Skullcandy 50/50

Skullcandy has made quite a name for itself in the headphone world, thanks largely to its focus on funky fashion and its aggressive marketing tactics aimed at tweens, teens, and young adults. However, the latest Skullcandy earphones to come down the pipe are perhaps the most adult oriented we've seen from the company. Skullcandy 50/50 earbuds, which are moderately priced at US$ 49.95, come in an array of relatively muted color options and feature inline controls for the iPhone and iPod as well as a striking low end response.

The clarity isn't the best and they feel a bit cheap and fragile, but if you're after some earphones with a hint of style and plenty of oomph, these aren't a bad option. As noted, Skullcandy 50/50 earbuds aren't going to win any awards for top notch construction. The earpieces are rather chunky and like the accents and mic module are made of hard, cheap feeling plastic.

The cable is flexible, but it tangles very easily and seems fragile at the connections to the plug and earpieces, both of which indicate the set may not be durable in the long run. The other downside to the design is the relatively large aperture of the earbuds, which may cause some discomfort for those with smaller or not perfectly round ear openings.

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Asus Eee PC 1201PN

Asus Eee PC 1201PN, however, only has a single core Atom N450 CPU to go with its Ion GPU, a combination that results in general performance that's weaker than its same priced predecessor. If the 1201N can be found for sale somewhere, it's probably the better buy for now. While the keyboard feel and general build of Asus Eee PC 1201PN are very similar to what we enjoyed in the 1201N before it, its limited processor slows things down, whereas the Ion graphics don't seem to add much more than what we'd already seen in Ion last year and, in some cases, it even seemed to offer less.

In a post iPad era, a Netbook has to offer a low price or an impressive performance, and this Asus really has neither. From the outside and inside, Asus Eee PC 1201PN looks a lot like both the 1201N we reviewed in early January and recent, more affordable Eee PC Netbooks. A plain, glossy black plastic lid that flaunts its fingerprints also comes in red or silver. Inside, more shiny black plastic frames an edge to edge raised Chiclet style keyboard. The double hinge on the lid straddles either side of a battery that has minimal bulge on Asus Eee PC 1201PN's bottom and fits right into the back.

The keyboard's easy to type on and comfortable to work at on a desk or perched in one's lap. The dimpled multitouch touchpad below is flush with the rest of the keyboard deck but responds well to finger gestures. A thin chromed plastic rocker bar for button pressing could have been a little more ergonomic. The LED-backlit 12.1 inch glossy LCS screen has a native resolution of 1.366 x 768 pixels, which matches most laptop displays around 13 and 14 inches. Most importantly, it's a common resolution; browser windows and other programs won't feel shoehorned in like they do with the pixel restrictions on most 10 and 11 inch Netbooks.

Images and video looked as bright and crisp as they did on the Eee PC 1201N we reviewed previously. The stereo speakers on this laptop, embedded on the front bottom edge of the base, are notably louder than other Netbooks. They don't exactly produce well defined music, but we appreciate their volume for TV viewing. Above the screen, a 0.3 megapixel Webcam offers video conferencing and picture taking capabilities, with a passable frame rate and middle of the road image quality.

To its credit, Asus Eee PC 1201PN includes Bluetooth but it better at this price. HDMI is common on any non-Apple laptop, but in the case of this Ion equipped Netbook you might find it more useful than with others, as Nvidia promises smooth 1080p playback of video files on an external HDTV. While that's nice, we imagine more people will want to stream video onto an HDTV (for Hulu, for instance, or YouTube).

Streaming video playback, which relies on Adobe Flash 10.1, worked well sometimes and stuttered at others depending on the site and level of graphic overlay. 2GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive are increasingly standard offerings for higher end Netbooks. Windows 7 Home Premium is preinstalled, which is an improvement over the Windows 7 Starter many Netbooks offer.

While Asus Eee PC 1201PN is technically the first Netbook with next gen Nvidia Ion graphics, the CPU is decidedly current gen. Unlike the dual core Atom processor we saw in the innovative but hot running Asus Eee PC 1201PN, the single core Atom N450 at the heart of this Netbook is the same one in nearly every Netbook currently for sale. Its performance when augmented with its Nvidia Ion integrated GPU does fair better than other competitors, but Asus Eee PC 1201PN actually is a slower laptop than its dual core predecessor, which cost the same back in January. If you can find the 1201N on sale somewhere, you'll have a faster Netbook.

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Gateway NV59C09u

Gateway NV59C09u is a laptop that's slightly thinner and lighter than the nearly identically configured NV5933u we reviewed recently, but to be honest it won't register to most people who aren't studying laptop lineups with a magnifying glass. A matte silver finish with a wavy lined pattern across the outer lid and inner keyboard deck is a little nicer looking than the older Gateway NV design, but by a small degree.

One design change in Gateway NV59C09u is a flatter lid hinge, making a leaner look at the back edge than the bulkier tube shaped hinge design of other NV laptops. The look inside is nice and clean : shiny black plastic around the inset glossy screen and keyboard, and a small mirrored strip above the keyboard that houses a narrow power button. The keyboard and touchpad have been redesigned on Gateway NV59C09u, to mixed results : the wide, flat keyboard is still technically flat versus raised, but the spaces between keys have been widened to create a bit of a raised key effect, even though the gaps are recessed.

It makes the keys slightly more comfortable, but the chances of crumbs and gunk falling down between keys seem like an annoying inevitability. We do appreciate the dedicated volume keys above the adjoining number pad, a move we wish more laptops would include. There's also an interesting "social media" key that looks like little smiling people, which brings up Gateway's software app for glomming Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites together. This isn't anything that programs like Digsby don't already do, but it's nice to see it so effortlessly integrated.

