It takes a special kind of alchemy to make a great tablet. Even mediocre tablets require a certain finesse of software and aesthetic. The screen, the right Android OS, the placement of the buttons, the cameras, and the connections all have to come together in the right way, and at the right price. Sometimes, though, …

I’m spending the morning reading over CNET UK’s Motorola Xoom 2 review, because frankly, that’s all I can do. Currently, Motorola has no official plans to ship their relatively affordable, Wi-Fi-only Xoom 2 to the U.S. Instead, we get the Motorola Droid Xyboard–a nearly identical series of tablets available through Verizon on a two-year commitment. Why Motorola and Verizon decided …

After September’s Kindle Fire announcement from Amazon.com, it was only a matter of time before rival bookseller Barnes & Noble retaliated with a new e-book-friendly tablet. Update, November 18 at 1:12 p.m. PT: CNET’s rated reviews of the Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet are now available. The following text has been updated to reflect the observations …

Now playing: Watch this: Kindle Fire: your questions answered 34:42 No matter how inexpensive Amazon.com makes its Kindle Fire tablet, it’s no good to you if it doesn’t do what you want. In this blog post, I’m rounding up all the questions I’ve received from CNET readers about the Kindle Fire and answering them to the best of my knowledge. …

Now playing: Watch this: Amazon Kindle Fire 2:44 Writing CNET’s official review of the Kindle Fire was probably the toughest assignment I’ve had all year. This is a tablet that wears its price tag like a bulletproof vest. The standby criticisms don’t work. Holding it up to an iPad, I may as well be comparing a Vespa to a Mercedes. …

The Amazon Kindle Fire vs. the Barnes & Noble Nook Color. Amazon Update (11/07/11): You can find a comparison between the Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet on CNET’s Android Atlas. The following piece compares the Kindle Fire to Barnes & Noble’s older touch screen reader, the Nook Color. In the aftermath of Amazon’s Kindle Fire announcement, …

The Velocity Micro Cruz T408 and T410 Android tablets. Donald Bell/CNET Update, Oct. 10, 2011: Velocity Micro has dropped the MSRP of the Cruz T408 to $199. There are a ton of low-cost tablets out there, many produced by fly-by-night brands, never to be seen from again. We’ve covered a few of them here at CNET and in most cases …

Now playing: Watch this: Toshiba Thrive 7″ Tablet 1:34 Toshiba is tossing a new 7-inch Honeycomb tablet into the fray this December, hot on the heels of the 10-inch tablet it launched in July. Pricing is yet to be determined, but with the original Thrive floating out there at around $400, let’s hope this little guy comes in under that. …

Samsung’s answer to the iPod Touch (or perhaps the Dell Streak) may finally be hitting U.S. shores. In fact, Samsung has two of these nontablet, nonphones lined up to go on sale in the U.S. starting October 16. Samsung Galaxy Player 4 and 5 (photos) +10 more See all photos Named after their respective screen sizes, the Galaxy Player 4.0 …

Now playing: Watch this: Sony Tablet S 2:05 As of today, Sony’s Android 3.2 Tablet S is shipping across North America. The target audience: Apple-averse tablet fans with $500 to $600 to spend on a tablet newcomer (minus the 500,000 or so potential customers that bought discontinued HP TouchPads). OK, honestly, I have no idea who these people are. If …