Front. I always open my discussion with a quick overview of who I am and what I have done before going into the work.

A lot of my friends have had success using an iPad in a review. I think its a clever and good way to show things if you make sure your presentation is perfect. You must have zero technical problems. 

Never use a laptop. Never ever. 

Definitely put the resume at the front. You can highlight key aspects of your personal history and point those out/refer back to it throughout the interview. Placing it at the back creates an "Oh, by the way..." kind of moment.

I did an interview once in the past where I brought my portfolio on a tablet. It actually went very smoothly; I think the principle enjoyed being able to zoom into a higher resolution on specific images. That being said, I have had about 2-3 interviews where I brought in a hard copy and I always felt much more confident with those (like the other posters mentioned, it comes down to sweating the technical problems that can come up without notice). I would also never use a laptop to show my portfolio.

Totally agree with the other posts... put that baby in the front.  One of my memorable moments within my interview was when the principle looked through my portfolio, glanced at my resume and commented how they used those programs, and then asked whether one of the images I had in my portfolio was a picture of an existing building.  He was stunned by my ability to create an image with their software to look so realistic.

Also, in answer to your other question... you don't know how much time they will have to look at your portfolio, so you will need a hard copy just in case they want to take it with them.  This is also why I suggest creating a portfolio so it tells a story about what you want to show.

I don't see any reason why not to have your lap top on you, however, it's not like it is a capstone presentation, so I doubt you'll need it

Thanks for your replies, decided I'll just make a hard copy. Any suggestions on where to go? 

I used blurb; good quality with a few minor difficulties (different color blacks for images vs background) but got them sorted out pretty quickly

Taking hard copy of the resume would be the better idea to attend an interview since most of the employers would demand 1 hard copy of the resume for there reference and documentation while conducting interviews. 

fed ex kinkos... get their good quality paper, let them print it out and bind it.  Trust me, you'll be doing a lot of that later on, so you might as well enjoy that feeling now as you'll be working towards that same feeling later.

I also suggest fed ex kinkos (or office max, which ever is closer) because if you don't like how it came out, or if something came out wrong... it's on them.  I remember they botched something on mine (which very easily could have been me with the amount of things going on in my mind) and re-printed the whole thing...  less than $50 for 3 portfolios, maybe 10-15 minutes total?

Use blurb or another actual publishing website. fedex kinkos is for bland office packets, not designed portfolios. I used blurb, also with a few minor difficulties, but was infinitely more happy with the end result than kinkos... the cheap plastic binding options kinkos offers are anything but professional looking, and if I remember correctly there is no full bleed on the pages, which again really takes away from a clean, well designed portfolio. Blurb's binding options are fantastic, the wrap-around cover adds a lot to the professional look, especially when first impressions are so important.

I had an issue with blurb, but their customer service was excellent. They gave me a refund on the portfolio they screwed up. If you're not needing something done next day, spend the extra time and get it done through blurb (it's integrated with inDesign, so upload is pretty easy).

Blurb is amazing. I use it for portfolios. For resumes, I bought a nice Canon printer that is able to do full bleed, so for teaser portfolios and resumes it is great. I could print my entire portfolio, but I'd probably go through $30 of ink just for that when for $30 I can get it bound the way I want with a great cover on blurb.

blurb sounds great for my coffee table, but I find nothing wrong with Fed/Kinko.  It's not expensive, the quality was excellent, and in all honesty, we submit our marketing booklets  via plastic spirals, so it's not like plastic binding is unprofessional.  If anything, I like the plastic binding for the flexibility it gives when adding/subtracting to my portfolio.

A saddle stitch portfolio with a wrap around image will always look more professional. If you're strictly concerned with cost, then yes FedEx is better. If you want a better product, blurb is better. We're also talking about making a portfolio that you can hopefully carry around to multiple places; it's probably worth the one time investment to make it look the best you can. That's much different than something like a report that you have to submit multiple times, in which cost is a factor that should be considered more.

I like the flexibility in being able to drop the portfolio off without feeling a punch to the gut.  I find it hard chasing some of the people in my office down fast enough let alone someone coming in with a tin cup asking for someone to hire them...

If you don't have a friend in the architecture world, make it great (cheaply) and make numerous so you can part without it.  If you've met someone and have an interview in line, do your research, specify your portfolio to cater to their company's tastes and spend the extra money.  I just don't see the purpose in show-casing a company's binding capabilities when you are trying to show off your portfolio.  They want what's on the sheets, not what's holding them together