User Rating:
Good: iBooks is an elegant app for downloading and reading books and textbooks on your iOS devices. New continuous scrolling features and iCloud support make it even better.
Bad: The app is not as responsive on earlier devices, and some users are complaining of crashes.
Bottom Line: iBooks is the go-to reading app to download on iOS devices, and Apple has done a good job making the interface intuitive and continually adding useful features. [Read more]

User Rating:
Good: All of Crackle's content is completely free. Some popular movies and relatively new TV shows are available for streaming.
Bad: No HD content. No search function.
Bottom Line: With a good selection of free TV shows and movies to stream, this app is a worthwhile download, even if the videos are in standard definition. [Read more]

User Rating:
Good: The GoPro Hero3 is smaller, lighter, and features built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. The Black Edition offers a number of ultra-high-resolution capture modes and high frame rates for standard HD resolutions; burst speeds for still photos has been greatly improved.
Bad: GoPro's control scheme has a longer learning curve than the simpler slide-n-go setup of the Contour cameras. Only 15fps on 4K video renders this selling point mostly moot for action videography.
Bottom Line: The GoPro Hero3 Silver and White editions are strong contenders in the sports camera market, but the faster, more powerful Black Edition is head and shoulders the best sports camera on the market today. [Read more]

User Rating:
Good: Microsoft Surface's Metro interface is innovative, elegant, powerful, and versatile. The tablet feels strong and well-built, includes Office 2013, and rich video and music services. Its keyboard cover accessories are the best ways to type on a tablet, period.
Bad: The tablet has sluggish performance, its Windows Store is a ghost town, Metro has a steep learning curve, and the Desktop interface feels clunky and useless.
Bottom Line: If you're an early adopter willing to forget everything you know about navigating a computer, the Surface tablet could replace your laptop. Everyone else: wait for more apps. [Read more]

User Rating:
Good: A solidly built slider-style Windows 8 convertible, the Toshiba Satellite U925t includes features, such as a touch pad, that others leave out.
Bad: The design leaves the screen exposed at all times, so you'll need a case or sleeve. The screen resolution is low for a $1,149 laptop.
Bottom Line: The mechanical elements of the Toshiba Satellite U925t convertible laptop are complex, but well-made. It won't be your main machine, but it's one of the more usable Windows 8 launch experiments. [Read more]

User Rating:
Good: The Dell XPS 12 is a thin, powerful, very cleverly designed touch-screen convertible that flips into multiple screen positions.
Bad: For all the hype about touch and tablets with Windows 8, the XPS 12 still works better as a laptop than as a slate. Its battery life is on the low side.
Bottom Line: Dell has revamped its rotating Duo laptop concept into the much-improved XPS 12, but like most convertibles, it makes a better laptop than tablet. [Read more]

User Rating:
Good: The Dell XPS One 27 boasts the highest-display resolution among Windows 8 all-in-ones, and at an aggressive price.
Bad: A new adjustable display support arm is welcome, but stops short of reclining a full 90 degrees.
Bottom Line: Updated with a touch screen, a new stand, and up-to-date components, the Dell XPS One 27 leads the inaugural class of Windows 8 PCs. [Read more]