Last updated December 1st, 2009 but we'll update this list as the new stuff replaces the old and crusty. We read and write reviews so you don't have to!

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 $1000: 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 $900.

• 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 $1000: Panasonic's X1 series plasmas, and four more here.

• Best HDTVs, period: Here.

• 1080p Projectors Under $1000: 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 adapter. The Asus 23-inch VH236H is good deal at about $230, 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 with Netflix 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. However, the current king is the Asus O!Play, which also wins an award for worst use of an exclamation point in a name.

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 $250 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 GPS: It's really hard to justify these when smartphones are doing so well with their turn by turn apps. But they still need car docks and some of their UIs are not great, so if you want a dedicated unit, bide your time with the cheapest Garmin Nuvi you can find. Usually about $125 at Amazon.

• The Best iPhone GPS Apps: Motion X GPS is our favorite value GPS app, but ALK's CoPilot is another cheap champ. Navigon is still the classiest, but it costs a lot. (We're hoping for free Google Maps with Navigation to come to iPhone.)

• 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 Basic Differences in Chips

First off, I should note that the Core i7 chip has what Intel calls a "turbo mode." That is, when it's not utilizing all of its cores, it can dynamically overclock itself up to 3.4GHz on whatever single core is in use. It can, as shown in this video, work in steps. So you get the turbo benefit when using some of the four cores in this iMac's chip, but you also get it when all cores are being partially used. For example, if four cores are running but only at a fraction of their total capacity (less then 100%), the cores can use that electrical/thermal overhead to overclock to varying degrees. This should theoretically make up for the difference between the two-core 3.06GHz chip and the hyperthreaded quad core chip at a base of 2.8GHz.

The other thing to realize about these newer Core i7 chips are that they have no northbridge—or bus—between the memory and CPU. The memory controller is built right into the processor, and there's a new tech called QuickPath interconnect which connects the cores in a point-to-point architecture. Core i7 supports triple-channel memory (which would use three banks at once), but this iMac only came loaded with two banks of RAM filled. Like our other iMac, that's a 2GB + 2GB arrangement.

Matt explains more about i7 here. (And yes, there are differences between i7 and i5, besides clock speed.)

*Note that this machine also had a faster ATI Radeon 4850 video card with 512MB of RAM (versus the 4670 card in the other iMac) which may have impacted performance in several apps. I have no idea which of these apps uses the GPU to accelerate its tasks under Snow Leopard. (For example, Preview may use it to help render JPGs faster, or it may not. Apple could not tell me. In Adobe After Effects, the Radeon series of cards apparently is not supported for OpenCL acceleration. )

Performance with Multithreaded Apps

In short, any task we tried that expressly was written to either a) take advantage of multiple cores, or, b) take advantage of multiple cores through Snow Leopard's multicore middleware, Grand Central Dispatch, were 2 to 3 times faster. (More on that here.) These results include:

• 64-bit versions of Geekbench, which focus on CPU and memory tests.
• Adobe After Effects benchmarks
• Opening 20 images of Tokyo Tower that are 2000x2000 pixels and 35MB each.

Impressive stuff, but honestly, those tests were kind of uninteresting to me. I mean, those tests don't really have any correlation to my daily computing use. So on a whim, after benchmarking, I tested Handbrake, the DVD ripping software I love. It, too, was freaking fast.

I know the app is multithreaded, but I did not know what level of optimization it was written for. I was blown away by a 3x speed multiplier with the i7. On the Core i7 iMac, it took 43 minutes to rip a DVD, Storm Riders, a surfing film from the '70s featuring Gerry Lopez (my favorite) and others. On the Core 2 Duo machine, it took 147 minutes! I know this is basically a DVD read test coupled with decoding and video conversion, but the results have me excited because this is a real task that takes my computer a long time to do, performed by a program that hasn't been revised in a year.

