There are several indications that Windows Phone 8 will have a trick or two up its sleeve. For one, at all recent Windows 8 product launches (whether for the Nokia Lumia 920 or the Windows Phone 8X and 8S), the OEMs were being particularly shy about letting members of the press have hands-on time with the actual software of the device. In fact, the company rep had to hold the device if you wanted to see past the lock screen. This either means that there is something to hide, or that Windows 8 is missing key features, and Microsoft (and its partner OEMs) don't want people to pass judgement ...

It sounds nice when you say it: "paperwhite". The new eReader from Amazon is one of the biggest changes to the Kindle line of devices yet. The Paperwhite features a higher-resolution display, which uses capacitive touch, unlike previous Kindles which had a lower-resolution display with a less precise screen input technology. But perhaps the biggest change to the new flagship Kindle is the inclusion of a front-light that, like the B&N Nook Glowlight, causes the screen to "glow" without the harshness of an LED bulb that you might currently be using with a Kindle. The backlight is ...

Whether you love or hate Apple's iOS operating system, you undoubtedly pay attention to the company's yearly release of the iPhone because it changes the industry for months to come. Some may argue that this industry-changing force has lessened over the years, but make no mistake about it: the iPhone is the phone with which every other phone competes. It's the single most popular phone in the world. The iPhone 5 is not just an incremental update, like the 4S was compared to the 4. It's got a new design, a new CPU, a new operating system, new radios, and even a new connector on the ...

In this video, we compare the features and experience of the latest version of Android, version 4.1 Jelly Bean, with that of iOS, version 6. As is always the case with Android, Jelly Bean provides a high level of customizability and control. The notification shade is now even better with the ability for developers to add quick actions. Add to that the simplicity of the "swipe to remove" UI we first saw in Ice Cream Sandwich, and it's easy to see how Android provides the best possible notification experience. But iOS, too, has improved the notification window in version 6. New is the ...

If you're still not sure whether to upgrade your iPhone 4S to the iPhone 5, perhaps we can help. In this video we compare both iPhones in a plethora of catagories: hardware, specs, app launch speed, web browser speed, screen quality, battery life, gaming, and more. In a lot of ways the devices are very different: the iPhone 5's design is new, it has a different connector, and inside, the hardware has changed dramatically. But at the same time, the iPhone 5 takes literally ever spec of the 4S and bumps it up a notch. As such, the iPhone 5 becomes somewhat predictable: apps open faster ...

When many phones switched to the smaller microSIM standard, many found it easy to cut their SIM down the smaller size, either with a razor blade or a special tool. With nanoSIM making its debut on the iPhone 5, does the same process apply? The answer is yes, and here is proof. In fact, the nanoSIM is just a microSIM with no plastic around the edges. Not only will you need a sharp razor blad and a straight edge to guide you, but you'll also need some 180 grit-or-higher sand paper to slightly reduce the thickness of the resulting nanoSIM. And if you fear that you might one day want to go ...

Amazon invented the low-cost tablet segment with the original Kindle Fire, which went on to be Amazon's best-selling product ever. For many, it was an ideal media consumption device: it was thin, light, had a reasonably good screen, and was tied to Amazon's rich offering of movies, music, books, and magazines. The new 7" Kindle Fire HD a higher resolution 1280x800 display (the same as the Nexus 7), a dual-core CPU, more RAM, and more storage. It's also thinner and lighter that the original Kindle Fire, plus it has a host of new software features that make consuming content more ...

Samsung has been mostly uncontested in the phablet space that it invented with the Galaxy Note. We haven't seen a competing device from Motorola or HTC, though there are rumors of a 5" 1080p Android from HTC heading to Verizon. LG, though, is going up against the Note with the Optimus Vu, now available stateside as the LG Intuition on Verizon Wireless for $199.99. The Intuition has a smaller, but wider screen than the Note at 5.0" (versus 5.3" on the Note and 5.5" on the Note II) thanks to its 4:3 aspect ratio afforded by the 1024x768 resolution (making for a pixel density of 256). Inside, ...