slate

The Android laptop is coming. Does that mean more market-share pain for Windows PCs?

Hewlett-Packard's upcoming notebook offerings speak for themselves. For $480, there's the SlateBook x2 Android "notebook". At $800, we have the Windows 8-based Split x2.

For me, the choice gets easier every time I pick up the Nexus 10 tablet that I've been using for the last month. In other words, if I'm spending about 50 percent of my time -- and doing limited-productivity stuff -- on the Nexus 10, it's not a giant leap to an Android laptop.

Nor … Read more

Walk into any Best Buy and you're hit with an ugly truth: PCs aren't pretty.

A 15-inch HP Windows 8 laptop that sells for $270 (Best Buy's "Deal of the Day" on Saturday) isn't meant to be pretty. It's meant to be practical.

But a $330 iPad Mini is also very practical for a lot of people. And pretty too (consumers and reviewers seem to think so). Pretty and practical are two reasons Apple can sell tens of millions of Minis.

Why bring this up? I was struck by a statement from an … Read more

Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman had a lot more to say about the company's new Android products than she did about Windows 8 during HP's second-quarter earnings conference call.

Whitman's remarks hinted at HP's newfound affinity for new operating systems, which includes Android of course.

"Using multiple operating systems, multiple architectures, and multiple form factors, we are moving quickly to product the devices that customers want," she said.

Then she proceeded to talk about new Android devices, with no mention of Windows 8.

"Following the launch of our first Chromebook in February, we launched … Read more

Hewlett-Packard has a newfound affinity for Android.

After announcing the Slate 7 in February, HP announced Tuesday that it is adding a second Android tablet, the SlateBook x2.

The SlateBook takes its well-received Envy x2 design and loads Android 4.2.2 and Nvidia's brand-new Tegra 4 chip inside a sleek 10.1-inch tablet that can double as a laptop.

An Android laptop, mind you, not a Chromebook.

"With an advanced magnetic hinge design and dual battery system -- one battery in the base and one in the tablet -- users can easily switch from notebook to tablet … Read more

At $170, you'd expect the HP Slate 7 to be stripped of a few features; however, HP takes this a bit too far. The Slate 7 includes only 8GB of storage, and it has no gyroscope, no GPS hardware, poor camera quality, a slightly (but significantly) older version of Android, and a low-resolution screen.

And even the unique features we do get have their drawbacks. MicroSD is great, but with so little storage to begin with, buying a storage card won't simply be an option but a necessity. And while Beats Audio enhancements work great on your headphones, … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- New app helps prevent Icelanders from sleeping with their relatives.

- Dudes: stop making the same face in every photo, or, a gentleman's guide to the selfie.

- Support 404 listener Jacob's run for Boston this weekend!… Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Electrosensitive community moving to a secluded town in Green Bank, Va.

- Facebook fixes comment threads for Pages and public figure.

- A promising 'Home' for the Facebook obsessed.

- Five ways to get more out of Facebook Home.

- Prepare a digital will for your Google accounts.

- Roger Ebert's Twitter lives on.

- Microsoft exec reportedly leaves job following testy Xbox tweets.… Read more

By some standards, the Microsoft Surface Pro is the best-ever hybrid of tablet and laptop, combining a full windows 8 OS with an Intel Core i5 CPU, and a best-in-class detachable keyboard cover.

But, at over $1,100 if you include a 128GB SSD and the keyboard, it's also very expensive, especially if a slim Windows 8 touch-screen ultrabook, Atom-powered tablet, or something non-Windows-based would work for your needs.

The following is a quick survey of the major alternatives to the Surface Pro, from other Core i5 tablets to Apple's new 128GB iPad.

Windows 8/Core i5 tablets (Example: Acer Iconia W700) … Read more