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tablets - page 2

Microsoft revamps Skype in a bid to do battle with iMessage

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Skype's overhaul is coming to iPhone soon.
Skype's overhaul is coming to iPhone soon.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft is rolling out a complete top-to-bottom overhaul of Skype in an effort to do battle with the likes of iMessage and Snapchat.

Its revamped service combines familiar Skype features like instant messaging and international calling with third-party service integration, improved group chat, and photo sharing with the ability to add annotations and emoji stickers.

Laptop and tablet flight ban could be expanded worldwide

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Emirates
Emirates is one of the airlines currently affected by the ban.
Photo: Emirates

The current ban on laptops and tablets in carry-on luggage from 10 different airports could be extended internationally, a new report claims.

The U.S. government has held high-level discussions with officials from the European Union, with both sides deciding “to intensify talks.” The U.S. is said to be more enthusiastic about the possible ban than their European counterparts.

Microsoft takes aim at iPad with new Surface Pro

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The Surface Pro looks slick.
The Surface Pro looks slick.
Photo: Microsoft

The iPad Pro is getting some fresh competition from Microsoft after the company just took the wraps off its newest tablet, the Surface Pro.

It’s been over 16 months since Microsoft’s would-be iPad-killer was last updated. Although its the 5th version of Microsoft’s tablet, this go around the company decided to ditch the number suffixes and pack the Surface Pro with more features than ever before.

Laptop and tablet ban on flights from Europe won’t happen after all

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Emirates
Emirates is one of the airlines affected by the ban.
Photo: Emirates

The Trump administration won’t be expanding its ban on the use of laptops, tablets and other large electronic devices to flights entering the United States from European airports, after all.

U.S. and EU officials reportedly decided against a ban on laptops and tablets in cabin baggage on flights from Europe, although “other measures” designed to keep passengers safe are still being weighed up.

Laptop and tablet ban on planes may expand to cover flights from Europe

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Emirates
Ban came on the back of plot involving bomb disguised as an iPad.
Photo: Emirates

The Trump administration is reportedly considering expanding its ban on the use of laptops, tablets and other large electronic devices to flights entering the United States from European airports.

The ban is already in place for travelers flying from 10 Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Microsoft tops Apple in tablet satisfaction rankings

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Microsoft Surface to take on iPad
The Surface Pro 4 is starting to catch on.
Photo: Microsoft

For the first time ever, Microsoft has beaten the iPad in J.D. Power’s latest tablet satisfaction rankings that found the Surface has a higher number of younger customers than its competitors.

Apple has dominated J.D. Power’s rankings over the last few years, but according to the popular ranking service, Microsoft’s offerings were just a little bit better thanks to best-in-class design, productivity and accessory use.

Godfather of Android teases new bezel-free smartphone

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xiaomi-mi-mix
Essential Products' first smartphone may look a bit like this.
Photo: Xiaomi

Bezel-free screens are set to become the biggest trend in Android smartphones this year, if a new teaser from the creator of Android is any indicator.

Former Google employee and godfather of Android, Andy Rubin, tweeted an image this afternoon hinting at the smartphone he’s been working on at his new company. You can only see a corner of the screen, but it looks pretty intriguing.

Take a look:

U.S. bans laptops and tablets on flights from 10 airports

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Emirates
Emirates is one of the airlines affected by the ban.
Photo: Emirates

The U.S. has confirmed a ban on laptops, tablets and other large electronics on flights from 10 international airports throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

These devices can be carried in checked baggage, but they’re no longer allowed in the passenger cabin. The U.K. is set to announce a similar ban shortly.

Superscreen turns almost any phone into a tablet

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And it's affordable!
And it's affordable!
Photo: Transcendent Designs

Your iPhone is packing all the power it needs to be a tablet; it’s just lacking the big screen. But a team of designers and inventors from California are hoping to change that.

Superscreen harnesses the power of your smartphone and wirelessly turns it into a tablet. It has its own speakers and headphone jack, built-in Bluetooth connectivity, and it uses 70 percent less battery life than your phone itself.

WikiLeaks vows to share CIA ‘cyberweapons’ so tech firms can fix holes

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Wikileaks'
Wikileaks' "Vault 7" data dump allegedly reveals CIA hacking tools used to compromise iPhones, Android phones and other devices.
Image: Gordon Johnson/Pixabay

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has vowed to give technology firms like Apple access to the CIA’s “cyberweapons” arsenal so they can develop fixes that make our devices more secure.

Earlier this week, thousands of leaked documents and files revealed the full extent of the CIA’s cyber attacks on smartphones, computers and even smart TVs. WikiLeaks says the spy agency has lost control of it all in a “historic act of devastating incompetence.”

Apple trashes printers in new iPad Pro ad

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No printer, no problem.
No printer, no problem.
Photo: Apple

Apple wants you to replace your printer with an iPad Pro.

In the company’s latest ad touting the iPad Pro as the perfect laptop replacement, Apple takes aim at the hassles of having to use a printer.

