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Talking cat tries hard to make you laugh in Talking Tom Cat for iPad

Talking Tom Cat for iPad is a variation on the popular Talking Tom Cat app for iPhone. The basic app is available for free from iTunes, there are a number of add-ons and upgrades that cost between $0.99 and $24.99 each. Talking Tom Cat for iPad installs easily on the iPad.

Talking Tom Cat for iPad uses the same model as the other apps in the series. An animated tomcat appears on the screen. You say something and Tom repeats it with changes in voice and expressions. You can interact with the cat, such as patting his belly … Read more

CNET tablet battery life results

Editor's note:This list was originally posted on July 25 and is updated regularly.

Battery life testing is one of the last evaluations we subject tablets to at CNET Labs, but by no means is it the least valued. How long you can use your tablet is nearly as important as what it is you do while using it.

Our CNET labs testing standards ensure that all tablets, regardless of size, color, or operating system, are tested as close to equally as possible. Details on how we test tablets are included below the testing results chart. We've also … Read more

Moshi Concerti iPad case review: Plush, secure

Moshi's Concerti case for Apple's new iPad and iPad 2 is a popular item in CNET's San Francisco office, where it was passed around, lived with, and fought over at least once.

The $55 fold-over case has many charms, including a soft microfiber material and the ability to trigger the iPad's sleep/wake mode. The case keeps a strong grip on the iPad with a silicone sleeve, and has an elastic band to keep it more tightly bundled still.

The Concerti also has a couple of quirks that you can read all about in my full Moshi Concerti review.… Read more

Apple's new iPad arrives in 30 more countries this weekend

Cheerleaders for Apple's iPad can get out their pom-poms (and perhaps their passports). As of this weekend, the new iPad will be available in 30 more countries, including Brazil, Botswana, Cambodia, Malta, Mauritius, and Qatar, according to MacRumors.

Apple's Web site lists 13 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America and says, "the new iPad is arriving in these countries on May 11th." MacRumors did some further digging on the tech company's country-specific store pages and found that 17 other countries will be selling the tablet as of this weekend (see full list of new … Read more

Best screen protectors for iPad 3

The new iPad's glass screen is tough and scratch-resistant, but a lot of people still choose to buy a screen protector to be safe and potentially help cut down on glare.

The truth is, I don't know how necessary screen protectors really are, and many don't help with glare quite as much as they promise. "Film" protectors can be a challenge for many people to install and "bubble-free" protectors can reduce the crispness of the new iPad's Retina Display.… Read more

New iPad not quite running circles around iPad 2

At this point in the performance narrative of i...Things, I've gotten accustomed to each new iteration of the iPad or iPhone being demonstrably faster than the last. I'm not talking strictly about frame rates in games either. App load times, movie encoding, and app download speeds are all things that seem to noticeably improve with each new iOS device.

However, with the announcement that the new iPad's A5X processor would only see an upgrade in its graphical capabilities over the A5, I have to admit to being more than a bit disappointed.… Read more

New iPad, elder iPad 2 face off in deathly drop test

Your mind goes on a roller-coaster ride of shock and hope when you drop a tablet on a hard surface. Trust me. Hey, I even feel mental pain when I watch this video showing some spine-tingling (and senseless) iPad sacrifice.

In the vid, the new iPad and iPad 2 face off in a series of waist- and shoulder-high drop tests captured on video in a PR stunt by consumer electronics warranty company SquareTrade. The unscientific experiment features a group of curiously smiling people dropping iPads face down and face up on hard concrete. … Read more

Does the new iPad have a heat problem?

Heat has come up as an issue with previous generations of iPads. So, that's not news. But the new iPad may have, in select cases, its own unique heat problems.

User forum postings (here and here) and a report seem to point to heat as an issue for select users.

The problem area--based on forum links above--seems to be a hot-spot in the corner of the unit.

In the worst case, the iPad shuts down and a message pops up, saying "the iPad needs to cool down," according to a Next Web report (link above).

That seems … Read more

Apple offering up to $320 for iPad 2 trade-ins

New iPad buyers looking to palm off their iPad 2 tablets have yet another option, courtesy of Apple.

The company will give you an Apple Store gift card worth up to $320 in exchange for your iPad 2. That price tag is only for the highest-end 64GB Wi-Fi + 3G edition and assumes the unit is in good condition. But Apple will still float you some type of reward for lower-end models, even ones not in the best of health.

Crunching the numbers at the company's reuse and recycling program found the following deals for iPad 2 units with no … Read more

Here's who should buy the new iPad

These are the times that try men's souls.

Never has a tablet purchase so vexed the collective nerd consciousness of this great nation. And Apple doesn't make it easy, does it? Its "new" tablet looks a hell of a lot like the old one, only heavier! It's like Apple is toying with us.

But have no fear. Using a bracing mixture of logic and cheapskate wisdom, I'll walk you though this paralyzing first-world dilemma.

For the first-timers If you've never owned a tablet and you're considering the new iPad for your first … Read more