Performance With Single-Core Optimized Apps (Otherwise Known as Reality)

Unfortunately, there are still very few applications that take advantage of multiple cores directly or via Snow Leopard's GCD, not even video-based, let alone general purpose computing.

Photoshop CS4 on the Mac, which is not set up to handle multicore processors, showed almost less than a 3% improvement using the Driver Heaven benchmark. Basic tasks, like booting and shutdown, saw virtually none. Playing the 1080p Quicktime trailer of Avatar consistently showed that the i7 was using 3% less of its total CPU than the Core2Duo, but I wonder if that's a result of the faster graphics card kicking in using CoreCL. Xbench, the old program that does a more comprehensive job of benchmarking a system from disks to processors, showed almost no difference.

I think Xbench, which hasn't been updated in years, is a solid benchmark for that old program that you depend on but has been long abandoned or at least ignored by its developer.

These scores, again, are in relation to the top line 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo iMac we tested. Some benchmarks have come in from the web comparing the i7 to the i5. Here's one that claims a 30% jump using Geekbench. Now we know Geekbench likes and does well with more cores and is a synthetic CPU test. But if the i5 is 30% slower, and the i7 pulls even with the 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo chip in single threaded activity—most day to day activity—does that mean the i5 is slower than the cheaper Core 2 Duo? Maybe. Probably not 30%, since Geekbench is strictly CPU/memory and likes more cores, and this stuff does not translate so literally in the real world. But we can assume the i5 will have 30% less jump from the top tier Core 2 Duos, translating into a mere 1.3X to 2X speed increase from last gen chips on programs that like cores.

Value

For the most part, in our review, I said that you should stick to the preconfigured options, upgrading to Apple's next recommended config before considering upgrades to the lower tier models. How does that advice change now that we've seen the i7? I don't know! I guess it depends if you're a betting man. If you think programs for Snow Leopard using GCD are coming, paying $200 to $500 bucks more from the top line Core 2 Duo chip for an i5 or i7 might make sense. The probability of you getting programs that can use those extra cores goes up if you are a graphics or video professional who expects to see support from Adobe, Apple, etc. (Apple already claims big jumps in Aperture that we weren't able to test.) Or if you rip a lot of DVDs! The rest of you? The Core 2 Duo stuff could be fine for today and fine for tomorrow. But the Core i7 is not worse for today and will definitely be faster tomorrow. It just costs more.

Me personally? I'd opt for the Core i7. I just might wait til the new iMacs refresh a bump and the i7 is cheaper and part of a standard build. But I'm patient like that.

[iMac Review]

In other words, this is the first time anyone has developed a processor that can handle any set of instructions for more than one quantum bit or "qubit." Rapid progress when you consider that the first single-task quantum processor arrived on the scene less than a year ago.

The NIST team performed 160 different processing routines on the two qubits. Although there are an infinite number of possible two-qubit programs, this set of 160 is large and diverse enough to fairly represent them, Hanneke says, making the processor "universal." The researchers used a random number generator to select the particular routines that would be executed, so all possible programs had an equal chance of selection. The random programs avoided the possibility of bias in testing the processor in the event that some programs ran better or produced more accurate outputs than others. Each program operated accurately an average of 79 percent of the time across 900 runs, each run lasting about 37 milliseconds. To evaluate the processor and the quality of its operation, NIST scientists compared the measured outputs of the programs to idealized, theoretical results.

The programs did not perform easily described mathematical calculations. Rather, they involved various single-qubit "rotations" and two-qubit entanglements. As an example of a rotation, if a qubit is envisioned as a dot on a sphere at the north pole for 0, at the south pole for 1, or on the equator for a balanced superposition of 0 and 1, the dot might be rotated to a different point on the sphere, perhaps from the northern to the southern hemisphere, making it more of a 1 than a 0.

