Your Android tablet sucks. At least compared with what’s coming. Later this year we’ll see the release of three new Systems on Chip (SoC). SoC is simply the name used for the collection of silicon that makes up the brains of the tablet and includes the CPU, GPU (graphics processing unit), onboard memory, and other …

Futuremark’s 3DMark benchmark uses an impressive graphics engine to stress your tablet’s or smartphone’s GPU to its limits. Screenshot by Eric Franklin/CNET As a lifelong gamer, 3D performance (and by “3D” I mean polygonal, not stereoscopic) in tablets is something of particular interest to me. Over the last couple of years, I’ve watched mobile devices increase in performance, getting closer …

Now playing: Watch this: Asus PadFone Infinity turns phone to tablet 1:30 BARCELONA, Spain–Given the highly successful year tablets enjoyed in 2012, their overall dismal showing at CES was that much more of a disappointment. I came in expecting to see 2013’s “Nexus 7” (not the actutal next Nexus 7, but another small, awesome tablet) and Transformer Infinity. Instead, tablets …

Yes. Soon your smartphone will replace your keys. Exciting and actually a bit scary. Sarah Tew/CNET BARCELONA, Spain–NFC (near field communication) technology has been around for some time now, but as of yet it’s failed to hit a level of ubiquity in our devices that would galvanize more businesses to adopt it. That, however, is changing fast. NFC invades Mobile …

Eric Franklin/CNET BARCELONA, Spain–Not content with dual- or even quad-core CPUs, Samsung has upped the ante with its Exynos 5 Octa. Announced at CES 2013, the Octa is the latest iteration of the Exynos line and will likely begin powering Samsung’s tablets in the next few months. The Nexus 10 seats the current most powerful Samsung CPU, the Exynos 5 …

Today Canonical, makers of the Linux-based Ubuntu OS, unveiled Ubuntu for tablets. Specifically targeting those of the Nexus variety. The OS will be available for the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 beginning Thursday. Owners of the Nexus 4 and Galaxy Nexus smartphones will receive access to the OS on the same day and the OS will be featured at Mobile …

Much thought goes into evaluating the quality of a given tablet here at CNET. From the way it feels in your hands, to the speed in which you can access your favorite Web site, to the frame rates you can expect when playing games, in the end, all the pieces matter. And while it’s difficult to empirically evaluate the feel …

Writing gets better with the latest Android update. Josh Miller/CNET Today Samsung announced that its Galaxy Tab 2 tablets and Galaxy Note 10.1 would receive Android 4.1 Jelly Bean updates. Samsung, rather than including only cosmetic or back-end changes that you’ll never actually see, has added a number of useful-sounding (that’s a Youtube video link if you’d rather not read …

Eric Franklin/CNET Life in the tablet category used to be simple. There were 7-inchers and 10-inchers and comparisons only occurred within each tablet’s size category. This year however, Apple, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble have successfully muddied the once-clear waters by respectfully releasing 7.9-inch, 8.9-inch, and 9-inch tablets. So how do they compare? Let’s find out. Screen The iPad Mini’s …

The Nexus 10’s battery is a bit disappointing compared with what the iPad offers. Eric Franklin/CNET With all the hoopla about the relative graphics performance of the fourth-generation iPad and the Nexus 10, it’s easy to forget another important performance metric: battery life. Battery life dictates how long you can actually use the unit before it requires a recharge, so …