Thinking of buying an iPad? Getting a little obsessed with it, maybe? Counting down the days until it goes on sale? You’re not alone, and I won’t pretend I don’t share some of your enthusiasm. But there may be a compelling reason to wait a little while before you buy one. The Marketbeat blog at WSJ.com reported today that Apple will stay “nimble” on iPad pricing and apparently doesn’t feel locked in to the numbers they revealed the other week.

The report comes from Credit Suisse analyst Bill Shope, recounting some things Apple execs said in meetings with the financial services group. The $499 to $829 price spread may actually go down if demand for the iPad doesn’t meet expectations. Perhaps Apple is a bit worried since, according to Marketbeat, shares are down 5.5% since the iPad’s launch.

This may be bad news for Apple fanboys but good news for consumers. $499 is a pretty aggressive price, but if the higher capacity versions came down closer to that, it could tempt more of those people who know about the iPad but just aren’t interested in it.

Of course, this is all academic to those of you out there who never buy first generation devices anyway. Being an early adopter may seem cool, but all too often we play the role of beta tasters and shell out large sums for the privilege of doing so. Let’s hope that’s not the case this time.

Well, that was quick. Just a month after Nexus One debuted as the first and only phone with Android 2.1, giving it a slight edge over slightly older Android handsets, Motorola announced, via its Facebook page, that it will begin rolling out the updated OS to Droid owners beginning next week.

Just a refresher: most of Android 2.1’s benefits over 2.0 are pure eye candy. This version of Android, the most up-to-date at the moment, includes animated backgrounds, five home screens instead of three, and a three-dimensional App launcher. Its best features, including free turn-by-turn navigation, are already available on phones with Android 2.0, such as the Droid.

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Love tablets? Love netbooks? Love free stuff? Then this contest is for you. We’re giving away one of Lenovo’s new IdeaPad S10-3t convertible tablet computers to a lucky winner. This netbook features a 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen that supports multitouch gestures, a 160GB The storage device that holds your OS, programs, and data.
Learn Morehard drive, 1GB of RAM, and a speedy 1.66-GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU.

To win this sweet little tablet all you have to do is click here and fill out a brief survey before 11:59am on March 8th. Then just sit back, relax, and daydream about all the cool things you’ll do if you win.

No Purchase Necessary. LAPTOP Magazine Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t Sweepstakes starts on February 8 2010 at 1:00PM ET and ends on March 8, 2010 at 11:59 AM ET. Sweepstakes is open to residents of the 50 U.S. States (and D.C.) 18 years and older. For entry and official rules go to this page. Void where prohibited. Sponsor is Bedford Communications, Inc., 1410 Broadway, New York, NY.

One of the more interesting aspects of the story of netbook dominance is how several companies previously unknown to most mainstream computers became recognizable names simply due to the popularity of their netbooks. Before the introduction of the Wind netbook, MSI was mainly known for its motherboards. Now the company is building up their notebook and netbook presence on the market and moving into the emerging tablet market.

In our continuing You Grade the Brands series, we’re taking a look back at a year’s worth of MSI notebook reviews to identify which strengths and weaknesses we’ve observed overall to give consumers some guidance on where to begin their search for the perfect laptop. We’ve also factored in the data we collected for our Tech Support Showdown.

So how does MSI stack up? Click here to see our take on the vendor’s strengths and weaknesses and the 2009 review scorecard below. Then sound off in the comments and tell us what you think of the brand and about your own experience with your MSI notebook or netbook.

Now that we’re done with Apple rumors, how about some Sony tablet rumors? There was a bit of buzz generated last week when Sony’s CFO, Nobuyuki Oneda, said that the company is “very interested” in getting in on the tablet market and “confident we have the skills to create a product.”

This isn’t too surprising as just about every computer or electronics company has caught tablet fever. However, given that Sony is going for the whole universal media experience with their expansion of the PlayStation Network to encompass a wider range of devices from laptops to calculator watches, it makes sense for them to create yet another access point to this portal of entertainment goodness.

Sony already has the elements of a great tablet scattered throughout their various divisions. In a perfect world, they’d all come together to create one kickin’ device. Here are 5 things we’d like to see in a tablet from Sony based on the technology we’ve seen from them so far:

1. PSP Gaming Capability – These days tablets are almost synonymous with multimedia tablets, and I’d particularly expect this of Sony due to their already excellent mobile gaming platform. The core purpose of a Sony tablet wouldn’t need to be games or entertainment, but taking what’s good about the PSP and adding a bigger screen would be a great first step. Click here to read 2 – 5

Regardless of who you were rooting for during Super Bowl XLIV, we can all agree that there were a handful of choice commercials that either tugged at the ol’ heart strings or made us laugh hysterically. We’ve collected and ranked the best tech-related clips from the Big Show–do you agree with our selections?

#1: The power of love is driven by Google.

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It’s that time of year again. Your W-2 and 1099 forms have come in the mail, you’ve gotten all your receipts in one place, and you’re just about ready to start doing your taxes. You don’t want to end up spending big money on an accountant so you need tax software. Fortunately, you won’t have to break the bank on that either because Amazon has great discounts on preparation programs.

The discounted tax prep programs include:

TurboTax 2009

• TurboTax Deluxe 2009 ($47.49): E-files both state and federal tax returns. (Buy It)
• TurboTax Premier 2009 ($65.54): Investment guidance and rental property deductions are offered in addition to the features found in the Deluxe version. (Buy It)
• TurboTax Home & Business  2009 ($67.44): Includes all the features of  TurboTax Premiere plus help for self-employed workers. (Buy It)

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Every week, the staff here at LAPTOP evaluates numerous tech products and posts many insightful tech features and blog posts. If you haven’t been sitting in front of your browser with laptopmag.com open and hitting refresh a lot, here’s what you may have missed this week.