The touchpad is delineated only by thin raised lines on the keyboard deck otherwise, it's basically an extension of the rest of the palmrest surface. We like a more recessed, dedicated touchpad zone, but it worked fine all the same, with a decent surface area comparable to other NV models. The button bar is flush and a rocker bar (we prefer two discrete buttons), but it's a step better than the overdesigned, annoying thin mirrored strip on the lower end Gateway NV models.

Oddly, however, the new design looks cheaper. The LED-backlit 15.6 inch glossy display on the Gateway NV59C09u has a 16:9 aspect ratio and a native resolution of 1.366x768, which is standard for most laptops up to 15 inches. At this size, we've seen higher-res displays the lower resolution is a bit of a disconnect with the included Blu-ray drive and for the not bargain basement cost of $799, we were a little surprised the resolution didn't get bumped up to at least 1.600x900.

Blu-ray discs looked good, but not distinctly better than a good DVD player experience. To really show off your discs, you'll probably want to go through the HDMI out port. Above the screen, a high-def Webcam offers video conferencing and picture taking capabilities, with a maximum resolution of 1.280x1,024. This is one of the few upgrades from Gateway NV59C09u, which could record VGA quality video only. We appreciate the spec bump, and the quality is better than average for laptop Webcams.

Skype software is preinstalled along with a large collection of other programs we're not sure we need Gateway to load on for us. The integrated speakers located above the keyboard and under thin black mesh grilles that too easily trapped small dust particles have better than average volume and bass for movie watching, but are really no better than other NV laptop speakers we've tried. They're good enough and certainly loud enough for video watching, music, and Web chat, but they're not knockouts sonically.

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Dell Vostro 3300

Dell Vostro 3300 is meant to glide somewhere between personal and business, and that's exactly what the design of Dell Vostro 3300 suggests : metal and black define the outside, with squared off edges on the front and back, and slightly rounded sides. Dell Vostro 3300 comes standard in Aberdeen Silver (which is what we had) in Core i3 configurations, with the option of adding Lucerne Red or Brisbane Bronze color schemes in the Core i5 configuration for an extra $40.

Overall, the design lies somewhere between the trendy Adamo and the more utilitarian Latitude. Plain, ThinkPad-esque matte black defines the interior of this minimalist Dell, from the keyboard deck up to the material surrounding the above screen Webcam. A few backlit media control keys and a backlit power button above the keyboard are the only flashy touches. Because this Vostro has a slightly thick and squared bottom half, there's room to fit audio in or out jacks, an SD card slot, and a Wi-Fi toggle button on the front edge, although they're a little tightly packed together in the center below the track pad.

The keyboard on Dell Vostro 3300 is similar to ones we've seen on other recent Dell laptops : it could be best described as a flat keyboard with individually raised keys. Though there's no number pad, it's easy to type and feels comfortable during extended writing sessions, and the keyboard goes edge to edge, maximizing the laptop's compact dimensions. The keyboard on our model wasn't backlit and that isn't available as an upgrade option on this exact model, but there is a Dell Vostro 3300 that includes a backlit keyboard on Dell's Web site starting at $708.

Above the keyboard, a small backlit touch controlled media bar has basic play and pause and volume functions. It's useful, but not overly so for a business focused machine. These might have been better spent on videoconferencing and other productivity related toggles. To the right of these are a few LED indicators for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and battery status. The track pad is wider and responds better than that of some brands we've seen. The plain discrete buttons below are nothing remarkable and could be slightly larger, but at least they're not over designed.

A 13.3 inch LED-backlit display on Dell Vostro 3300 has a 16x9 aspect ratio and a native resolution of 1.366x768 pixels, which is standard for most laptops up to 15 inches. These screens also come standard with antiglare, which is far rarer. The experience we had was excellent the screen has the glare free quality of a matte display, with the crispness found in a glossy coating. Text and video were easy to watch in any lighting. The included 2 megapixel Webcam had better clarity, sound recording and light sensitivity than most Webcams we've come across, making it perfect for video conferencing.

A small LED light also indicates the camera's in record mode. Though the camera's professional, Dell's selection of cartoonish effect overlays in its included camera software can only be described as cheese ball. There's only one speaker on Dell Vostro 3300. It's located on the front left edge of the laptop's bottom half, and though it sounds loud and clear, its off center position makes it a weak choice for movie playback. Should you choose to take a break with a DVD, you might want to pack some good headphones.

Dell Vostro 3300 doesn't have a huge selection of ports, but it does have eSATA. It's lacking HDMI-out, however, which is a feature that's becoming nearly universal on all laptops (excluding Macs). Thankfully, at least there's Bluetooth. Configuration options abound on Dell Vostro 3300, as is often the case with Dell laptops. Customization on Dell's Web site offers either a Core i3 or i5 processor, along with RAM configurations from 2GB to 4GB and hard drives from 250GB to 500, all at 7,200rpm. RAM can be expanded up to 8GB.

Despite Core i3 and i5 processors being 64 bit ready, Dell chose to make 32 bit Windows Home Premium the default OS. Upgrading to 32 bit Professional or 64 bit Home Premium costs an extra $70, 64 bit Professional, an extra $120. Depending on the support software, memory and other options chosen, Dell Vostro 3300's price can climb above $1,000, where it no longer seems like a great bargain. We'd advise you keep software services to a minimum and focus on basic needs. Our configuration, at over $800, just straddles the border of what we'd consider paying before looking elsewhere.

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Klipsch B-3

Klipsch B-3 Synergy bookshelf loudspeaker offers a winning combination of powerful bass with remarkable detail and high volumes with low distortion, making it a perfect delivery source for today's advanced digital music formats. Klipsch B-3 gets its performance thrills by employing a 6.5" IMG woofer and 1" aluminum dome compression driver tweeter coupled to an exclusive square Tractrix(R) Horn.

