We've known for some time that Amazon was going to announce a new family of Kindle devices, and company CEO Jeff Bezos didn't disappoint when he took to the stage today to introduce this year's models. On the less exciting side of the spectrum, this year's vanilla Kindle eReader is slimmer, lighter, and cheaper than last year's entry-level model, selling for $69 instead of $79. As you move up the chain of devices, however, things get exponentially more interesting.

After months of speculation and hype, Nokia today undressed its newest flagship smartphone -- Lumia 920 -- and bared its naked soul for all to see. The Lumia 920 is Nokia's much anticipated Windows Phone 8 device, the one that's supposed to turn the company's fortunes around and legitimize it as a true contender in the high-end smartphone sweepstakes that's currently led by Apple's iPhone family (iOS) and a handful of Android devices, most notably Samsung's Galaxy S III. So, how does the Lumia 920 compare to the Lumia 900 it replaces?

It's incredibly tough to keep a product launch under wraps with the Internet serving as the ultimate spoiler. Samsung can attest to this after seeing its Galaxy Note II plans leaked to the Web ahead of its offical launch. Be that as it may, all a company can do is forge ahead with business as usual, as Samsung did by officially unveiling its second generation Galaxy Note device. There is one surprise, however -- Samsung's skipping a U.S. launch until later this year.

Samsung isn't letting a little thing like losing a billion dollar verdict to rival Apple disrupt its mojo. Rather than sit around and feel sorry for itself, Samsung today surprised everyone by announcing the Ativ S, the world's first Windows 8 smartphone, edging in front of Nokia and every other Microsoft partner that's planning to launch devices of their own. Ativ S is one of a handful of devices in Samsung's newly branded Ativ Windows 8 product line.