Reviews & Hands-On Posts

• Sony VAIO W Series Eco Edition (3 Stars) — Sony’s latest netbook sports an eco-friendly design and parent-friendly software, but we wish it had a larger keyboard.
• Dell Latitude Z600 (3 Stars) — This executive-class business system offers plenty of style and innovation, but it doesn’t provide much performance to offset its high price.
• Toshiba Satellite P505-S8010 (3.5 Stars) — Toshiba’s first 18-inch notebook with Intel’s Core i3 CPU features solid performance, an attractive design, and rich sound at a wallet-friendly price.
• Hands-on With The Simple but Brilliant Bccthis — This little app lets you tack on a private, BCC’d message that only some of the recipients of your main message can see. Likewise, with Twitter you can post a tweet to the masses, but then start a private direct messaging chain that will only be visible to select users.  The idea is to save you the tedium of composing a public e-mail and a separate aside message, or a tweet followed by a direct message or group e-mail.

Features

• Best Mobile Startups 2010 – Whether it involves making notebooks sound better, streaming complex games from the cloud, or just keeping businesses more organized, these innovators have created stand-out concepts and products worthy of attention and praise. Don’t forget to take our poll and tell us which of these technologies and products excites you the most.
• Is Free Security Worth the Risk? — Bare-bones software offers pretty good protection from threats, but beware of the trade-offs.
• Tips: 5 Ways to Minimize Cell Phone Radiation — The debate over whether this is a major problem or just an urban myth rages on, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take steps to protect yourself.
• Mac OS X Snow Leopard vs. Windows 7 — Rivalries are, for better or worse, one of the defining elements of human existence. Those that participate in these long-running feuds typically push one another to produce their best work. Apple and Microsoft have tussled back and forth with snarky ad campaigns and CEO comments that have touted the value of their respective operating systems, but  in reality, Mac OS X and Windows have more similarities than ever before.
• E-Tailers vs. Retailers: The Pros and Cons of Shopping Online and In-Store — How do you know which route to go, online or in-store? Does a retailer carry the same in-store stock as it does online? Which is cheaper? How do return policies differ? What we found may surprise you.
• You Grade The Brands – It’s Samsung’s turn in the hot seat. Check out our list of the brand’s strengths and weaknesses and tell us how you’d grade Samsung netbooks and notebooks. Don’t forget to leave a comment as our report card won’t be complete without your input!

News

• Amazon vs. Macmillan — A week ago the behemoth online bookseller removed all titles published by Macmillan and its subsidiaries from both the Kindle and print stores over a dispute regarding the price of eBooks. Though someone from Amazon indicated that the company would “have to capitulate” to Macmillan’s terms, so far Amazon hasn’t reversed the ban. Click here to read what’s behind the struggle.
• iPad Honeymoon Over — Retrevo reveals that consumers were largely unimpressed with the iPad announcement, though their tune may change on launch. Maybe if they’d called it the iTablet… oops, too late. Since we all still have tablets on the brain, now is a good time for Google to tease us with some tablet concept photos. In other news, Fusion Garage  reiterated their promise to ship the JooJoo on time as they moved to dismiss the lawsuit against them.
• Will Tablets, MIDs, or Smartbooks Succeed? — Can’t get enough of tablets and MIDs and other ultra-mobile devices? Mark provides a detailed look into the pros and cons of these devices and his predictions on their chances of success in this week’s SpoonFed: Attack of the Tweeners.
• Down with the iPhone — As if the iPad thing wasn’t enough, there’s more bad news for Apple as iPhone Loses Market Share. Is the Jesus phone now the RAZR of smart phones?
• Google’s Nexus One Finally Gets Multitouch – A feature Android users have been clamoring for since the G1. The update activates multitouch in the browser, Maps, and photo apps. Of course, Dolphin already brought multitouch browsing to most Android phones. And even after this update we were still able to list 5 reasons why Dolphin is better than the default browser. Android fans have another reason to celebrate as the Motorola Devour is coming to Verizon with Motoblur and Google maps Navigation.

A lot goes into your selection of a notebook: price, size, look and feel, functionality, and specs. What many shoppers don’t consider though is where to make their purchase: online or in a physical store.

Each approach has its pros and cons. A good brick-and-mortar retailer should let you test a notebook’s keyboard and screen (Best Buy does but Wal-Mart does not). However, online shopping is the ultimate in convenience. So how do you know which route to go? Does a retailer carry the same in-store stock as it does online? Which is cheaper? How do return policies differ?

What we found may surprise you.

Samsung is relatively new to the notebook market, though the company is widely known for their vast array of consumer electronics ranging from televisions to cell phones. In 2008, they made a smart move by making their first entry an netbook, then making the Samsung NC10 an instant favorite due to the excellent keyboard and record-setting battery life. Since that time we’ve been consistently pleased with the subsequent netbooks and notebooks we’ve seen.

In our continuing You Grade the Brands series, we’re taking a look back at a year’s worth of Samsung notebook reviews to identify which strengths and weaknesses we’ve observed overall to give consumers some guidance on where to begin their search for the perfect laptop. We’ve also factored in the data we collected for our Tech Support Showdown.

So how does Samsung stack up? Click here to see our take on the vendor’s strengths and weaknesses and the 2009 review scorecard below. Then sound off in the comments and tell us what you think of the brand and about your own experience with your Samsung notebook or netbook.