The iPad 3 is unlikely to look much different from an iPad 2. Apple This isn’t our first rodeo. The wild, often contradictory rumors that precede an Apple product unveiling would have you thinking that the iPad 3 could take just about any form or shape. But really, so long as you don’t get hung …

Now playing: Watch this: Asus Transformer Prime vs. Apple iPad 2 6:08 We all know the iPad 2. Sure, it’s great, but it’s about time someone cut that smug slate down to size. You know, give it the ol’ sucker punch before the iPad 3 comes out and turns us into drooling fanboys again. The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime …

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 (left) and Galaxy Note. Donald Bell/CNET Samsung’s prolific output of Android tablets can be confusing to navigate. Honestly, I have a hard time keeping them straight myself, and it’s my job. Samsung has no fewer than seven tablets that are either available now, or on their way. And that’s not even counting Wi-Fi-only and cellular …

A purported iPad 3 back casing has turned up at Repair Labs, matching up with many of the improvements Apple is rumored to be developing for the next generation of the company’s successful tablet. Among the details offered by the metal housing is a new, smaller shape for the internal logic board. This would mean that the current A5 processor-based …

Splish splash, the Element takes a bath. James Martin/CNET The world is a dangerous place for a tablet. One slip or spill, and your precious slate is sunk. The Pantech Element, out now on AT&T for $299 on contract, is here to relieve you of your worry. Its solid, waterproof design can handle up to a meter of water, so …

Want a tablet that does something the iPad can’t? You’ve come to the right place. Josh P. Miller When you’re up against the Apple iPad, you need more than just a cool name and a low price. You need a hook. You need a feature that no one else has–not even Apple. Whether it’s the waterproof design of the Pantech …

One of the quickest ways to make me nostalgic is to talk about the pre-iPhone days–the days when MP3 players still mattered. While today’s biggest forum battles all seem to revolve around Android versus iOS, there was a time when the mere mention of iPod earbuds would send us all into frothy fits of anger. Everyone, it seemed, cared deeply …

Amazon’s latest software update for the Kindle Fire tablet (version 6.2.2) is now officially available as a free, over-the-air update. Along with some general performance tweaks, the update gives users improved support for manually setting up e-mail providers in the tablet’s Email app, as well as a new full-screen mode for Amazon’s Silk Web browser. I recommend the update, and …

Yesterday, Tech Republic published a great editorial making the case that Android tablets are a failure. I don’t entirely agree, but as we head into CES 2012, one thing is certain: there will be no more talk of Android 3.0 (aka Honeycomb) as anything other than a disappointment. The future of Android, for tablet and smartphone alike, is Android 4.0, …

An embarrassing number of tablets from 2011 should never have been made. No one was safe, not even big manufacturers like HP and RIM. In hindsight, it might have been smarter for some companies to just put their half-baked designs back in the oven. Sure, it might cause some short-term embarrassment. Stockholders would be left puzzled. Products would miss their …