Last updated Nov 25th, 2009 but we’ll update this list as the new stuff replaces the old and crusty.

Smartphones
• The Best Smartphones: We like the iPhone, the Motorola Droid because it runs Android 2.0 operating system, and the Palm Pre for people who have stuck with Sprint. We do not like anything Symbian or Windows Mobile 6.5, for the time being. (But are excited for Windows Mobile 7.)

• Cheapest Android Phones: Droid Eris and HTC Hero.

• The Best Smartphones, By Carrier: We sorted out theses answers on Nov 24th, but this category moves quickly so stay sharp when researching.

• Best Windows Mobile Phone We Wish Didn’t Run Windows Mobile 6.5: The HTC HD2

• Best BlackBerry: If you’re into phones with exceedingly reliable push email, the Bold 9700 is your phone. (We don’t like Blackberry’s touchscreen interfaces, so the Storms are no good.)

• Non-Smartphones: You mean dumbphones? No thank you.

Computers
• Netbook: If you must get one of these small, cheap and utterly slow machines, the HP Mini 311 with ion graphics is a good one.

• Netbook for Hackintoshing: Dell Mini 10v (and it must be the v) is the top choice. Here’s our guide to making it run OS X.

• Laptop: Our bias for OS X and Windows 7 becomes apparent in our choice of hardware that can run both without hacking. Macbook Pros. (Plus, we like unibody construction.)

• Best Non-Apple Laptops: Dell’s Adamo XPS may not be fast but it is “insane,” raising the bar on design and quality outside of Cupertino. We also like Thinkpads in general, like the X series and the new multitouch t400s. (It’s probably also worth noting that Asus and Toshiba recently came out on top in reliability.)

• Gaming Laptops and Desktops: Our friend Will Smith at Maximum PC likes these two laptops and two desktops. I personally like Xbox.

• All in One: We like the iMac, the HP Touchsmart and although we haven’t used it yet, the Sony Vaio L because it can double as a TV even when the PC is off. The PCs here have infrared touchscreens, so they do multitouch, but in a really shoddy way.

• MIDs: We hate MIDs. Always have, always will. Intel said they had the tech to make them; but the world never had the need. It either fits in a backpack and lets you do real work on a real screen and keyboard, or it fits in your pocket. There’s no real need for anything inbetween.

• Operating Systems: Windows 7 or Snow Leopard

• Network attached storage: We like the HP Mediasmart series with upnp, iTunes and Time Machine servers among other things. But the Iomega NAS is only a little less fancy and costs half the price.

Audio
• The Best receiver under $US1000: We haven’t tested one in awhile, but we’re going to go out on a limb and say we like Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha and Pioneer gear. While some of our own testing is in progress, we’ll go with what our friends at Sound and Vision like: The Onkyo TX-SR706 7.1 receiver with 4HDMI ports and THX certification for $US900.

• The Best High-End Portable Media Players: Zune HD and the iPod Touch. We Like the Zune pass system a lot, which allows you to keep 10 songs a month out of your unlimited downloads, even after you stop subscribing. But the iPod Touch’s large app library makes it a powerful little computer.

• Best high-capacity media player: iPod classic is pretty much the only one left, since Zune has been discontinued and Archos is a mess.

• Flash Media Drives: We’ve always loved the screenless shuffle’s utility, but there are other drives to be had with more functionality for cheaper. Especially now that the buttonless iPod shuffle is sort of annoying to use. We like the Sandisk Sansa Clip+.

• Surround Soundbar: There’s only one series of soundbars that uses cold war submarine tech to bounce soundwaves off your walls for surround, and they’re made by Yamaha. I tested the YSP-4000.

• iPod Speaker Dock: JBL OnStage 400p (A winner from last year — I’m almost certain we should be retesting this category)

Video
• Best HDTV under $US1000: Panasonic’s X1 series plasmas.

• Best HDTVs, period: Here.

• 1080p Projectors Under $US1000: The Vivitek H1080FD is one we like, although we have not tested many.

• Best Monitors: If your’e a Mac user, the 24-inch Cinema Display has a built in magsafe adaptor. The Asus 23-inch VH236H is good deal at about $US230, but Samsung and Dell are our solid choices for monitor brands, as well.

• The Best Pocket Projectors: There is no such thing, friend. Wait a generation or 3.

• Blu-ray player: The LG BD390 with WiFi and DivX playback is awesome, but we’ll never leave out the PS3!

• Media Streamers for People Who Hate iTunes or Love Piracy: The WDTV Live is a good one for people who like it easy, but hackers will probably choose Popcorn Hour, both which did well in our battlemodo. (Stay tuned, cuz that $US99 Asus O!Play may soon be the champ.)

Cameras
• Best Entry-Level Video-Capable DSLR: Canon T1i

• Best Midrange DSLR: The Nikon D90 has the same sensor as the D300 at a better price.

• Best Prosumer DSLRs: The Canon 7D is great at shooting video and has great low light performance for an 18MP camera.

