Tablet Computer

Apple's iPad at $499, Amazon's Kindle Fire at $199 and the HP TouchPad at $99. How about a tablet computer for $35 with hope of an eventual $10 price tag? India on Wednesday unveiled the Aakash, which means "sky" in Hindi, and billed it as the world's least-expensive tablet. The plan is to distribute thousands of the computers in coming months to students at a government-subsidized rate of $35. It has taken several years to develop, faced a lot of skepticism and received help from taxpayers given the state's actual cost of around $50. But the Aakash offers the promise of computing to millions of people in rural India who seem to be living more in the 19th century than the 21st.

Re "iPads in school: toy or tool?," Column, April 28 As a 68-year-old man who reads your paper cover to cover every day, I have to say that Steve Lopez's skepticism about providing iPads to schoolchildren is misplaced. That I can now download books allows me to read more of them in a year then I had in the previous five before I had a tablet computer. If this device affects my old habits, I can't believe it won't help create more excitement for learning in young minds. Ed Sinderman Porter Ranch At Palms Middle School in the Los Angeles Unified School District, where I am the principal, we started purchasing iPads three years ago for the classroom.

A Los Angeles maker of kid-oriented products is suing Toys R Us Inc. for allegedly ripping off its business plan to sell a tablet computer geared for children. In a suit filed in federal court in San Diego, Fuhu Inc. accuses the toy giant of stealing trade secrets and trademark information to launch its own $150 tablet called Tabeo, which will hit store shelves next month. Last holiday season, Fuhu sold a similar tablet called Nabi exclusively through Toys R Us before terminating the agreement in January.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is set to unveil a tablet computer for public schools on Monday at the SXSWedu education technology conference in Austin, Texas, Bloomberg reports . The $299, 10-inch tablet is the brainchild of Amplify, News Corp.'s education division, which is fronted by former New York City schools chancellor (and current News Corp. executive vice president) Joel Klein. A 2-year subscription will cost $99 per year.  A 4G model will also be available for $349, for students without Wi-Fi at home, at an annual cost of $179.  The device will come loaded with curriculum materials and apps, including a graphing calculator, the Encyclopedia Britannica, and Merriam-Webster's dictionary.

Toys R Us Inc. is stepping into the heated tablet-computer wars with a $150 version for kids — including Wi-Fi connectivity, extensive parental control features and 50 pre-loaded apps that include popular games such as "Angry Birds" and "Fruit Ninja. " But will kids want it and parents buy it? "You can jam 50 apps into this and make it an overwhelming value," said toy industry analyst Sean McGowan. "But at the end of the day, kids may decide it's not cool and it's either Apple or nothing.

With roughly 25 million adults in America now owning an iPad or other tablet computer, a new survey shows that the early adopters are using the devices to follow the news even more than they use them for social networking, gaming, reading books or watching videos. That seems to be a positive development for the U.S. news industry, but it comes with a nettlesome corollary: The majority of tablet enthusiasts say they don't want to pay to get access to news and other information, according to research by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Amazon.com Inc. unveiled its first tablet computer with a host of functions and features that allow it to do nearly everything the iPad can do — but at less than half the cost. Called the Kindle Fire, the device may quickly become the strongest competitor yet to the iPad, analysts said. Barely 18 months after Apple Inc. released the first iPad, tablet computers are a nearly $30-billion industry, with the iPad accounting for almost 80% of the market. The Fire, introduced Wednesday by Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, is aimed at attracting consumers who want a tablet but can't afford the iPad and its other pricier competitors.

Santa arrived early for Apple Inc. shareholders: The stock surged $6.94, or 3.4%, on Thursday to close at a record high of $209.04. That topped the previous closing high of $207 on Nov. 17. The buzz continues to build about the company's widely anticipated -- albeit unconfirmed -- tablet computer. The Financial Times reported that Apple has rented a stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco in late January, most likely for a product announcement. An Apple tablet, which some speculate might be called the "iPad," is expected to be a cross between the iPhone, with its touch-sensitive screen and numerous useful applications, and the Amazon Kindle reading device, with its much larger screen.

Superintendent John Deasy wants to buy every teacher and student in Los Angeles Unified School District a tablet computer within a year or two - 700,000 of the electronic devices, he figures - and pay for it with bonds that were passed by voters to build, repair and update school facilities. Deasy isn't the only one eager to use bond money to buy tablets, though L.A. Unified's purchase would be uniquely ambitious in its size and reach. In fact, though the legality is somewhat sketchy, this is becoming as much a trend as starting up charter schools.