It also features a rear mounted port that increases efficiency and extends bass response. Available in a black finish with titanium accents, the contemporary look of Klipsch B-3 is two fold. With its grille on, the B3 offers a sense of elegance that nicely blends in with your home decor, but take the grille off and you get an aggressive and powerful statement that exudes extreme performance. The Synergy Series B-3 is a stylish and high performance choice for the discerning audiophile who requires towering achievement in a bookshelf design.

Technical Details

• A pair of stylish and high performance bookshelf loudspeakers
• Equipped with 1" aluminum dome tweeter and one 6.5" IMG woofers
• Exclusive Tractrix(R) Horn technology
• Frequency response : 55Hz - 23kHz 3dB
• Power handling : 85 watts (340 watts peak)
• Price : US$349.99

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Sony HTCT100

This amazing system brings simplicity and performance together by pairing a Center speaker that recreates a surround sound experience all by its self. Now add a powerful external subwoofer and you are ready to bring your Movies to life with Sony HTCT100. With three HDMI inputs on tap, this system is tailor made for the Gamer looking for an easy, quick and great sounding solution for their Next Gen gaming system .

It can playback LPCM from the HDMI connection, plus you can listen to your favorite music from the DIGITAL MEDIA PORT that works with various accessories (sold separately). Sony HTCT100 can also control a select number of BRAVIA televisions with BRAVIA Sync via the HDMI interface. With “One Touch Play,” operations that took several steps have been reduced to one.

Technical Details

• 250 Watts (RMS) (50W x 3 + subwoofer 100W)
• 1080p HDMI Active Intelligence (3 in and 1 out)
• Digital Cinema Auto Calibration
• S-Force PRO Front Surround Sound
• HDMI Repeater
• Price : US$289.00
  

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Sony SSF-5000

Fill a large room with the deep bass and pure treble of Sony SSF-5000 Floor Standing Speakers. Using advanced technologies, they are built to recreate tones across the entire range and elevate your music to a new high. The precision sound reproduction provides high resolution audio that you and your guests will appreciate from song to song.

Technical Details

• Newly developed 8" mica reinforced woofer
• 3.25" mid-driver
• 1" nano fine balanced dome tweeter
• 150 Watt maximum input power
• 45-50.000Hz frequency response
• Price : US$126.97

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Sony AIRSA10

Sony AIRSA10 is a new digital wireless audio solution for sending audio to a second room in the home. Sony AIRSA10 Technology can also be utilized to send wireless audio for your surround rear channel speakers using the WAHT-SA1 accessory. With up to 8 channels of L-PCM CD quality audio transmission available. Just plug in and listen.

Plus Sony AIRSA10 offers no interference with home appliances. You’ll see many of our BRAVIA Home Theater Systems bundled with a Sony AIRSA10 Speaker System this year. Sony AIRSA10 Speaker System features a 1 line LCD Display, a clock function, and is equipped with controls for volume and the audio source you are listening to.

Technical Details

• Sony AIRSA10 wireless multi room receiver or speaker system
• Expandable up to 4 Sony AIRSA10 receiver or speakers systems
• 8 Watts (RMS) (4W x 2)
• Clock, Timer, Sleep function
• Price : US$87.51

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Polk Audio RC85i

Polk Audio RC85i 2 way In wall Speaker delivers incredible sound to any room in your home without using any floor or shelf space. Polk Audio RC85i is easy to install, requiring only that you cut a hole, feed the wires through, and simply drop the speaker in where it is held in place by rotating cams that safely secure the speaker with no extra assembly or mess. Once installed, the paintable grille and flange allows this in wall speaker to virtually disappear in the room.

Polk Audio RC85i utilizes an eight inch dynamic balance, mineral filled polymer composite cone with a rubber surround that outlasts cheaper foam surrounds, as well as a one inch dynamic balance, metalized soft dome tweeter with a swivel mount. The swivel mounted tweeter is aim able for direct high frequency control that ensures spacious imaging with amazing clarity, and well balanced sound in any listening position, even off axis listening positions, rather than in just a small sweet spot.

Constructed of durable, moisture resistant materials, Polk Audio RC85i is safe for use in bathrooms, kitchens, saunas, or even under outdoor eaves, and features a wide dispersion design for even sound coverage throughout even large rooms. Polk Audio RC85i also features infinite baffle tuning which uses the virtual enclosure of in wall space for superior bass response, and is timbre matched to the Polk Audio Monitor Series for seamless, enveloping imaging when used in a home theater system.

Technical Details

• Pair of 2 way in wall speakers timbre matched to the Polk Audio RTi Series for seamless imaging
• Equipped with one 8 inch dynamic balance, mineral filled polymer composite cone
• Frequency response : 35Hz - 20kHz
• Equipped with one 1 inch dynamic balance, metalized soft dome tweeter with 15 degree swivel mount
• Constructed of durable, moisture resistant materials for use in bathrooms, saunas, or under outdoor eaves
• Price : US$147.38

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Yamaha NS-SP1800BL 5.1 Channel

Yamaha NS-SP1800BL 5.1 channel home theater speaker package is a low cost, convenient way to enjoy the full benefits of 5.1 channel home theater sound. Yamaha NS-SP1800BL 5.1 Channel features advanced Yamaha active servo technology (Advanced YST) is a unique system in which the speaker and amplifier work together to cancel out impedance so the speaker unit has a perfectly linear motion. Advanced YST helps to ensure the highest levels of sound pressure and overall performance.

Product Specifications

• Brand Name : Yamaha
• Color Name : Black
• Speaker Type : Home theater speaker system
• Driver Configuration : 1x 2.5" Cone
• Frequency Response Curve : 28 Hz - 50 kHz
• Audio Sensitivity : 82 decibels
• Impdedance : 6 ohm
• Cabinet Material Type : Plastic
• Speaker Driver Material Type : Paper
• Price : $149.95

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Logitech Rechargeable Speaker S315i

Digital music has revolutionized how you listen to music, because you can listen to your favorite songs anywhere. Logitech Rechargeable Speaker S315i will blow you away with 20 hours of music when you use the power saving mode. That's a full day's (or night's) worth of music without missing a beat. This little beauty powerfully reproduces your favorite songs with accurate highs and every note will be heard loudly and clearly.

