ipads

With all the hoopla about the relative graphics performance of the fourth-generation iPad and the Nexus 10, it's easy to forget another important performance metric: battery life.

Battery life dictates how long you can actually use the unit before it requires a recharge, so I'd say it's pretty darn important. So important in fact that it gets its own blog post. Here I pit the last two generations of iPad, the iPad Mini, the Nexus 7, and the Nexus 10 against each other in a take-no-prisoners battery blood bath! Or acid bath I guess.

The results The results speak for themselves, but if you need further explanation, continue reading after the chart. … Read more

Apple's iPad Mini and Google's Nexus 7 face off in this classic confrontation for 7-inch tablet supremacy. This is going to be the most hotly contested battleground this holiday season and beyond, so which tablet is your pick?

Apple's iPad Mini brings its top-notch design with the iTunes and App Store ecosystem that makes this a force to be reckoned with in the 7-inch tablet space. The Google Nexus 7 brings arguably the most feature-packed 7-inch tablet on the market with legitimate support from the Google Play ecosystem.

Will Apple's new kid on the block take … Read more

Kleiner Perkins venture capitalist Mary Meeker, once known by many as the "Queen of the Net," gave a surprise midyear Internet Trends report update to a small crowd in San Francisco tonight, according to TechCrunch.

Meeker, who gives legendary presentations each year about the state of the technology business, touched on mobile growth, Android adoption, and tablet usage.

The key tidbit to come out was that Android smartphone adoption is growing six times faster than the iPhone, according to TechCrunch. That's not a huge surprise, considering that Android continues to have a strong grip on the U.… Read more

So how much faster is the fourth-generation iPad than the iPad Mini? Raw benchmarks show a yawning gap between Apple's newest tablets.

Though benchmarks are typically more theoretical than real-world (that is, you won't necessarily feel a big speed boost using everyday apps), they're instructive because they show the potential of the underlying silicon.

And that potential can become very real when specific applications, such as games, are optimized to tap into the redesigned circuits of a new chip -- in this case, Apple's new A6X, a faster version of the A6 in the iPhone 5. … Read more

Microsoft's Surface may be a more lucrative tablet than Apple's iPad, according to IHS iSuppli.

The tech research firm released new numbers today that show each $599 Surface costs $284 to make -- so, almost 53 percent of the cost is profit. The 32GB third-generation iPad, on the other hand, costs $333 to make and has a price tag of $599, which means just over 44 percent profit.

"The Surface represents a key element in Microsoft's strategy to transform itself from a software maker into a devices and services provider," IHS senior principal analyst Andrew … Read more

Setting up your iPad Mini doesn't take a lot of time or effort, but for those first-time iOS owners who aren't too sure about the process, it can be a bit intimidating. Don't let it be. Below you'll find a slideshow of the entire setup process, from start to finish, explaining what each screen is and means to your end experience.

Before you begin, it's a good idea to have access to a Wi-Fi connection or a computer connected to the Internet with iTunes installed. You'll need one or the other to complete the … Read more

It was always a great mystery why Sony never had an iOS app so its Reader customers could read their Sony e-books on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

Amazon has its Kindle app. Barnes & Noble the Nook app. And Kobo has a Kobo app. But somehow Sony's Reader app remained conspicuously absent from the Apple App Store (a free Reader app for Android devices has been available for months).

Not anymore. I got an e-mail today from the Sony Reader Store Team announcing that it had launched "Reader for your iPhone, iPad and iPod."

No … Read more

I think I might need a support group -- I seem to be hooked on gadget snuff films.

The latest one from my hookup, the device warranty outfit SquareTrade, sees a third-generation iPad, the iPad Mini, and the Google Nexus 7 being methodically abused to see which holds up best.

The real development in this latest in a long series of face-off videos is the use of a new "drop-bot" that helps ensure a more fair drop of each device. In the past, the fate of each tortured device seemed to depend on a randomly determined point of … Read more

The iPad we know and love seemed to vanish yesterday.

Call it the featherweight KO'ing the heavyweight. On the first day of sales, the 312-gram Mini knocked the 652-gram fourth-generation iPad into quick obscurity.

I knew there was a problem when I had to explain to people asking me about the iPad Mini that there was also this thing called the gen 4 (gen 3.5 may actually be more accurate) iPad.

And some stores weren't exactly aware of the new iPad either. A sales rep at a certain large U.S. retail store (which will go unnamed) … Read more