laptops - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• BYOD is as entrenched (and complicated) as ever

  The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend has been around for years now, and even though it's become a fixture at many companies, some IT shops are still grappling with how to make it work.

• Power to the portable: 3 high-performance mobile workstations

  When you're running a large-scale simulation or editing a professional video, you need more computing power than most laptops can give. In this roundup, we review three high-powered Windows mobile workstations.

• Digital nomad survival tips you can use anywhere

  Mike Elgan traveled over three continents in the past 18 months and has these tips for staying connected, keeping powered up and protecting your valuable gadgets from theft.

• Forget the high margins, Apple - cut iPad Mini prices

  Apple sold 14 per cent fewer iPads in the quarter that ended June 30 than in the same quarter last year, while the revenue from those sales plummeted by 27 per cent. The solution? Cut prices, say analysts.

• The lazy geek's guide to building a home media center

  Anything less than a DIY digital home entertainment project means making the most of Apple TV

• When in China, don't leave your laptop alone

  If you travel to China or Russia, assume government or industry spooks will steal your data and install spyware. Here's how to thwart them

• Four reasons why you don't really need a tablet PC

  Tablet PCs are the in thing right now. In fact, you'd be hard put to walk into any sort of electronics store today and not be bombarded with displays for the latest and greatest tablet. But are tablets all they're cracked up to be? Or has Apple and its uber popular iPad duped consumers into tablet envy, and its competitors into a mad scramble to develop their own "iPad rivals?"

• Apple iOS: Why it's the most secure OS, period

  In June 2007, Apple released the iPhone, and the device quickly took off to become a major brand in the smartphone market. Yet when the iPhone shipped, security on the mobile operating system was nearly nonexistent. Missing from the initial iOS (then called iPhone OS) were many of the security features that modern-day desktop software has as a matter of course, such as data-execution protection (DEP) and address-space layout randomization (ASLR). Apple's cachet lured security researchers to test the platform, and in less than a month, a trio had released details on the first vulnerability: an exploitable flaw in the mobile Safari browser.

• Why BlackBerry PlayBook is an ideal tablet for business

  The BlackBerry PlayBook is available for pre-order, and will be on the street in a matter of weeks. I am not sure the RIM tablet will see much consumer success, but then consumers have never been RIM's primary market. Consumer tablets aside, the PlayBook has some unique features that make it an ideal tablet from a business or IT admin perspective.

• The tablet is here to stay

  Tablets are hot. At the CTIA tradeshow in Orlando, FL, it seems like everyone and their mother is announcing a tablet.

• Tablet cameras: iPad 2 vs. Xoom vs. Galaxy Tab

  Odds are, if you ask anyone waiting in line for an iPad 2, they'll list plenty of reasons why they're lusting after Apple's latest camera(s)-equipped tablet.

• Tablet deathmatch: Apple iPad 2 vs. Motorola Xoom

  Let's cut to the chase -- the iPad 2 that Apple just released pulls further ahead in the battle with the only real competitor on the market: the Android OS 3.0 "Honeycomb" Xoom tablet from Motorola Mobility. In our previous comparison of the first-gen iPad and the Xoom, the Xoom showed its mettle as a serious contender, beating the iPad in areas such as its inclusion of cameras and ability to mirror its video display.

• Why Apple's iPad 2 will be another hit

  Apple's iPad 2, unveiled by CEO Steve Jobs in a surprise appearance Wednesday at an invitation-only media event, is thinner, lighter, faster and more full-featured, and incorporates enough changes and updates to maintain Apple's strong sales in the tablet market.

• Google Android 3.0 and Motorola Xoom: Hands-on

  Today I got my first hands-on time with the Motorola Xoom tablet, running Android 3.0.

• iPad 2 and iPhone 5: What's coming?

  Kyle Wiens and his team at iFixit, a Web site that provides free repair manuals and advice forums, are some of the smartest Apple geeks around. They've taken apart countless iPhones, Macs and iPads to see what makes them tick-and, of course, to find out how to repair them.