Reviews

The CD player's days may be numbered, but we're seeing more and more turntables. They all share the common design features of a base, platter, and tonearm, but the Townshend Audio Rock 7 turntable is decidedly less common.

In addition to those three components I just mentioned, the Rock 7 employs proprietary features, mounted on the front of the tonearm, ahead of the phono cartridge. The cartridge and its needle are designed to convert the record groove's tiniest wiggles into electrical signals, but on other turntables the tonearm is unsupported and free to vibrate at the cartridge … Read more

The Zeki 10-inch tablet runs Android 4.0, houses a 1GHz single-core processor, and comes with 8GB of internal storage with microSD expansion.

It has a Mini-USB port and a Mini-HDMI port, as well as built-in 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. The screen has a resolution of 1,024x600 pixels, and there's a front-facing VGA camera.

The tablet is currently difficult to find in stores and you may have better luck with the Sony Tablet S.

Looks like the rumors were true.

Verizon's version of the unlocked LG Optimus Vu, renamed the LG Intuition, will be available online to U.S. customers starting September 6. It will be offered in Verizon retail stores starting September 10 for $199.99 with a two-year contract.

The Intuition sports a gigantic 5-inch display with a 4:3 aspect ratio and 650 nits of brightness.

When I reviewed the Vu a few months back, the phone/tablet hybrid impressed me with its bright screen and slim build. CNET's own Brian Bennett got a chance to get his hands … Read more

Photo taking apps are a dime a dozen in the App Store, but if you look a little deeper, you can make some really cool projects as long as you use some creativity.

Instead of simply giving your photos a retro look like many of the popular camera apps, there are a number of options that turn your images into a creative project in which you can use your imagination to come up with something unique.

This week's collection of apps are all about doing something different with your images on your iPhone. The first quickly turns your photos … Read more

Apple offers versions of its iWork suite (Pages, Keynote, Numbers) for both the Mac OS and iOS platforms, and given that the new school year is right around the corner, students might be weighing the options for creating and managing projects using either iPads or Macs.

While having been a fan of Apple's iWork suite in OS X since its debut and enjoy having the apps available for other platforms, I have been somewhat skeptical of using the iPad or iPhone to write a full report, a formatted resume, or managing calculations in a spreadsheet. Being a touch-only device, I've considered the iPad in large part as a viewing tool where you can look up information and browse through it, rather than buckling down and creating intricate and detailed content, especially with regard to office-related tasks. While Apple's touch-based input panels in iOS have made entering strings of text relatively easy, and along with gestures it provides a unique approach to drawing and arranging objects in applications, the question does arise as to whether this approach is adequate for more-detailed work such as word processing, presentations, and spreadsheets.… Read more

ZTE today used the IFA consumer electronics show to announce its first smartphone to employ Intel's Atom Z2460 "Medfield" mobile processor.

Called the Grand X IN, the handset runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and features a single-core 1.6GHz processor, a 4.3-inch qHD display, and 8-megapixel camera. Like most higher-end Android phones, the ZTE comes with 1GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, a front-facing camera, NFC, and microSD expansion. At first blush, the Grand X IN closely resembles its recent Grand X, save for its processor.

Although pricing and carrier details are still unclear, the … Read more

BERLIN -- Huawei detailed its Android plans today, showing a half-dozen devices going on sale in October, a reworked version of the Android interface, and more of its ambition to grow into a company that regular people recognize.

"We are changing from an ODM [original design manufacturer] to a company trying to build our own brand, and we understand the importance of innovation," said Dennis Poon, who as Huawei's global user interface design director is on the front lines of some of that innovation. At the IFA consumer-electronics show here, he showed off version 1.0 of … Read more

What is Forza Horizon? This question has had me scratching my head since Turn 10 debuted the teaser trailer for its new racing game for the Xbox 360 console way back in March. Now that I've gotten hands-on time with the title, I have a better idea of what it is and what it's not.

Forza Horizon is an open-world racing game that blends free driving with a variety of on-track events. Turn 10 and Playground Games have created a massive, fictional version of Colorado that players can just drive around in. There are country roads, freeways, canyons, … Read more

Lenovo left a lot of room to improve its IdeaTab S2109, and so far the tablet's successor, announced today at IFA 2012, is a step up.

In a nutshell, the 10.1-inch Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 Android tablet promises a larger screen, a better processor, and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera. That camera comes with autofocus and LED flash; fingers crossed it captures crisp, detailed images.

It also gets a bump up from Bluetooth 3.0 to Bluetooth 4.0, which means it'll be able to pair up with compatible devices with a tap. Though larger than its predecessor, the … Read more