Logitech VX Revolution
1. Logitech VX Revolution
Editors' rating: 9.0
The good: Wheel can spin through long documents quickly; long range; large enough to be comfortable yet very portable; battery meter; programmable buttons; tiny receiver stores inside the mouse; laser tracking for precision on many surfaces.
The bad: Almost twice the price of competing notebook mice.
The bottom line: The Logitech VX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks is the ultimate mousing experience on the go, providing comfort, performance and features in a travel-friendly form factor. If you can afford its $79 price, you won't be disappointed.
Plantronic Discovery 655
Editors' rating: 8.3
The good: The Plantronics Discovery 655 comes with three different charging options, a vibrate mode, and different earbud sizes. It's comfortable and has great audio quality.
The bad: The Plantronics Discovery 655's volume buttons are tiny, and the optional ear hook is uncomfortable.
The bottom line: The Plantronics Discovery 655 has a great functional design that offers excellent performance.
2007 BMW 335i
Editors' rating: 8.0
The good: Oodles of torque and svelte body styling come together to make the 2007 BMW 335i coupe a pretty performer. Bluetooth and iDrive-based navigation are optional, and MP3, WMAs and iPods all play for sure.
The bad: The 335i's manual gearbox can be notchy, and the seatbelt presenter takes some getting used to.
The bottom line: The 2007 BMW 335i combines grace and guts to deliver a whirlwind driving experience. Aside from a flexible standard stereo, cabin tech is mostly a case of pay-to-play.
Quicken 2007 Premier
Editors' rating: 8.0
The good: Quicken 2007 Premier has the ability to connect to more than 4,300 financial institutions; a simplified interface; one-step account updates; a calendar that spells out your daily financial status; pop-up insights of transaction details; an affordable online backup; storage for images of receipts and invoices; scanner support; local encryption of your data; Windows and Mac versions; and free, online help chat.
The bad: Despite support for thousands of banks and creditors, Quicken 2007 couldn't import data from a particular checking account from a national bank. Also, its phone support is pricey.
The bottom line: Intuit Quicken 2007 Premier offers a thorough overhaul of its interface, as well as useful new features and conveniences that other financial software products can't match.
Apple Mac Pro
Editors' rating: 8.0
The good: Attractive exterior, innovative interior; great value for the baseline configuration; strong multicore CPU performance.
The bad: Configuration options are not as comprehensive as Dell's; weak support plan.
The bottom line: Apple's Mac Pro has design innovations that we hope will cross over to other systems. Its performance is as strong as you'd expect for a system in its class, and it's priced right, too. You might need more flexibility in your config options, especially for 3D design, but otherwise, the Mac Pro is as solid a professional-class PC as we've seen.
Sony Cyber Shot DSC-T10
Editors' rating: 7.8
The good: Small size; attractive design; optical image stabilization; quick performance.
The bad: Lens is slow and not very wide at f/3.5 and 38mm.
The bottom line: Sony's Cyber Shot DSC-T10 delivers an attractive pocket camera with decent image quality, this time in multiple colors, too.
Oki C5500n
Editors' rating: 7.8
The good: Quick at all printing tasks; overall excellent print quality; handles legal-size paper; networkable; two standard input options; straight paper pass through; generous support options.
The bad: No ADF or built-in duplexer (duplexer optional); expensive for a single-function color laser printer; some color-handling problems in graphics.
The bottom line: The Oki C5500n is an excellent networked color laser printer, but it's pricey. For just a little more, you can get a color laser multifunction.
ATI Radeon X1950 XTX
Editors' rating: 7.7
The good: Fast new memory; friendly pricing.
The bad: Next-gen products and titles are right around the corner, limiting the card's time on the cutting edge.
The bottom line: ATI's Radeon X1950 XTX is the fastest single-chip 3D card that you can buy. Unfortunately, with Windows Vista and its accompanying gaming technology, it's going to become obsolete in just five months. ATI adjusted the price of the Radeon X1950 XTX accordingly, but at $450, it's still not an insignificant purchase. We recommend it only if money is no object.
TomTom One
Editors' rating: 7.7
The good: The TomTom One features a sleek design and is simple to use. It offers accurate text- and voice-guided directions and is affordably priced.
The bad: The TomTom One's points-of-interest database is a bit outdated and doesn't support text-to-speech functionality.
The bottom line: Offering just the navigation essentials and accurate directions, the TomTom One is an affordable and easy-to-use in-car GPS device for first-time buyers or anyone who wants a no-frills navigation system.
Altec Lansing inMotion im500
Editors' rating: 7.7
The good: The Altec Lansing iM500 portable speakers are superthin, attractive, durable and very portable; can be powered by AAA batteries; include line-in port and cable; can be used as an iPod dock with a standard USB cable; excellent sound quality for the size.
The bad: The Altec Lansing iM500 would be better with a remote control; it's a tad pricey; flimsy design when no iPod is docked; dock is designed only for Nano; line-in port is not standard 3.5mm; no white version.
The bottom line: If you're an iPod Nano user who likes to pack light and thin, most certainly check out the nice-looking and sounding Altec Lansing iM500 speaker system.