If you live somewhere between North Carolina and Connecticut, you've no doubt been bombarded with information about the Great Cicada Invasion of 2013 (a.k.a. Swarmageddon). Depending on the source, 30 billion to 1 trillion bugs are participating in a once-every-17-years mass emergence. And while they present no imminent danger, these bugs make quite a racket—up to 94 decibels, according to a Huffington Post article.

Magellan has just introduced its latest connected device to the world of portable navigation with their new SmartGPS, and we're already well into testing this creative new device in our lab and on the road. So far, we're impressed with the features and variety of updated information SmartGPS can deliver. But we're not crazy about how this info is displayed and how awkward it can be to access.

Several major U.S. banks are beta-testing a new way to give you access to your mobile banking account, which could mark the beginning of the end for your password headaches, according to Toby Rush, CEO of EyeVerify, a Kansas City, Kan., technology firm.

The next generation of video-game consoles is almost upon us. Since some details on the upcoming Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One have been revealed, we wanted to speculate how the two stack up against each other so far.

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, I saw a prototype for one of HP's newest all-in-one printers, which HP claimed would be able to print pages about as quickly as laser printers do—making it the fastest inkjet printer out there. HP also said that although the printer cartridge would be expensive, it would last a long time and actually save you money.

Know someone who's collecting a degree this year? All graduates deserve a reward for making it through school (and before they have to face the rather scary job market that awaits them). Here are some electronics suggestions that should put a smile on any grad's face.

At an event today called, appropriately, Xbox Reveal, Microsoft announced the next generation of the Xbox, the first new version in eight years: It's an "all-in-one" entertainment system called the Xbox One. Not only has the console's architecture changed both inside and out, but improvements have been made to the Kinect and the remote control, and new entertainment options abound, says the company.

Lots of digital devices can capture video, including basic cameras, smart phones, and tablets. But when it comes to shooting important events, it's crucial your videos are clear, sharp and in focus. For those, here's why you'll do better with a full-size camcorder:

We recently wrote about Panasonic's new ZT60 plasma TVs (TC-P60ZT60 and TC-P65ZT60), which will be the company's flagship televisions for 2013. We knew a lot about the TVs—the 60- and 65-inch screen sizes, the new customizable home screen, the Swipe & Share 2.0 features that lets you send content back and forth between the TV and a mobile device—but we didn't know how much they'd cost.

The Samsung Galaxy S 4, one of the most advanced Android smart phones ever, is our new top-rated smart phone. The S4 delivered top-notch performance in the most critical areas of our tests, including the camera.

The newest tablet in Samsung's lineup, the Galaxy Note 8 ($400) received top marks in our latest Ratings of 7- to 8-inch Wi-Fi tablets. It's largely the Galaxy's versatility that puts it at the top, with its innovative stylus and a feature lineup that includes GPS and a memory-card reader. (In comparison, the iPad Mini has none of those, but it also costs $70 less).

A laptop and desktop from Vizio—the Vizio CT15T-B1 Ultrabook and the Vizio CA24T-B0, respectively—are the first computers into our labs with the latest Wi-Fi standard, 802.11ac. Though it's up and running, it's still an emerging standard, waiting to be ratified by the Wi-Fi working group; still, 802.11ac should result in faster throughput.

The HTC One and HTC First may share a manufacturer and an operating system, but the similarities end there. Each phone has a unique interface for presenting and accessing news feeds and messaging apps. But only the One tackles that task with aplomb. Here's what we found:

Ever since the major video game platforms (the Nintendo Wii U, Sony PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Xbox 360) added motion-controlled gaming, players have been jumping off the couch and moving more than their trigger fingers. But say you're new to the world of games and are more interested in fitness than collecting virtual coins or battling digital aliens. Which console should you buy?

The LG Optimus G Pro, exclusively available now from AT&T for $200 with a two-year contract, is essentially a supersized version of the Optimus G, one of the highest-scoring models in our Ratings of smart phones. But with its 5.5-inch display, the G Pro also invites comparisons to the popular Samsung Galaxy Note II. The Optimus colossus lacks the Note II's stylus and the floating-preview options that come with it, but it compensates with other capabilities, including the unique ability to "zoom in" on conversations while using the phone's camcorder.