The concept of speed reading has been around for decades, where comprehension is more about remembering key words in a page than reading every single line at superhuman speed. Smartphones and tablets now offer interesting ways to not only learn how to do it, but also at the pace you're most comfortable with.

Mundane tasks and errands usually only come with the reward of simply getting them out of the way or checking them off a to-do list, but there may be money to earn in doing those things for others. Apps and services have sprouted up connecting people who need things done with those who are happy to do them when there’s a fee involved.

Routers tend to be standalone tech products that are set up and then usually forgotten about until something goes wrong. The idea of a "travel router" might seem a bit of a misnomer, but getting better Internet connections can be made a lot easier when you're packing one of them.

When LG first introduced its new smart TV platform based on webOS at CES 2014 in Las Vegas, the company made it clear that it wanted to change both the perception and purpose behind how such an interface would work. Smart TVs may have the moniker, but their look and feel have always felt like something was missing, putting LG and webOS in a unique position to take the lead. What can you expect from the platform when it launches on the company’s upcoming TVs?

Is Samsung's Gear Fit a smartwatch or a fitness band? Could it be both, and if so, can it pull it off? These are reasonable questions for a device that doesn’t really have one distinct purpose, yet manages to carve out a unique identity. Straddling the line like that can be risky for an unproven gadget, but then again, the Fit doesn’t usually act alone, relying on certain Galaxy devices to expand on its capabilities. The result is an interesting one that shows promise, though a slam dunk remains elusive.

Cutting the cord from your cable provider doesn’t necessarily mean there is one solution to cover everything you watch. Ottawa-based Nuvyyo thinks it may have something that can help the cause in a big way with the Tablo, a set top box that can take free over-the-air HD broadcasts and stream and record them to mobile devices.

When Samsung released the Galaxy Note 3 last fall, I called it the company’s true flagship smartphone because there wasn’t much else like it on the market. By that time, the Galaxy S4 had the notoriety despite being supplanted by a few other handsets. The Galaxy S5 is not a huge leap forward from its predecessor, but it is a notable evolutionary step in the right direction that ensures this phone will compete to be the best.

HTC took a different approach with the One (M7) last year, a body made of aluminum on the outside, with a subtler take on the overall interface — fastened together by the UltraPixel camera and BlinkFeed. The same cues are apparent in the new HTC One (M8), with improvements to the design, hardware and software that make this not just an elegant handset, but one that might compete for the crown as among the best ever made.

Despite being an Ottawa-based company, Shopify has tended to try new things south of the border first before bringing them back home. Such is the case with the company’s mobile card reader that turns an iPhone into a point-of-sale (PoS) solution — a device that is also given away for free to clients who want to accept payments virtually anywhere.

Electric toothbrushes aren’t created equal, which is precisely the message from rivals Philips and Oral-B, both of whom have launched their elite models to the market in Canada. In pitting them against each other in a hygienic plaque-fighting showdown, each has pros and cons, but are ultimately effective in what they do.

After the longest run of any operating system Microsoft has ever produced, Windows XP will basically be laid to rest on April 8, meaning that no further patches, updates or support will be forthcoming from the software giant. For users still clinging to the aged OS, upgrading to Windows 7 or 8 has become the only option, more or less.

The idea of paying for goods and services using your smartphone isn't a new concept, and it's already possible with ongoing initiatives from credit card companies and wireless carriers, but both PayPal and BlackBerry have their own ideas on adding more convenience.

Streaming content to your TV has been getting increasingly easier as different types of solutions have come to market, and given the timing of the launch of both Google’s Chromecast and Roku’s Streaming Stick, it’s apt to compare them. While they seem to be an apples-to-apples comparison, they diverge in some key areas that should impact your buying decision.

Curved displays aren’t really a new idea, since movie theatres have had them for decades, but their implementation in mobile devices like smartphones takes a little getting used to. In that respect, the LG G Flex is a bit of a pioneer. It not only features a curved display, it also does so with a larger 6-inch P-OLED that proves to be an important element to how you might perceive it. LG hasn’t positioned this device as a solution for every consumer, nor is it the company’s flagship (that’s still the G2; soon to be the G3), but it’s a functional handset meant for those who want something bigger to look at.

Google’s Chrome operating system has been well-received by some consumers on affordable laptops, but Asus’ Chromebox translates this to a desktop form factor that could work on a desk or as part of a home entertainment setup.

Parrot may be better known for gizmos like its A.R.Drone quadricopter and hands-free Bluetooth speakers, but recently the company ventured into vehicles with aftermarket dash units that bring Android into the mix. The Asteroid Smart is the best head unit Parrot has come out with, and shows some promise with what’s possible, despite the aged version of Android onboard.

Crash tests have been key to producing vehicles for decades, and recent innovations around virtual simulations have opened doors to better building materials as a step toward reducing injuries or eliminating collisions altogether.

Usually, the term “a need for speed” doesn’t tend to rhyme when it comes to reading, a pastime that is more about slowing down enough to retain all the information on each page. There appears to be an app for that, too, and it’s called Spritz. Well, to be fair, Spritz is actually more than just an app, it’s a technology that its developers believe could change the speed, recognition and retention that people read with, managing to get you through up to 1,000 words per minute. Samsung devices will be the first to showcase it on mobile devices, with the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Gear 2 coming first.

A tablet with a 12.2-inch screen is hard to miss, no matter who makes it, but this being the NotePRO, Samsung has combined more real estate with the improved efficiency of the S Pen to create a compelling combination. Of course, at that screen size, it’s almost where the most portable of laptops currently are, raising questions about what you can get out of it over and above its basic tenets. As is, though, it’s a tablet that is easy on the eyes and takes the good things from Samsung’s TouchWiz, while leaving the extraneous stuff out of the way.

When music moved from analog to digital and physical mediums to binary files, it largely relinquished a level of audio fidelity that hasn’t entirely come back en masse, and just as video’s evolution demands better resolution, audio may not be far behind.