A familiar MacBook Air, with an all-day battery

The good: New Intel fourth-gen CPUs help the updated MacBook Air achieve amazing battery life. The multitouch trackpad is still the industry's best, and even better, the 13-inch MacBook Air now starts at $100 less than the previous model.

The bad: Newer features such as touch screens and higher-resolution displays are still missing. The ultrabook competition is catching up, in terms of design.

The bottom line: Apple keeps the latest MacBook Air updates on the inside, but greatly improved battery life and a lower starting price make up for a lack of flashy design changes.It may be a case of "the more things change, the more they stay the same."

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Motorola Moto X review: A comfy Android with mass appeal

The good: The Motorola Moto X squeezes a speedy camera and futuristic voice command capabilities into a well-crafted design that hits the sweet spot between screen size and comfort. The phone has great battery life and is available in an endless variety of customized designs.

The bad: With no expandable storage, space could get tight, especially on the 16GB base model. The screen isn't as big and sharp as those on some competing handsets.

The bottom line: While in screen quality and storage capacity it lags behind rival superphones, the Moto X's superbly compact and comfortable design, whiz-bang voice controls, and long battery life make it a worthy Android contender.

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iPad Mini 2: What to expect regarding the price, specs, and release date of Apple's next iPad Mini

The iPad Mini is 1 year old. What will Apple do for an encore?

On October 22, Apple will have an event. While the company has given no agenda beyond the "We still have a lot to cover." tagline of the press conference invitation, new iPads are an inevitability. And that includes a new iPad Mini.

What do we know for sure? Nothing. But, while early rumored leaks point to some design changes in the larger iPad, there are still a surprising amount of unknowns surrounding the second-gen iPad Mini. Yes, it will have the same basic form factor, and it will run iOS 7 out of the box. But what else?

I certainly have my own iPad Mini wish list, and it's pretty easy: a Retina Display, a faster processor, and as little expansion to the Mini's size and weight as possible.

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Don't buy a new PC or Mac before you read this

Before swiping your credit card on a new ultrabook, all-in-one, or convertible, you're going to want to dive a little deeper into the spec sheets. That's because the latest Intel CPU upgrade, introduced in June and code named Haswell (but officially known as "fourth-generation Core i series") offers significant battery life improvements in the laptops we've tested so far. So, unlike the more ho-hum Intel updates we've seen in years past, there's a real-world payoff in seeking out a Haswell-equipped laptop.

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PS4 hits November 15 for $399: What you need to know [hands-on]

The PlayStation 4 is almost here.

Sony's next-gen gaming console will hit stores in the US on November 15 at a price of $399. That price undercuts Microsoft's Xbox One -- also arriving in November -- by $100.

The US launch will be followed by a European release on November 29. The console will cost £349 in the UK, and 399 euros on the Continent.

Along with the console, Sony has also confirmed a large list of PS4 games due to be released before the end of the year.

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The [Lenovo A10] is an Android laptop-tablet hybrid with a 300-degree flip screen

The Lenovo A10 is a two-in-one Android tablet and laptop.(Credit: Lenovo)

We've seen plenty of laptop-tablet hybrids, but none of them running Android. But that's exactly what Lenovo unveiled Friday, and it's called the A10.

The device runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean that Lenovo heavily modified to provide both a desktop and tablet experience. On the tablet side, there's an app launcher, where you can find all of your touchscreen apps. If you want to use the A10 as a laptop, you'd use the desktop mode, which has a Windows-esque taskbar where you can run and manage apps.

There's also a file manager in desktop mode where you can access files, similar to what you can do in Windows or OS X. The A10 includes a full AccuType keyboard and touch pad.

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Mobile plans do buyers no favors [Smartphones Unlocked]

If you're tried of calculating exactly which US carrier gives you the lowest absolute price on any given smartphone, you can start by "blaming" T-Mobile.

Brassy shock-jock CEO John Legere's campaign to position the carrier as the simple, refreshing upstart vis a vis AT&T and Verizon's corporate greed has seen success: T-Mobilehas picked up more competitor customers, and AT&T and Verizon rolled out similar up-front pricing and early upgrade plans of their own.

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Apple decks out venue for iPad event next week

Sources Suggest that the company is decorating the windows of San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center to match the design on press invites sent out for an event on October 22.

The October 22 event is expected to bring a variety of announcements, including new models of the iPad and iPad Mini, updates on Macs, and a price and release date for OS X Mavericks.

The facade of Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters was similarly as bright last month when the company invited press and guests in to announce its two new iPhones, the 5S and the 5C -- the latter of which comes in a slew of colors.

Live Coverage Of the Event CAn be Seen Online On Cnet : Cnet Live Event Link

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