Huh? Yeah, it's a bit confusing, but you can get the basic idea by checking out our Giz Explains on the subject. Just know that programing with multiple qubits is a major turning point in creating the truly "super" computers of tomorrow. [NIST and Ars Technica]

Specifically, using his charts and mine, it wasn't hard to recognize the jump in the multithreaded, 64 bit results from geek bench in the categories of integer, floating point and memory streaming tests, as well as the threaded tests. (Memory tests were slightly faster, the others were drastically so.) Interesting, as the Core i5 chip is clocked at 2.66GHz and the Core2Duo iMac I tested runs at 3.06GHz.

(The turbo boost function, which overclocks the Core i5 chip to up to 3.2GHz when running non-multithreaded apps, should be kicking in performance here, too.)

Interesting, but two things to remember: Core i7 chips are coming out for the iMac shortly and will run at 2.8GHz and have hyperthreading so the 4 cores emulate 8. And there are still not many (if any at all) major OS X apps that can take advantage of Snow Leopard's multicore support. [Electronista's tests, Gizmodo's iMac Review]

There are a lot of holes you could poke in this concept, like the flippant use of meaningless terms like "bio chip" and buzzwords like "convergence" and "high technology," and the fact that by the time vital components like the battery and display are cheap enough to throw away—that'll be 2020, according to the designer's completely arbitrary calculations—laptops, or whatever we're using, probably won't be shaped like this.

But if you think about it, we're heading toward this kind of design anyway: flimsy, dirt-cheap netbooks seem to have a short intended lifespan, and hell, even my polycarbonate MacBook felt like it was beginning to disintegrate after about two years of heavy use. It may not have been cardboard, but in its own way, it sure felt disposable. [Yanko]

Besides that, it's got a lot of juice available in options—up to 8GB of memory, 500GB hard drive, Nvidia GeForce GT 240M (1GB) graphics, an integrated subwoofer, and some kind of crazy "touch-sensitive slide bar for easy desktop navigation." It'll retail at around $1400 to start.

It comes with Lenovo Enhanced Experience for Windows 7, basically optimization that results in faster bootup and shutdown times as well as easier backup. [Lenovo]