A custom, full range driver brings you crisp, sharp sounds. And since it's rechargeable, this is a sleek and stylish speaker and goes with you wherever you go. You can play and charge your iPod or iPhone with a dock connector. The result is a product that makes the most of your music. Go ahead. Play a song or two or 300 without recharging.

Technical Details

• Rechargeable with up to 20 hours of listening pleasure (in the power saving model).
• Play and charge both iPod and iPhone.
• Weighs just 1.47 pounds, so it¿s easy to take with you.
• A 3.5 mm auxiliary input lets you connect and listen to other portable players.
• Fold-in foot makes it easy to take with you around town.
• Price : $114.00

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Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150

The cooler than cool Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150 drew big crowds at the 2008 NAB Show. Why? Simply because it offers an unheard of Bang for the Buck, in a 1/3 inch three chip hand held tapeless HD camcorder, while retaining the core versatility of the DVX100B. Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150 sports a 28mm lens right out of the box and a new PH Record mode (21 Mbps) which offers higher resolution with a host of recording formats including 24p.

Add to that, amazing low light performance, long record and battery time and professional Audio capabilities at a price that will make it an instant hit with a wide range of AV Shooters, Indie creators and Event video professionals. Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150 represents a major step forward in the introduction of a next generation solid state HD camera that extends the six year successful track record of the popular DVX100 plus a lot more.

Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150’s lightweight (lightest 1/3 inch 3CCD available), well balanced professional design features a high performance wide angle Leica 13X zoom lens, 24 and 30 frame progressive capture, both in 720 and 1080 formats, making it perfect for even high level projects. Designed from a clean sheet of paper with much customer input to Panasonic's product development engineers, Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150 sports a Die Cast Alloy chassis and a Three year warranty (upon customer registration) that further endorses its reliability.

Using the latest in compression technology (AVC High Profile) and widely available SD memory cards as the recording media, Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150 is as easy to use as a digital still camera. The content recorded on the SD card can be directly played on a growing number of affordable consumer players, including select models of Playstation 3, Blu-ray players, plasma screens and PC’s. With most NLE systems now supporting AVCHD, content can be edited and rendered to play in any type of SD or HD playback system.

Dynamic Range Stretch
With DRS ON your customer can capture better Video quality when shooting bright, halftone and dark objects in the same frame. (Bride’s white gown details and the Groom’s shades of tuxedo black.) This clever circuit estimates the gamma curve and knee slope of each pixel’s brightness and applies the estimate on a real time basis. The result is more accurate Video with a visually wider dynamic range.

Features

• Full range of HD formats : 1080/60i, 1080/30p, 1080/24p (Native); 720/60p, 720/30p, 720/24p (Native)
• Higher bit-rate recording than consumer models (21 Mbps PH Mode)
• Three latest design 1/3 inch CCD Progressive Imagers
• 13X Wide angle 28mm lens out of the box (35mm equiv.), MOD .6 M, 72mm Ø (Shoot in confined spaces with no need to buy an accessory lens)
• Time Date Stamp for Legal Depositions or surveillance
• Waveform Monitor, Vectorscope plus two Focus displays for accurate, quick focus
• Professional XLR audio input connections
• Time code (DF, NDF, REC RUN, FREE RUN) and USER BIT
• HDMI out, Component Out (mini D terminal), Composite Video Out and RCA Audio Out jacks
• External Time Code Link (Slave & Master Preset) uses the Composite Video Out terminal
• USB 2.0 for file transfer (no need for a VTR)
• 3.5 inch LCD monitor displays thumbnails for quick non-linear access to clips
• Remote control connection for Zoom, Focus, Iris, and start and stop functions
• 14 bit A to D converter and 19 bit Image processing
• Cinelike Gamma &, DRS Dynamic Range Stretch (Filmaker requested features)
• Three Neutral Density Filters 1/4, 1/16, 1/64
• Pre-Record (3 Seconds), Digital Zoom 2X / 5X / 10X (in 1080/60i & 720/60p only)
• Three User Set Buttons with 11 choices for customizing Camera to Shooter

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Sonos Bundle BU250

The latest Sonos adds a major upgrade the CR200 touch screen remote. If that wasn't good enough and the remote is excellent it can also be controlled by any iPhone or iPod Touch running a free app that's available via the iTunes App Store. The result is a whole house music system that's easier to control than ever before. The catch? The system costs a somewhat pricey $1,000. And while that may seem like a lot, custom installed systems can cost as much as $5,000 per room and they aren't as easy to use nor do they offer the level functionality found in this system.

We were always impressed by Sonos' capability to access your home music collection and a variety of online music options, but the addition of the slick new touch screen remote and the iPhone or iPod Touch integration gives the luxury digital audio system a compelling leg up on the competition. There are three main components of the Sonos Digital Music System two ZonePlayer base stations one ZP120, one ZP90 and one CR250 Controller (the remote control).

Each one is available separately as well additional ZP120s are $500, the ZP90 is $350, and the CR250 goes for $350 so the $1,000 price tag of Sonos Bundle BU250 represents a $200 savings versus buying them a la carte. Take one look at the silver and white color scheme (and that scroll wheel on the remote), and you get the idea that Sonos wants you to think its understated sleek components would fit right into Apple's iPod line and they would. We just wish a black option was available as well especially after seeing a custom painted version.

