The Moto 360 is round, like most traditional watch faces. The Apple Watch is not. CNET In some ways, the Apple Watch was more of a competitive threat to existing smartwatch developers before it was announced earlier this month. Now that more details are known , there’s good and bad news for competitors. First, the …

Samsung’s 12-inch Galaxy Tab Pro is the closest thing that exists to a supersized iPad. Sarah Tew/CNET Samsung’s first Android tablet — the 7-inch Galaxy Tab — was not a cheap tablet, but it set a precedent for small tablets. This helped ultimately influence the development of Apple’s iPad Mini. But even more significantly, it paved a path for the …

The Apple Watch — in its current form. Apple Apple has covered its design bases with the upcoming Apple Watch. It will come in two sizes, with six bands, and in three “collections,” including a more durable sports model and a high-end version finished in 18-karat gold. Offering so many options at launch may even be unprecedented for Apple as …

With a so-called iWatch — or some other wearable device — apparently imminent, rumors have swirled that Apple will also offer app store capability for it. But would Apple really need one? In July, Apple was awarded a patent for a “wrist-worn electronic device.” Apple/USPTO Apple’s iOS app store has earned billions for developers and even more billions for Apple …

By reacing out to apps, Cortana has created another advantage versus Siri. YouTube screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET When Apple announced the features of iOS 8 — expected to appear in a new generation of devices this fall — the company was lauded for offering more choice in cloud services, notification widgets, and software keyboards as well as allowing more services …

If you can’t beat ’em join ’em. For years, companies that have found themselves in second or third place behind market leaders have pushed bravely to create their own versions of the Apple or Android models — either by tightly integrating hardware and services, or by working with partners to develop a new spin. HTC President of Americas Jason Mackenzie …

The Psion 5mx boasted a usable keyboard in a pocketable size. Georg Dembowski Schoschi The clamshell has proved as hard to push aside in the PC world as it’s been hard to bring back in the mobile world. In the late ’90s, operating systems such as Windows CE and Symbian powered palmtops such as the Philips Velo and the Psion …

The Passport delivers a big-screen experience the BlackBerry way. BlackBerry Since the release of the BlackBerry 10 operating system, the Canadian handset maker’s devices have come in two flavors: phones with large rectangular displays that embody the modern iPhone and Android slab motif and phones with small square displays and physical keyboards that hearken back to classic BlackBerry designs. Now, …

Stripped of user interface control, companies like Motorola will focus on industrial design with Android Wear. When it comes to preserving the integrity of the Android user experience, Google is becoming a lot more like Microsoft by using the launching point of platforms such as Android TV and Android Mobile to rein in its hardware partners. Observing the three big …

At the unveiling of T-Mobile’s “Music Freedom” offering, CEO John Legere is flanked by DJ Ryan Lewis (left) and Rapper Ben “Macklemore” Haggerty of the hip-hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Mat Hayward/Getty Images for T-Mobile In the same city on the same day, two companies made their bid to further their interest in the wireless industry. Amazon, an outsider …