Tablets

On the eve of Apple's expected tablet announcement, the top executive at a major book publisher has stolen a bit of Apple's thunder.

During a live taping on CNBC on Tuesday, McGraw-Hill Chairman and CEO Terry McGraw said the tablet will be introduced tomorrow, will have college textbooks on it, and will be based on the iPhone OS. Here's what he told CNBC:

Yeah, very exciting. Yes, they'll make their announcement tomorrow on this one. We have worked with Apple for quite a while, and the tablet is going to be based on the iPhone operating … Read more

At this point, it looks fairly certain that an Apple tablet computer, expected to debut on Wednesday, will offer digital books, newspapers, and video.

But what about music? Conspicuously missing from much of the speculation surrounding Apple's tablet is any word about what music features it offers. Music is the content that Apple used to forge the iTunes and iPod dynasties, and music has been an integral part of the iPhone as well.

Could music be left out of all the tablet ballyhoo?

CNET reported last week that Apple spoke to the labels recently about offering iTunes users the … Read more

Regardless of whether we see a gorgeous tablet from Apple on Wednesday, there is a clear trend toward using electronic devices to read what has traditionally been printed media. From an environmental point of view, that shift is a mixed bag, depending as much on user behavior as on technology.

According to reports, Apple will show off a tablet PC that can be used with a docking station or an electronic reader.

Displacing printing media with an electronic device like the Amazon Kindle can reduce the amount of energy associated with cutting down trees and making physical periodicals and books, … Read more

No, we don't have the new iPad/iSlate/iFail just yet, but we're crossing our fingers hoping for good news at tomorrow's Apple Event. CNET correspondent Natali Del Conte is already in San Francisco ready to cover the big announcement, and we're stoked that Jeff hosted Loaded today in her absence. Also, be sure to check out PRE-GAME, Jeff's newest video game show on CNETV starting next Tuesday, February 2.

Lost in the flurry of Apple rumors circling the Internet (will someone please tell Regis about the Internet??) is the distinct possibility that AT&T will lose iPhone exclusivity tomorrow. According to "industry insiders" (sounds legit to me) other carriers will begin to offer the popular smartphone starting tomorrow due to networking troubles clogging the AT&T pipes. AT&T will make up for the loss of sole ownership by offering a series of Windows Mobile, Android, and WebOS-based handsets as consolation prizes to wayward shoppers.

If you already own an iPhone but fear the prying eyes and fingers of your paranoid better half, we recommend checking out iTrust, a 99-cent app that fools would-be spies by displaying a dummy image of your iPhone home screen and recording any attempts to access private information.

Alternatives to shelling out a buck for this app: 1.) If you know your bf/gf is nuts enough to check your phone for naughty pictures and texts, you can always set a passcode and keep it private, or 2.) download The 404's forthcoming "girlfriend app" that immediately hides your cache with a simple dice-shaking motion. Hey, don't steal that idea, for real.

Finally, be sure to stick around in the second half to hear our explanation of THAT ^ in addition to a few more stories and a hilarious Calls From The Public segment! We'd love to hear from you as well, so just give us a call at 1-866-404-CNET and tell us what's on your mind! We're also still accepting Self-Addressed Stamped Envelopes (SASE) for sticker requests, so check out this fan-made tutorial and get it over to us ASAP!

Apple just had its best quarter ever, but much of the public focus on the company is concentrated on something else: whatever it is Apple plans to announce at a press event Wednesday.

With almost $40 billion accumulated in cash, revenue topping $15 billion, and almost 9 million iPhones sold in the last three months of 2009, the much-discussed tablet is what both investors and tech fans seem most concerned about.

The company didn't shy away from providing even more fodder for hungry Apple fans related to Wednesday's event. In a press release about Monday's quarterly earnings, … Read more

Wilson is supposedly out sick this morning and can't be on the show, but it's obvious to Jeff and me that he wanted a head start on Wednesday's Apple Event. Either way, we're happy to have CNET's Smartphone Senior Editor Bonnie Cha here to replace him. We casually discuss our weekends in the first half of the show, which include some serious headphone shopping and a viewing of the documentary "Anvil." Bonnie also tells us about her weekend run-in with the new cast members of MTV's Jersey Shore.

With the January 27 Apple Event just around the corner, speculation about the Apple tablet is reaching critical mass, but an interesting Call From the Public raises new questions about the possibility of an Apple gaming console.

Judging from the amount of gaming press in attendance, there's a solid chance that the hardware will be gaming-friendly, but the chance of Apple unveiling a gaming-only console is slim. If anything, we're predicting a strong push toward gaming development on the new platform.

Thanks to everyone who sent in photos of their strategically placed 404 stickers and tattoos! Keep them coming, or be sure to listen to the promo in the break for how you can get your own merch.

It's bad enough that Sling Media charges $29.99 for its SlingPlayer Mobile app (which you can see demonstrated in the video at right), but limiting it to Wi-Fi connections? That's downright criminal.

Fortunately, the gadget gurus over at Gizmodo have documented a way to stream SlingPlayer video across 3G connections, thereby overcoming one of the app's major annoyances. (Now if they could just talk Sling Media into a reasonable price tag. Like, say, $5.99.)

As you might expect, there's a catch: You have to jailbreak your iPhone. It's not hard to do, particularly … Read more