The ZonePlayer ZP120 houses a fully fledged, 55 watt per channel, Class-D digital amplifier and weighs 5 pounds. It fills out a 3.5 inch high by 7.3 inch wide by 8.15 inch deep footprint about the size of seven DVD cases stacked on top of one another. The ZP120's die cast, matte aluminum enclosure feels far more solid and substantive than most of today's all plastic consumer electronics. It sports two pairs of high quality speaker binding posts, one set of analog stereo inputs (for attaching and playing any external device through the Sonos system), a subwoofer output, and two Ethernet ports (more on those later).

On board buttons are limited to three volume up and down and mute because the main functions are controlled remotely. With its built in amp and speaker terminals, the ZP120 needs only a pair of speakers connected to fill a room with music no other audio equipment is required. (Sonos offers the SP100 speakers, but nearly any set of unpowered speakers will suffice.) But the ZP90 ZonePlayer is intended for those rooms where there's already an audio system in place. Just about anything will do a tabletop radio, a mini system, an iPod speaker system, or a full fledged AV receiver so long as it has an auxiliary line in jack.

Because it lacks the built in amplifier, the ZonePlayer ZP90 is smaller than its big brother it measures just 2.9 by 5.4 inches square and weighs a mere 1.5 pounds. As a result, it can fit in plenty of tight spots that the larger ZonePlayer can't. The front panel offers the same sparse volume controls, but the ZP90's tiny backside is chock full of jacks in addition to analog stereo inputs and outputs, there are also two digital audio outputs (one coaxial, one optical) for single wire all digital connections. Two Ethernet jacks provide network connectivity.

Features
Sonos Digital Music System can stream a wide range of file formats from your personal music collection. With the exception of lossless WMA files, nearly all other file format standards will stream perfectly : MP3, AAC, WMA (nonloss less), Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Apple Lossless, WAV, and AIFF files are compatible, as are Audible audio books. Since DRM (digital rights management) is, thankfully, largely a thing of the past for music purchases, the wide file compatibility means that Sonos will stream downloaded tracks bought from iTunes, Amazon, Classical.com, eMusic, Napster, WalMart, Live Downloads, and Zune Marketplace.

The only caveat is for iTunes : most of the tracks purchased from the Apple site before 2009 will still be encoded with Fairplay DRM and will not be streamable by the Sonos until and unless you "upgrade" them via the iTunes Store to the DRM free iTunes Plus version (it costs 30 cents per track, or $3 per album). Perhaps more importantly, Sonos also offers a great selection of online music services from both subscription (paid) and free sources, each of which can be accessed from the Sonos Controller without the need to have the PC powered up.

The Rhapsody, Sirius, and Napster premium services each charge a monthly fee. (All of them offer a free 30 day trial through the Sonos, available at the touch of the screen no annoying sign up process or limitations.) Last.fm and Pandora are free streaming music services (with optional step up paid versions). Nearly all of the services offer access to thousands of artists, songs, and albums across a variety of genres, available on demand or via customized "stations." In addition to importing all of your iTunes playlists, Sonos also offers its own playlists. The advantage of the latter is that you can build them from the remote and (what's really cool) mix and match your own music with some of the "rentable" tracks from the likes of Rhapsody and Napster (assuming you're a subscriber).

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Vizio VF551XVT

Vizio VF551XVT's big screen LCD looks unassuming for the most part, with the standard glossy black frame surrounding the picture area. But the nondetachable speaker bar along the bottom, with its silver coloring, reflective supports, bulbous shape and see through panel exposing the wall behind the TV, assumes a bit too much, and we predict you'll either love it or hate it. We fall into the latter camp. The only external difference between Vizio VF551XVT and Vizio VF550XVT is the former's addition of an illuminated row of "tech logos" on the left hand side.

There's a menu item that promises to disable the illumination, but it didn't work on our review sample. The 55 inch Vizio VF551XVT measures 51.5 inches wide by 36 inches tall by 13.5 inches deep and weighs a svelte 90.2 pounds with stand attached. Remove the nonswiveling stand and its dimensions become 51.5 by 33.9 by 5 inches and its weight 78 pounds. We liked Vizio's large remote, with its oversize chrome colored cursor pad surrounded by well spaced, easily differentiated, yellow backlit keys.

Highlights include a section that offers direct access to different input types, "A, B, C, and D" keys for other devices, such as cable boxes, that double as picture in picture controls, and the capability to command three other devices. Many of the keys double up, but the remote handles these well we appreciate that the oft used key to control aspect ratio shares the bright red "record" key, for example.

The menu system for the XVT models squeezes onto the left side of the screen, and it's hard to mistake the bare bones graphics for a Samsung or Sony menu. We found ourselves annoyed at the fact that you can only see one parameter at a time and that too much scrolling is required to access all of the settings. On the plus side we liked the text explanations of various menu items.

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Panasonic TC-P50V10

Panasonic TC-P50V10 is one sleek plasma. Its main external differentiator is what the company calls "one sheet of glass" design, where a pane of glass extends beyond the edge of the screen and over the bezel itself, leading to a seamless look that's even more impressive in person than in pictures. (It's worth noting that only the 50 and 54 inch models feature the one sheet design; the larger members of the series have the more traditional, visually separate bezel around the screen).

Panasonic TC-P50V10 series eschews the relatively bright silver fade along the bottom of the frame seen on the company's step down TC-PG10 models, instead opting for a much subtler silver accent that arcs slightly upward in the middle. We think Panasonic TC-P50V10 looks more attractive and sophisticated than the G10, and indeed it's one of the coolest looking TV designs we've seen this year. The black frame around the screen is a bit wider than that of the G10 series, leading to Panasonic TC-P50V10's slightly larger height and width dimensions (0.2 and 0.9 inch larger, respectively, on the 50 incher, for example).