• Best Flash Camcorder: The Flip Ultra HD.

• Best Quality Point and Shoot: We like the Canon G11 (which is pretty big, but pretty wonderful.)

• A Camcorder We Like: We haven’t tested any in awhile, but we tend to like DSLRs that shoot video or cheap flash camcorders. If you must have a camcorder, our friends at CamcorderInfo liked the Panasonic HDC-TM300 for ~$1000.

• Best Point and Shoot: We like the Canon S90, even though we’re sure there are slimmer cameras. This uses the same sensor as the G11 and a faster lens, so it takes great shots for a slim.

• Best Rugged Cameras: The Pentax W80 is the best all around camera because of it’s depth and temperature ratings and size. The Lumix has the best picture quality but is a bit of a wimp with low thresholds for dives and temperatures. Canon’s the best for water only because of its huge nose. And the outstandingly rugged Olympus has a fatal flaw, which is its terrible video.

• Best Helmet Camera: We love the GoPro Hero HD Wide because it mounts anywhere, is really waterproof and lives in a protected case. Plus, 1080p for $US250 bucks.

• Best Slow Motion Pocket Camera: Casio EX FC100

Random Stuff
• The Best iPhone Apps: Here’s our monthly list of iPhone Apps, as well as our weekly roundups of the best new releases.

• The Best Android Apps: There aren’t as many Android apps out, but here are the ones we think are worth checking out.

• Ebook reader: Until we review a Nook, the Kindle 2 is still king.

• USB drive: The Patriot Xporter is fast, but if you have cash to spare, the Corsair Voyager GT is slightly faster and has 128GB of space.

• The Best Video Game Console: Xbox 360

• The Best Video Service: Anything, really, combined with Hulu and Netflix (for free old stuff).

• Best mid-tier office chairs: Herrman Miller Setu and Steelcase Cobi.

• Vacuums: We will always be loyal to Sir James Dyson because he tried to sell bagless vacuum tech to big vacuum corporations and they shut him down motivated by the profitability of bag sales. Then he started his own company. His machines are loud, but you can’t argue with their industrial design. Here’s his latest handheld and ball vacuum.

• Routers: D-Link Dir685. I know it has a digital picture frame built into it, but it also has a HDD and a bittorrent client. And Jason says it’s been more reliable than the top line Linksys he tested it against. I also like the Time Capsule, but haven’t yet tested the one with 2x the wireless performance.

• The Best Headphones: For in ear buds, we like the Shure SE110/SE115, Ultimate Ears Metro.fi and Etymotics hf5 won our tests. (The Last updated August 2008, so look for updates to winners.) We like the Klipsch Image S4i earbuds for people who want to use the iPhone’s voice control or iPod shuffle’s Voiceover function. For Bluetooth stereo headsets, we like the Motorola s305.

• Rechargeable Batteries: Duracell destroyed Energizer, and kept up with the legendary Sanyo Enerloops.

• Mice: For gaming, the Microsoft Sidewinder X8. The Logictech MX1100 for regular mousing. And the Magic Mouse is not amazing, but it’s pretty good if you have a Mac—the best mouse Apple has ever made.

• Keyboard: We like the Logitech DiNovo.

Suggestions? Requests for review? Leave em in the comments or email us!

The Price

$US180 (technically $US200, but Amazon sells ‘em cheaper)

The History

Read our X4 review if you’ve never heard of these products before. This article will make a lot more sense once you’ve read that.

The Improvements

• 2.4GHz RF instead of IR audio transmission
• USB powered instead of wall jack
• Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound instead of Dolby 5.1

I was sceptical that the Ear Force X41 would be any better than the Ear Force X4. But after using the headset for a week, I’m remiss to return to the X4s I bought last year.

Quite simply, the audio is more consistently clear with the new RF transmission, now that line-of-site and ambient light has become a non-factor. And I think that overall audio quality, while the speaker components themselves remain unchanged, has seen a bump because of this cleaner signal. (For those concerned, I was able to use the headset without interfering with my Xbox’s Wi-Fi adaptor or my home network — the primary potential hiccup with using RF instead of IR. Results may vary, I’m sure.)

As for the jump from Dolby 5.1 to 7.1 support, you probably won’t ever notice. Playing Modern Warfare 2, missiles fly by your head with impressive panning, but the sound localisation is no better than it was in the X4s…though to be fair, that’s not necessarily a knock, even if the audio lacks the shining moments you’ll enjoy in the best surround sound headphones offered by companies like Sony.

Oh, and the headset still requires AAAs as opposed to bundling a rechargeable lithium ion. I will say, however, that the batteries I tested with have broken the 10-hour barrier by a decent margin, and they’re still operational.

As a wireless, surround sound headset for the Xbox 360, the X41 is at the top of its class (at least partially because it’s still the only product in its class). If you’re willing to go wired, you can save about $US100+ on a cheaper version of the Ear Force, or you can take a look at the even more expensive but lauded Astro A40s.

In fact, if you guys are interested, let me know in the comments. I may try to call in a pair of those Astros in to hear for myself.