Lenovo New IdeaPad Laptops and IdeaCentre Desktops Deliver Style, Ease of Use and Multimedia Features for Consumers
New PCs Bundle Lenovo Enhanced Experience Certification for Windows 7 and complementary Intel Processor Technology
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – October 26, 2009: Lenovo (HKSE: 0992) (ADR: LNVGY) today unveiled a lineup of new IdeaPad laptops – U150, U550 and Y550P – and IdeaCentre desktops – B500, K300 and H230 – designed to meet the performance, style and usability standards of today's multi-tasking consumers.
The new Idea PCs combine stylish designs and innovative features enabled by the ultra low power Intel® CoreTM processor family of products and improved performance with an Intel® CoreTM i7 processor. These new products ship with Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system and also include the unique Lenovo Enhanced Experience for Windows 7 – the result of joint engineering by Lenovo in collaboration with Microsoft to provide users with faster system boot and shutdown, richer multimedia features and easy system maintenance tools.
"Our Idea products are designed with the user experience in mind - every aspect of product design and technology is engineered to improve how consumers seamlessly use these products to enrich their daily lives," said Liu Jun, senior vice president, Idea Product Group, Lenovo. "Today's additions to the Idea product portfolio are among Lenovo's most feature-rich and powerful PCs to-date, providing our customers more choices to find the PC that best meets their unique digital lifestyle."
"Lenovo and Intel share a vision to create products that are faster, lighter, thinner and with longer battery life and delivering them to consumers in the quickest and most cost effective way," Gregory Bryant, vice president, Sales and Marketing Group, Intel Corporation. "Whether you are looking for ultrathin, stylish laptops with exceptional performance or beautiful and powerful desktops, Lenovo and Intel are working together to deliver Idea products with the right Intel® processor technology inside to meet your needs."
"As a result of our joint engineering investments, Lenovo is demonstrating their commitment to Windows 7 by making significant improvements in important areas like start-up, shutdown and resume times. We congratulate Lenovo on its work, as we think it will help business customers and consumers benefit from a better computing experience on Lenovo's leading products," said John Kalkman, vice president of OEM Engineering and Services at Microsoft Corp. "With Lenovo's Enhanced Experience, customers can be confident that their new PC delivers more of the exciting benefits that Windows 7 has to offer."
Idea Product Facts
Lenovo's latest IdeaPad laptops and IdeaCentre desktops meet consumer demands for mobility, added power to effectively multitask, flexibility to support professional and personal computing needs, data security, stylish designs and the latest multimedia features.
IdeaPad Y550P – Cutting-edge power for multimedia on the go
The Y550P is ideal for today's multi-tasker and the most powerful laptop in Lenovo's consumer portfolio. The Y550P is Lenovo's first notebook to use the new Intel Core i7 processor with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology1 that automatically speeds up the processor when the PC needs extra performance. This high-performance laptop also features powerful NVIDIA discrete graphics, a 15.6inch HD widescreen display, Dolby® Home TheaterTM surround sound, and unique Lenovo tools like SlideNav – a touch-sensitive bar above the
keyboard that makes it faster and easier to navigate programs, documents and shortcuts, or even quickly change the desktop wallpaper on users' systems.
IdeaPad U150 – Slim and chic portability
The U150 is just 13.5mm thick and weighs only 1.35kg2, yet under the textured red or black cover lies a range of features designed to strike the right balance between mobility and functionality. The ultraportable U150 with an energy-efficient Intel Core 2 Duo processor offers up to 8GB DDR3 memory, 11.6in HD widescreen display and long battery life. The Active Protection System on the U150 helps protect the hard drive if the laptop is dropped or gets bumped. A new version of OneKey Rescue System, Version 7.0, performs data backups up to twice as fast and includes more powerful antivirus scanning that can be run even before loading the operating system.
IdeaPad U550 – Ultraportable laptop with added flexibility for the office and home
At just 24mm thick and with a 15.6in wide HD wide screen display, the new IdeaPad U550 laptop with Intel Core 2 Duo processor includes a range of features that make it easy for users to transition between work and home use. For example, switchable graphics let users turn their discrete graphics card on and off at the press of a button to better manage PC battery life. Dolby® Sound Room surround-sound via the laptop's large, integrated speakers brings presentations to life and makes games and movies more enjoyable. The Ambient Light Sensor automatically adjusts screen brightness based on light conditions, reducing strain on the eyes. An integrated DVD drive delivers added flexibility to access and share content. The integrated fingerprint reader and VeriFaceTM facial recognition software on the U550 provide additional ease of use when logging onto the PC.
IdeaCentre B500 – High performance all-in-one, immersive entertainment experience
Featuring an Intel® CoreTM2 Quad processor, powerful discrete graphics, up to 8GB DDR3 memory and 1TB HDD storage space, the IdeaCentre B500 all-in-one desktop is the ultimate PC for serious gamers and multimedia users. The 23in Full HD screen and high-quality JBL- brand integrated speakers provide a quality viewing experience. Coupled with a 4-in-1 remote control that acts as a motion-drive games controller, VOIP handset, air mouse and media remote, the B500 supports a dynamic multimedia entertainment experience. Additional unique Lenovo features on the B500 include CamSuite, a tool that helps to keep users in the center of the Web camera's focus and adds special effects to live video feeds.
IdeaCentre K300 – Desktop PC with optimized power and control
The IdeaCentre K300 with the Intel Core 2 Quad processor is a performance desktop loaded with powerful technologies including high-performance RAID configured hard drives for added storage and peace of mind. It also includes the Lenovo Power Control Switch, which makes it simple for users adjust the level of power they need - from all-out performance to more energy-efficient modes.
Lenovo H230 – Functionality at a value price
Available starting at US $299 and equipped with a range of HDD and DDR3 memory configurations, the H230 is designed to offer consumers the perfect mix of performance and value. Integrated tools such as Lenovo Rescue System provide users a worry-free experience by enabling quick and easy data recovery and advanced antivirus technology.
Lenovo U350 and S10-2 – Eye-catching new textures and patterns marry fashion with functionality The IdeaPad U350 ultraportable laptop and S10-2 netbook are now available in a range of new textures and colorful patterns. The U350 can be purchased with a cool, eye-catching cover texture such as brown lizard print, white lamb skin print and red light weave. Using the latest PC cover-painting technology, the popular S10-2 comes in new colorful designs such as pop art, violet floral, red floral, green floral, phoenix, garden, sailing and origami.

