Microsoft continues to try and stir-up interest in its tablet offerings, taking the latest step of putting up a page on its site to let visitors do a spec-by-spec comparison between the iPad and a number of Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets. A small controversy has ensued following the page's publication, as some people try and claim that Microsoft is misleading the public, especially when it comes to the screen sizes on these devices. Just what is it doing, and is there really anything untoward about it all? Microsoft's page runs down a number of key factors for this head-to-head: battery ...

There were rumors indicating that the device will soon become official and now the Finnish page shows off the Acer Iconia W3 slate. It runs Windows 8 -- that's the full fledged version -- on a smaller, 8.1-inch form factor. Specifications include an Intel Atom Z2760 processor, 8.1-unch screen of WXGA resolution (that's 1280×768 pixels), 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, two-megapixel shooter, micro HDMI port, micro-USB 2.0 port, and a battery that will last for eight hours while playing back 720p videos. The color options are limited to silver and the ...

My first and biggest complaint after buying the Surface Pro months ago was that it did not include WinTab drivers for the screen's pressure sensitive digitizer input. The hardware supports pressure sensitivity, but with the default drivers, that only worked in certain newer graphics programs like Sketchbook Pro and Manga Studio. My first tweet the day I bought the Surface Pro went to the Surface team explaining that they NEED to implement the WinTab drivers. At first they thought it was an Adobe issue, but really they just needed some help from Wacom to make the right drivers. Those ...

The best way to describe LG's tablet releases is probably "few and far between." We first heard of the Optimus Pad all the way back in 2010, and it's been over a year since the company launched the Optimus Pad LTE. Since then, we've heard LG talk about putting all tablet development on hold. Has it finally started reconsidering things? A new report out of South Korea claims that LG is eyeing a reemergence onto the tablet market, and it could do so sometime in the third quarter of this year. Unfortunately, we're at a serious loss for details. There's no word on size, SoC choice – heck, we ...

Yesterday we told you about some new rumors dealing with Microsoft's follow-up to its first Windows 8 tablets, the Surface RT and Surface Pro. According to that info, we'd be seeing a 7-to-9-inch tablet launch quite soon, possibly in late June. Well, we'll know how accurate that guess was in just a matter of weeks, but today we hear a new assessment about what to expect from this next Microsoft Surface tablet, and this tale has us waiting quite a while. Instead of a June launch, analysts are predicting sometime in 2014, instead. Supposedly, Microsoft is only just getting started sourcing ...

Windows 8 and Windows 8 RT tablets are still newcomers to the scene, and so far it's felt like they've been struggling to find their place. After all, the wildly fluctuating prices we've seen are hardly representative of a firmly established product that's going to keep pulling in predictable sales figures; we don't see anything like this with iPads, for instance. Are we being too hard on the nascent platform, though? Could it really be off to a better start than it's seemed? We're definitely reconsidering things in light of some new market figures, showing Windows tablets getting a pretty ...

For the longest time, we've been wondering when Microsoft might start addressing the big blank space in the middle of its mobile device lineup, for models larger than Windows Phone handsets, yet smaller than current Windows 8 and RT tablets. After all, that's a huge deal for Android and - more recently - iOS, so Microsoft seems to be missing out. We've heard rumors that Microsoft itself could be creating a seven-inch Surface, and while we wait to learn if there's any truth there, the company has confirmed that its OEM partners, at least, will be releasing their own smaller tablets. This ...

Been enjoying Nokia Music on your Windows Phone handset? Picked up a Windows 8 tablet and wish you could be taking advantage of the same service while you're working on a larger screen? You're in luck, as Nokia Music is now available for Windows 8 and Windows RT systems. If you've used Nokia Music before you should know what to expect here: recommendations, playlists, offline playback, and more. You can add your own locally-stored MP3s to the action, or even get custom mixes based on your favorite artists. There's support for Nokia Music+ if you subscribe, and you can link your tablet up ...