The panels' depth dimension, on the other hand, is just 3.3 inches not quite as thin as Samsung's 850 series plasmas or Panasonic's own Z1, but thinner than the 4.2 inches of the G10 models. If you're keeping track, the 50 inch Panasonic TC-P50V10 also weighs 4.4 pounds more than the 50 inch G10, which is probably due to that big pane of glass. We also appreciated that the 50 inch Panasonic TC-P50V10 model's stand includes a swivel, an extra not found on less expensive Panasonic plasmas nor on the larger members of the series.

Beyond the panels and stands, the V10 models are pretty much identical in design to the G10s. The remote differs from the one found on less expensive Panasonic plasmas, and in general we liked it. Panasonic's marketing guys got to the button designers, however, and apparently mandated that an unnecessarily prominent trio of keys Viera Link, VieraCast and VieraTools appear above the central cursor control.

Each provides direct access to functions we'll warrant most users won't access as frequently as the Menu key, and the trio relegates that button to an easily overlooked spot near the top of the clicker. We still like the feel of the keys, and appreciate the size, color and shape differentiation that helps us forget that only the huge volume and channel buttons are illuminated. The remote cannot control other devices via infrared (IR) commands, but it does allow some control of compatible HDMI devices connected to the TV via Viera Link (a.k.a. HDMI-CEC).

Panasonic tweaked its menu design for 2009. The same yellow on blue color scheme is in evidence (albeit a lighter shade of blue), and navigation is basically unchanged, but the main menu actually has a couple of icons now. Overall it's still one of the more straightforward, basic looking menus on the mainstream market, but we still wish the company would see fit to include on screen explanations of selections. A new Tools menu showcases some of the TV's functions, including THX mode, Digital Cinema Color, and VieraCast.

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HP Mini 311

HP Mini 311 is what you would call an oversized netbook. It's about the same size as the ASUS EeePC 1101HA, Acer Aspire One (A0751h), and Gateway LT3103u in that they all have 11.6 inch widescreens. At 3.3 pounds, it's the heaviest among its peers, although the differences are small. HP Mini 311 is the prettiest though, as HP's signature imprints against a white background is delightful to look at. A black version is also available, though darker colors are usually a magnet for fingerprints and smudges.

Alternatively, the Toshiba NB205 and HP Mini 5101 use textures and metals, respectively, to enhance their looks, as well as repel unsightly smudges. HP Mini 311 is a bigger netbook than the Toshiba NB205 because it houses a bigger screen. Although 11.6 inch widescreens are building momentum in the netbook space, they, along with a 1.366 by 768 resolution, are still tough finds. Most 10 inch netbooks default to a lower, 1.024 by 768 resolution. Likewise, the Asus 1101HA, Gateway LT3103u, and Acer A0751h have matching screen sizes and resolutions.

They're not even the biggest netbooks screens. Both the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 and Samsung NC20 (21GBK) use 12 inch widescreens and 1.280 by 800 resolutions. What makes HP Mini 311 special is that it runs an Nvidia chipset instead of the Intel chipset found on every other netbook on the market. It still needs a CPU, though. The 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 is a commonly used netbook processor, which means in terms of raw horsepower, the Mini 311 isn't that far ahead of other netbooks. Video encoding tests finished in 4 minutes 54 seconds, which is about as fast the Toshiba NB205 (4:45) and Lenovo S12 (4:40).

It's the fastest among its 11 inch peers, since the Asus 1101HA and Acer A0751h run on a more inferior Atom Z520 processor and the the Gateway LT3103u opts for an AMD low voltage CPU. HP Mini 311 has more oomph when it comes to graphics performance. The ION LE is basically a stripped down version of the Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics chipset the same chipset found in the Apple MacBook Air (Nvidia 9400GM). The "LE" portion means that support for Direct X is downgraded from 10 to 9.

Its scores on 3DMark06, which I ran just to see what the performance would be, were in the same ball park as the MacBook Air and annihilated those of its netbook counterparts. Despite these 3D benchmark scores, the combination of the Atom processor and lack of a Direct X 10 capable graphics chipset crippled games like World in Conflict and Crysis both of these games lagged to the point where they were unplayable. Games like World of Warcraft and Mini Ninjas, which have lower graphics requirements, were lag free and absolutely playable.

The gravy was supposed to be in high definition playback. I tested several HD movie clips on HP Mini 311, as well as playing them to the Samsung LN55A950 HDTV. It handled all of my 720p and 1080i (24 fps) clips with great color accuracy, good picture detail, and they didn't suffer from any lag. When playing 1080p (24fps) movie clips in H264 and WMV formats, however, there was noticeable lag. Let's just say it wasn't a smooth experience. And even though its 6 cell, 53Wh battery is roughly the same capacity as the one found in the Toshiba NB205 and HP 5101, its score of 5 hours 29 minutes on MobileMark 2007 is about 2 to 3 hours less than that of the competition.

Still, more than 5 hours of battery life is very respectable. By netbook standards, HP Mini 311 is reasonably priced and offers features most netbooks lack. You're paying a small premium for a netbook that has an HDMI port and can drive 1080p resolutions to a bigger display. Though it didn't deliver on 1080p playback, it handled 720p and 1080i videos better than netbooks with Intel based graphics. For those who were hoping to make a gaming netbook out of this, think again. High end 3D games are still best played on full fledged laptops.

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HP Envy 13

HP Envy 13 is crafted from aluminum and magnesium bonded materials, while the MacBook Pro does it from a thick slab of aluminum. Its metals are anodized several layers deep, so the Envy 13 is not only sleek, but durable, scratch resistant, and lightweight as well. Apple and HP aren't the only ultraportable manufacturers that use metals, though. The ASUS UL30A-A1 and Acer Aspire Timeline AS3810T (6415) have also experimented with aluminum metals in their frames, though only in the top cover HP Envy 13 uses metals throughout the entire chassis, which drives up costs. The designs are limitless as well.