Comfortable

Superb chat quality

RF offers smooth audio transmission

Highly specialised but useful product

Overall audio quality is OK, not stellar

AAA batteries? C’mon!

What’s New and Dandy

What makes it my favourite Canon so far is actually everything that’s completely new to Canon — DP Review has a nice summary here in pictures. But in short, while this might sound weird, it shoots more like a Nikon than any Canon DSLR I’ve used. This is primarily because of the new 19-point autofocus system and the colour-metering system that goes with it. You’re able to select AF zones — clusters of AF points — while in the past with Canon you’ve been limited to a full AF blast or picking out a single point. The system is also more customisable, so it can be locked with different default focus points depending on whether you’re holding the camera horizontally or vertically. Against Nikon’s D300s, Canon’s new AF system mostly kept up and definitely performs better than autofocus on the 5D Mark II.

The new viewfinder now provides 100 per cent coverage, unlike previous Canons in this range, and it uses a new polymer LCD network for the graphical overlay to display AF points, grids and other displays, so it’s more flexible and feels more fluid. (It also just looks swankier, and again, more Nikon-like.) Your other viewfinder (when you’re shooting video, anyway), the LCD screen, is a 3-inch, 920k dot display like the 5D Mark II and it’s still excellent, with a wide viewing angle, nice colour and the right amount of crispness.

Sensor and Image Quality

Truthfully, I’ve been mildly surprised at the quality of photos that’ve come out of the 7D, which uses an absolutely stuffed 18-megapixel, APS-C sized sensor. (So there is a 1.6x crop factor.) For comparison, the D300s has a 12-megapixel sensor that’s the same physical size, while the D3 only goes for 12 megapixels on its bigger full-frame (35mm-equivalent) sensor. The 5D Mark II has a 21-megapixel full-frame sensor. And typically, the more pixels you try to cram on a sensor of a given size, the more the image quality degrades, especially when it comes to low light, high ISO shots.

I was expecting a noisefest, or at best, seriously noticeable noise reduction employed by the camera’s software. It is clear that Canon’s using incredibly sophisticated noise reduction algorithms with the dual Digic IV processors on board, though the effects are less drastic than I expected. It’s most apparent, actually, when you directly compare photos taken with the D300s. Looking at photos taken with the 7D and D300s at 100 per cent crops, the D300s’s images are noisier, but they also preserve more detail. For web-sized images, the 7D’s images look better, with less noise and more smoothness.

Video

You can get sense of Canon and Nikon’s philosophical differences with the difference in their buttons for video: Canon makes a distinction between Live View and video mode, while Nikon is ready to start shooting video as soon you tap the live view button on the D300s. Creating video is a separate, dedicated event for Canon, in other words, and there is a semi-serious video camera that happens to be built into a DSLR. Nikon’s D300s, on the other hand, is a DSLR that happens to shoot video.

With video, the 7D simply has the upper hand — video is very much a legitimised use of this camera, not a secondary one like the D300s. (As expected from a company with an entire wing dedicated to camcorders for pros and consumers.) Not only does it have full manual controls, I find that it’s slightly easier to use the D300s while shooting video — not to mention the whole shooting in a real video codec at 1080p, yadda yadda. Three clips here: A melange of video above, and then by two videos, one from the 7D, one of the D300s, that mirror each other. Both were shot at ISO 6400, and you should be able to catch them at full res if you click over to Vimeo.

Build and Controls

The 7D is heavy, heavier than the 5D, but it’s also slightly sturdier, with a build quality and weatherproofing that’s slightly in between the 5D and Canon’s definitely pro 1D. It feels about the same in your hand, though. And it’s roughly comparable to the D300s.

Controls aren’t radically different from other Canon DSLRs of this calibre — that is, it’s what you’d mostly expect from a DSLR that sits in between the lower end 50D and the higher end 5D MK II, though it’s a bit closer to the latter. While the menu system feels completely unchanged — leaving more advanced features, like the orientation autofocus a bit inscrutable — a few things are new on the outside: The power switch is up on the top left, under the mode dial; there’s a dedicated button for switching to RAW/JPEG; a quick action button; and a new toggle switch for Live View and video, which you engage by pressing a start button in the centre.

You Already Know If You’re Going to Buy This

The real question for Canon users who want something more than the lower end 50D is whether they go for the 7D, at $US1700, or full bore to full-frame with the $US2700 5D Mark II. The 7D has a 1.6x crop factor which is useful for sports, a better autofocusing system, shoots faster, is slightly more rugged, and is $US1000 cheaper. The 5D is full frame — which I suspect is the real consideration for folks — and takes slightly better photos at higher resolutions.

Obviously, if you’re locked into Nikon, with thousands of dollars in lenses, you’re not going to jump to Canon, or vice versa. But Canon’s dedication to DSLR video is proving formidable in carving out a new kind of market that Nikon might have some trouble competing in, since they’re a dedicated still-camera company, not a video company, too, like Canon. Really, both the D300s and 7D deliver for the money, though I think the 7D delivers more, since it’s packed full of newer technology and for the people who want it, the video component is truly killer. Either way, it’s proof that competition is good — it clearly wouldn’t exist without the D300, and the D400 will be that much better because of it.

