Microsoft reveals a consumer version of the 2014 Surface Pro 3-- the simply named Surface 3, a 10.8-inch tablet running full Windows 8.1 on a fanless Intel Atom processor similar to that powering a number of budget notebooks.

The tablet is a bit thinner (8.7mm) and lighter (622g) than its Pro sibling, and features a display in the same 3:2 aspect ratio. Like the Pro model the 1920x1280 resolution touchscreen handles pressure-sensitive pen input, and all comes inside magnesium casing complete with built-in kickstand.

Microsoft claims the battery allows up to 10 hours of use, while ports include full-size USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort, cover port and micro USB for charging. Wireless connectivity comes through wifi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) and Bluetooth 4.0.

Samsung announces a solution for low- and mid-market mobile devices wanting for more built-in storage-- a "high-performance mobile memory storage" based on 128B 3-bit Embedded MultiMediaCard (EMMC) 5.0 NAND flash.

Similar technology (based on either UFS 2.0 or eMMC 5.1) is already in use in flagship devices, but as Samsung puts it now mid-market devices can also get 128GB of built-in storage through its highest density eMMC 5.0 solution yet.

Performance-wise the technology delivers 260MB/s for sequential reading (the same as eMMC 5.1) and read/write speeds of up to 6000 and 5000 IOPS respectively, sufficient for HD video processing and multi-tasking features.

BlackBerry and IBM join forces at CeBIT 2015 to present the SecuTABLET-- a "high security" tablet based on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 (not BlackBerry's own Playbook) aimed at public sector and enterprise use.

The tablet features a combination of the Secusmart Security Card and IBM secure app wrapping technology, and can be seamlessly integrated in existing BlackBerry SecuSUITE infrastructure. It is currently undergoing certification at the German Federal Office for Information Security for VS-NfD (classified - for official use only) security rating.

Neptune, the company behind the ungainly Neptune Pine smartwatch, has ambitions to centre users' computing lives on the wrist-- the Neptune Suite, 6 pieces of hardware revolving around a wrist-worn device.

The heart of the Neptune Suite is the Hub, a wrap-around water-resistant smartwatch the company describes as "the world's first true personal computer." It features a 2.4-inch capacitive touchscreen, 3G/LTE(via nano-SIM card), NFC, wifi and Bluetooth connectivity and a 1.8GHz quad-core processor, and uses short-range 802.11ad WiGig to connect with the other Suite devices at up to 7Gbps with "non-perceptible latency."

As such, the smartphone and tablet components of the Neptune Suite-- dubbed "Pocket Screen" and "Tab Screen"-- are essentially dumb devices providing  larger (either 5- or 10-inch) displays for the Hub. For further usability one can also attach the Tab Screen to a self-explanatory "Keys" wireless keyboard.