Both Verizon Wireless and its mobile rival AT&T announced Thursday that the companies' chains of thousands of U.S. retail stores will sell Apple Inc.'s iPad tablet computer starting Oct. 28, in time for the holiday buying season. The simultaneous announcements raised the stakes in the longtime feud between AT&T, exclusive wireless carrier of the iPhone and iPad, and Verizon, which has long been rumored to be next in line for Apple's popular mobile devices. Verizon's 2,000 stores will not carry versions of the iPad that work on the 3G wireless network.

USC tight end Junior Pomee is facing felony charges of burglary, grand theft and possession of stolen goods after being arrested last week near the campus on suspicion of receiving stolen property, officials said Wednesday. Pomee, 21,  was arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen goods by officers with USC's Department of Public Safety on Jan. 29 at 2:45 a.m. near 642 28th St., Los Angeles Police Sgt. Rudy Lopez said. Two days later, Pomee was charged with five felony counts, including burglary, grand theft and three counts of receiving stolen goods including an iPad, an iPad Mini and iPhone 5, court records show.

Watching the Super Bowl used to mean sitting in front of a TV, captive to whatever the network decided to show. Not anymore, thanks to a slew of apps that not only can turn a smartphone into a substitute for the TV but also provide an interactive experience -- all from the comfort of your living room couch. Watching on a phone or tablet Although the ideal way to watch the Super Bowl is on big-screen TV, you can also easily watch it on a smartphone or tablet computer. That's a good option to have in case you're running late to a Super Bowl party or someone decides to switch the channel to the Puppy Bowl.

Getting delayed at an airport may be less of a headache in the future if you are traveling with a smartphone, laptop or tablet computer. The Federal Communications Commission said it is increasing by 35% the availability of high-speed wireless Internet at airports, convention centers and conference hubs. Internet users will be able to access faster Wi-Fi, and that means more portable devices will be able to stream high-definition movies and television. The effort was announced by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

6:04 p.m.: Lenovo is turning a lot of heads Sunday with the introduction of a new computing form factor. It's being called Ideacentre , and basically it's a 27-inch tablet that lies flat and allows multiple users at the same time. The multitouch interface is a Linux-based operating system. By tilting the Ideacentre, it switches over to Windows 8 and the operating system's live tile user interface. FULL COVERAGE: CES 2013 The Ideacentre goes on sale this summer and is expected to cost from $999 to $1,700, depending on the configuration.

SAN LUIS OBISPO - Jake Devincenzi was thrilled to get his hands on Google's new Nexus 4 smartphone. He admired its sleek black case and large touch screen - and he couldn't wait to tear it apart. In a small room cluttered with discarded computer parts, Devincenzi picked up a blue plastic stylus and eased the tool into a seam on the side of the phone as three co-workers watched. Minutes later, a pop. The tear-down had begun. "We're in," he said, and grinned. Each time Devincenzi plucked a part from the Nexus 4, he took a high-resolution photo and posted it online.

If you're searching for ways to keep your cellphone, GPS device and sometimes tablet computer handy on car trips without having to drill holes, sacrifice cup holders or rely on suction cups, Satechi's new ST-TP01 Car Holder Mount gets a different grip. The adjustable cradle grabs devices from 5 inches to 10 inches long -- which means most smartphones, readers, tablets and GPS units, which can be rotated to horizontal or vertical mode. The cradle swivels out from a weighted suction/pressure gripper that locks onto the top of the dashboard, rather than the window, so the electronic device hogs neither the view nor the cup holder.

I have tried — really tried — to fall in love with the iPad. I've spent hours trying it out. Reading, browsing, gaming. Watching movies. I've trawled Apple's website for killer apps. Conferred with the blue-shirted geniuses at my local Apple store about the wonders of the tablet-enabled lifestyle. I've checked out the favorite apps of my iPad-equipped friends, and tried to conjure every way I might use the iPad for health, happiness and profit. But it's not happening.

News Corp. is pulling the plug on its high-profile but money-losing digital-only news magazine The Daily on Dec. 15. The company created the product as an application for the iPad to try to compete in the digital age. But The Daily was unable to keep pace with more established print titles. "The brand will live on in other channels," News Corp. said in a statement. The technology used for the application and some staff will be folded into the company's print tabloid the New York Post.

Good for the committee that oversees bond expenditures for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Someone had to slow down Supt. John Deasy's headlong rush to put a tablet computer or similar device in the hands of every student and teacher in the district - 700,000 pieces of digital equipment at a cost of about $450 million, not counting more than $200 million (and possibly twice that much) to update campuses for wireless Internet service. The bond oversight committee put the brakes on this poorly planned effort Wednesday when Deasy's request for a first-phase infusion of $17.4 million in school bond money fell short by one vote.