Created in the same vein as Apple’s last batch of iPad Pro commercials, the new ad features a real tweet complaining about having to print personal stuff at work. Apple’s solution is simple: get an iPad.

Eat off an iPad at this fancy San Francisco restaurant

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ipad-truffles
Truffles served on an iPad plate.
Photo: Richie Nakano

A restaurant in San Francisco has begun serving food on iPads. Quince is using the popular tablets as plates in an apparent effort to appeal to younger diners. Each iPad plays a video of a water dog searching for truffles while you eat your meal off its screen.

Seriously.

Blips sticker turns your iPhone into a microscope

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BLIPS_00_HD
Get closer to your subject with Blips.
Photo: Blips

Place your iPhone’s camera too close to your subject and it loses its ability to focus, but not if you turn it into a microscope. That’s possible with a simple Blips sticker that’s placed over your iPhone’s camera lens — and you can preorder yours right now.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick is fed up with Microsoft Surface tablets

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Patriot's head coach Bill Belichick slams Microsoft tablet during game.
Patriot's head coach Bill Belichick slams Microsoft tablet during game.
Photo: NFL

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is giving up on the NFL’s experiment putting Surface tablets on the sidelines during football games.

The usually tight-lipped coach unleashed a five-minute rant against Microsoft’s bug-ridden tablets during a press conference today. Belichick said he just can’t deal with the Surface’s problems anymore, so he’s calling an audible and going back to good old paper and three-ring binders.

Microsoft Surface ad mocks iPad Pro’s big ambitions

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iPad-Pro-vs-Surface-Pro-ad
Microsoft wants you to know the iPad can't replace your PC.
Photo: Microsoft

Apple desperately wants the iPad to replace your computer, but it can’t carry out everyday computer tasks as well as some other tablets can. Microsoft highlights that by mocking the iPad Pro’s computer dream in its new Surface Pro 4 ad.

The ultimate PC replacement? Wacom Companion 2 [Reviews]

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Wacom_3
A tablet that I can actually work on.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro was titled the ‘Ultimate PC replacement’ by Apple, and for a lot of people it is. But for myself, mainly working within the creative world designing graphics, editing videos and conjuring up visual effects — this isn’t really possible on the iPad Pro yet.

But I think I’ve found the solution in the form of Wacom’s latest tablet, the Cintiq Companion 2.

Check out my full video review below.

Apple remains No. 1 PC maker, despite falling sales

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Sell your MacBook to us, even if it's busted.
Apple reigns as the top PC maker, but it's a crumbling market.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has once again been named the No. 1 seller of PCs, based on shipments of just over 14 million units in the first three months of 2016.

The study comes courtesy of independent analysts Canalys, which claim that worldwide PC shipments — which it defines as being desktops, notebooks, two-in-ones and tablets — totaled 101 million units this quarter. That means that, broadly speaking, seven out of every 50 PCs sold bore the Apple brand.

Amazon CEO teases top-of-the-line Kindle coming next week

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Amazon is on fire.
Jeff Bezos hopes the new Kindle is not like the Fire Phone.
Photo: Amazon

Looking for a new tablet but don’t need all the whiz-bang features that come with Apple’s pricey new iPad Pro?

Amazon may have just what you need when it reveals the 8th-generation Kindle next week. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos teased the new tablet on Twitter today, giving readers a heads-up on something wonderful coming their way.

Everything we know about the new 9.7-inch iPad

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Get ready to meet the iPad Pro's smaller sibling.
Get ready to meet the iPad Pro's smaller sibling.
Photo: Apple

The iPad Air lineup hasn’t been updated since October 2014 but that is finally set to change on March 21st when Apple is expected to unveil a new 9.7-inch iPad that will undoubtedly be the best tablet to ever come out of Cupertino.

Thanks to a flurry of rumors and leaks over the winter we have a pretty solid idea what Tim Cook and company will reveal when Apple loops us in at 1 Infinite Loop. If you want Apple’s first keynote of 2016 to be a surprise, stop reading now.

Here’s everything to expect from Apple’s new iPad:

‘Leaked’ schematic reveals changes coming to iPad Air 3

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iPad Air 3 will pick up some tricks from the iPad Pro.
iPad Air 3 will pick up some tricks from the iPad Pro.
Photo: Apple

The upcoming iPad Air 3 might look a lot like the new iPad Pro, only a bit smaller, according to a purported new leak.

The update to the Air line could be coming down the pipeline as soon as March, and it appears that the refreshed tablet could come with four-speaker audio.

Microsoft’s tablets are eating away at iPad sales

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Put your hands on me.
Microsoft is taking the tablet fight to Apple.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple might have once owned the tablet market, but Microsoft is making rapid advances in sales — and may even be approaching iPad numbers by 2019, according to a new “Tablet Operating System Forecast” report by Strategy Analytics.

Summarizing the first nine months of 2015, and extrapolating the trends to try and predict the next few years, the report reveals how sales of Windows tablets are up 58 percent compared to 2014, and are on track to sell 22 million this year. That’s 10 percent of the market, compared to Apple’s 22 percent.