Tablets at CES 2013: Packing in those pixels

This year was most assuredly the most successful and interesting year for tablets yet. But, as exciting as it was, 2013 has the potential to be even better.

In the consumer technology space, CES is still the very best harbinger of what's to come, and January's show will be no different. Though there are plenty of juicy rumors flying around, I don't yet know which tablets will debut at 2013's CES, and even if I did, I'd probably feel obligated to kill you if I told you. However, looking closely at recent trends and reports, it's not too difficult to piece together a solid picture of the possibilities.… Read more

Nook Simple Touch e-reader drops to $79

Barnes & Noble is dropping the price of its Nook Simple Touch e-reader by about $20 starting tomorrow, with a new price tag of $79, the company said today.

Not a full-blown tablet, the Simple Touch relies on a touch screen for flipping e-ink pages, navigating menus, and so on. CNET Reviews gave it four out of five stars and called it a "major advancement" over its predecessor.… Read more

Manage your Any.DO task app from Chrome

When surfing the Web, it's easy to forget an idea that springs to mind about an item you need to include on your to-do list. This is likely because it's located on your mobile device and it's easy to get distracted from remembering to add it.

In a sea of task apps, Any.DO has managed to make a name for itself. With a clean and simple user interface, it's easy to just get started with managing what you need to do, who you need to call, or what you need to buy. And with the … Read more

DoorBot wireless doorbell cam lets you see visitors

When my doorbell goes ding dong and the dogs go crazy, the last thing I want to do (aside from shushing my beasts) is actually talk to the person at the door who I probably didn't even want to talk to in the first place. Unless it's the pizza guy.

Fortunately, a Wi-Fi-enabled doorbell called DoorBot could make the mystery of a random household visitor a thing of the past. The $169 high-tech door device features a built-in camera (with infrared for nighttime support) that captures live video of the person who presses the button. From there, a notification pops up on the owner's device that gives the option to display the video feed on the app (works with iOS and Android tablets and smartphones).… Read more

GameStop to carry Kindle Fire, give $25 gift card with purchase

Shoppers can now get their hands on a Kindle Fire tablet in a new location -- GameStop stores.

GameStop, the large video game retailer, now offers the Kindle Fire family of tablets, including the 7-inch and 8.9-inch versions of the HD device and the 7-inch version of the regular Kindle Fire. The devices will sell for the same price as on Amazon's site.

As a perk, up to January 31, buyers also will receive a free $25 Amazon gift card with any Kindle Fire purchase.

And if GameStop customers trade in an original Kindle Fire, they'll get … Read more

Kindle Fire line builds its voice and touch accessibility skills

Amazon is making strides to make its entire Kindle Fire tablet series more accessible to all consumers via expanded support for two very important features.

The two features in question are the Voice Guide and Explore by Touch navigation tools. With these features, the goal is to both help vision-impaired Kindle owners read books more easily and aid those with learning disabilities to improve their reading skills.

Leveraging technology from text-to-speech software provider Ivona, the Voice Guide can read aloud menus and actions happening on the device, such as when a particular title has been opened or closed.

Explore by … Read more

How to use 'Up Next' on the Apple TV

When Apple released iTunes 11, an update was pushed for the iOS Remote app. The Remote update enabled users to take advantage of the new "Up Next" feature when playing music from a local iTunes library, along with on the Apple TV.

At the same time the Remote update and iTunes 11 was released, an update to the Apple TV itself was also released. This update enabled Up Next when streaming music through Home Sharing or iTunes Match on your TV. Here's some tips for using Up Next via the Remote app or directly on an Apple … Read more

iPad Mini ship times improves to one week

Consumers looking for an iPad Mini now stand a better chance of grabbing one for the holidays.

The wait time for the 7-inch tablet through the Apple online store just dropped to one week from two weeks. The new estimate applies to all variations of the Mini, from the 16GB Wi-Fi-only edition to the 64GB Wi-Fi + Cellular version.

The shorter ship time comes amidst reports that production of the new tablet had been hampered by manufacturing challenges at panel supplier AU Optronics. Apple uses both AU and LG Display to make the Mini's display panels. A recent DigiTimes story … Read more

Rumor Has It: 'iRadio' could be music to Apple's ears

It seems that every couple months, rumors heat up about Apple releasing a Pandora rival. But this time, analysts give a rough time frame of 2013 for "iRadio," which they say will be "vastly superior" to Pandora.

What could Apple's streaming-music service offer that would make it superior to any of the other services that are out there right now? Let us know in the comments!

Also this week, a Facebook rumor gets debunked in around 48 hours, and Asus might be cooking up another low-cost tablet, but we're too into watching TV to … Read more

Tablet sales to stay sizzling, IDC says

As if we didn't already know that the tablet market is the hottest thing this side of a pizza oven, IDC today raised its forecast for the tablet market for 2012 and beyond.

The fuel for the fired-up forecast? Greater variety among tablet choices as new, and often cheaper, devices crowd onto store shelves.

"Tablets continue to captivate consumers, and as the market shifts toward smaller, more mobile screen sizes and lower price points, we expect demand to accelerate in the fourth quarter and beyond," Tom Mainelli, IDC's research director for tablets, said in a statement.… Read more