When we learned that Sony was to release the Xperia Tablet Z to go with their smartphone we knew that we were in for a real treat at MWC, which is where the Android tablet was being displayed. As you would imagine this latest device would be compared to the likes of the iPad 4 and the Nexus 10, but which of the three should you consider?

Both Android tablets have a lot to offer but if you don’t care what platform you want and are looking for a more premium looking tablet, then the Sony Xperia Tablet Z and the Apple iPad 4 should be more advisable than the Nexus 10. To help you decide which tablet would suit your needs then we have 2 video reviews on these, one above and the other below.

In the first video we see the Xperia Tablet Z and the iPad 4 pitted against each other, and it doesn’t take long to see the former is not only thinner but a little lighter as well. However, what stands out for us is how the Tablet Z offers the same water and dust resistance as its smartphone sibling, which is handy in certain circumstances.

After watching the second video, which compares the Xperia Tablet Z against the Nexus 10 we learn that these two Android tablets come with 2GB of RAM, while the iPad 4 only has 1GB of RAM, although Apple is able to manage their memory far better. We can’t help notice that the Nexus 10 looks a little cheap when placed next to Sony’s tablet, although the impressive display on the Samsung tablet more than makes up for this minor issue.

Which of the three would you choose? While it’s clear that the Sony Xperia Tablet Z has several features that are far better than the other two, the price could put you off a little. However, you have to remember that improved specs and a sexy and sleek design was always going to come at a premium.

The deadline for the iPen 2 release is fast approaching with just 6 days to go and there’s a strong possibility that the stylus for the iMac, MacBook Pro and the iPad might not achieve the funding in time. The goal of $360,000 has yet to be achieved because the amount pledged so far stands at $271,547, and if it does not receive the required funds by February 5th then it could be game over.

If you would love to see the iPen 2 released then you had better get your donation in before it is too late. For those who have not heard of this Kickstarter, which was launched on December 27, 2012, it is a universal stylus that can be used on a number of Apple products, which you can see a demo off in the video below.

This is not like the old stylus pen from several years ago that was very simple in its design because the iPen 2 has several levels of pressure sensitivity well 1024 to be precise. Previous devices like this would require you to hold the pen in a less than natural way, but with the iPen 2 you can hold it any way you feel comfortable without loss of performance.

There is to be two versions of this new stylus, the iMac iPen 2 model, which is to cost $169 and the iPad version for $119. The former is to come with a stand included while the latter benefits from a compatible iPad Smart case.

CES is over for another year and as always there were a huge range of iPad accessories on show, but choosing what to write about is always a dilemma because we can never cover every accessory. However, one that we feel does need a mention is the Sound Cover because it will improve the sound of your iPad by 300 percent.

We have already seen an iPad case that helps to improve the sound of Apple’s tablet from Belkin, but this one looks to do an even better job for a fraction of the price – well in theory anyway. It’s great to know that while increasing the volume of your iPad you are also protecting it as well thanks to that huge speaker panel.

Below you’ll see a demo of the device, although we didn’t really get to hear if that iPad volume increase of up to 300 percent was accurate or not. The built-in speaker in the Smart Cover has a 1600mAh lithium-ion rechargeable battery, which is said to provide enough power to increase your iPad sound for up to 10 hours between charges.

Some of the OnAnOff’s Sound Cover features are that NXT flat panel speaker technology we mentioned earlier, ABS and black leather finish to the case, brushed aluminum speaker stand, which also comes with bass boost for a more definitive sound, and a 3.5mm jack plug to connect the case to your iPad. The Sound Cover for the iPad 2nd-generation (and above) price is just $129 and is already available.

We can honestly say we don’t know anyone with a rocking chair and find it hard to see friends and family wanting to use one, but then how about an environmentally friendly rocking chair named iRock? You can tell by the name that this product has something to do with Apple products, and in this case you can rock away while charging an iPad or iPhone.

You can see how the iPad 3 / 4 might look in the above photo, which would gain around 35% of a full charge after rocking for one hour. While it is great to hear that you can create juice for an iPad without paying for it, would you really want to rock away for an hour to gain a one third charge?

If you are a family with a baby in your home then we can understand the benefit, and rocking your child to sleep while using an iPad, or iPhone, and gain a charge at the same time seems like a good idea from this perspective.

