If you think that tablets are too clunky, then get ready for PaperTab, a 10.7-inch tablet that is as thin as a piece of paper.

The tablet is a collaboration between Human Media Lab at the Queen’s University at Cambridge, Plastic Logic and Intel Labs. The tablet looks like a piece of paper in plastic but has an interactive flexible touchscreen powered by the Intel’s coretm i5 processor.

The device doesn’t have any buttons or swipe gestures, you control it by bending it. For example, you can bend the page to fast forward through a video or scroll through a PDF document. You can reverse the action by moving the device back in the opposite direction. The contents are managed through multiple interactive displays or “papertabs.” Read more

Camera maker Polaroid has introduced a new tablet computer for kids with rubber bumpers to protect it from falls and from liquids getting in. The Polaroid 7-inch Android 4.0, which Polaroid is demonstrating at CES, is an Internet-enabled 8GB tablet with an 800×480 resolution screen that comes with a built-in camera. It is available for $149.99.

The tablet comes preloaded with apps, including creativity apps Kids Cam, Music Studio and Draw. It also comes preloaded with the Nook bookstore. It also comes with ten interactive books including Dr. Seuss and Smithsonian titles.

The tablet also comes preloaded with Kids Vids, a video streaming app that filters videos for different age groups. It also includes Free Play,a tool that sorts all of the free kid-friendly games/apps available.

It’s Cyber Monday and a great day to get a deal on an older generation tablet. Amazon is offering its 8GB 7-inch Kindle Fire tablet for $129 today only, which is $30 off of the normal $169 price for the device. The deal is good while supplies last.

Today, Barnes & Noble is giving away a $20 B&N gift card with the purchase of a Nook Tablet — the older generation Nook device — if you use a MasterCard.

Newegg.com is selling the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 for $499, $50 off of the usual $549 price tag. Target is offering the 9.4″ 32GB Sony Android tablet for $349.99, $150 off of list price today. B&H Photo is offering a 10.1″ Asus 32GB Transformer Pad for $34.95, $50 off of the list price, as well as the Archos 8GB Android 10.1 tablet for $199.95, $50 off of the list price. Read more

New York City is revitalizing old pay phones and turning them into informational tablet kiosks.

The tablet kiosks, which are being called “SmartScreens,” let people find directions, check out local news and even contact emergency services. NYC announced the program back in April, but the first conversions opened up this week. Cisco Systems and City24x7 are powering the program. So far the city has converted ten stations into these 21st century information booths, but the program calls for 250 conversions throughout the five  boroughs of NYC.

The kiosks are outfitted with free Wi-Fi. In addition, the kiosks are outfitted to help out in emergency situations, which could come in handy during the next hurricane (if they aren’t flooded or they don’t lose power, that is). Here is more from City24x7′s website: “City24x7 is built to deliver critical first-alert information directly to the very environments where we live, travel and work. In addition, the embedded connectivity has possibilities for a wide range of sensors and services including still and video cameras, environmental and biological sensors.” Read more

The designers at Cinesaurus are back again one of their reinterpretations of tablet commercials.

This time around they took the idea from the iPad Mini commercial and created an ad for the Microsoft Surface. It’s quite clever in the ways in which it shows that the Surface is a much more capable tablet.

Now that the launch of the Microsoft Surface tablet is a couple weeks past, the blogosphere has turned its attention to the next rumor.

According to The Verge, a new 7″ Surface tablet has been confirmed as being in the works. It’s going to be called the Xbox Surface and if this rumor is true then it will likely have specs similar to the ones leaked back in June. Read more

Have you noticed more head and neck pain since using your tablet?

A Harvard School of Public Health study took a look at the risk of head and neck pain from tablet computer use, sharing some tips for reducing these risks as well. Below, we’ve embedded an infographic about the study created by Online Degrees. Here’s more about Harvard’s study:

[Occupational Biomechanics and Ergonomics Laboratory director Jack Dennerlein] recommends that tablet users vary their postures every 15 minutes, and that they use a case that doubles as a tablet stand. These cases reduce the need to grip the device, and also allow it to be propped up at an angle that keeps the user’s head in a neutral position, minimizing neck strain.

Read more

QVC host Cassie Slane collapsed live on television this week while she was demonstrating a children’s Android tablet called the Fun Tab Pro. Meanwhile, her co-host continues to sell the item as the image turns into a close up on the product.

Live Leak caught the collapse and posted it online, along with the time an eReader made Slane faint. Here is more from the Live Leak: “This happened yesterday but i knew i heard about her before and found an older video her suffering the same episode. judging from the similarities i ‘concur’ that the source of her episodes are unwieldy electrical appliances.” We’ve embedded the video above so that you can check it out.

QVC spokesman Paul Capelli let us know that Slane is alright now. He emailed us this statement, “During a live presentation on Sunday, October 7, QVC on-air guest Cassie Slane had a brief fainting spell. We are pleased to report that she is feeling fine now.”

Oregon Scientific has launched a new Android tablet for kids aged 6 and up, called Meep. The $149 device, which has a  zForce touch screen, comes loaded with games, apps and eBooks for kids. It is also Wi-Fi enabled so that users can purchase additional content through the Meep Store.

The device is also outfitted with parental controls letting parents view websites their kids have visited and see keywords they have searched. Parents can also set limits on what their kids can see, and these controls can all be accessed from their own mobile device or computer. Aside from spying and controlling, parents can also chat with their kids and send them virtual allowances.

Check it out: “At the MEEP! Store virtual coins buy games and apps. You decide the virtual allowance . The only surprise each day is the delight on your kids’ faces as they master another learning app or game.”

Tobii Technology,  Fujitsu, and NTT DOCOMO have teamed up to create a new tablet device that lets users interact with the screen simply by moving their eyes.

The tablet, called ibeam, is embedded with eye tracking technology from Tobii. Ibeam is still in the prototype phase, but the companies plan to show off the device at CEATEC in Tokyo during the first week in October.

Henrik Eskilsson, CEO of the Swedish-based company Tobii Technology, explained that eye tracking is just the next step in the evolution of mobile devices. Placing it along the same continuum as multitouch screens, location-aware tools and gyroscopes, he stated, “By introducing eye tracking in prototypes like this, we hope to bring about another surge in this creativity. Eye tracking-enabled applications are much more responsive to the user’s attention, creating new possibilities and efficiencies for interfaces, software and games.”