment for a product that makes you feel like a total nerd when you’re wearing it.

Finishing off the show, Roberto and Christina chat about some of the best tech and gadgets in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, which recently celebrated its 35th anniversary.

Like the show? You can also get the Gadget Lab video podcast via iTunes, or if you don’t want to be distracted by our unholy on-camera talent, check out the Gadget Lab audio podcast. Prefer RSS? You can subscribe to the Gadget Lab video or audio podcast feeds.

Or listen to the audio below:

Gadget Lab audio podcast #153

http://downloads.wired.com/podcasts/assets/gadgetlabaudio/GadgetLabAudio0153.mp3

Posted in Technology

Breathalyzer watch puts date, time, drunkenness on your wrist

Posted on June 19th, 2013

This may be the best-looking breathalyzer ever created.

(Credit: Tokyoflash)

You've just created a combination watch and breathalyzer. You're sitting around, trying to decide what to name it. Aha, you think, let's call it the Intoxicated Watch. That will get the point across.

The Kisai Intoxicated Watch has just made its debut on Tokyoflash, where it's selling for a limited time at a $99 launch price.

The watch description says the negative-space time display is easy to read, no matter how intoxicated you are. In case you're not sure what level of drunk you've achieved, the watch has a built-in breathalyzer. You open the sensor cap, push a button, and blow into it for 5 seconds.

A display on the watch gives your blood alcohol content level. If you blow a 0.61 percent or above, the display registers as red to indicate you've had too much. A green display means your BAC is low. A yellow display indicates a BAC between 0.41 and 0.60 percent.

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Posted in Digital Devices

After Katy Perry, is dumping by text standard practice?

Posted on June 19th, 2013

How sad La Perry must have felt.

(Credit: AmericanVogue/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

As one who has been dumped by Skype, registered mail, Pinot poured on bald head, head-butt, intermediary, and sudden marriage to another, I wondered what could possibly remain.

Then I read Katy Perry's plaintive revelation that the very humorous star of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," Russell Brand, had allegedly told her to forget their marriage by text.

I had heard that this might be a method employed in middle school to end what wasn't meant to be.

However, I wasn't aware that those designated as adults might also believe this was appropriate etiquette.

I can rarely tell whether stars do things to set trends, or whether they're merely following suit on what they've heard from groupies.

My natural instinct is that a texted sayonara must indicate a relationship that has become irretrievably sour.

If you can only be bothered to spend seconds composing your good-bye, how much can it really mean?

Statistics from the U.K., for example, suggest that 1 in 10 people have been rejected by text. They can't all be recently pubescent, can they?

... [Read more]

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Posted in Digital Devices

Sony gives brief look at the PlayStation 4 experience

Posted on June 19th, 2013

What do you think about the design of the PlayStation 4 interface?

(Credit: Screenshot by Christopher MacManus/CNET)

Despite the bountiful PlayStation 4 chatter and coverage, some people still don't have an idea what it's like to actually use the highly anticipated gaming device. A new video produced by Sony gives a feel for the console by showing several actors playing games, sharing gameplay footage, and setting up downloads remotely.

While the presentation comes off a bit cheesy (I mean, really, do people ever act like this in real life?), several interesting observations can be gleaned from the footage.

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Right off the bat, you get a sense of the PlayStation 4 software menu structure, how you can like content, and ... [Read more]

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Posted in Digital Devices