New 19-point autofocus and metering systems plus the new viewfinder rock

Excellent 1080p video with full manual controls

Not full-frame, which might put off some people

I’d like a secondary SD card slot, like the D300s

Noise reduction can get pretty aggressive at higher ISO speeds, obscuring detail

The Price

$US35, available now. Package includes charger and two compatible batteries.

The Verdict

As we said in the lead, the Charge Base IC (which stands for “inductive charging”) is the best solution for charging Wiimotes we’ve seen to date, if you can stand its two-controller limit.

Yes, the stand is a cacophony of various plastics and LED, but you’ll quickly disregard aesthetics the first time you hold the Wiimote up to the cradle and it just sticks. Attached through magnetism, it will be charged without the need for plugs or ports, without the need of pulling out the little stopper from the Wii MotionPlus adaptor and without even the need of removing the silicone case. (Should you be a non-case user such as myself, you’ll find the ridged rubber backs on the batteries quite comfortable.)

The stand even includes a USB charging port, should you need it, and the AC adaptor has an outlet plug on the back, meaning you won’t waste a power outlet to recharge your Wiimotes.

There’s room for improvement — an indicator that signalled the level of charge (even just empty vs full) would be very handy. I’m not really sure how long it takes to charge the batteries to full because, at the moment, the charger always just glows blue. The magnet could feel stronger through the silicone sleeve. And obviously you can buy a basic four-Wiimote charger for the price of this two-Wiimote charger. Though I have a feeling that Nyko will announce a four-controller unit if this first model is successful.

But for the ultra-lazy among us, the Charge Base IC is pretty great.

Contact charging is easy and practical

Works with real Wiimotes and generics

There’s simply not a better design we’ve seen

Through sleeve, magnet still works, but could feel stickier

Charging indicator doesn’t indicate much of anything

Kinda Like the Old One

The GoPro Hero HD is squarely based off the old model. It has the same mounting system, case, physical shape and user interface. In fact, it’s so similar that I suggest you read the original short review I did and then come back here for the low down on what makes this one better. Here’s the link. Or you could just take these basic points as a foundation.
• Awesome mounts for everything.
• Meant to be semi cheap so you don’t sweat it, yet capable.
• It has a 170-degree field of vision and the case makes it waterproof to 30m. Very rugged.
• Two buttons for controlling the basic UI. Shoot, toggle modes. The UI is so rudimentary you’ll often forget how to use it, but all you need to do is turn it on and shoot.
• There’s no native LCD for viewing replays.
• It’s not tiny.

The Video is Now HD

Instead of the paltry 512×384, the $US270 camera with surf mount has several modes, most HD. On the higher frame per second mode, which was silky smooth when played back normally, there are standard definition resolutions of 848×480 or HD 720p/1280×720. Both are 16:9 ratio, which is recommended only for motorsports or other activities where you’re not trying to catch yourself in frame standing up. The 60fps modes are noticeably smoother in normal playback but they’re meant to also look better if you slow down the frame rate playback for slow motion in your favourite video editor. The grain was noticeably worse when using 60fps indoors, but it’s not a deal breaker. At 30fps, there are modes for 720p again, but also 1280×960 which is 4:3 high def. That’s the default and I used that for surfing. The 1080p mode is 16:9, and 30fps but limits the field of vision from 170 to 127 degrees. Again, the 16:9 modes are used less than you’d expect in sports shots. There’s also a centre-weighted mode for exposing the road when shooting from inside a car, and it leaves the dashboard underexposed properly.

The bottom line is that this new camera is in HD. That’s the big improvement

Quality

This is a still of the movie at full res, not the actual 5MP stills.

First, watch the movies the guys at the company produced here. Then watch my shitty one filled with shitty surfing. Colours were a little washy/green but the ocean and the sky together, with the lens collecting droplets, well, that isn’t an ideal situation. Watch it for yourself and form your own conclusions, but note the reflections off the water which will inform you of pretty decent autoexposure and sharpness. It’s a vast improvement over other sports cams and the standard def version. Oh, a little thing held over from the last generation that isn’t a ding or a plus: the 170-degree angle is great for reducing apparent vibration and for making sure what you want in shot is in the frame, but it has the unfortunate side effect of making things like waves and jumps and other otherwise impressive looking things seem smaller.

Storage Capacity

The 51 minutes of video I took were 4.6GB big in the standard 4:3 ratio 1280×960 video. That was enough res for me to enjoy it on the screen. Here’s what Justin at GoPro told me the camera would store, which is a little more generous than what I found but still in the same ballpark.

