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. …

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.
…

For BlackBerry die-hards who are still firing away e-mails everyday on their phone’s keyboard, the new Q10 is the device they’ve been waiting for.

This is the one with the familiar, easy-to-use keyboard and it is built like a solid and dependable – if rather less sexy – corporate tool that many had first come to know BlackBerry for. …

The box carrying the Sonos Playbar, like most sound bars for the living room, is pretty big. But unpack it, strip away the protective foam, and the speaker system is a nice size that fits under most 42- or 47-inch TVs common in Singapore homes.

Similarly, strip away any unrealistic expectations you have of a sound bar and you’d quite enjoy the Playbar, as I did. …

Jawbone’s Up is a device that’s supposed to be worn 24/7. So, to truly understand how well it works, I’ve been wearing it everyday and every night over the past few weeks to see if wearable computing is all it’s cracked up to be.

Although I already had a pretty comprehensive hands-on session with the Up, there were definitely more insights to be gleaned. …

In these tough times, PC makers are still grappling with how much processing power and features to place in their Windows 8 tablets, just to compete with low-cost, low-power iPads and Android tablets.

The Dell Latitude 10 is one example of an either “half empty” or “half full” experience, depending on how you see things.  …

Like many critics, I’ve been cool to the unveiling of Samsung’s new Galaxy S4 last month, after rivals such as HTC had raised the competition a notch.

Getting my hands on it, however, gives me another perspective. Actually, the much-awaited flagship in the Galaxy line doesn’t feel as flimsy as its predecessor.

Yes, it’s plastic – or polycarbonate, as the Samsung folks in Singapore insist – but it doesn’t feel that cheap. …

Mechanical keyboards, with their click-clack sounds, are all the rage these days and Logitech’s G710+ marries that with gaming features that hardcore players are keen on.

For geeks, this is a combo that will surely attract, because of the tactile feel offered by the keys, as well as the durability that will be handy when it comes to long hours of banging on the keys. …

Months after it first appeared in American stores, the much-talked about Microsoft Surface RT finally made it to Singapore over the weekend.

It’s a first for a couple of things. It’s the debut tablet from Microsoft and it uses the first Microsoft operating system made just for tablets - Windows RT.

In the end, the Surface RT is just going to split opinions. It’s got so much going for it, yet it is limiting in ways that can be frustrating. …