Stories by Ginny Mies

These days Android phones seem to be in an arms race when it comes to performance, with claims of faster processors, better graphics engines, and more cores. We put a few of the hottest Android phones available today through our rigorous suite of benchmark tests to see which ones live up to the performance hype.

Although the Motorola Atrix HD is the first Android phone that Motorola has released as a Google subsidiary, it isn't remarkably different from Motorola phones released preacquisition. That isn’t a bad thing, however: The Atrix HD is sort of a mashup of the best features from other Motorola phones.

The LG Optimus 4X HD ($US560 unlocked; price as of 7/5/12) is LG's first foray into the quad-core world. Announced some four months ago at the Mobile World Congress, the 4X HD is powered by an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, but that's not its only highlight. It also has a 4.7-inch display with a 1280-pixel-by-720-pixel resolution. The Optimus 4X HD is currently available in Europe and will arrive in Asia, South and Central America, and Russia in coming months. So far, LG hasn't announced any North American availability for the 4X HD. LG's Android phones haven't been wildly successful here in the United States, but this model has what it takes to make a splash in this country.

The Android Developer Sandbox is the place to be if you want to see the hottest Android-based projects. Here's what we liked.

At the Day One Android keynote and Google I/O, Google revealed the latest update to the Android operating system. Android 4.1, also known as Jelly Bean, is more of a minor upgrade than a complete overhaul of the operating system.

The Samsung Galaxy S III ($200 with a new two-year AT&T contract, price as of June 20, 2012) is one of the most hyped phones this year--and we've finally gotten a chance to spend some time with it. After Samsung's splashy launch event, the lawsuit drama with Apple, and the announcement that this model would be coming to five U.S. carriers, we've had high expectations for this phone.

The global Samsung Galaxy S III just launched last week in London, but we got to use it at the CTIA 2012 mobile show.

The global version of the HTC One S ($200 with a new two-year contract from T-Mobile; price as of April 18, 2012) impressed me at Mobile World Congress back in February, so I was anxious to see if the T-Mobile version was equally awesome. Spoiler alert: It is. The One S packs a high-end camera, the latest version of Android, and a powerful dual-core processor in a swank, superslim design. Among its few drawbacks is the absence of a microSD slot; in addition, we had some issues with the call quality in San Francisco.

Shopping for a new smartphone is tough: With so many phones out there, finding the best one for your work life and your personal life can be headache-inducing. This guide highlights business features among the different operating systems, explains the best specs for business, and offers advice on the apps you should download once you purchase your smartphone.

Microsoft showed off the Windows 8 Consumer Preview today in Barcelona on the third day of Mobile World Congress. As the PCWorld phone editor, the whole event felt incredibly familiar. XBox live support? Apps that work together? A dynamic start screen? It sounds a lot like Windows Phone.

The Mobile World Congress provided a chance to see Acer's CloudMobile phone up close and personal, and the limited glimpse I got of the device left me impressed.

Huawei, Huawei, Huawei. The hard-to-pronounce Chinese manufacturer is one of the most buzzed about companies at this year's Mobile World Congress (by the way, it's pronounced "wa-wei").

ZTE announced a total of 15 devices today at its Mobile World Congress Press conference, but the ZTE Era definitely got the most buzz.

ZTE was heavy on the Android-related announcements today, but the handset and tablet manufacturer also announced a Windows Phone as well.

Nokia is on a roll with the Lumia phones this year and today the company announced the Lumia 808 PureView and the Lumia 610. The Lumia 808 is a camera-centric Symbian phone while the Lumia 610 is an inexpensive Windows 7 Phone.