Average recording times:
1080p: 12 min/GB
960p: 14 min/GB
720p: 16min/GB @30fps; 11 min/GB @ 60fps

GoPro recommended you use fast SDHC cards to save battery life, and on a 32GB card you can get almost six hours of recordings, although you’d be constrained by battery life. Oh one annoyance — every time you clear the card, the files are named from 001, 002, again. So if you copy them over to the same location, they’ll ask you if you want to overwrite. I wish the camera kept its file name numbers in series.

Battery Life

The other big change is that instead of being powered by a pair of AAAs, GoPro jammed a 1100mAh, 3.7-volt battery in the case. I did not do a full run-down test, but shooting 51 minutes of video didn’t reduce the charge even one notch; GoPro estimates you can get 2.5 hours of battery life from the camera in normal climates, regardless of the definition of video you’re shooting. The old model died quickly in the cold if you weren’t using rechargeables but this camera’s housing retains a bit more heat making it better for colder weather. You charge it by USB. Unfortunately you can’t charge it while doing a USB transfer yet. They hope to fix this with a firmware update later.

Sound

Sound quality during dry sports is aided by an open back housing door. But even with the closed door during surfing, the sound was fine. A benefit of the closed housing door is that wind noise is nil.

Stills

I didn’t test stills in this mode, but GoPro claims the 5-megapixel shots are better due to better processing. There are several still modes, as before: Single shot, triple shot that takes three shots over two seconds and a time lapse mode that can be set to record a shot every two, five, 10, 30 or 60 seconds. And a 10-second delay timer. For me, this is not why you get a sports camera.

The Surf Mount, in Particular

It’s 3M double sticky and it seems to hold up just fine. You clean your board of wax and then use a bit of rubbing alcohol to apply it. Let it settle overnight. To get it off (permanently) you use a hair dryer, which sounds a bit scary when it comes to something nice and fibreglass, but what do I know? (That’s why I put this one on a pop out longboard.

The Future

Another big but so far not useful thing on the new camera is the expansion port. They plan on offering a bigger back door for the case so you can fit in an external LCD screen for replays or an extra battery pack. I like the idea. I’m thinking they could probably go ahead and work on making the camera smaller even if it costs a bit more, in the next generation, though. I like GoPro enough to use it, even though gadgets on the mountain or in the surf piss me off by way of distraction. Now that they’ve got mounts, higher resolutions and battery endurance covered, I think making it even smaller is the next step to making it more enjoyable.

High def modes

Best mounting options in the business

Rugged, yet affordable case good for bumps and waterproof to 30m

Wide angle lens captures 170 degrees of motion so you fit in the shot and vibration is dampened.

Smooth 60fps great for action shots

Relatively cheap for what you get

Case kind of biggish

Sex and Brains

It’s got the same spacious image sensor as the G11—1/1.7-inch as opposed to 1/2.5-inch like most point-and-shoots. But instead of being built into a Panzer tank, it’s in the body of a hot German model. It’s an actual point-and-shoot: It fits in the pocket of your skinny jeans, but delivers, for the most part, the same wow image quality.

I wish it was slightly more square with sharper angles for an even more classic aesthetic, but it’s still pretty classy looking. The texture, which makes for half of the appeal, makes it a little slippery. The control ring around the lens is like the perfect scarf that ties it altogether. And despite being a bantam-weight shooter, it feels more solid than most cameras its size.

Lord of the Ring

What makes the camera really work is that control ring wrapped around the lens. By default, when you turn it, it adjusts the main setting for each mode — aperture in aperture priority, shutter speed in shutter priority, you get the idea. Using the ring function button on top of the camera, you can set the ring to adjust almost whatever parameter you want though, like white balance, ISO, exposure, even specific zoom intervals.

Truthfully, using the dial never feels completely seamless, because of way you’re forced to hold the camera. As a result of its pint size, there’s no completely natural hand or finger posture for spinning the ring. But, the control it manages to put at your fingertips is remarkable: In manual mode, I had aperture mapped to the main ring, exposure set to the control ring on the back (which, like the G11, is a little too small to have a settings d-pad stuffed in the centre of it) and ISO speed mapped to the shortcut button. The only real issue with that setup is that the ISO setting interface lags behind your input occasionally, so you sometimes overshoot the ISO speed you wanted.

Just a Little More Hardware Talk

There’s no viewfinder, so you’re stuck using the screen exclusively. The LCD is a little bigger than the G11’s, at three inches, though it uses the same number of pixels and obviously doesn’t swivel out. It too is easily viewable in sunlight, though I found a more of a difference, exposure-wise, between what I thought I shot according to the display and what I later saw on my computer, than I noticed with the G11. Also, there’s no flash hot shoe, like you get with the G11.

The battery’s small, obviously, so your picture taking is capped at a little over 200 shots, according to Canon. My days of shooting didn’t contradict that, for better or for worse—I’d get to half battery after around 100 shots and a couple video clips.

