Critical Mass

Keepin’ it real fake: Moonse iPad knockoff loses a few inches, runs Android

This is far from the first iPad knockoff to emerge from KIRF -land, but Moonse's new E-7001 tablet may just be the first to garner some serious interest -- if it ever actually turns up for sale, that is. Supposedly, the tablet will sell for as little as 900 Chinese yuan (or about $130), which will get you a 7-inch touchscreen, a 600MHz Rockchip RK2808 processor (which could possibly be upgraded to a Cortex-A8 before launch), Android 1.5 for an OS, an SD card slot for storage, built-in WiFi, and a promised five hours of battery life.

Continue reading...

Apple’s A4 system-on-chip gets decoupled from iPad, investigated with the help of an X-ray

Ever so gently, we're starting to peel away the layers of mystery surrounding the A4 system-on-chip that powers Apple's fancy new slate device. iFixit , helped by reverse engineering firm Chipworks , have gone to the trouble of both dissecting and X-raying the iPad's central processing hub in their quest to lift the veil of ignorance

Continue reading...

Apple vs. Amazon: The Great Ebook War Has Already Begun

We’re not going to see the iPad hit stores for another two months, but it is already changing the ebook game and forcing publishers and consumers to pick sides.

Continue reading...

Switched On: Tabula rasa

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On , a column about consumer technology.

Continue reading...

Steve Jobs vs. Obama: Who Got the Bigger Buzz?

While a lot happened this week, it can be argued that two events captured the most attention: 1) the unveiling of the Apple iPad and 2) President Obama’s State of the Union . Funny enough, both of these events occurred this past Wednesday

Continue reading...