Electronics | featured news

In the past year, mobile payment systems have picked up steam and are now becoming mainstream. Could our wallets be replaced one day soon by our smartphones?

Tablet computers are selling fast — but it’s starting to look like the stripped-down computers won’t eat the rest of the PC industry alive anytime soon. Worldwide shipments of so-called media tablets into sales channels fell 28% in the first quarter of 2011 to 7.2 million units during the first quarter, according to tech tracker IDC.

Adding more weight to speculations that Apple is launching two iPhones this fall, 9to5 Mac reported that the company is planning a low-end iPhone to compete with the ever-growing Android market.

Here's the latest: The company reportedly is working on a new iPad, due out later this year, that will have a higher-resolution screen. Dubbed the "iPad HD" by a blog called This Is My Next, which is run by former editors from the respected tech site Engadget, the new iPad is said to be a "pro" device that could be used for high-end video editing and photography.

Game company Nintendo denied reports that it was preparing apps for Android and iOS devices, telling Bloomberg that it was not changing its policy to develop software only for its own gaming devices. Pokemon, an independent Nintendo affiliate, is developing software for Apple and Google and this summer will release a game for those companies related to its popular series.

Verizon Wireless plans to scrap its unlimited data plan for new smartphone subscribers beginning Thursday and replace it with monthly packages that range from $30 to $80.

Taiwan-based suppliers are said to be readying parts for next-generation iOS devices, namely the iPhone 5 and the next-generation iPad.

Yes, we all know that the iPad is an extremely successful product. It has invented, created, a new niche, a new product line, in computing. We can see the effects of the shipments on the bottom line of Apple: and the reflection in Apple’s share price.

In my teens, I never went on vacation without my yellow Sony Walkman. Today's travel gear may be more sophisticated, but the premise is the same: high tech toys that help out when it's time for R&R. When I'm leaving on a trip, I spend hours syncing iPads, iPhones, and eReaders with my media library so I can watch new episodes of AMC's "The Killing," listen to tech podcasts, or read ebooks. But you need fun gear to play all of this digital content too.

Hulu Plus brings movies and television shows the small screen of Android smartphones, but only six models are compatible for now. Sony Ericsson is leveraging HDTV technology for it's new Android phones while the iPhone appears to be chipping away at Android's popularity in the U.S.