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Hardware Reviews Editor's Rating:  User Rating:  Good: The ThinkPad T420 has several things going for it: performance, plenty of ports, excellent battery life, and a very comfortable keyboard. Bad: The design of the bulky, business-oriented T420 is positively Stone Age. It's also priced well above similar consumer laptops. No HDMI, no USB 3.0. Bottom Line: The Lenovo ThinkPad T420 is as straight-up and unassuming as a business laptop can be on the surface, souped up with faster performance, long battery life, and a flexible selection of ports under the hood. [Read more]  Editor's Rating:  User Rating:  Good: The RunCore Pro V Max SSD provides fast boot times and great application performance. The drive supports SATA 3 (6Gbps) and comes in a sturdy aluminum casing. Bad: The RunCore Pro V Max's current price is above average for its copy speed, which could use some improvement. Bottom Line: While the RunCore Pro V Max SSD will greatly improve a computer's overall performance, its for now unreasonably high price tag will steer you to the alternatives. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating: Good: The RunCore Pro V Max SSD provides fast boot times and great application performance. The drive supports SATA 3 (6Gbps) and comes in a sturdy aluminum casing. Bad: The RunCore Pro V Max's current price is above average for its copy speed, which could use some improvement. Bottom Line: While the RunCore Pro V Max SSD will greatly improve a computer's overall performance, its for now unreasonably high price tag will steer you to the alternatives. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating: Good: The RunCore Pro V Max SSD provides fast boot times and great application performance. The drive supports SATA 3 (6Gbps) and comes in a sturdy aluminum casing. Bad: The RunCore Pro V Max's current price is above average for its copy speed, which could use some improvement. Bottom Line: While the RunCore Pro V Max SSD will greatly improve a computer's overall performance, its for now unreasonably high price tag will steer you to the alternatives. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating: Good: Standard all-wheel drive helps the 2012 Subaru Impreza retain traction in slippery conditions. Its continuously variable transmission helps fuel economy and includes six virtual shift points. Bluetooth audio streaming shows full track data on the car's radio display. Bad: Browsing a music library using the radio is not an intuitive process. There is no premium audio system available for the Impreza. Bottom Line: With all-wheel drive a rare find in the 2012 Subaru Impreza's segment, the car makes a good showing, but the cabin electronics are not cutting-edge. [Read more]  Editor's Rating:  User Rating:  Good: Four SMS Audio Sync-equipped users can connect to the included wireless dongle for group listening, Kleer Wireless streams sound much better than Bluetooth, and SMS includes a 3.5mm cable to use when the battery runs out. Bad: The delicate plastic housing and the flimsy 3.5mm dongle both suffer heavy creaks under light pressure, and the headphones don't fold up for easier transport. I'm also disappointed that the headphones don't actively cancel noise and that the single USB charger means charging the dongle and headphones separately. Bottom Line: The Sync by 50 wireless headphones made the right move using Kleer technology for lossless sound, but SMS Audio needs to fix severe design flaws and lower the price before they're ready for battle. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating:  Good: With its dual-clutch transmission and turbocharged 2-liter engine, the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI delivers enjoyable and economical performance. The Fender audio system produces incredibly good sound, the best available for cars in this segment. Bad: Unlike its sibling GTI, the Jetta GLI lacks launch control and a hatchback. The iPod connecter is placed inconveniently in the glove box. Bottom Line: Cabin tech in the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI may not be cutting-edge, but the Fender audio system sounds excellent. The boring sedan body belies the superior handling and quick-shifting gearbox. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating: Good: The T-Mobile MyTouch is a simple starter smartphone that's compatible with T-Mobile's 4G network. It has good battery life and you can get it for nothing. Bad: Despite the phone's midtier specs, it lacks a camera flash. Also, the speakerphone quality was poor and the interface was a little sluggish. Bottom Line: Though not without its merits, this most recent addition to the MyTouch family has too many things against it. No one issue was unbearable on its own, but when I add up all my qualms about it, I'd ultimately suggest another phone within its class. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating: Good: The T-Mobile MyTouch is a simple starter smartphone that's compatible with T-Mobile's 4G network. It has good battery life and you can get it for nothing. Bad: Despite the phone's midtier specs, it lacks a camera flash. Also, the speakerphone quality was poor and the interface was a little sluggish. Bottom Line: Though not without its merits, this most recent addition to the MyTouch family has too many things against it. No one issue was unbearable on its own, but when I add up all my qualms about it, I'd ultimately suggest another phone within its class. [Read more]  Editor's Rating:  User Rating: Good: The TiVo Premiere Elite can record from four tuners at once to its 2TB of storage. TiVo continues to offer a best-in-class DVR experience, plus a top-notch suite of streaming-video services, including Netflix and Hulu Plus. Bad: Cable cutters and satellite subscribers will be disappointed that the Elite works with digital cable and Verizon Fios only. And even if TiVo does work with your cable provider, you won't be able to access any pay-per-view or VOD content. The Elite is $500 plus $500 for lifetime service or $19.99 a month, which is much more than the alternatives. And there's still no built-in Wi-Fi. Bottom Line: The TiVo Premiere Elite might be a luxury, but it's definitely a luxury worth paying for. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating: Good: The Parrot Minikit+ offers hands-free calling and A2DP audio streaming. It automatically downloads the phone book off a paired phone, enabling voice dialing of any stored contact. The noise- and echo-reducing microphone ensures clear calls. Bad: Speaker quality is passably good, but could stand a bit of improvement. Bottom Line: The Parrot Minikit+ makes good use of its voice controls and excellent microphone to deliver clear calls and a safer driving experience. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating: Good: The RunCore Pro V Max SSD provides fast boot times and great application performance. The drive supports SATA 3 (6Gbps) and comes in a sturdy aluminum casing. Bad: The RunCore Pro V Max's current price is above average for its copy speed, which could use some improvement. Bottom Line: While the RunCore Pro V Max SSD will greatly improve a computer's overall performance, its for now unreasonably high price tag will steer you to the alternatives. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating: Good: The Pantech Element tablet offers a waterproof design, quick-running dual-core processor, HDMI output, and 4G LTE data from AT&T. Bad: The Element's screen resolution and aspect ratio are an odd match with Honeycomb, it's not operable underwater, and it's not particularly rugged beyond water resistance. Bottom Line: The Pantech Element is a fun, midsize tablet geared more toward the accident-prone than the outdoor adventurer. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating: Good: The Samsung Replenish has Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a QWERTY keyboard, and a surprisingly decent 2-megapixel camera. Bad: There's no Flash support in the browser, and the Replenish feels a bit cheap and cramped. In addition, the processor is a little laggy. Bottom Line: Keep in mind that the Samsung Replenish is an entry-level smartphone, and you may enjoy the Android handset's QWERTY keyboard and camera. If it's quick browsing you're after, keep looking. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating: Good: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX90 has a bright f2.5 ultrawide-angle Leica lens and good shooting performance for its class. Its built-in Wi-Fi lets you back up photos and movies to your PC, send them to your smartphone or Panasonic AV device, and upload to sharing sites. Bad: The FX90's convoluted Wi-Fi setup made me want to smash the camera to bits. For its price, its photo quality is disappointing. Bottom Line: While adding Wi-Fi to a point-and-shoot is a solid way to compete with smartphones, Panasonic fumbles it a bit with Lumix DMC-FX90. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating: Good: The Kodak Office Hero 6.1 All-in-One Printer's ink tanks cost less than the competition's, and connection options include Wi-Fi, Google Cloud Print, and Kodak's own Email Print service. Bad: The device can't print directly on blank discs and the fixed-angle display may inhibit the view for some users. Bottom Line: If you're not in a rush to receive your prints, the Office Pro 6.1 makes a worthwhile sidekick with several cloud printing options, a generous 200-sheet paper input capacity, and a 35-sheet autodocument feeder for hands-free scans on the upgraded 2,400dpi scanner. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating: Good: The Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air is a great-sounding wireless speaker with Air Play functionality. It can stream audio from any source that has iTunes installed along with any iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch. It'll also play audio over USB with Apple devices, and has an auxiliary input. The G-17 is also very easy to set up and offers a free iOS app for help with the initial setup. Bad: The worst thing about the G-17 is its $550 price tag, which is among the higher-priced Air Play units on the market. USB playback only works with Apple products, not with any USB device. The included remote feels a bit cheap. Bottom Line: While it packs an impressive punch in terms of sound performance and feature set, the G-17 is more expensive than an iPad and doesn't seem worth its $550 price tag. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating: Good: The BlackBerry Curve 9370 runs BlackBerry 7 OS, and has a good 5-megapixel camera, 1GB internal storage, and a SIM card for traveling outside the U.S. Bad: Unfortunately, the Curve 9370 lacks HD video capture, has uncomfortable side buttons, and is priced high for a phone of its caliber. Bottom Line: Verizon's BlackBerry Curve 9370 brings you BlackBerry 7 OS and a global-ready SIM slot in an ultraportable package. Unfortunately, some design flaws and a high price for an entry-level device make the QWERTY handset hard to recommend to anyone except BlackBerry devotees. [Read more]  Editor's Rating: User Rating: Good: The JBL OnBeat is a fairly compact iPhone/iPad audio dock. It offers decent-enough sound for its size and a pass-through USB connection for computers that allows you to sync a docked iPod/iPhone/iPad with iTunes on your computer. Bad: The iPad can't be rotated to landscape mode when docked; speaker sounds a bit thin. Bottom Line: If you can look past its inability to dock iPads horizontally, the affordable JBL OnBeat is a decent little iPad/iPhone speaker dock that's well-suited for nightstand use. [Read more]  Editor's Rating:
User Rating: Good: The JBL OnBeat is a fairly compact iPhone/iPad audio dock. It offers decent-enough sound for its size and a pass-through USB connection for computers that allows you to sync a docked iPod/iPhone/iPad with iTunes on your computer. Bad: The iPad can't be rotated to landscape mode when docked; speaker sounds a bit thin. Bottom Line: If you can look past its inability to dock iPads horizontally, the affordable JBL OnBeat is a decent little iPad/iPhone speaker dock that's well-suited for nightstand use. [Read more] |
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