Back in the day, the spec list for Motorola's Atrix HD made for impressive reading. After all, the $99 handset shipped with a 720p display, Ice Cream Sandwich, 8-megapixel camera and AT&T LTE. While its real-world performance couldn't match our hopes, the low price more than compensated for our gripe that it couldn't hold its own against the Galaxy S III or One X. We're fairly sure plenty of you out there bought this handset, so it's to you we ask: what parts of this phone's design to you love, what parts do you loathe and what, if anything, would you change?

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Intel's Kirk Skaugen was relaxed about "me too" thin-and-light devices trailing behind Ultrabooks like Remoras. Perhaps it's because of our lukewarm reception of devices like HP's Envy Sleekbook 6z, which we found to be a little lumpen. While we liked its understated design, the sluggish AMD internals and flaky trackpad meant we weren't feeling particularly fondly on this piece of hardware. This is where you come in. Why not dream up a budget laptop that could hit the same price point but without the flaws -- the more imaginative, the better.

Filed under: Laptops, HP

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Fussy about boot times, carry-weight or weak battery life? Then you probably gave Lenovo's IdeaPad U310 a wide berth. The thing is, aside from those flaws, it was otherwise a very solid Ultrabook for those whose wallets couldn't stretch to a premium model. We want to know, did you buy one? If so, what did you think of it, and let's imagine you were dreaming up a budget Ultrabook -- what would you change?

Filed under: Laptops, Lenovo

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When we reviewed Lenovo's IdeaTab S2109, one quote sums up the essential frustration of this particular device. "There's no one huge, glaring reason to stay away; no, it's the combination of a middling CPU, unimpressive battery life and design quirks [...] that adds up to an experience that leaves us wanting more." So let's talk about why this device inspires so much apathy? If you bought it, what about it made it so unspectacular, and what do you think Lenovo could have done differently?

Filed under: Tablets, Lenovo

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Sony's VAIO T13 was a sub-$1000 Ultrabook with an eye on the education market. While we were impressed by the results, its low price meant that compromises had to be made -- especially in the keyboard department. In fact, we were saddened to see that it was packing shallow keys and weirdly wide spacing that made it uncomfortable to type on. But if you were one of those back-to-schoolers who bought one, what did you think of it and what would you have changed about it?

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Okay, who didnt see this coming? It appears the Boston bombings has woken everybody up and suddenly Black Powder is the new nuisance. Something that was never a problem before...

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An artist's rendering of Kepler-62f NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech

It's just like living on Earth, only you weigh 90 pounds more!

Scientists recently located two exoplanets orbiting in the Kepler-62 star system 1,200 light years from Earth. Though much further away than other exoplanets possibly conducive to life-Gliese 581g is only 20 light years from us--Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f are the smallest exoplanets the Kepler Mission has detected in their star's "goldilocks zone." And for habitability, size matters. Kepler-62e, in particular, has a radius only 60 percent larger than Earth's, meaning that if it is a rocky planet like Earth it might have a similar mass. With a similar mass (meaning similar gravity) and an atmosphere, Kepler-62e could have life as we know it. In fact, Kepler-62e now tops the charts for potential habitable exoplanets.

Because of its promising position in the star system, Kepler-62e is a prime candidate for our continuing search for life. Something amazing could be living its deserts or oceans. But could you? What would a day be like for an Earthling on Kepler-62e?

Length of year: 122 Days

Radius: 1.61 times that of Earth's

Estimated maximum mass: 36 times that of Earth's

Estimated minimum mass (based on a rocky composition): 4 times that of Earth's

Number of birthdays a child born on Kepler-62e would have every five Earth years: 15

Percentage you'd have to add to your road trips to cover a proportional distance on Earth: 61 percent

Amount of G-force equivalent to prepare for: 1.5-14Gs

Ways to prepare:
•Ride a seriously scary roller coaster
•Take off in a Saturn V rocket
•Cover 0.25 miles over 4.4 seconds in a drag racer.
•Slam on the brakes in a Formula One car.
•Set the world record for speed in Olympic luge.
•Pull out of a dive in a F-16.
•Explosively eject from your seat in a fighter jet.

Automatic weight gain on Kepler-62e: 50 to 1300 percent

Amount of weight the average person can expect gravity to add: Between 90 pounds and two full-grown dairy cows

Kyle Hill is a science writer who specializes in finding the secret science in your favorite fandom. Hill also contributes to Scientific American, Wired, Nature Education, and io9. He writes daily at his Science-Based Life blog, and you can follow him on Twitter under @Sci_Phile.

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Last year, LG went on a campaign to rebuild its reputation as a smartphone maker that could play with the big boys. When we reviewed the Optimus 4X HD, we found that it deserved to be spoken in the same breath as the One X and Galaxy S III, and probably caught the attention of some folks over at Google. Many of you bought this handset, so the age-old question we'd like to ask is simple. What did you like, what did you loathe and if you were LG, what would you have changed?

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG

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