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If one thing seems certain, next year should play out as the year when most high-end smartphones feature a 5-inch screen.

Japan Display revealed yesterday that the mega joint venture -- consisting of Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi's manufacturing prowess -- started mass production of a 5-inch 1,080-pixel LCD screen bound for future smartphones. … Read more

Visitors to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, just north of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge, will soon be able to check out a massive new World War II-era battleship gun.

The 16-inch gun, originally mounted on the USS Missouri, saw significant action during World War II, and according to the National Park Service, is featured prominently in photographs of the Japanese surrender ceremony that took place aboard the Missouri on Sept. 2, 1945. It will soon be installed in Battery Townsley, in the Marin Headlands area of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Weighing in at 120 … Read more

Monitors that are 24 inches with 16:10 aspect ratios are a dying breed. Their slow demise makes way for the new world order of 16:9.

While the 16:9 aspect ratio and the 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution more closely matches that of movies and mimics HDTVs, some users still find value in the extra screen real-estate afforded by 16:10-based, 1,920x1,200-pixel resolution.

As long as there is enough demand, 1200p monitors will continue to be made, but they're nowhere near as plentiful as say four years ago. With fewer to choose from than before, knowing which are the best is where I and this blog come in, could be very helpful.

Personally, I prefer 24-inch displays at 16:10, but the 16:9 aspect ratio makes 2,560x1,440-pixel resolution possible so it can't be all bad.

You may notice that I didn't include the HP DreamColor LP2480zx on the list. It's the best-performing 24-inch I've ever seen. Its price, unfortunately, puts it out of reach for the majority of users.

Given that, I've only included monitors on the list most average people could afford.… Read more

So, what's the killer feature of the iPhone 5? Arguably, its speed. Or, is it the screen? A lot of parts of Apple's latest iPhone have been tweaked top to bottom, and the first challenge you might find is picking a few apps that take advantage of the iPhone 5 fully.

I expect many more in the coming days that will really start to bring out the best in the iPhone 5, but here are a few early winners.

Tweetbot A Twitter app to show off the iPhone 5? Really? Well, displaying longer lists better is pretty much … Read more

The iPhone 5 and iPad Mini buzz dominates headlines, but signs point to Apple also coming out with a new MacBook Pro that's nothing to sniff at.

DisplaySearch has been telling CNET for a few weeks now that a 13.3-inch Retina version of the MacBook Pro (MBP) is slated for production this quarter.

An Asia-based report followed suit today, saying that "mass production" has begun of the 13.3-inch Retina Pro. An Apple announcement is expected in either September or October, according to the DigiTimes report, citing "supply chain" sources.

That MBP 13-incher will … Read more

Editors' note, October 16, 2012: Updated after the release of Apple's October 23 invite.

There have been rumors of a smaller, 7-inch iPad since...well, since there was an iPad. The iPad Mini, as it's being called lately, initially seemed to some like a silly idea: why would you need a smaller iPad? It's actually a logical idea: make an iPad even more portable and more affordable than before. The only question is, when would such a product finally exist?

Now that Apple's sent invites for its next event, the iPad Mini seems to have become a very real product, yet we still know very little about it. Here are our best guesses.… Read more

The Amazon Kindle Fire HD will bump up against the iPad Retina in the very exclusive ultra-high-resolution tablet club.

That club is made up of pretty much one product right now: Apple's third-generation iPad Retina. Its 9.7-inch display boasts a 2,048-by-1,536 pixel density, which yields 264 pixels per inch (PPI).

Amazon's just-announced 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD almost matches that, with a 1,920x1,200 resolution, giving it a PPI of 254.

Apple describes a Retina display as a pixel density that "is so high your eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels." … Read more

When Amazon launched the original Kindle Fire in 2011, the $199 tablet was a surprise hit that reigned as one of the top budget tablet options. But that reign came to a dramatic end with the introduction of the Nexus 7, Google's flagship Android 4.1 tablet.

To keep things interesting, Amazon just upped the ante with a Kindle Fire HD, offering several key hardware improvements, overhauled software, and that same $199 price tag. And while it's not likely to send Google back to the drawing board, the Kindle Fire HD does offer an interesting alternative to the pure Android experience of the Nexus 7.

Which of these $199 tablets is right for you? It's a tough call, so let's weigh the pros and cons and check the specs.… Read more

Sony has unveiled two of its biggest TV innovations of the year, and they're both inside the new XBR-84X900: it's the company's largest screen to date, and it's one of the first to feature 4K resolution.

The XBR-84X900 is the company's first 4K screen, and comes in the single 84-inch size. It's an edge-lit LED-based LCD TV that features passive 3D (another first for Sony) and comes with a 10-driver stereo speaker system.

For more information, check out our first take of the Sony XBR-84X900.