Would you like an iRock rocking chair in your home? Another image can be seen above that shows the pulley system that helps create the charge, although we would love to hear your thoughts on the iRock in the comments. The guide price is $1,300 and the official website can be seen at irocknow.ch with further information. What other pieces of furniture or products would you like to see generate a charge for electronics?

It is worth noting there is no iRock for Android at this time. The finished product measures 1200mm x 1150mm and weighs 18 kg.

When it comes to third-party accessory support for tablet devices the Apple iPad has to have the greatest choice available to them. Since the tablet was first launched there have been thousands of accessories for users to choose from, but it wasn’t until the release of the 2nd-geneartion model that these manufactures started to get a little more inventive. The ClamCase was a fine example of this, but there were several issues that stopped it from being perfect. Thankfully there is now the ClamCase Pro for the iPad, which has had a number of improvements.

Before we look into those improvements, we thought you might like to know that the ClamCase Pro price is $170 but if you Like the company on Facebook then you’ll get a $20 discount. This isn’t the best deal you could have hoped for, but this Facebook incentive is something that we are starting to see more of lately.

The new ClamCase Pro takes all the good features from the original, which was considered a revolution, and improves on them. Firstly you’ll notice from the video that this new ClamCase is thinner, which kind of gives it the look of a thick MacBook Air and because it is thinner it’s also much lighter as well.

The keyboard was always a concern with the original model because it had a cramped feel when typing, so as you would assume this issue has been addressed and the keyboard is now more spaced out. Battery life is always going to be a concern so you’ll be happy to know that the ClamCase Pro will now go to sleep automatically when it is not being used and the moment you begin to type will turn back on.

The ClamCase pro is certainly a vast improvement over its predecessor, but if you are looking for something to improve the sound of the iPad, then maybe you should consider the Belkin iPad case instead.

The speakers on the iPad are pretty decent, but they are not going to blow anyone away with their depth or awesome bass levels. This is when so many consumers opt for a speaker dock, but what if you could enhance the sound of your iPad without the need for a bulky dock? Well Belkin believes that they have the answer with their Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater Dock, which is effetely a new iPad case with built-in speakers.

This case will help to enhance the sound of your iPad so that you can better enjoy watching TV shows, movies and also playing games, and you’ll be pleased to know that Belkin will not only support the new iPad with the Lighting connector, but also the standard 30-pin version as well.

We’re told that Belkin is to also offer a free app to accompany the case, which will allow for customized sound profiles, which comes in handy for the different medias that are played on Apple’s tablet devices. While the idea of a case with built-in speakers for the iPad does sound like an interesting accessory to help enhance the sound, there’s still a fear that the sound range will be limited and that bass levels will be below what you and I would find acceptable.

The speakers face the front of the case to offer a greater sound and the case can be folded to also act as a stand. You can still use the camera and both ports and switch and volume buttons are easily accessible. You’ll be able to get your hands on the case later this month and the Belkin Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater is a shocking $199.99, which will certainly make a few people think before they part with that kind of money. Visit Belkin for more details.

While the video we have embedded for you below does not allow you to experience the sound quality of the new iPad speaker dock from Belkin, it does show you what the device looks like, along with how much more bulk it adds to the iPad – which kind of defeats the object.

We’ve noticed an image land on Facebook within the last 24 hours that seems to reveal the possibility of a new iPad 4, which could see a release date shortly after Apple’s iPad mini event in 2 days time. The photo can be seen on this page and shows that the new iPad specs have at least changed with a lighting port, although it could just be a slight refresh of the iPad 3 and this being the only change.

The photo doesn’t reveal any other changes, from what we can see, although if these images are the real deal then anything could be changed inside, so this has caused some upset with a number of existing iPad owners that purchased an Apple tablet this year. Nobody wants to see a 6-month product cycle, especially those Apple fans that only just upgraded to the model that launched this year.

You can see the Facebook profile that leaked this image here, which includes a couple of responses from fans although having upgraded ourselves to the 3rd generation iPad this year already, we find it hard to believe Apple would launch an iPad 4 (4th generation) so soon. If this image turns out to be from an official iPad update then it’s obviously a change to better support the new dock connector, which had been a major change for the iPhone 5.