HP Envy 13 sports a brownish tint and can be permanently etched with lasers in different patterns just like HP's current Pavilion line designs. The luxurious theme extends to its interior. Its 13.1 inch widescreen is one of the brightest in the industry, rated at 400 Nits (cd/m2), and covered in glass, too, which gives it the same clean look as that of the MacBook Pro 13 inch. Its 1.600 by 900 resolution is the highest and most eye popping thus far on a 13 inch screen, outclassing that of the MacBook Pro 13 inch (1.280 by 800), Acer 3935 (1.280 by 800), and ASUS UL30A-A1 (1.366 by 768).

It matches the resolution of the Dell Studio 14z great for multimedia tasks, but not so much for reading text, as higher resolutions tend to make fonts look tinier on a small screen. The full size keyboard is styled in the same way as that of the MacBook Pro 13 inch tiled, with plenty of spacing between each key. The Envy 13 lacks a back-lit option, though, which is inexcusable for a luxury line. In comparison, the MacBook Pro 13 inch and Studio 14z include illuminated keyboards for dark-lit rooms. The embedded mouse buttons also take their styling cues from Apple's design, as they're disguised by one huge touchpad.

They're slightly too resistant for my tastes, but otherwise responded well to various clicking commands. The touchpad, like the one found in the MacBook Pro, supports two finger gestures, which often times got in the way of navigating. You can turn these gestures off in the system's Control Panel. In terms of features, the Envy 13 takes a minimalist approach and that isn't always a good thing. This laptop is not intended for legacy users, since it doesn't come with an internal optical drive, a VGA port, or an Ethernet jack.

I think ridding these features from the system is acceptable, plus all of them are included in this configuration as external USB attachments. Unfortunately, though, you have only two USB ports to choose from. Unlike the Studio 14z, the Envy 13 includes a media card reader, which is still a vital feature for digital camera owners. An ExpressCard slot is not available, though, which would've been handy for adding an ExpressCard docking solution or 3G wireless, since both of these aren't sold as options and there are only two USB ports available. Taking the place of VGA Out is an HDMI port, which is the video out standard most laptops are leaning toward. In contrast, the Studio 14z includes both DisplayPort and HDMI technologies. The 250GB hard drive is a 1.8 inch spindle, but spins at 5400rpm.

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Getac 9213

Getac 9213 measures just 12.5 by 9 by 1 inches, and its 3.6 pound chassis offers plenty of relief to full time travelers. It's about a pound lighter than the Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch (4.5 pounds) and the HP Pavilion dv3z (4.6 pounds), but not nearly as cheap. More impressive, though, is that it weighs as little as the Acer Aspire Timeline AS3810T and still manages to incorporate an optical drive, unlike the latter.

Getac 9213's 13.3 inch widescreen clings to the old school aspect ratio (16:10), whereas most consumer laptops are moving to more movie friendly 16:9 displays as is common in HDTVs. As a result, Getac 9213's 1.280 by 800 resolution matches the one on the MacBook Pro 13 inch. It's a vibrant screen, at least more so than that of the Acer 3935 and the HP dv3z. The full size keyboard would've been perfect had it not been for one misplaced key the forward slash key, which is usually right next to the right Shift key, is placed beside the left Shift key here, thereby shrinking the latter to nearly half of its traditional size.

The rest of the keyboard is very responsive, and the touchpad and mouse buttons are tuned to perfection. Before you decide to try running Getac 9213 over with a truck, you'll need to understand the significance of the term "business rugged." A fully rugged laptop, like Getac B300, is completely certified under the MIL-SPEC 810F series, which means it was subject to more than 20 military tests involving vibrations, drops, shock, humidity you get the point.

A semi rugged laptop, like the Panasonic Toughbook CF-52, only has to endure a subset of these tests. Business rugged, meanwhile, is a loose interpretation of the MIL-SPEC series. Getac 9213's rugged qualities surviving 1.5 foot drops, water spills, and shock to its hard drive aren't nearly as tough, but it's tougher than the consumer products mentioned in this review and an incredible asset to have on the road. In order to achieve a thin, lightweight form factor, the 9213 opted for Intel's ultra low voltage (ULV) chipset.

The ULV platform eliminates clunky fans and has huge benefits in power savings. In speed, however, the Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 (1.4 GHz) trails many of its consumer counterparts. Its equivalent to the processors found in the Lenovo Thinkpad X301 and the Acer AS3810T. Luckily, the 9213's 3GB of memory can help offset some of its performance woes. In video encoding tests, Getac 9213 finished in 1 minute, 48 seconds just 32 seconds behind the Acer 3935 (1:16) and the MacBook Pro 13 inch (1:16).

Cinebench R10 and Photoshop CS4 scores were more in line with the ULV-powered Lenovo X301 and Acer AS3810T. If you constantly work with huge resource suckers, like large Powerpoint, Excel, Photoshop, or video files, this laptop is probably not for you. The processor's power savings somewhat make up for its lack of speed. Even though Getac 9213's 58-Wh battery (6 cell) is average in capacity, the system accrued 5 hours, 4 minutes worth of battery life in MobileMark 2007 tests.

That's more both than the MacBook Pro 13 inch (4:44) and the Acer 3935 (4:50). Against the AS3810T (8:40) and the X301 (5:37), however, Getac 9213 had some trouble keeping up. Rooted in the ruggedized way of life, Getac knows better than to rest on its laurels. Getac 9213 is an ultraportable that blends the company's strengths durability and an excellent user experience with a fashion statement based on current trends and some handy business features.

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Sharp LC-52LE700UN

The glossy black finish of Sharp LC-52LE700UN series doesn't break any new ground design wise, and this Sharp keeps the angled edges of its predecessors like Sharp LC-46D85U. A silver fade along the bottom of the frame provides a very subtle accent while a blue-lit triangle, which reminded us of the emblems worn by the crew of the Enterprise, points toward the company logo in the middle of the bottom edge (the blue illumination can be disabled).

