Retail: Features

The BlackBerry Q10 is a solidly built piece of hardware that will please those who've waited for a new physical-keyboard BlackBerry, but its small screen and limited app support will keep many away.

We've had about six months to play with Windows 8 (like it or not) and with the first generation of hardware designed for the new OS. So now, with PCs based on Intel's Haswell CPU poised on the horizon, it's time to take stock of the best Windows 8 hardware available today. You may be able to snap one up for a bargain-basement price as the industry clears out inventory in anticipation of second-gen machines.

It's official, and it's been official for a while -- Android is far and away the most popular smartphone OS in America. Ever since January 2011, when the platform surpassed RIM to take the top spot for the first time in comScore's monthly market share rankings, Google's operating system has continued to grow its user base, which accounts for 52% of the market as of this January.

You want to get in better shape, and there are certainly enough electronic gadgets available that aim to help you get the job done. But that's not necessarily a good thing. The dizzying array of options catering to different budgets, objectives, or personal preferences can stop you in the tracks, even when picking out a seemingly simple device.

By the time Apple ships its rumored 'iWatch' smartwatch, it will be entering an already crowded market. That's a good thing, says columnist Mike Elgan.

As Congress considers a law requiring online retailers to collect sales taxes nationally, debate is heating up over the revenue threshold for triggering collections.

Genesco, a specialty retailer of footwear, sports apparel and related accessories has sued Visa USA for $13.3 million in fines that were assessed against the company after a credit card data breach in 2010.

Ah, Amazon -- did Jeff Bezos choose that name to symbolize the largest bookstore in the world or did he realize that he would one day create an enterprise Cloud service that was as large and complex as the river basin? After spending some time with his enterprise infrastructure service, I think he saw this coming.

I've written before that it seems like HTC was due for a win one of these days (even though the rumors about the M7 were a bit off) and it sure looks like they've done pretty well for themselves with the new HTC One, which was rolled out Tuesday in New York.

Sony has finally announced (sort of) the PS4 console, although it has no design, price or release date. We think this will fare badly against any app-enabled Apple TV box or full-blown Apple Television.

Microsoft Word remains the world's beefiest and most popular word processing program. It's no easy task to simplify an application that has accumulated 30 years' worth of features, but Microsoft has improved the 2013 edition in several key ways, starting with a polished Read Mode and embedded PDF edits.

Chromebooks should be dead. Netbooks - the Chromebook's shameful forefathers, made from the same plastic parts and budget internals - have shuffled into the sunset, and Chromebooks suffer from similar, shockingly severe limitations. Even calling the Chrome OS an "OS" is a bit too kind, as it's virtually crippled without an Internet connection.

For the first time Microsoft is tempting Office users to rent, not own, software that for decades they've bought as a standalone program. It's not a foreign proposition. We pay annual subscription fees for our anti-virus software. Last April, Adobe rolled out its Creative Cloud subscription package for renting Photoshop, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver.

Not long after the iPad mini launched last fall, Cameron Yuill, the founder of AdGent Digital, started using the device to make business presentations.

Here are the core comments from Apple CEO Tim Cook's 'state of the union' earnings address.

Gibbs ponders how a Starbucks coffee cup could become the greatest business edge

George and Judy Jetson would feel right at home at the CES floor here. With smart washing machines, magic remotes, and refrigerators that blast Top 40 hits, the automated home has arrived.

It's official: We've entered the tablet age, and 2013 looks to be a great year for slates. Tablets appeared in all forms at the International CES and were just about everywhere you looked--and the noteworthy and innovative models featured Windows 8, not Android, inside.

It should've been awkward. This year's CES is the first show since Microsoft's amicable split with the Consumer Electronics Association. Redmond severed deep ties, giving up an annual booth in a marquee floor spot, and sidelining the dynamic duo of Ballmer and Gates, who had warmed up the crowd at 15 of the past 18 opening keynotes. Going in to this year's show, we expected the ambiance to match that first uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner after your parents get divorced.

Most of the tablets, TVs, ultrabooks and smartphones on display at International CES this week ultimately are bound for someone's home, where they'll have to talk to each other. Six major home networking technologies to make that happen will be on display at the show, some of them making significant strides to keep up with the demand for instant information and fun.