January 18, 2011 by Current Publishing

DISPATCHES » Device makes dentist visits less scary – Researchers have created a device to cancel out the noise of a dentist’s drill, which may help individuals keep up oral care without the panic. The prototype works like noise-cancelling headphones but is designed to deal with the very high pitch of a dental drill. Patients would plug the device into their MP3 player or cell phone and then plug their own headphones into the device so they can listen to music during the appointment. -www.livescience.com » Facebook helps identity thieves – The information consumers willingly, and often unwittingly, post on social-media Web sites can be a gold mine for fraudsters. Tidbits like your birth date, birthplace and the last school you attended are typically the challenge questions posed by bank Web sites and online retailers to verify your identity, and more than 24 million Americans 18 years old and older are still leaving their social-network profiles mostly public. A recent survey found that nearly 70 million U.S. adults on social-networking sites include their birthplace on their profiles. -www.finance.yahoo.com

26 | January 11, 2011

An update on the ‘tablet war’

COMMENTARY By Gary Hubbard The “tablet” computer has actually been around since nearly the beginning of the personal computer industry and has gone through many revisions throughout the years, but until Apple created the iPad, they were relatively unknown or uninteresting to the average computer user. Much like what the iPod did in the MP3 category, Apple built a better mousetrap because it understood the device on its own isn’t that compelling. (No one remembers the MPMan, the first portable MP3 player or the first really successful unit, the Diamond Rio.) iTunes is what separated the iPod from all the other MP3 players, and the “app store” has done the same for the iPad. So, when you compare the various tablets that are coming to the market, make sure to look beyond just the features. Having said that, the iPad lacks cameras, can’t play Flash content, can be bulky in some situations (like reading) and isn’t capable of true multi-tasking. These are the areas that the new tablet computers are focusing in on as a way to differentiate themselves from the iPad. The first contender to be released late last year in conjunction with various cellular carriers was Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, which is an Androidbased tablet that’s essentially an Android smart-

phone on steroids. At CES, Samsung announced that it would be releasing a WiFi-only version of the Galaxy Tab in the first quarter of 2011, which should reduce the unsubsidized $599 price tag. At first glance, the smaller size (7 in screen vs iPad’s 9.7) may look like a negative, but the smaller size may be a huge benefit for some. You can easily hold the Galaxy Tab comfortably with one hand, while the iPad can quickly cause strain with one hand. The smaller size also makes it easier to carry around (it can easily slip into an inside jacket pocket); it has front and rear facing cameras, sensational battery life and will be very easy for anyone who has an Android-based smartphone to use. The images taken with its 3-megapixel camera lack the color depth that even a 2-megapixel iPhone 3Gs generates, but it’s certainly usable. Anyone who has spent any time on an iPad will notice small delays in various parts of the operation of the Galaxy Tab that make it seem a little less responsive, but this is not likely an issue for anyone using it as their first tablet. As for the rest of the contenders shown at CES, the only other one worth mentioning was the Blackberry Playbook. While most of the other tablets being demonstrated (like Motorola’s Xoom) clearly had issues that still needed to be worked out (lots of new OS glitches, unresponsive taps, etc.), the

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Playbook performed flawlessly and with fluidity common with the iPad. Unlike the iPad, the Playbook is a true multi-tasking device (dualcore processor), which means applications in the background will continue to run. Also, the device supports flash and can shoot 1080p HD video. But remember, the apps are a big part of owning a tablet, so we’ll have to see how many app developers jump on the Playbook bandwagon once it launches in Q1 of 2011 with estimated prices ranging from $399 (8Gb) to $599 (32Gb). But don’t forget that Apple’s MacWorld event is at the end of January and the speculation is that the iPad 2 with dual-core processors, front and rear cameras and a thinner, lighter form factor will be announced. In technology, the axiom has always been “the longer you wait, the more you get,” and nowhere will this be truer than in the tablet wars. I’m estimating the “sweet spot” for buying a new tablet this year will be mid to late summer, as most of what was shown at CES will have either made it to market and had some time to get initial kinks worked out or been scrapped. Gary Hubbard is the owner of Data Doctors Computer Services - www.datadoctors.com. Have a technology question? Send it to CurrentInCarmel@datadoctors.com