The highly abnormal machine offers some decidedly normal specs: though nothing is official just yet, the XPS will reportedly sport either 1.4 and 1.9 GHz dual-core Intel processors, 128 or 180 GB SSD, integrated X4500MHD graphics, and 4GB of DDR3 RAM, sitting under a 13.4 inch WXGA LED-backlit screen.

Batteries are slated as 20Wh or 40Wh for 2 and a half or 4 hours of life respectively, but owners will need to keep an eye on their juice, as the unique heat-sensitive opening mechanism won't work when the Adamo's batteries run out. [Engadget]

But First, Simplicity

This 1998 ad has Jeff Goldblum narrating that there are two physical steps to setting up an iMac. ("There's no step three!") Truthfully, they skipped the mouse and keyboard cable, though, which would bring it to 4 steps. Today, an iMac is set up using just one power cable, depending on wireless networking and bluetooth peripherals to get the rest done. So it's even simpler than it was 10 years ago. And as I said, the screen is becoming more prominent than ever.

The LCD

The 27-inch iMac's screen is the thing to focus on in this revision. It is practically as bright (and more contrasty) than any of the previous iMacs—even Cinema Displays—and it looks astounding. It's LED-driven so it comes to full luminescence immediately and takes up less power. It also has better side-to-side viewing angle as an IPS tech monitor; like the iMac 24 before it, it goes 178 degrees without much change in color accuracy or brightness. And here's the kicker: Although it has 19% more area of LCD than the old 24-incher, it has 60% more pixels. That makes it more pixel dense than any of the Cinema Displays at 109ppi. And with a 2560x1440 resolution it has 90% of the dot count of a 30-inch cinema display. All these stats are great. They sound great, and they make for a powerful picture. But the actual view of the screen leaves me with a positive—but slightly imperfect—impression.

The default brightness is a bit much, but of course you can turn it down. And the contrast is welcome; even my new 13-inch MacBook Pro looks yellowed and washed out next to it. But at this pixel density, which is sharper than my notebook, it's almost too sharp, requiring me to sit closer than I would ordinarily do with a 27 inch display. I like the feeling of crispness — 16% crisper than the last generation. But my eyes feel like the pictures are being delivered by a land shark holding a laser pointer straight into my corneas, and I can feel the strain within minutes. I would have to jack up as many font sizes as possible or sit as close as I do to my MacBook to make it work for long long periods of time. Maybe I'm just a wimp of a geek, but I've never been sensitive to these sorts of things on any sort of machinery before.

This is the iMac next to a 13-inch MBP and a Dell 2407 24-inch monitor. The iMac's screen puts both to shame in brightness and clarity.

Apple is making a big deal of the fact this screen is 16:9. I think it looks better in this wider iteration, but it's not an epic jump since the last gen was 16:10. You're losing vertical pixel count here, on both the 21.5 and 27-inch models, despite added diagonal inches. Also, the glass cover is now edge to edge, without the thin silver rim around it, on the top and sides. It's still glossy and very very reflective, despite being covered in anti-reflective coating.

I will feel guilty for mentioning this, because it's ever so slight, but I'll feel more guilty if I don't mentioning it to you: The screen, when it's white, has the tiniest bit of blotchiness to it. The backlighting is slightly uneven in my model. It had no impact on viewing quality once the screen was filled with an image other than one of pure white, so don't sweat it.

