hardware

Features

• Today, printers. Tomorrow, 'integrated peripherals'?

  Out went 42 aging black and white copiers with interface boxes that let them serve as printers. In went 42 new networked multi-function printers (MFPs) that could do color printing and copying and scan directly to e-mail, fax or files. And the owner, the Park Hill School District in Kansas City, MO, saves $19,000 yearly.

• Smartphone screens are getting bigger

  Smartphone screens are getting larger, although vendors will likely continue to offer many sizes to woo a wide variety of users.

• The future of the $200 tablet

  Spending $150 to $200 on a tablet won't get you much these days: In most cases, you're looking at an off-brand Android product with a single-core processor, barely any RAM and a low-resolution, low-quality display. Depending on the device, you might not even have access to Google's app market or other basic services -- and while that approach may work with retailer-backed, limited-use products like Amazon's Kindle Fire, when it comes to more traditional Androidtablets, it doesn't usually lead to the best user experience.

• Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) review: A nice price, but where's the 'wow'?

  Android devices - both smartphones and tablets - are getting increasingly affordable. With its new Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) tablet, Samsung is obviously hoping to claim its piece of the budget-price pie.

• In crowded tablet market, brand identity will matter

  When it comes to the bevy of new tablet computers coming to market, a tablet maker's brand will take on more significance than ever.

• A daughter follows her father into a mainframe career

  Kristine Harper and her father, Tom, both work on mainframe computers. BOSTON - Kristine Harper was about 12-years-old when her father took her to his office to take part of a "take your daughter to work day." Tom Harper said his daughter was less than enthusiastic about his profession that day.