Canon EOS-1D Mark II N
1. Canon EOS-1D Mark II N
Editors' rating: 9.0
The good: Combination of fast drive mode and high resolution; large buffer; highly customizable; saves custom camera setups to media, supports cards greater than 2GB.
The bad: Noise in underexposed image areas; imperfections appear when paired with lower-quality lenses.
The bottom line: In a league by itself, the Mark II offers professional photographers extensive customization, excellent photo quality, and market-leading speed.
LG CU500
Editors' rating: 8.3
The good: The LG CU500 is the first carrier-offered HSDPA phone in North America. It's a quad-band world phone with a great slim design, external music buttons, and a camera with a rotating lens. Features include a 1.3-megapixel camera, an audio player, a Micro SD memory card slot, a speakerphone, and access to exclusive content, courtesy of Cingular Video and Cingular Music.
The bad: The LG CU500 has two superskinny function buttons on the side that are difficult to press.
The bottom line: The LG CU500 is one of the fastest phones we've ever tried, with swift downloads and impressive video streaming speeds. The feature set is impressive; the picture and audio quality are great; and the slim, attractive design is a bonus.
Alienware Aurora mALX
Editors' rating: 8.1
The good: Excellent 19-inch display; best-in-class gaming performance; top-shelf SLI graphics; plenty of A/V features and connections; comes with lots of extras, including a backpack and headphones; warranty includes onsite service.
The bad: Very expensive; extremely bulky; lid feels cheap; no external multimedia controls; no touch-pad on/off switch.
The bottom line: The Alienware Aurora mALX is one of the best, and one of the most expensive, mobile gaming rigs available today. But with Intel Core 2 Duo just around the corner, that might not be the case for long.
Sony Ericsson M600i
Editors' rating: 7.7
The good: The Sony Ericsson M600i is a beautiful smart phone, with a slim silhouette, a large and bright QVGA touch screen, and great design features such as a jog dial and a dual-function thumb keyboard. We were also pleased with the multimedia functionality, integrated Bluetooth, speakerphone, sound quality, and the performance of the browser and RSS reader.
The bad: The Sony Ericsson M600i lacks Wi-Fi, a camera, and quad-band support, which is disappointing for a smart phone. In our tests, the phone crashed once in a while, and there wasn't a quick way to shut down applications.
The bottom line: The Sony Ericsson M600i is a great little smart phone that's big on style and features. Even though we wish it had a few extra functions and better performance, we still think this is an excellent smart phone for those who want a stylish smart phone in a small package.
Nokia 6126
Editors' rating: 7.6
The good: The Nokia 6126 has an appealing design with a superior internal display, good performance and a well-rounded feature set that includes Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a speakerphone, and world phone support.
The bad: The Nokia 6126 has slippery keys and a poorly located MicroSD card slot. Also, some sound quality was unimpressive.
The bottom line: The Nokia 6126 is a well-designed and full-featured mid-tier cell phone. It's a good performer, too.
HP LP2465
Editors' rating: 7.5
The good: Bright, crisp image; incredible contrast ratio; stable and flexible stand; fast pixel-response time; all the cables you'll need are included; three-year warranty.
The bad: Limited video connections underscore the point that this is an office display, despite its large size; no media card reader; DVD playback is blurry at times.
The bottom line: The HP LP2465 is a great business LCD, should your workday require a huge, wide-screen display. Trouble is, Dell has a similar display that gives you more features at roughly the same price.
Kingston K-PEX Portable Media Player
Editors' rating: 7.3
The good: The Kingston K-PEX offers tons of features in a compact and easy-to-use package; includes a miniSD expansion slot; built-in speaker; plays protected WMA and OGG files; includes photo, video, text, recorder, and gaming options; nice bright and colorful screen; an excellent street price.
The bad: The Kingston K-PEX has a budget build quality; uncommon USB port; must transcode all video files with bundled software; no subscription support; no album art; a couple of minor bugs that hopefully will be fixed.
The bottom line: For a budget portable media device, the likable Kingston K-PEX definitely rocks.
Nokia E61
Editors' rating: 7.3
The good: The Nokia E61 boasts a vibrant and sharp screen, a full QWERTY keyboard, and a full array of wireless options (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, UMTS). The Symbian smart phone also has good call quality, a speakerphone, the ability to view and edit Office documents, and robust e-mail capabilities.
The bad: Without the backing of a U.S. carrier, the Nokia E61 is pricey. Also, the miniSD slot is located inconveniently behind the battery cover, and the device was sometimes sluggish when switching between apps. There's no camera option, either.
The bottom line: The Nokia E61 certainly isn't for everyone, but with its powerful productivity apps, connectivity options, and good call quality, the smart phone will make a good addition a corporate user's arsenal.
Logitech Noise Canceling Headphones
Editors' rating: 7.3
The good: The Logitech Noise Canceling Headphones offer a stylish, sealed-earcup design that can be adjusted to your liking; includes a well-designed, hard-shell travel case with built-in handle; decent sound quality.
The bad: The Logitech Noise Canceling Headphones can be uncomfortable after an hour or so of use; the noise-canceling feature noticeably processes music, though not necessarily in a bad way (depending on your taste).
The bottom line: The Logitech Noise Canceling Headphones are a fine choice for frequent fliers who want to be enveloped in their music rather than the drone of outside noise. However, earring-wearers should steer clear.
Netgear Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter
Editors' rating: 7.2
The good: The Netgear Powerline HD Ethernet Adapters are simple to set up and configure, and the fast throughput will let you stream HD video without a hitch. And you can use a switch with the adapters, which means you network multiple devices off a single adapter.
The bad: The adapters are rather expensive, and you're hardly cutting cords by using wired adapters. Phone support for anything more complicated than basic installation is expensive.
The bottom line: Simple to set up and able to provide ample throughput, Netgear's Powerline HD Ethernet Adapters are a great solution for anyone who wants the benefits of home networking but doesn't want to rewire the entire house or mess with Wi-Fi. Be forewarned, though: it's not an inexpensive solution.