Samsung’s crowning of the Tab S as its new flagship line has sidelined the Note for now. A note connotes something small, a brief comment or a single expression of tone in a piece of music. But the arrival of Samsung’s first Galaxy Note was anything but small, playing perfectly into the company’s “next big …

A lot can be deduced from announcements this week from Apple CEO Tim Cook and others. Tim Stevens/CNET Contrary to some expectations, an iWatch software development kit was not announced this week at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Alas. Even if such an SDK exists or is in the works, providing information about it would simply be too big a hint …

Better keyboard UI navigation would help ease switching between the MacBook and iPad. My previous column discussed the contrast between the integrated hardware and fractured software experience of Microsoft’s Surface. Surface aficionados contend that the tradeoff is worth it for the benefit of not having to purchase an extra tablet and having everything mobile they need — above and beyond …

The Nokia X — now under Microsoft — has Android inside. Sarah Tew/CNET Many of the leading handset vendors have a hand — or at least a pinky — in both the Android and Windows Phone worlds. A year ago, Motorola and Nokia were the two handset brands with the strongest allegiance to a specific operating system. But times — …

The Samsung Gear Fit has raised the bar in display technology for wearables. Sarah Tew/CNET If you had walked into a flagship Niketown store at a certain point in 2012, you might have had to look twice to realize that the global athletic apparel behemoth actually sold clothing. The reason for this shifting of focus from active wear was due …

Amazon’s Fire TV can act as a Miracast receiver. Sarah Tew/CNET There are many brands of tablets and smartphones, a handful of major TV and home audio-video providers, and a smattering of operating system providers. Combine these technologies and you end up with a seemingly endless number of ways to get video, music, and other content from your handheld device …

As Bing has done for Microsoft, an Apple search offering could unify Siri and Safari results. “The Arsenio Hall Show”/YouTube screenshot by CNET Recent reports indicate that Yahoo may be gearing up to become the default search provider on iOS. Today, the iPhone’s default browser — Safari — has search powered by Google. When the iPhone launched and the mobile …

Here’s what makes our mobile devices ever more spectacular: larger screens, higher resolutions, faster modems, and speedier processors. And here’s the oft substantial cost of all that: big-time battery consumption. Handset makers constantly strive to squeeze more milliamps per hour into a phone battery. The challenge of so while keeping a slim profile is clear to anyone who has used …

In 2010, the iPad wedged itself into the market between the smartphone and laptop using the operating system of the former but something closer to the screen of the latter. Apple’s tablet has long offered cellular connectivity as an option, but tablets have developed a reputation for being homebodies, at least compared to their pocket-sized, cellular-equipped smartphone cousins. Indeed, the …

While software keyboards continue to improve and speech recognition becomes a more viable option where it does not create social stigma, text input remains a key challenge for mobile devices. Larger tablets — generally 8 inches and larger — can accommodate a keyboard tucked away in a folio carrying case or attached as a cover or, as seems the trend …