iPads Tablets & eReaders

Now that the tablet market is maturing, pretty much any of the mainstream devices will offer decent performance. So how do manufacturers distinguish their products from all the rest on the shelves? Going Ultra is one of the best ways to stand out. Ultra thin, ultra fast, ultra big —pushing the boundaries gets attention and these Ultra tablets are worth considering if you’re looking for one that stands out in a crowd.

Buying a new tablet for yourself is one thing —you know what you like and what you want. But what about buying one for someone else? With the holiday shopping season fast approaching and a new tablet on many wish lists, a lot of people will be trying to figure out how to find the perfect tablet for someone else. I have a few pointers to help you out.  

There are many different strategies that can be used when picking a tablet. For example, it’s always a good idea to know what you might use the tablet for before choosing one. Often, it just comes down to price and your budget. Today, manufacturers are offering tablets ranging in price from under $100 to over $1,000. The choice can be overwhelming, but I’ll try to make things easier with my pick from each of the most popular price categories.

A tablet is a great device for doing just about anything you can imagine —playing video games, surfing the net, seeing what your Facebook friends are up to or watching videos— but many of these activities require an Internet connection. No problem at home, but what happens when you go mobile? How can you keep playing Simpsons:Tapped Out, watching YouTube or checking your News Feed when your tablet is no longer connected to your home network? In this post, I’ll show you how to access Wi-Fi on your tablet, from virtually anywhere.

Tablets are great devices for doing many things. They truly are the embodiment of multi-purpose technology. You can use a tablet to watch videos, play games, read books, surf the web, take photos, listen to music, participate in a video conference or write a report. But there is a huge range of options to choose from and despite the fact that they’re all “multi-purpose” devices, some tablets are better suited from some purposes than others. In this post, I single out tablets that have a reputation for being ideal for different activities.  

Google and HTC just took the wraps off what is likely to be one of the hottest tablets of 2014: the Nexus 9. Described as “powered by Android, for work and play” the new tablet features a powerful 64-bit CPU, the new Android Lollipop operating system, an 8.9-inch HD display and HTC BoomSound.

It was only a few years ago —2010 to be exact— when choosing which size of tablet display was an exercise in simplicity. You really only had one choice. Apple’s original iPad was released that year, it immediately dominated the category and its display was 9.7-inches. Today, the tablet landscape is much more diverse and display sizes are all over the map. Which size best suits your needs? In this post, I’ll break down five of the most popular display sizes and what they’re best suited for.

IFA 2014 was the location for yet more high tech announcements as Sony got in the game. Among the new products from Sony are the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact (billed as the world’s slimmest and lightest compact tablet), new smartphones led by the new Xperia Z3 flagship, a new Android Wear-powered Smartwatch 3 and the SmartBand Talk fitness tracker.

If there’s one thing better than sitting on the beach, it’s sitting on the beach with a good book. An e-book, preferably. Unfortunately water, sand and e-readers don’t mix and protective cases can be a pain. Kobo has fixed that problem once and for all with the all new Kobo Aura H2O, a waterproof, sandproof and dustproof e-reader.

Technology is a big part of student life and a computer has become integral to the educational experience. Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 is a powerful device that can physically transform into a laptop form factor, becoming a true ultra-mobile alternative to a laptop or desktop PC —while offering all the advantages of a tablet.