Product Review's archives
Select the Best LCD Monitor for You
WHICH LCD MONITOR is right for you? It depends on the programs you use, your desk space, how much room you need on screen, and your bud get. Here are the most important features to evaluate when you go shopping. Key Specifications Native resolution: An LCD has a fixed resolution at which it looks best. The majority of 17- to 19-inch models use a native resolution of 1280 by 1024 pixels. Wide-screen 23-and 24-inch units typically use [+]A Low-Cost iPhone Nano?
For months now we’ve heard rumors suggesting that Apple is secretly preparing a new entry-level version of the iPhone, christened by the press and industry pundits as the iPhone Nano. There are good reasons for Apple to launch such a device, not the least of which is that consumers have less money to spend due to the current state of the economy. Another good reason is that the iPhone is now available in over 70 [+]Despite Hot Competition, BlackBerrys Rule
THE IPHONE 3G and the T-Mobile G1 may have created a stir, but Research In Motion’s BlackBerry units dominate the Top 10 Smart Phones chart. The two newest BlackBerrys (the Bold and the Storm) land on the chart, but two older units (the Pearl 8120 and the Curve 8320) remain near the top of our rankings. Between the latter two BlackBerrys are the Motorola Moto zine ZN5 and the Samsung Omnia, both new. The ZN5 includes [+]Not Quite a Netbook: Sony’s VAIO P
DON’T CALL the VAIO P a netbook. After all, it starts at $900 with a 60GB hard drive and gets as high as $1499 with a 128GB solid-state drive (our review unit had a 64GB SSD; its configuration sells for $1199). In addition, this machine runs Windows Vista Home Basic instead of Windows XP or Linux, operating systems that are more common on netbooks. But it does have a 1.33-GHz Z520 Intel Atom processor, at [+]iWork 2009 Can Take Care of Business
FOR ANYONE WHO uses a Mac for work, an update to the iWork suite is welcome. Does iWork have what it takes to do serious business? iWork ’09 consists of the Pages word processor, the Numbers spreadsheet application, the iWeb site builder, and the Key note presentation software. New in ’09 is iWork.com, which lets you share files and collaborate with colleagues, whether they use Macs or not. If you’re seeking a replacement for Microsoft Office, iWork [+]The Wide World of All-Purpose Laptops
ALL-PURPOSE LAPTOPS come in a hodgepodge of sizes and shapes, a testament to just how much, and how quickly, notebooks are evolving right now. For this roundup we looked at small and spunky systems that are a smidgen too heavy to be considered ultraportables, as well as at laptops that have expansive, 16-inch screens but fall just short of qualifying as full desktop replacements. Whether you want to save a few bucks or to obtain a [+]Google Latitude Lets You Track Your Pals
DO YOU KNOW where your friends are? If not, Google can help you find them. Google Latitude lets smart phone and laptop users share their location. Cough not pinpoint accurate, Latitude can display your general location based on information from GPS satellites and cell towers. Once you and your friends have opted in to Latitude, your friends’ icons appear on Google Maps. Clicking an icon allows you to call, e-mail, or IM them, and you can [+]Hands-On With the Amazon Kindle 2
VARIOUS DESIGN changes make the Amazon Kindle 2 more appealing than the original model—but while Amazon has succeeded in enhancing its e-book reader, it has done little to advance the device to the next stage. The $359 Kindle 2 is slimmer (0.36 inch thick), and at just 10.2 ounces, the new device weighs virtually the same as the old one. The unit’s 600-by-800-resolution screen is also the same size, measuring 6 inches—but now it gives you [+]
