Tech & Gadget Stream

Do you remember Sony's Vaio computers? Those stylish, pricy PCs that quietly disappeared when Sony sold off the brand last year? Vaio, now its own company, is returning to the US today with its first new computer. And surprise: It's a tablet. Not just any tablet, though. Starting at $2,199, the new Vaio Z Canvas is a full Windows 10 computer with a detachable keyboard, a battery-powered stylus, and enough horsepower to run photo and video editing software as well as for creating 2D and 3D animation. Vaio says it squeezes the equivalent performance of a 15-inch MacBook Pro into its 12-inch frame, including a Core i7 processor, up to 16GB of memory and 1TB of PCIe solid-state storage -- plus a super high-res 2,560x1,704-pixel display with a tall 3:2 aspect ratio so you can see an entire dSLR photo without cropping or letterboxing. Doesn't that sound like Microsoft's Surface Pro 3? Sure -- but Vaio's new slate is laser-focused on artists. The screen is bright, vib...

Google’s high-end Pixel range just expanded. At today’s Nexus Event, Sundar Pichai announced the new Pixel C, a 10.2-inch tablet with USB-C that starts at $499. And instead of running Chrome OS, this Pixel runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Like so many of today’s reveals, much about the Pixel C recently leaked. However, that doesn’t make it any less interesting. The new Pixel eschews the Chromebook form factor that Google used in the original Chromebook in 2013and the more recent refresh. Instead, as a large tablet, it has a lot more in common with the Surface and iPad Pro. (Microsoft clearly was onto something.) Under the hood, the device has an Nvidia Tegra X1 processor and 3GB of RAM, which Google says makes it powerful enough to handle work and entertainment. Onstage, Google took time to highlight how the keyboard will work with tablet. The accessory doesn’t need a kickstand and can be adjusted from 100 to 135 degrees. It also connects via Bluetooth, so Google boasts it doesn’t h...

Asus's new Eee Pad is caught in pictures, and this time the Eee Pad tablet sheds its Intel processor in favor of the dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 chipset.  The tablet also runs Windows 7 embedded and has a battery life of around 4.5 hours. WiFi, memory card slot, Bluetooth, HDMI, USB, and a 0.3-megapixel webcam round out the specs for this tablet.

A new trademark filing by Google has been discovered, just in time to get tongues wagging before the weekend. According to the report, Google has trademarked the term "Speedbook" under computer hardware, so speculation is that it could refer to an upcoming tablet or netbook powered by Google's upcoming Chrome OS. No actual details on what the Speedbook might be have been mentioned just yet, so until Google decides to tell us what it is, we can only guess and dream.

Heard of Redstar before? Perhaps not, as we haven't till today, but the Japanese-based company has begun to receive pre-orders of their own Shogo Linux-powered tablet. This 10.1-inch tablet device will be powered by a Freescale iMX-37 processor, featuring a 1024 × 600 resolution with multi-touch capability, 4GB of internal memory, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, 3G support just in case there aren't any Wi-Fi networks around, Zigbee, an SDHC memory card slot and 256MB RAM. No idea on whether this will arrive Stateside or not, but if it does, it looks set to live a pretty tough life since there isn't any back-end software support such as Android Market or the App Store to prolong its usefulness.

Folks who were looking forward to getting hold of the Windows 7-powered ExoPC were probably disappointed when it was confirmed that the tablet was to be delayed by several months. Well, time has passed, and now the company has confirmed that it’s planning to accept its first pre-orders for the device from September 3rd, and are having the first 1,200 orders shipped out on September 30th. The rebadged partner slate, dubbed the Ciara Vibe, will be going up for retail in Canada from October 15th.

We've seen the Apple tablet rumor go by, and we've been following this since the patent was filed, including the recent rumors. However, some are saying that Apple’s tablet could be a "kindle" (or kindle dx) killer, and that's a little bit more curious. For sure, a tablet computer would have many advantages over an eBook and Apple can probably put up a good fight on the distribution side, but the real question is the battery life and the display. Such a tablet probably won't last for more than 3-4 hours of continuous use, so one has to wonder if that's good enough to act as an efficient eBook. For some users, naybe, but for hardcore readers it is not so certain. Also, reading on an LCD display arguably strains the eyes more than reading on an eBook. We think that it will take an eBook (with color e-Ink) and a great distribution system to Kill the Kindle.

Wacom's PL-900 is unique as this 19" LCD display also doubles up as a tablet, flexing Wacom's muscles when it comes to digital tablets. This display is equipped with a digital pen that allows users to write, annotate and even navigate directly without the help of a mouse. You will get a SXGA resolution of 1,280 x 1,024 pixels in the anti-glare display, making it easy on your eyes even after sitting in front of it for hours. Other features include DVI-I input and DVI-I output connectivity, a wireless and battery-free pen that offers 512 pressure levels and has a programmable double side-switch. The Wacom PL-900 is compatible with both Mac OS and Windows platforms and will retail for £1,249.99 ($1,785) after taxes, accompanied by a two-year warranty.