Finally the Photos (and Video)

Since it’s the same 10-megapixel image sensor as the G11, yes, you do get just about the same fantastic image quality, solid low-light performance (noise doesn’t start really kicking in til ISO 800, and even that’s totally usable for most stuff) and ability to shoot in RAW. The main difference is in the lens. The S90 has a faster lens that’ll shoot at F/2 wide open, meaning you rely less on that high ISO—up to 3200—to compensate for the lack of light. The oh-so-small price for this incredibly fast lens is that you lose a bit of zoom, since it goes out to 105mm, vs. the G11’s 140mm, but who cares? I can’t reiterate how big of a deal a lens like this is on this kind of point-and-shoot. That said, I seemed to get photos that were a touch less sharp than what I got on the G11.

Here’s a gallery of some stuff I shot, which you can compare to G11 sample photos and ISO tests (spoiler, they look great):

The video’s still 640×480, and still quite good too:

Buy If You Need a Tiny-But-Great Camera

I know, it’s $US430 — way more than most point-and-shoots cost in this day and age. But the amount of picture power this literally slips into your pocket is almost unbelievable: Outstanding low-light performance for a camera this size; a speedy lens; full control rings, plural; and yep, RAW. It’s the soul of what makes the $US500 behemoth G11 great, packaged in a true point-and-shoot. You lose some power and some pro tools, like the swivel screen, a (shitty) viewfinder, faster burst shooting, hot shoe, some zoom and a custom mode or two, but you’re also shedding a ton of bulk, meaning you’ll actually take it everywhere. And the best camera’s always the one you have with you—for me, that’s this camera, which just happens to be an excellent one all by itself.

G11’s awesome image sensor plus a fastfastfast lens means awesome photos

Looks like a serious little camera (it is)

Did I mention I love this camera?

Control ring can feel awkward

More battery life and 720p video would be nice

[Canon]

Speed

I’ve been happy with a 16GB Patriot Xporter, which Ars mentioned in their 2009 test as one of the fastest. This Corsair is faster. On an informal test transferring 2.7 GB of MP3 files, the Corsair Flash Voyager 128GB was twice as fast in writes and a touch faster in reads.

Note I was very casual about this test. It did not shut down all my other apps during this test, but I did run multiple trials. And I did not test random access or exceptionally large file sizes. Why didn’t I take testing more seriously? Because I just don’t think you’ll really buy this thing when you can get multiple 32GB drives for $US50 or so. This thing is impressive, but all freaks of nature are impressive.

It’s Big

On top of its price and performance, it’s bigger. No, not only in capacity. See?

Yeah, well, it still fits in my pocket. Like a giant pet beetle. The kind that crawled out of skulls and pyramid labyrinth walls in The Mummy, part five, or whatever.

I’d recommend it only if you have so much money that if you lose one, you’ll merely say “oops” and not cry over it like I would.

128GB is a lot of space.

It’s fast.

Kind of big for a USB drive, but still doable.

Expensive

Like the XBR10, it streams 1080p from a wireless source, plays 24p content and has 240Hz tech that you can’t see. But it’s 55 inches, while the biggest XBR10 is 52, and it’s got THX display certification (as, um, useful as that is). What the Sony has over it is the excellent XMB media interface and Bravia Internet Video (with Amazon On Demand, Netflix and other services), though you could use the difference you pocket with the LG to pick up the Vudu-streaming BD390 Blu-ray player that has built-in Wi-Fi.

In other words, until we see how good the picture on both of these are, it’s a tossup—though the best LED-backlit TVs are locally dimmed, so Sony’s got a tough fight.

The lesser LH85 isn’t LED-backlit, but it’s got wireless HDMI too and is an also pricey $US3200 and $US2400 for 55-inch and 47-inch sets.

LG ELECTRONICS BROADENS HOME ENTERTAINMENT OPTIONS

WITH TWO NEW WIRELESS HDTV SERIES

Wireless LCD HDTVs Offer Flexible and Convenient Custom Installation Options

ATLANTA, Sept. 10, 2009 – Offering diverse integration options for custom installers, LG Electronics is highlighting its first-ever series of wireless LCD HDTVs, including an LED model, this week at the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) EXPO 2009 (Booth #2623).

Whether it’s design, technology or screen size, LG’s wireless HDTVs have something for everyone, according to Peter Reiner, senior vice president, marketing, LG Electronics USA, Inc. LG’s 55-inch class* Slim Wireless LED-Backlight HDTV (model 55LHX) combines advanced technology with cutting-edge style for a TV that blends beautifully into any home environment. For those seeking a variety of design options, LG’s LH85 series of wireless LCD HDTVs will be available in 47- and 55-inch class* sizes.

“As custom installers look to create a truly unique space, the wireless capability found in the 55LHX and LH85 models allow the freedom to place the HDTV anywhere in the room,” said Reiner. “With wireless HDTVs, LG continues to expand home entertainment design and placement options to meet consumers’ ever evolving needs.”

Entertainment Freedom

Both 55LHX and LH85 wireless models allow installers the freedom to place the HDTV virtually anywhere in the room – without messy wires. To achieve this wireless experience, LG uses a supplied media box to transmit an uncompressed Full HD 1080p signal with virtually no interference or delay directly to the TV. The HDTVs can receive a wireless signal up to 30 feet away, allowing consumers to hook all content sources (such as a cable or satellite box, Blu-ray disc player, game console and home theatre systems) into one box.

