HTC One SV

What you should know: 

There's no dodging the figures here. When 800 x 480 resolution is stretched across a 4.3-inch screen, you're going to notice the low 217-ppi screen density -- individuals pixels can often be seen at work, especially on the diagonal. That being said, pixelation on the One S is much worse despite packing more pixels (960 x 540, to be exact) into the same dimensions. Sense 4.1's clean UI is appropriately scaled to give a 4 x 4 grid of icons in the app menu, so everything looks a little bigger than on higher-res handsets, but in general the visuals remain preserved.
Keeping everything moving under the hood is a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus with Adreno 305 GPU (MSM8930) and a lone gig of RAM. Don't worry about the thrifty 8GB of storage, because a microSD slot supporting 32GB cards can be found under the back cover above the removable battery, and next to the micro-SIM cavity. For connections, it's got all the radios up to LTE, 802.11a/b/g/n -- both 2.4GHz and 5GHz -- Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC.

What it offers: 

The SV is a solid option for people who want an LTE device on the cheap.

The advantage: 

• Solid performance
• Attractive design
• Inexpensive

The unfavorable: 

• Low-res
• Somewhat awkward to hold

The price:
$280

ASUS TAICHI 21

What you should know: 
The good news is that the TAICHI is fairly thin, at 0.69 inch -- not bad considering it has not one, but two displays on board. That chassis is just thick enough that it makes room for two USB 3.0 ports, along with micro-HDMI, mini-VGA, a volume rocker, an audio jack, a screen lock and a slider for powering the machine on. Additionally, the TAICHI ships with a USB-to-Ethernet adapter, a micro-HDMI-to-VGA dongle and, on select models, a pressure-sensitive pen. Like other high-end ASUS machines, it even comes with a pouch for the adapters and a matching case for the computer, which wins extra points on account of its leather detailing, magnetic closure and slot for holding the pen.

What it offers: 
The TAICHI has an inventive dual-screen design with fast performance, wide viewing angles and decent audio. But we'd rather wait for a second-gen model with better battery life.
The advantage: 

• Innovative design
• Great viewing angles on both displays
• Fast performance
• Supports pen input
• Good sound quality

The unfavorable: 

• Short battery life
• Interior screen doesn't support touch
• Runs hot
• Some touch pad issues

The price:
$1,299

Samsung Galaxy Note II

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Galaxy Note II show up wearing a very pink outfit on Samsung's Taiwanese site. Clearly, the phone tablet slab looks to follow in the footsteps of its other galactic siblings, the OG Note and GS3, and, in the process, looks to give an extra hue option to those who prefer something a little different than the more traditional colors, or even the newer amber brown and ruby wine. Since Samsung hasn't made an official announcement yet, however, availability details are still relatively unknown, so we'll have to wait to see whether or not this light pink Galaxy Note II ever makes it past the Taiwan page and onto others. In the meantime, perhaps you'd like to mosey past the break, where a rather glamorous press shot gallery awaits.

LG had promise to unveil new series of phones

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LG unveiled its Optimus L series with a bang at last year’s Mobile World Congress, and then we saw three devices covering everything from the low-end to upper mid-range with the Optimus L3, L5, L7 and L9.

This year, LG wants to one-up itself and teased on Facebook:

“New series will be unveiled.”
Pretty concise. We take this as a hint that LG is ready to bring a new series to devices no later than MWC 2013. What’s more, the company says it is ready to surprise us:

Could this mean a new Optimus series? After the successful and well received LG Optimus G and Nexus 4, LG has the right momentum to get its traction back.

Nokia Lumia will be coming up with 41-megapixel sensor

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Nokia is finally bringing its "revolutionary" 41-megapixel Pureview sensor to its Lumia range of Windows Phone handsets, according to sources close to the Finnish handset maker.

The new model will be known as EOS, and will launch in the summer in the US.

Observers queried the lack of the 41MP sensor - boasting five times the resolution of most top-end phone cameras - when Nokia launched its flagship Lumia 920 Windows Phone handset at the end of 2012 - although the phone does confusingly boast a camera technology also known as Pureview.

The 41MP sensor debuted at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona in February 2012 on Nokia's final Symbian phone, the 808. The resulting images drew rave reviews at the time, though in fact the aim of the sensor is not to produce huge images, but good images in low light.

Low-light images taken at high ISO ratings (where small amounts of light are registered) typically have a lot of "noise" on them – random speckles of visible colour - caused by increasing sensitivity of the CCD sensors in the digital camera.

The aim of the 41MP sensor is to oversample the image; the actual size of pictures taken on the 808 is about 5MP, but each pixel can be determined from the information provided by the redundant pixels, thus eliminating much of the flawed data.

The 808 also uses a bigger sensor, which means bigger pixels. Nokia explains in a white paper (PDF) that pixel size has "shrunk just over the past six years from 2.2 microns, to 1.75 microns, to 1.4 microns … The smaller the pixel, the less [sic] photons each pixel is able to collect. Less [sic] photons, less image quality. There's also more visual noise in images." (One micron is a millionth of a metre.)

The latest Nokia Lumia 920 comes out with a floating lens technology, which is actual optical image stabilization - a first for a smartphone.

The VW Beetle Convertible

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The front-wheel-drive Beetle Convertible comes equipped with three engine choices, each sporting unique performance qualities: a somewhat perky 2.5-liter inline-five, a robust turbocharged 2-liter four-cylinder, and a highly efficient 2-liter TDI turbocharged diesel. At just about 3,200 pounds, the Beetle isn't light enough that the 2.5-liter’s 170 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque will set any hearts aflutter.

The turbo 2-liter outpaces the base engine's numbers, an engine choice designed to appeal to the male buying group on which VW is banking. Each automatic-equipped Beetle has an 'S' mode that holds rpms higher to give the driver more immediate throttle response, and of all the group, the Turbo makes the most use of this mode. Its 200 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque are sent to the wheels through either a six-speed manual transmission (also available on the TDI) or VW's DSG automated manual (available in all trims). One of the best on the market, VW's dual-clutch automatic prepares gears with one clutch while another clutch is operating the lower gear, making for near-seamless shift transitions.

For the more fuel-conscious, the TDI -- with 140 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque--is a solid bet. This ain't your dad’s diesel car; the diesel engine is whisper-quiet as it pushes through an impressive amount of torque, and it rakes in solid fuel economy numbers: 28 mpg city and 41 mpg highway for the manual and 28 mpg city and 37 mpg highway for the automatic.

All Beetles come with Bluetooth connectivity, a trip computer, an auxiliary input jack, and an integrated previous-generation iPod cable located in the glove box. VW offers an additional USB port connector, but it's a little disappointing that a separate USB port isn't standard. Still, hooking up a music device is simple and the knob-plus-touch-screen configuration makes it easy to scroll through music selections.