Panasonic showed off its new Toughpad JT-B1 ruggedised Android tablet at CommunicAsia today, touting it as an essential tool that can stand the harsh environments often faced by users in law enforcement, utilities and other industries.

The Japanese company even tested the tablet’s claim to survive a 1.5-metre fall, by letting a blogger drop the 7-inch tablet from chest height. It survived, but not without rubbing some of its paint on the ground. …

Toshiba was one of the first out with an Android tablet almost three years ago, and it wants to be back in the game now, as Android gradually eclipses iOS as the main tablet operating system.

Its new 10.1-inch Excite Write and Excite Pure tablets, out in Singapore from next month, show what a sea change Android tablets have undergone over the years.

Just how do they stack up against the competition though? We had a quick hands-on with the tablets earlier this week. …

 Ralf Groene, creative director of the Microsoft Surface

A little while ago, Techgoondu managed to catch up with the creative director of the Microsoft Surface, Ralf Groene, for a conference call about the design of the tablet.

Check out some of the questions posed to Ralf and his answers from the interview below. …

Taiwan’s yearly Computex show often brings the best PCs and mobile gadgets from major manufacturers such as Asus and Acer, and this year was no different.

From a low-cost tablet from Asus to top-end hybrids that are starting to sport sharp 2,560 x 1,440 screens, there is much to look out for as gadget fans.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8-inch

Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab 3 tablets, available in 8-inch and 10.1-inch sizes, will be out in Singapore within the next three months. …

Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai (left) at Intel executive vice-president Tom Kilroy’s Computex keynote.

As if you did not get the message last year, PC makers are coming up with even more hybrid designs this year that promise to deliver the best from both a tablet and laptop.

Expect more of the detachable, convertible, flip, slider, rotatable designs that have characterised the most dramatic rethink in PCs in years, going by the new devices unveiled at this year’s Computex show in Taipei this week.

This year, though, these “two-in-one” gadgets can run even faster and longer while being thinner and lighter, thanks to Intel’s new “Haswell” or fourth-gen Core processors made specially for users on the move. …

Packing my bags last night for the this year’s Computex show in Taipei, I was ready to bring a Microsoft Surface Pro on my trip to report on the yearly computer expo. In the end, I left the gadget behind, and lugged my old 14-inch HP laptop along, despite a backache.

The Surface Pro, brilliant as it is, just did not tick all the boxes for me.
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Android tablets are a dime a dozen these days, and rarely do you come across one that makes you really excited at the prospect of picking it up.

The Xperia Tablet Z is definitely one of those rare ones. …

The Surface Pro tablet cum PC from Microsoft will cost S$1,198 for a basic 64GB model when it ships in Singapore from June 3, weeks ahead of the original end-June date. A 128GB model will go for S$1,328.

The full-fledged machine featuring an Intel Core i5 chip and running Windows 8 Pro will attract users who have been holding out for a tablet that can double up as a laptop on the go. …

Those looking to get their hands on the successor to the Asus PadFone 2 will have their wish granted very soon. The much-awaited Padfone Infinity is slated to be out in Singapore on June 1 from M1 and StarHub as well as authorised dealers in time for the upcoming PC Show 2013. …