What iPad 4 specs would you like to see when the 4th generation Apple tablet finally arrives, or are you thinking about an iPad mini if the upcoming event reveals your ideal price? The above photo has started some people posting wish lists for what they want already, and this includes much better battery life, an A6 chip, an SD card slot, and other features that were missing from the 3rd-gen model. You can read about the problems Apple might have with balancing the iPad mini price and features in this article. There’s under 2 days to go until Apple’s Oct 23 iPad mini event starts, so we haven’t got long to find out what rumors are real from the growing list.

The resilience of both Google’s Nexus 7 and the Apple iPad are being put to the test with a new video, which you can see below this article, and it shows how both tablets handle being knocked, dropped, and put in water. The video runs for almost 3-minutes and gives the potential buyer some insight into how tough these new tablets are, so you can make sure they handle minor accidents without much damage.

When it comes to the price of a Nexus 7 vs. the iPad it is not a fair fight, which is due to the iPad costing around double and including some better specs, so we wouldn’t normally see these two devices compared. The Nexus 7 is also 3 inches smaller with a 7-inch size, not sure if this affects the test results, but the interesting point is that the cheaper Nexus 7 seems to be the clear winner in the video.

Google’s Nexus 7 handled the drop test better, and when both tablets were dropped into water the iPad lost sound while the Nexus 7 could still play sound and video. It’s unlikely either the Nexus 7 or iPad could see drops on concrete like in the video, although it can happen, and even harder to imagine is a tablet being dropped into a bath of water.

Do you have a story to tell about a phone or tablet being damaged by water or from a big drop? Were you surprised how bad/well your gadget handled a drop in the past? Hit the comments if you have a story to tell, and also let us know what you think of this video putting the Nexus 7 and iPad through extreme pain. You can also see a recent review of the Nexus 7 in our earlier article.

The moment Apple first released an iPad we heard the rumors of a 7-inch iPad being needed or in some cases that Apple were building one, although more than 3 years on and we’re still hearing the same mini iPad rumors in 2012. This year it seems that a smaller iPad makes sense more than any year before, and considering the iPhone is likely to become longer and not wider, then this leaves room between a 4-inch iPhone 5 and 10-inch iPad 3.

Understanding survey results – we know that a growing number of consumers love the idea of 7-inch tablets, which they state are much lighter, easier to hold, and great for big hands too. So why would a recent consumer survey find the 2012 mini iPad could be a flop? The poll by Voucher Codes Pro asked over 1,000 UK consumers, and found almost half thought it would be the “biggest flop from Apple“.

Looking at feedback to this poll across the web we can see that most potential tablet buyers are in favor of 7-inch tablets, and some people even state they “are waiting for a 7-inch iPad that is both smaller and lighter“, so what is going on with this poll? It could either be a collection of Android users, unlikely, that hate Apple, or they didn’t pick enough people for a poll across a wider scope of backgrounds.

Steve Jobs always steered away from the smaller iPad idea, but this could be about to change thanks to consumers wanting more sizes from Apple. We can see a number of people would want to defend Apple’s choice to stick with the bigger iPad design for so long, but there’s now room for something at the $200 price with no Retina. If 2012 plays out like some analysts believe then there will be a big hole between the 4-inch iPhone and 10-inch iPad, but should it be filled with a mini iPad?

This gap between iPhone and iPad is currently being filled with some amazing tablets, which include the Nexus 7 that is running Android Jelly Bean. The real issue here is whether Apple should take on the army of Android tablets at 7-inch, and do enough iOS fans want a tablet smaller than 10-inches? In our opinion Apple need to make this move in 2012, and we expect it to happen in tandem with the iPhone 5. If you ask 1,000 people why they love their 7-inch tablet, you will find out why Apple need to enter this lower priced market.

Why would Apple change their mind? This is Apple we are talking about and it’s hard to get information out of them at the best of times, but looking at the official Apple Store page they do state, “The slim-yet-sturdy iPad Smart Case protects your iPad screen and its aluminum back. So your iPad is fully covered on all sides“.

It now seems Apple agrees with thousands of iPad owners, which means they should’ve protected the back with the Smart Cover from day one. The 2012 iPad Smart Case comes in a range of colors and has a price of $49 at the time of writing. You can see more images here on the official store.

Do you think Apple should have protected the iPad back from the start with their Smart Case, and have you had any damage caused thanks to leaving the back open? It’s worth pointing out that our iPads have never had any problems with the old Smart Case, although we do take good care of our gadgets.