Stories by Melissa J. Perenson

Huawei Ascend D Phone: Hands-on

After introducing what it called the world's slimmest phone at the 2012 CES in January, just one month later at Mobile World Congress Huawei announced the Ascend D quad and quad XL phones, which the company bills as the "world's fastest."

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 first look

The Galaxy Note 10.1, announced Monday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, is the second entry in the company's pen- and touch-capable Galaxy Note line.

How Steve Jobs changed mobility

It's no dispute that Steve Jobs' influence on technology has been far and wide. However, in reflection, one could say he single-handedly transformed and redefined mobility in the 21st century, in a way no other technology company or individual has done.

The Amazon Kindle Fire: First impressions

The wraps are finally off Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet. Its splashy entry into the tablet firestorm was hard to miss -- Amazon made quite a statement with its $199 price -- and yet I'm underwhelmed. Although reporters were not allowed to touch the Kindle Fire during the demonstrations following Amazon's New York launch event, I spent considerable time observing the tablet in action, and grilling Amazon executives about different features. My gut reaction to what I saw today: This is not the Amazon tablet we've all been looking for.

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet means business

With the ThinkPad Tablet, Lenovo distinguishes itself as the first company with two tablets clearly aimed at two different markets. The company did a solid job with its consumer-focused IdeaPad K1, released midsummer. The ThinkPad Tablet (starting at $499 for a 16GB model, price as of 9/23/2011), like its laptop brethren, has its sights squarely set on business users. And like the ThinkPad laptops, Lenovo largely succeeds in putting together a business-worthy package with its own design, features, and bundled software.

Windows 8 on ARM processors: Three working tablet demos

This week has seen lots of talk about Microsoft Windows 8 coming to hardware running on ARM processors. Now, the first prototypes, from Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments, are on display here at the BUILD Expo. But questions remain.

Why we need Windows 8 tablets

Interoperability: It's a big word that describes an even bigger problem -- namely, that of the compatibility of your apps and data between different devices. And while the mobile worlds of Google's Android and Apple's iOS have come a long way, nothing compares to the complete end-to-end compatibility offered by a Windows computer. The issues that a Windows 8 tablet could address are the twin troubles of file handling and app compatibility -- two things that remain troublesome thorns in the sides of both Android and iOS.

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