My previous comparison to the 30-inch Cinema Display wasn't for academic purposes, either. One of the most interesting features on the new iMac is that it can use its Mini DisplayPort (normally an output) as an input; that is, it can become a secondary display for notebooks or other devices. Factor in the near-identical specs to the 30-inch Cinema Display, most notably its updated LED screen, and you have absolutely no reason to buy a 30-inch Cinema Display when you can have this—but not just yet.

That's what two full sized 1080p trailers look like on this screen.

Eager to test this shit and be the first to the internet with an image of an Xbox linked into an iMac ("Worlds collide!" would be the headline, I decided), I ordered a monoprice Mini-DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter. Unfortunately, I discovered that the inputs would not work with a PS3 or Xbox at any res, HD or otherwise. The current adapters on the market are unidirectional, I was told, and so they won't work to take HDMI sources and pipe them into the iMac. I'm sure someone is making a cable as we speak for this very abominable purpose of piping in Microsoft gaming to a desktop Mac—but it's not here yet. (New cables, by the way, will include audio, which the iMac is capable of taking through its connector and the iMac is able to display video sources up to its native resolution.) The issue is, this could take months. That's a long time, so don't buy an iMac planning to use it with a gaming console or Blu-ray player right away.

Using it with a laptop was an interesting situation. Odd, for sure, but a welcome bonus and an obvious use. Here's how it works. You plug in a Mini-DisplayPort-to-Mini-DisplayPort cable to the iMac, which must be turned on (unlike Sony's all-in-one, which works while off.) The iMac flickers for a second and the laptop's picture replaces the iMac's. Here's where it gets sort of weird. When the iMac is acting as a monitor, the keyboard and mouse are all blocked from working, except a few keys: The pause/play, FF, RR, volume controls and brightness keys all work. They won't display the typical volume/brightness/FF/whatever iconography, because you're actually still looking at your MacBook. You can actually then use your iMac as a display for one computer while listening to music on another—but why would you want to? And if you were playing a game with an Xbox, you'd be listening to the game. To toggle between the iMac and the external source, you hit Command+F2.

(*The 21.5-inch iMac is not as sharp or impressive as the 27, but a fine evolution nonetheless; see chart)

Oh, one more thing: The LED display is also thinner than the traditional panel. Even so, when combined with the extra width and height, Apple's designers are given adequate room to play with the layout and thermal properties of the iMac. Which brings us to the chassis and internals.

The Chassis

The iMac's chassis went from all plastic to aluminum and glass in 2007. The first aluminum models were stamped out in car factories because no computer factories could work with aluminum pieces that big. Now, the iMac has even more aluminum in them with bigger cases and a seamless wraparound back made of metal instead of the black plastic cap. Despite the loss of the slimming effect of a black plastic back, the computer's dimensions work in its favor; it's about 1mm thinner and obviously wider, so it still feels undoubtedly skinny.

Oh, and the stand is tapered by 1.1mm on its front (as is Apple's wont), to further hide volume.

Aside from the more flattering aspect ratios, the chin—one of the only giveaways that this is not just a screen but a computer—has shrunk by 22%. It looks much better, in my opinion. The case's bigger size affects its internal layout, too. Apple and iFixit brought several of these details to my attention.

The most important changes are that the GPU and CPU are placed at nearly opposite ends of the case, with their own heatsinks to throw off copious heat with three very quiet fans. (The iMac's sound profile at idle, for a stock build, is still just a whisper, less than 20db.)

Ports: The back of the case has a Mini DisplayPort, 4 USB 2.0 ports, power plug (the machine's only wire), Firewire 800, minijack/optical input and output, and Gigabit Ethernet. There's Bluetooth 2.1 EDR wireless with which the mouse and keyboard interface, and 802.11 N Wi-Fi. Although the entire case is aluminum, the antenna has been cleverly hidden in a plastic Apple logo top center on the back. Reception is a touch stronger than on my notebook.