Sharp's matching glossy black stand doesn't allow the panel to swivel.Lest you see a Samsung ad and believe all LED-based LCDs are also ultrathin, Sharp's LC-LE700UN series is among the many sets that prove otherwise. It measures 3.7 inches deep sans stand, which is quite normal for a flat panel TV of any technology. Sharp has gone the longest of any TV maker we know since changing its remote. Sharp LC-46LE700UN's clicker is basically the same as the one that shipped with the 2006 LC-46D62U, which was a few years old itself at the time.

Our opinion of it hasn't changed, so we'll just quote that review : "Sharp's long remote will be familiar to anyone who's played with an Aquos set in the last couple of years. It has the ability to command four other pieces of gear, keys that are nicely spread out and well differentiated, and a generally logical button layout. We say 'generally' because the key controlling aspect ratio is stashed clear at the top of the long wand, the one for freezing the image is given an unduly important spot near the main directional keypad, and the one for changing picture modes is hidden beneath a flip up hatch."

Unfortunately, Sharp cut back on the backlighting of its remotes, so now only the volume and channel rockers, as well as four nearby keys, receive illumination. Sharp's menu system design is also basically the same as in previous years, and its blocky look seems dated compared with the slick menus available from Sony and Samsung. The pertinent information is all there, however, and we liked the text explanations that accompany various selections. LED backlighting tops the features list of Sharp LC-LE700UN, but it's unlike any other LED-backlit TV released so far. All of the other LED based LCDs fall into one of two camps : edge lit or local dimming.

However, the Sharp falls into neither category. Its LED elements are arranged behind the screen, as opposed to the edge, but they are incapable of dimming or brightening individually. Like a standard fluorescent backlit LCD, Sharp LC-52LE700UN's LED backlight must dim or brighten all at once. The main benefit of its LED backlight is simply reduced energy consumption. Sharp LC-LE700UN also sports a 120Hz refresh rate that provides improved motion resolution compared with standard LCDs although we suspect you'll be hard pressed to see any difference.

That refresh rate also allows the TV to display the proper cadence when fed 1080p/24 material. The two larger sizes in Sharp LC-LE700UN series, the 46 and 52 inch models, feature dejudder processing as well, while the two smaller 40 and 32 inch models do not. Dejudder is available in two strengths on the 46 and 52 inch models and doesn't need to be active to realize the antiblurring benefits of 120Hz.

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Nintendo Wii

Nintendo Wii's biggest and most obvious appeal is the ability to use its motion sensing controller to play Nintendo Wii specific games. Nintendo Wii's release lineup includes the highly anticipated Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess and the addictive pack in party game Wii Sports, as well as a variety of more traditional third party titles (many of which have been enhanced to use the Wiimote control). But while you're waiting for some more innovative Wii titles to arrive, there will still be plenty of games to play.

Nintendo Wii is fully backward compatible with the Nintendo GameCube and includes four built-in GameCube controller ports and two GameCube memory card slots for gamers who want to enjoy their last gen games. To play those older games, you'll need at least one GC controller (best choice : the wireless WaveBird) and (if you want to save your progress) a memory card. Truth be told, though, the list of truly great GameCube titles is short and sweet.

If Nintendo Wii and GameCube games aren't enough, Nintendo Wii also features Nintendo's Virtual Console, a library of games from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super NES, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, and Turbografix 16 systems. Games can be purchased and downloaded over Nintendo's online Wii Store, where they are stored on Nintendo Wii's system memory or SD card.

Virtual Console game purchases are tied to the Wii's network ID, so you can't pop your Virtual Console games onto an SD card and take them over to play them on a friend's Wii. On the bright side, Nintendo is pledging that already purchased games can be downloaded again free if you accidentally lose or delete your data. Games are purchased with Wii Points, which can be purchased via credit card or gift card (100 Wii Points equals one U.S. dollar) the system is essentially identical to Microsoft's tried and true Xbox Live Marketplace (Sony's fledgling PlayStation store will denominate purchases in real currency, but is functionally the same).

NES games will cost the equivalent of $5 (500 points), Turbografix 16 games $6, Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games $8, and Nintendo 64 games $10. While Nintendo Wii's controller is very advanced and innovative, its processing power is not. The system uses a more powerful version of the Nintendo GameCube's processor, and it doesn't have nearly as much polygon pushing power as the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3.

While Microsoft's and Sony's consoles support high definition outputs of up to 1080p, Nintendo Wii can hit only the GameCube's ceiling of 480p, and even that mode can't be used with the Wii's included composite A/V cables. (Most if not all of the Wii's games will, however, be optimized for wide screen TVs.) Nintendo Wii also lacks advanced surround sound, instead sticking with the GameCube's Dolby Pro-Logic II matrixed surround (based on a stereo signal, not native 5.1). In other words, if you're looking for state of the art eye candy, you're going to want to opt for the PS3 or the Xbox 360 either of which will take a significantly larger chunk of your bank account.

Is the Wii worth picking up? It all depends on what you're looking for. If you've been clamoring for an all purpose next generation multimedia box with blinding HD graphics, Nintendo Wii will be a disappointment. But Nintendo didn't intend to compete in that arena anyway Nintendo Wii is focused squarely on delivering fun and innovative gameplay, leaving Sony and Microsoft to battle it out at the high end.

The Wiimote and its motion sensing, pseudo virtual reality controls are the biggest draws of the console, and its online capabilities, Wii Channels, Virtual Console, and GameCube backward compatibility are just a thick, sweet layer of icing on an already tasty cake. Likewise, Nintendo Wii is the only home console that lets you play games featuring nostalgic Nintendo only franchises such as Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. With a price tag of just $250 far less than those of its competitors and the included Wii Sports disc that provides mindless fun out of the box, Nintendo Wii won't disappoint.

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