Apple, Tablet Computer | featured news

Steve Jobs was receptive to Apple Inc making a smaller tablet, a senior executive said in a 2011 email revealed on Friday, fanning speculation that Apple plans to make a mini-iPad and take on Google and Amazon products.

Two tech titans will square off in federal court Monday in a closely watched trial over control of the U.S. smartphone and computer tablet markets. Apple Inc. filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co. last year alleging the world's largest technology company's smartphones and computer tablets are illegal knockoffs of its popular iPhone and iPad products. The Cupertino-based company is demanding $2.5 billion in damages, an award that would dwarf the largest patent-related verdict to date.

Apple has paid $60 million to settle a dispute in China over ownership of the iPad name, a court announced Monday, removing a potential obstacle to sales of the popular tablet computer in the key Chinese market.

Anticipating huge demand for the Apple iPad mini – a device that the company has yet to announce – Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves today upped his EPS forecast for the September 2013 fiscal year to $55 a share from $53.

A judge late Tuesday ordered Samsung Electronics Co. to halt sales of its Galaxy 10.1 tablet computer while the court considers Apple's claim the South Korean tech giant illegally copied the design of the popular iPad.

In its biggest-ever push into the hardware business, Microsoft unveiled a tablet computer called Surface that is designed to challenge Apple’s iPad. At an event here, the company showed off the device, which is about the same weight and thickness as an iPad, with a 10.6-inch screen. The tablet has a built-in “kickstand” that will allow users to prop it up for watching movies, and a detachable cover that will serve double duty as a keyboard.

The device, running a new version of the Windows operating system, would be the first computer of the company’s own design — and would be aimed squarely at Apple’s iPad.

Apple just unveiled a bunch of new iPhone and iPad features coming this fall in iOS 6, but no big surprises. The biggest new feature, as expected, is an entirely new Maps experience. Apple has taken over its maps back-end from Google, including a gorgeous 3D "flyover" mode, crowdsourced traffic information, Siri integration and turn-by-turn directions. (Public transit directions, a nice feature of Google Maps, seem to be missing. Perhaps Google will launch its own iOS Maps app now?)

The biggest new feature, as expected, is an entirely new Maps experience. Apple has taken over its maps back-end from Google, including a gorgeous 3D "flyover" mode, crowdsourced traffic information, Siri integration and turn-by-turn directions. (Public transit directions, a nice feature of Google Maps, seem to be missing. Perhaps Google will launch its own iOS Maps app now?)

Apple is rumored to be working on an iPad mini, or 7-inch tablet, and a recent post from iMore suggested that the smaller tablet could be slated for an October release. The blog cites an unnamed source who said that Apple might price its smaller tablet aggressively, to push out competitors.

Is the future of computers a hybrid gadget that will combine the battery life and computing heft of a laptop with the portability and ease-of-use of a tablet?