Enhanced Picture Quality

The 55-inch LHX model features superior picture quality with an elegant ultra-slim design – less than one-inch thick at its thinnest point. This unit has attained THX Display Certification. This certification ensures that the 55LHX delivers exceptional images, bringing a more immersive and enjoyable movie, broadcast and video game experience to consumers’ living room. Since THX certification begins during the initial product design phase, every product detail is meticulously mapped to THX standards and tested in laboratory and home theatre environments to ensure quality, usability and compatibility.

By presenting HD and standard-definition content at the maximum resolution with the correct colour and luminance level, the LHX provides consumers a crisper, clearer image. To achieve this, LG uses a full-array LED backlighting system with local dimming technology, for precise picture control resulting in deeper blacks, wide colour gamut and an incredible 5,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. This model also incorporates TruMotion 240Hz technology for smooth motion during fast-action scenes.

LG’s LH85 series delivers an 80,000:1 contrast ratio for deeper blacks and greater picture detail. Additionally, the LH85 series features LG’s 24p Real Cinema technology that allows consumers to enjoy a true cinematic experience at home, the way the movie was intended to be seen. For those that want more from their HDTV, the LH85 also includes USB 2.0 functionality allowing easy access to MP3 files and viewing of JPEG photos for a more enjoyable TV viewing experience.

ISFccc Calibration Options

Those seeking advanced calibration based on their own home theatre environment, will appreciate LG’s ISFccc option on both the 55LHX and LH85 series. The professional ISF calibration helps to deliver picture quality, representing what filmmakers intended viewers to see.

Using the LG Expert Mode, an ISF-certified calibration technician will use professional equipment to calibrate the HDTV using ISF parameters based upon individual home theatre environments and ambient lighting. Once calibrated to the optimal setting, the calibrations are saved as ISF “Day” and ISF “Night” modes. With ISFccc, LG offers a superior 10-point calibration. This provides an extra level of precision for grey scale calibration resulting in a more uniform picture.

Energy Savings

With Intelligent Sensor, both wireless models automatically optimise the picture to the lighting conditions in the room for a personalised and more enjoyable viewing experience; and potential energy savings. Both the LHX and LH85 series are Energy Star 3.0 compliant, and with LG’s “Smart Energy Saving” package, which consists of features such as backlight control options and video mute, LG further paves the way toward greater energy savings, while also allowing consumers to customise their viewing experience.

The 55LHX will be available soon at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $US4,799 and the LH85 series will be available later this Fall in 55- and 47-inch class* screen sizes with MSRPs of $US3,199 and $US2,399, respectively.

LG ELECTRONICS ADDS VUDU HD MOVIE SERVICE TO WIRELESS ‘NETCAST’ NETWORK BLU-RAY DISC PLAYER

Streaming Movie Service Brings Largest Library of HD Movies to Consumers’ Fingertips

ATLANTA, Sept. 9, 2009 – LG Electronics today announced the addition of the high-definition streaming movie service from VUDU, Inc. to the LG Wireless Network Blu-ray Player (model BD390). With VUDU, consumers can instantly buy or rent from an extensive library of movies and TV titles, including an industry-leading catalog of more than 2,200 high-definition (HD) movies. The BD390 with VUDU will be demonstrated here this week at the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) EXPO 2009 (Booth #2623).

The addition of VUDU service to the BD390 adds yet another content provider alliance to the “NetCast Entertainment Access” family of features, which already includes access to hundreds of hours of Netflix, Roxio® CinemaNow®, and YouTube™ streaming content*. Available later this month through a free automatic upgrade, consumers will be able to enjoy VUDU, as well as other exclusive entertainment options at the click of a remote.

“Our alliance with VUDU exemplifies LG’s commitment to delivering the ultimate HD viewing experience, by providing instant access to more 1080p movie content than ever before,” said Peter Reiner, senior vice president, marketing, LG Electronics USA, Inc. “VUDU is the latest enhancement to our NetCast Entertainment Access feature and we are excited to now provide consumers with one of the most extensive on-demand, high-definition entertainment options on our Wireless Network Blu-ray Player.”

The BD390 with NetCast Entertainment Access is available now at nationwide retailers at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $US399. VUDU connectivity will be available at the end of the month via a free upgrade.

VUDU Service and Functions

VUDU’s streaming movie service delivers a near-instant viewing experience – movies start quickly, including high-definition HDX movies, and viewers can fast forward, rewind and browse chapters without the delays or the frustration associated with slow buffering.

Its unique HDX format, with Full HD 1080p resolution, allows for a crisper, clearer picture, while Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound makes it feel like the action is unfolding in consumers’ living rooms.

The VUDU catalog is updated weekly, and newly released movies from major studios are typically available months before they are available on subscription-based services. With no monthly fees and without the hassle of having to buy, install, or connect any additional hardware, it has never been easier for consumers to watch their favourite movies.

