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Prizefight: BlackBerry Z10 vs. Apple iPhone 5

BlackBerry still has its following of loyalists but their numbers have dwindled. Even enterprise customers have transitioned to the iPhone and Android phones, a place that used to be dominated by BlackBerry.

The BlackBerry Z10 is the company's first all-touch-screen phone with a sleek design and a bigger, higher-resolution screen. Its new operating system is based purely on gestures without a physical button.

The iPhone 5 has continued to be a beast in the Prizefight ring. Even though the Samsung Galaxy S3 has surpassed the iPhone 5 in CNET editors' minds, we're facing the Z10 off against the … Read more

Four recommendable Windows 8 all-in-ones under $1,300

If you are considering an all-in-one desktop purchase, you may have noticed higher prices for Windows 8 PCs than Windows 7 systems with comparable hardware from a year ago. Where a reasonably fast 23-inch all-in-one used to cost about $1,000, you can expect to pay $100 to $200 more for the Windows 8 equivalent today

The good news is that PC vendors seem to have finally internalized the calls for better-looking Windows PCs and more-innovative features. Those things alone don't account for the higher prices we're seeing at retail, but they do help lessen the impact.… Read more

PS4 and the Vita: The multiscreen dream...again

The PlayStation 4 is Sony's last great hope in keeping control of the gaming industry. It's also the best chance at turning the PlayStation Vita into a more relevant piece of gaming hardware.

At last night's PlayStation 4 event in New York, many hew tidbits of hardware magic were discussed, and a good handful of them involved the Vita: as a remote-play device and additional controller like the Wii U's GamePad, and maybe even as a functional second screen. It's encouraging, but not surprising. I bet it would happen long before last night's event … Read more

An attractive Samsung all-in-one with just enough substance

Samsung's tidy, new $1,099 Series 7 all-in-one mirrors others in its price range, offering a relatively frictionless entry point for those interested in a touch screen, Windows 8-based PC. A poorly implemented gesture control scheme is a minor sticking point, but given the price of this system, Samsung isn't asking much of a a premium for gesture input.

Among other 23-inch Windows 8 all-in-ones, the Samsung Series 7 is one of the most affordable, without sacrificing too much in terms of its core features. Other all-in-ones offer some more intriguing features if you're willing to spend … Read more

Windows 8 ultrabooks, hybrids to see uptick this year

Laptop suppliers will continue to see weak demand in the first half, but things should pick up later in the year, IHS iSuppli said today.

After a "bleak" first quarter and a "slow" first half overall, Windows 8-based ultrathin laptops will "help revive the market" later in the year, the market researcher said.

Notebook PC shipments from the Top 5 laptop manufacturers, referred to as ODMs or Original Design Manufacturers, are forecast to amount to 35.2 million units during the first quarter, down 15 percent from 41.4 million in the fourth quarter … Read more

How to display the Galaxy S3 desk home screen sans dock

The Samsung Galaxy S3 (and Note 2) has a neat feature when docked to a Samsung multimedia dock; it can automatically display the desk home screen. The desk home screen is a useful display with a clock, calendar, local weather and multimedia shortcuts. It's a nice companion display when you're charging your S3 at your desk. However, you don't necessarily need a dock to use the desk home screen.

If you're using a third-party smartphone stand with a separate charger, you can still make use of the desk home screen.

To use the desk home screen, … Read more

Shipoopi adds any app to your lock screen on Android 4.2

With lock screen widgets having been introduced in Android 4.2, developers have been looking for ways to take advantage of the new feature in creative ways. Earlier this week a developer e-mailed me with an introduction to his app, Shipoopi, which allows Android users to add a shortcut to any app to the lock screen of a device.

Admittedly, the name of his app, Shipoopi, has nothing to do with what the app actual does, according to Jonathan Dharmaraj, the developer. The simple app, with a name inspired by a "Family Guy" episode (where Peter sings the … Read more

A keyboard that rises up from flat touch screens

A few weeks ago, right before the new BlackBerry 10 phones were announced, I dragged a cameraman to San Francisco's Financial District during lunch hour and asked random strangers to name BlackBerry's best feature. Care to guess what the results of my highly unscientific poll were? Even iPhone and Android users agreed -- the famed keyboard is BlackBerry's top trait.

Increasingly, we "mobile device addicts" are favoring our smartphones and tablets over our traditional computers to meet our digital demands. Trouble is, a lot of us still despise typing on these beloved touch-screen devices. One Silicon Valley startup has created a new kind of keyboard that could help reduce typos and other fat-fingered mistakes.

Fremont, Calif.-based, Tactus Technology uses microfluidics to make physical keys bubble up from the surface of a touch screen when you need to type and disappear, when you don't. Microfluidics may sound foreign, but if you've operated an inkjet printer you've used the technology. … Read more

Quarter of iPhones have a broken screen, poll says

As many as a quarter of iPhone owners are walking around with a broken screen, according to new figures.

Mobile-phone insurance Web site MobileInsurance.co.uk (which obviously has a vested interest here) asked iPhone owners whether their blower's display is currently broken, smashed, or cracked in any way, to which 23 percent yes.

The average length of time people have been putting up with their damaged display? Six months.

Most people said they hadn't gotten around to fixing their screen, with roughly equal numbers saying they weren't insured, couldn't afford to fix it, or were … Read more