BlackBerry

BlackBerry Q10

$249

Pros

  • Great physical keyboard
  • Solid build quality
  • Good display

Cons

  • Small display
  • Mediocre camera
  • Limited app selection

Bottom Line

The BlackBerry Q10 delivers the great QWERTY feel that fans have been waiting for, but those looking to consume content will want to stick to the larger panel on the Z10.

ASUS

ASUS Cube

$139

Pros

  • Mic built into the remote for voice search
  • Good implementation of Google TV
  • Solid trackpad on the remote

Cons

  • A Cube doesn't fit well in a home theater
  • Limited audio and video outputs
  • The Cube user interface isn't great

Bottom Line

It's the best Google TV set-top box yet, at a reasonable price.

Kobo

Kobo Aura HD

$169

Pros

  • Big, high-res screen
  • Strong front light
  • Lots of storage for an e-reader

Cons

  • Pricey
  • Big footprint
  • Software still lacking

Bottom Line

This reader's got solid specs, but price and size constraints will likely hamper wide appeal.

Nokia

Nokia Lumia 720

£300

Pros

  • Attractive design
  • 2,000mAh battery
  • Good low-light pics

Cons

  • Aging innards
  • Relatively expensive

Bottom Line

Nokia's Lumia 720 is a very desirable handset on the outside, but lackluster insides make it hard to justify the price.

Samsung

Samsung Galaxy S 4

Price varies

Pros

  • Superb 1080p Super AMOLED display
  • Camera takes impressive daylight shots
  • Snapdragon 600 delivers solid performance
  • Battery life better than most flagships

Cons

  • Several new features are impractical and half-baked
  • Boring overall design without premium look or feel

Bottom Line

The Galaxy S 4 is a solid improvement over the GS3, and the best Samsung device we've ever used, but we'd love to see Samsung come up with a fresh design and premium look.

Sony

Sony NEX-3N

$500

Pros

  • Excellent performance and image quality
  • Solid build and design
  • Very affordable for a mirrorless kit
  • 16-50mm power zoom lens in the box

Cons

  • No accessory port or mic input
  • Power zoom is too choppy for video

Bottom Line

Sony's latest entry-level mirrorless camera is hard to beat.

Sony

Sony Xperia ZL

$100+

Pros

  • Compact for a 5-inch handset
  • Capable camera with HDR video
  • Mostly helpful Sony UI

Cons

  • Short battery life
  • Performance trails rivals
  • Narrow viewing angles

Bottom Line

The Xperia ZL is an improvement over the Z, but doesn't shine as brightly next to many of its contemporaries.

Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0

$399

Pros

  • Sturdy build quality
  • Strong performance
  • Vibrant display
  • Pen can now be used to tap the capacitive soft keys
  • Not many tablets this size with pen support

Cons

  • Disappointing battery life
  • No HSPA+ option in the US

Bottom Line

Even if you rarely use the S Pen, the Galaxy Note 8.0 is a solid tablet in its own right.

HTC

HTC One, Sprint

$200

Pros

  • Gorgeous design
  • Camera does very well in low light
  • Powerful quad-core Snapdragon 600 chip
  • Stunning 4.7-inch, 1080p display
  • Clever features like Zoe Share and Highlight Reel

Cons

  • A few aspects of the Sense 5 UI feel like a step backward

Bottom Line

The HTC One is the best handset you can buy on Sprint, though it won't reach its full potential until Sprint fleshes out its LTE network.

HTC One

HTC One, AT&T

$200+

Pros

  • Gorgeous design
  • Camera does very well in low light
  • Powerful quad-core Snapdragon 600 chip
  • Stunning 4.7-inch, 1080p display
  • AT&T is offering a 64GB version

Cons

  • A few aspects of the Sense 5 UI feel like a step backward
  • Lots of carrier bloatware

Bottom Line

The One is the best phone you can buy on AT&T, and it's also the best of the US variants: AT&T has a bigger LTE network than Sprint or T-Mobile, and it's the only one offering a 64GB model.

AT&T

HTC First

$100

Pros

  • Facebook Home is visually appealing
  • Stock Android 4.1 runs underneath the Home UI
  • Solid performance
  • Great 720p display

Cons

  • Horrible camera and video capture
  • Home eats data for breakfast, lunch and dinner

Bottom Line

The First is an above-average mid-range device, and Facebook Home is a solid 1.0 product with plenty of room to grow.

Lenovo

Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx

$549+

Pros

  • Solid performance
  • Bright IPS display

Cons

  • Uncomfortable keyboard deck
  • No rear camera
  • Shorter battery life than the competition

Bottom Line

The IdeaTab Lynx has a bright IPS screen, but it's ultimately not Lenovo's best Windows 8 hybrid.

OUYA

OUYA (founding backer edition)

$99

Pros

  • Low cost
  • Small, efficient
  • Easily hackable

Cons

  • Controller has numerous flaws
  • Very limited initial game selection
  • No game pricing in store

Bottom Line

The initial version of the OUYA shows promise, but it needs a lot of polish before the final retail release if it wants to impress gamers.

Roku

Roku 3

$100

Pros

  • New UI is a welcome improvement
  • Upgraded CPU eliminates performance issues
  • Simple, capable and relatively cheap

Cons

  • Still no official YouTube or DLNA support
  • No analog AV output

Bottom Line

The Roku 3 keeps everything that's made the brand successful and ushers in some welcome improvements, all without boosting the price or ruining the simple setup.

MSI

MSI Slidebook S20

$1,200

Pros

  • Adjustable display -- a rarity on slider laptops
  • Decent audio
  • Good port selection

Cons

  • Inferior build quality
  • Cramped, flimsy keyboard
  • No touchpad or mouse
  • No configuration options

Bottom Line

MSI chose the wrong form factor for its flagship Windows 8 Ultrabook: the S20 suffers from an uncomfortable keyboard, poor build quality and an awkward design that includes no pointing device whatsoever.