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Hands on with Huawei's Ascend W1, a Nokia Lumia clone

LAS VEGAS--Coming in big with two extra-large Android smartphones wasn't enough of a splash for Huawei here at CES. This morning, the Chinese networking provider and handset-maker launched the Huawei Ascend W1, its first-ever Windows 8 phone.

The first thing that struck me, both when I first saw the press images and when I finally got three of the models in my hands, is how similar to W1 looks to Nokia's Lumia 900 and 920.

There's the same block shape with squared-off corners and a glossy display set onto bright colors. In fact, Huawei's W1 (as it's known in the U.S.) … Read more

Sony's KDL-W802A LED TV: More of the same

LAS VEGAS--Last year we reviewed nearly every Sony TV, so I feel confident in guessing that the 2013 KDL-W802A series will perform about the same as the 2012 KDL-HX750 series. In other words, not so great. But judging from the picture above, it does look cooler.

The HX750's real Achilles' heel was value, however, so until Sony announces pricing on the KDL-W802A (and until we, you know, test the dang thing), there's no telling how its final rating will shake out.

In terms of picture specifications, the HX750 and W802A are very similar, both sporting edge-lit LED backlights … Read more

HP targets budget users with its IPS-based ZR2330w monitor

LAS VEGAS--HP continues to deliver one monitor announcement after another. This time, a 23-inch In-Plane Switching (IPS) monitor, the HP ZR2330w.

The 23-inch monitor features an LED backlit screen, a 14ms screen refresh rate, 250 candelas per square meter (cd/m2) brightness, and a native resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels.

Connections include VGA, DVI, and DisplayPort, with plenty of OSD controls -- brightness, contrast, sharpness, and color temperature: warm, standard, cool, and custom.

Ergonomic options include a 30-degree back tilt and a 5-degree forward tilt. Also included are swivel, pivot, and height adjustment.

HP says to expect a budget-friendly … Read more

Here comes Microsoft Surface Pro, 64 bits and all

Microsoft's Windows 8 Pro version of the Surface will arrive soon, giving consumers probably one the highest performing tablets to date.

Microsoft is already dropping not-so-subtle hints that the device is coming "early in 2013." And now it appears to have made its debut at the FCC.

Let's look at what else Microsoft is saying about the 2-pound tablet that sets it apart from the current Surface RT tablet.

64-bit computing in a tablet: Surface with Windows 8 Pro is "a 64-bit tablet PC." That's not a trivial point. You get all of … Read more

W3C buttons down HTML5, opens up HTML5.1

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) today took two significant steps down its double-track path toward standardizing HTML, the core language of the Web.

First, it released a "candidate recommendation" of Hypertext Markup Language 5, which means HTML5 is settling down in the eyes of the standards group. Second, it released a first draft of HTML5.1, a smaller set of changes it's developing simultaneously.

"CR [candidate recommendation] is the stable branch into which only bug fixes go, [and] 5.1 is the new line for improvements," said Robin Berjon, one of the five newly appointed HTML5 editors. … Read more

Windows 8 touch PC demand strong

Demand for Windows 8 touch-screen PCs is strong, according to two analysts who spoke with CNET.

"Touch machines are actually selling above expectations," said Bob O'Donnell, a program vice president at IDC.

And that means supply shortages. "Some vendors are actually facing shortages because touch panels are in limited supply. Vendors are saying they can't get as many touch-based machines as they would like to meet the demand that they're seeing."

Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at IHS iSuppli, echoed O'Donnell's comments. "We've talked to a number of PC makers … Read more

Intel to slash power consumption on Ivy Bridge chip

Intel is on a mission to cut the power consumption of its chips. But that's not only future silicon. The current Ivy Bridge chip will get throttled down too.

Intel will cut power consumption "significantly" for future versions of the chip, an industry source familiar with the chipmaker's plans told CNET.

Intel's most power efficient Ivy Bridge chips today -- used widely in Windows ultrabooks and Apple's MacBook Air -- are rated at 17 watts.

A future version of Ivy Bridge would be rated well below this, the source said. Processors able to throttle … Read more

Privacy professor to try to break Do Not Track logjam

Peter Swire, an Ohio State law professor and privacy expert who has worked with the Obama administration, is stepping into a contentious process to create a standard way to let people stop Web sites from tracking their online behavior.

Aleecia M. McDonald announced today she's stepping down as co-chair of the Do Not Track standardization effort at the World Wide Web Consortium. She previously worked for Firefox maker Mozilla, which launched the current DNT technology after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sought a mechanism to block online tracking, but she currently works for a program within Stanford University'… Read more

Giant killer: ALO's tiny Pan Am headphone amplifier

Frankly, I was a little disappointed when I first unboxed the new ALO Pan Am tube headphone amp. It looked so cute and tiny; how could it possibly deliver the goods? The dainty 4.6-inch-by-3.8-inch footprint makes it easy to place anywhere. The amp's rear end houses three inputs: stereo RCA and 3.5mm analog inputs and a USB connection. The built-in digital-to-analog converter accommodates up to 24-bit/96-kHz audio. The amp is available in anodized silver or black finishes.

I started listening with my trusty Grado RS-1 headphones and loved the clarity. The Pan Am has the … Read more