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The new Windows 8 devices announced by Samsung includes a smartphone, a tablet and two versions of notebook. Samsung has announced several Windows 8 ATIV devices at a conference in Berlin, Germany. They include two notebooks, a tablet and a smartphone that will be a part of Samsung's new brand for its Windows-based devices. The smartphone, called the ATIV S , will run the Windows Phone 8 operating system with a 1.5 gigahertz dual-core processor. It'll have a 4.8-inch display and an eight-megapixel real camera, along with a 1.9 MP front camera. The 2300mAh battery is quite impressive in size, which put the ATIV S in the same arena as the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx, which has a 3300mAh battery. The ATIV Tab tablet will run Windows RT, which will use ARM-based processors. It'll have a 10.1-inch display and will come with a five-megapixel rear camera and a 1.9 MP front camera. According to Samsung, the ATIV Tab will boot up instantly and will come with Office Home and

During hurricane season, consumers and businesses and are encouraged to have an emergency plan prepared and assemble an emergency kit. (Photo courtesy of C Spire Wireless) Hurricane Isaac, which has now been downgraded to a tropical storm, made landfall along the Louisiana Gulf Coast and wireless carriers were ready to ensure your mobile devices would work as conditions worsen or if wireless networks were threatened. This year's hurricane season started on June 1 and emergency mobile plans are in place for AT&T, C Spire Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and others. AT&T stands ready to keep their networks working with the "first nationwide" preparedness certification in hand from the Department of Homeland Security. This certification enhances their Network Disaster Recovery program, which includes a $600 million investment and 320 technology-equipped trailers that are ready to deploy to areas damaged by hurricanes or other disasters.

The quality of your wireless service is probably not top of mind as you go about everyday tasks of making calls, texting, reading emails and Web surfing. But the wireless companies certainly have it on their minds and Verizon Wireless just got a nod from J.D Power and Associates as providing the best network quality in Mississippi for calls, messaging and data usage. It was a regional pat on the back for the highest wireless quality in five regions, which included the Southeast Region, with the Gulf Coast states of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida. According to J.D. Power, the survey included all the U.S. wireless providers, along with 27,000 wireless subscribers, who were asked about their experiences with voice, text messaging and data usage. Krista Bourne, president of Houston/Gulf Coast Region, Verizon, shared these thoughts on customers and their wireless devices. "Today's smartphones and tablets require a powerful network in order to make the mos

Microsoft has ditched its wavy logo design for the square look. The new design incorporates four squares with different colors and ties in with Microsoft's new direction with Windows 8, their mobile initiatives and gaming devices. According to a Microsoft top official, the new look "signals the heritage but also signal the future - a newness and freshness." It took 25 years for Microsoft to make a drastic change in the logo design, but they have been slowly moving in a direction of simplicity with recent choices for typefaces, a clean uncluttered design and bold colors. I first noticed the new approach in the appearance of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview operating system, where the Metro design influence was very noticeable. We're likely to see the full design initiative when the new Windows 8 OS is unveiled on Oct. 26. Now that the new logo is in place, Microsoft is positioned to move forward with new products that'll have a fresh corporate iden

I believe Samsung Electronics of America might have a winner with the new Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, which was announced on Wednesday and available for purchase the next day. That's about the shortest roll out of a product that I've seen. So let's get right to it. The iPad is standing ready to defend any challenger and the Galaxy Note 10.1 just might be a threat, or at least earn a lot more respect than some of the other challengers like the Galaxy Tabs, the Motorola Xoom, the G-Slate and several other contenders. Just to refresh your memory, the first Galaxy Note that arrived on the scene around February with a 5.3-inch display, was more smartphone than tablet. The Galaxy Note 10.1 seems to be more tablet than smartphone. The Android 3.2 operating system, or Honeycomb, on the previous Galaxy Note is now Android 4.0, or Ice Cream Sandwich, on the new Galaxy Note. The old and new share still share the unique S Pen stylus, but it has been redesigned on the Galaxy Note 1

Sometime this fall, your favorite Starbucks will be accepting mobile payments using the popular Square system for customer transactions. Square uses a free credit card reader for smartphones and allows anyone to accept credit cards anywhere using iPhone and Android apps. The coffee shop powerhouse will use Square's "Pay with Square" app for transactions. Customers also will need to download and set up an account on their smartphone. Starbucks hopes to give their customers a seamless payment experience at 7,000 stores in the U.S. Square is only available in the U.S. at this time, where "more than two million individual and businesses" use the service. Contact us: earnesthart@live.com | Follow on Twitter @ehart

I usually carry my regular smartphone in my right pocket and whatever phone I'm reviewing for this column in my left pocket. Then it's a matter of how often I reach in my left pocket for the review phone to read email, run an app, check social networks, surf the Web, take a photo or shoot video. I've been carrying the HTC One V from C Spire Wireless for a couple of weeks and I've been reaching in my left pocket quite often. I like this phone for a lot of reasons. The HTC One V is one of the latest Android devices running OS 4.0, also know as Ice Cream Sandwich, with the HTC Sense interface running in the background. This combination gives a smooth experience with easy to navigate features. One of first things I think anyone would like about the One V is the Beats Audio feature that HTC has deployed in several of their smartphones after announcing a "strategic partnership" with Beats Electronics in August 2011. You might be familiar with Beats Audio fro

I predict that very soon, we'll all be using our smartphones to pay for merchandise at various retailers. It'll become as common pulling out cash or a credit card. The folks behind Google Wallet have been steadily marching toward this goal and recently released a "cloud-based version of the Google Wallet app" that'll have more support for credit and debit cards. The card vendors include MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express. According to Google, this new version also includes includes a feature to remotely disable your mobile wallet app. This should help to ease some of the security concerns in the first version of Google Wallet. To further address security concerns and streamline how banks implement the technology, Google has revamped how account data for credit cards is stored in the Google Wallet app. Instead of the storing the data on your phone, Google now uses their secure servers, which also allows banks to add their cards in a few weeks. Goo