7-inch

Living with the iPad Mini: Three weeks and counting

OK, I'll admit it. The iPad Mini hasn't left my hands in the last three weeks. It's been no contest, really. While the larger fourth-gen iPad has sat alone by my bedside table, the Mini has gone on field trips on the bus, gotten dragged in my jacket pocket while I dropped my kid off at school, been coddled at the cafe over breakfast, and slipped alongside my laptop on work excursions.

As I predicted when I reviewed it, the Mini's had a hard time leaving my hands, because few places seem inappropriate for it. At a Kindle size, it's bedroom-friendly. It'll set up nicely on a kitchen counter. It slides into otherwise lesser-used front pockets on backpacks. And it might be the best gaming handheld Apple's ever made, based on the sheer size of the screen and its thin, two-hand-friendly frame.

But, what does that mean?… Read more

Prizefight: Apple iPad Mini vs. Google Nexus 7

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

Android tablets under $300

No matter how small or how affordable Apple can make the iPad, nothing can change the fact that it's a newcomer to the market of mini tablets.

Small, inexpensive Android tablets have been around for years and are finally hitting their stride. Through trial and error, manufacturers have figured out the sweet spot of features, design, and performance that seems to be resonating with customers.

What's more surprising is that the players in this space aren't the typical cast of characters that Apple is used to fighting. Sure, Samsung makes an appearance, but so does Amazon and … Read more

iPad Mini: What we expect

Editors' note, October 16, 2012: Updated after the release of Apple's October 23 invite.

There have been rumors of a smaller, 7-inch iPad since...well, since there was an iPad. The iPad Mini, as it's being called lately, initially seemed to some like a silly idea: why would you need a smaller iPad? It's actually a logical idea: make an iPad even more portable and more affordable than before. The only question is, when would such a product finally exist?

Now that Apple's sent invites for its next event, the iPad Mini seems to have become a very real product, yet we still know very little about it. Here are our best guesses.… Read more

Kindle Fire HD vs. Nexus 7: Which one is right for you?

When Amazon launched the original Kindle Fire in 2011, the $199 tablet was a surprise hit that reigned as one of the top budget tablet options. But that reign came to a dramatic end with the introduction of the Nexus 7, Google's flagship Android 4.1 tablet.

To keep things interesting, Amazon just upped the ante with a Kindle Fire HD, offering several key hardware improvements, overhauled software, and that same $199 price tag. And while it's not likely to send Google back to the drawing board, the Kindle Fire HD does offer an interesting alternative to the pure Android experience of the Nexus 7.

Which of these $199 tablets is right for you? It's a tough call, so let's weigh the pros and cons and check the specs.… Read more

Sylvania 7-inch Mini Tablet

The Sylvania 7-inch Mini tablet runs Android 2.1, has 512MB of RAM, and comes with 2GB of internal storage with microSD expansion.

It also includes two Micro-USB ports and an HDMI output, as well as built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. The screen sports a resolution of 800x480 pixels with a front-facing camera.

The tablet is currently difficult to find in stores and you may have better luck with the Pandigital SuperNova.

Steve Jobs: 7-inch tablets 'DOA' -- yeah, right

Steve Jobs' slander of the 7-inch tablet was, in effect, a nice bait-and-switch. One problem: rivals didn't take the bait.

Too much ink (yeah, me too) has been wasted on Job's proclamation against the viability of a 7-inch tablet (See Jobs' October 2010 comments below).

But that was hardly an absolute repudiation of a smaller tablet. Jobs' extemporaneous analysis of 7-inch tablets was merely a snapshot of what he was thinking on that day. Or maybe that month, at best -- as internal Apple e-mails now show.

Amazon, Samsung, and now Google have successfully ignored his sandpaper analogy (&… Read more

Here's Apple's e-mail thread about a 7-inch iPad

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- One of the highlights of Apple and Samsung's day in court today was the release of an internal e-mail in which top Apple executives discussed interest in a smaller version of the iPad.

This made up just a very small part of a cross-examination of Scott Forstall, Apple's head of iOS software at Apple, but it was enough to get the attention of just about everyone here.

At the heart of it is proof that some of the top executives at Apple were pursuing an alternate, smaller tablet -- something controversial given late Apple … Read more

Polaroid 7-inch Internet Tablet

The Polaroid 7-inch Internet Tablet runs Android 4.0 and is currently available on Amazon for $120 and from Target for $130. The tablet houses a Cortex A8 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage, which can be expanded to 32GB via the tablet's built-in microSD card slot.

It also includes a Micro-USB port and built-in 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. The screen sports a low resolution of 800x480 pixels and a front-facing video camera.

The tablet is being marketed as a low-cost minimalist device used for Web surfing and e-book reading. Don't expect … Read more

Rumor Has It: iPad Mini launching in October? (video)

June was cruel to the iPad, which saw its tablet competition grow fearsome.

Microsoft showed off its Surface tablet, which is aimed squarely at stealing iPad lovers away with the lure of its keyboard case (though without pricing, launch date, or any real details, it's hard to know if the iPad has anything to fear). Not to be left behind, Google took the wraps off its much-rumored and ballyhooed 7-inch Nexus Tablet. All that excitement was enough to wake the dead; in this case, it reanimated the iPad Mini rumor, which had been laid to rest.

Not anymore! Analysts … Read more