If you can’t beat ‘em, undercut ‘em.

It’s the new slogan of tablet and smartphone manufacturers trying to push products into an already packed space.

Companies are attempting to compete in today’s crowded tablet market by slashing product prices to undercut rivals. The iPad, the front-runner in the field, set the entry-level price for tablets at $500. It’s the price to beat.

And many companies are trying hard to beat Apple. Toshiba’s recently debuted Thrive tablet starts at $430, while Acer’s Iconia Tab A500 costs $450. As recently as last week, HP announced steep discounts on its TouchPad tablet...

A California appeals court is striking down a voter-approved measure requiring every adult arrested on a felony charge to submit a DNA sample.

The 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco said Proposition 69 amounted to unconstitutional, warrantless searches of arrestees. More than 1.6 million samples have been taken following the law’s 2009 implementation.

“What the DNA Act authorizes is the warrantless and suspicionless search of individuals, before a judicial determination of probable cause to believe they have committed a crime, for evidence of crime unrelated to that for which they...