“Following the recent launch of VUDU on LG HDTVs with NetCast Entertainment Access, LG’s BD390 Network Blu-ray player provides the perfect opportunity for anyone in the market for a Blu-ray player to enjoy VUDU’s extensive HD movie library in superior 1080p video quality and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound,” said Alain Rossmann, CEO of VUDU. “Through our alliance with LG, VUDU is breaking new ground in delivering high definition Hollywood movies to consumers’ living rooms.”

Connectivity and Storage

As LG’s first-ever wireless Network Blu-ray Player, LG’s BD390 transforms and personalizes the home theatre experience, by offering a virtually endless array of entertainment options. In addition to its broadband capabilities, the BD390 offers exceptional “Full HD” 1080p video performance and exceptional image quality from standard DVDs with 1080p up-scaling via HDMI output. The BD390 is also equipped for easy connection to the home network and has one gigabyte (GB) of built-in memory for BD Live functionality.

[LG]

First, we have to establish the definition of a task chair. They are, according to this site, meant for medium duty use; they’re the chairs you see gathered permanently around a meeting table, or in front of a desk for guests—as opposed to behind a desk, where the boss sits, in a true “desk chair”. Comfortable, but not exactly meant to be used all day, they tend to have list prices ranging from $US500 to $US700. Still they’re often used by secretaries or other type of office workers (everyone who isn’t a boss who can’t convince someone to give them a nicer chair) whose jobs require them to get up once in a while. They usually have backs that rise up not quite as high as desk chairs, like the $US1000-and-up Herman Miller Aeron and Embody, or Steelcase Leap.

Herman Miller Setu

The $US650 Setu might be about half the price of the current top seat, but it is definitely not, as we initially reported, a “poor man’s Embody”. It’s quite different.

The Setu is Lennie to the Embody’s George: simple, straightforward and lacking in sophistication. That is to say, there’s no real customisation you can do with knobs and levers, because there are none, save for the obligatory height adjustment. Its “elastomeric” fabric does contour somewhat to the curve of your back, but it’s nowhere as customisable as actually being able to change the angles of the chair’s spine.

It’s as if Herman Miller tried to build a chair with as few parts as possible, making sure each beam, back and support did the job of one-and-a-half beams, backs and supports. However, their frugality regarding use of material has one downside: the seat is too shallow. Imagine sitting with your arse all the way into the back of the seat; even then, the seat would only come forward to about three-quarters of your thigh. It’s not horrible if you’re short or if you’d rather sit on the edge of your seat, but those of you who expect support all the way up to the back of your knees will be disappointed.

Otherwise, the Setu is quite a good task chair. It provides ample back support for a full eight-hour day, and the aerated fabric breathes enough that you can even work shirtless on a hot day and things will be alright. (For you, not your co-workers.) The arms protrude enough to be usable, but not too much to be obtrusive. There’s plenty of give in the seat and the back to feel like you’re sitting with the chair, rather than fighting against it.

Conforms to your back nicely

Great look, great design

More expensive than Cobi

The seat is a bit shallow; doesn’t go all the way to the back of the knee

Steelcase Cobi

Surprisingly, the Cobi is more like the Embody in design and build than the Setu, despite it being from a competing firm. What’s cool about the Cobi is that you can actually customise parts of it yourself, picking the colour, whether you want arms and whether you want it in stool form or chair form. Each piece adds a little to its $US400 base, and our white-framed, fixed-armed, wasabi green seat totalled $US490. If you were going stool mode—high and sturdy as in bar stool, not backless and stubby as in foot stool—you’d actually end up at $US720, which is $US70 more than the Setu.

The look of the Cobi is definitely more traditional than the Setu, with its round seat, protruding arms and tongue-like lip of a back—and it sits the same way too. There are, like the Setu, no adjustments for the back or the seat or the arms, but it conforms more or less to your back as you’re sitting. The cradling is less pronounced than the Herman Miller, but enough that you’ll still be comfortable as you’re working. And the seat is perfectly fine here, not a few inches shy of optimal length like the Setu.

Priced lower than Setu

You can customise your own colours, frame, arms

Doesn’t conform to your back as well as the Setu

Comparison

Your decision here is one of tradeoffs. If you want to go a little cheaper, the Steelcase Cobi is great, but it won’t spoon your back quite as well as the Herman Miller Setu. If you want stylishness, Setu’s definitely going to impress, but you’re going to have to live with that shallower seat and a slightly higher price tag.

The Cobi is customisable at purchase, but when you get it, you can’t change its style, so it ends up looking more like a traditional chair. The Setu may win in the design department, but you will definitely not be upset if you pick the Cobi, especially if you want to create one in your favourite colour.

This Battlemodo shows both the benefits and limitations of the task-chair category. If you’re looking for going further in customizability and comfort, it would be worth it to go with the Embody. It’s down to $US1099 now, and cradles your arse better than either the Setu or the Cobi ever will. [Steelcase Cobi and Herman Miller Setu]