The iChat camera and microphone (the latter of which is made up of about a dozen closely-grouped pinprick holes, like on the MacBook Pro) are situated on the top of the iMac. And despite the new model's height they sound fine (if not a touch more distant because of the height) when compared to previous models. The top mount for the microphone keeps the sound from the new, more powerful two-way speakers from interfering with it; measured using a song and SPL meter, my notebook came in at 70db and the iMac at 76db at sitting distance. Louder, richer and noticeably so than a laptop, though I didn't have an iMac 24 on hand to compare with.

The larger case allows the iMac to use four sticks of user-serviceable RAM, accessible from the bottom. (That's useful futureproofing now that OS X Snow Leopard is shipping, and programs and the OS in 64-bit can address more than 4GB at a time.)

How About Performance?

The iMac I'm testing is a 3.06GHz Core2Duo processor with 4GB of RAM and an ATI Radeon 4670 graphics. Those are decent parts but not the highest-end quad-core i5/i7 chips or ATI Radeon 4850 GPU that will ship in iMacs in November. More importantly, the machine I have here that is shipping now is about on par with higher-end, custom-order machines from the last generation. The system benchmarks I ran earlier this week indicate that everything performs practically the same. And since we don't have a Core i5/i7 machine to work with, I've included Apple's approximations of how much boost the iMac will get from those parts — obviously, many grains of salt are necessary when reading, especially when measuring value of extra CPU cores as literal multipliers when most software still can't leverage those channels efficiently.

As for 3D, Maclife has some framerate scores from Doom 3 and Call of Duty that are not by any means exact but somewhat representative of the machine I'm using today. But again, the bottom line is that this machine that I have, shipping today, is not faster than machines equipped similarly from the last generation—they're just cheaper for any given performance point.

But again, even if you wait for the higher end machines, there's no guarantee you'll be able to access most of that extra power. Snow Leopard hasn't seen many apps, besides the ones that ship with it that can take advantage of its multicore CPU and GPU technologies. Programs will come, but immediate speed gains aren't guaranteed here if you buy the quad-core machines.

Here's an exception: Those Core i5/i7 chips are also clocked slower than the Core 2 Duo chips on the lower-end machines, but have the ability to run single core applications at a greater clock speed. Since all four cores won't be burning, the chip uses the spare electricity and the extra thermal overhead to dynamically and automatically overclock the core that is working: The i5 chip goes from 2.66GHz to 3.2GHz and the 2.8GHz i7 chip goes to 3.46GHz (with 4 cores that run hyperthreaded for up to 8 virtual cores.)

Sounds fast, but we'll dive into deeper tests in November. For now, you should be aware that if your desktop is less than 18 months old, you'd be somewhat silly to upgrade before the highest end chips from this generation of iMac are out.

What Else You Got?

The iMac replaces its old mouse with the new Magic Mouse, with a multitouch surface and 360 degree scrolling and swiping, almost like the gestures you find on a Macbook trackpad. I've said it before: I primarily use Laptops because I love trackpads. The gestures, fingertip precision and proximity to the keyboard make it a must have, and this mouse fixes some of those issues. (*Jason Chen reviewed the mouse and liked it but it was not without flaws. Read that if you're considering buying an iMac, because it's the only option Apple offers.)

The one detail I found problematic specifically with the Magic Mouse as it pertains to the 27-inch iMac is that even when the pointer sensitivity is set to the highest level, a swipe of the wrist at a moderately fast speed goes only 2/3 across the giant pixel landscape. Only by whipping my hand across my mouse pad can I trigger enough mouse acceleration to get across the screen. They should turn up the sensitivity, frankly. Software update please!

The keyboard is also changed, going from the old wired keyboard, which was stamped out of the screen cutout of the chassis, with a wireless Bluetooth model. Apple states that the keyboard's narrow profile makes it a better fit next to the mouse. I think it also makes sense as a remote control for the computer from afar when watching media, since this is the biggest iMac ever that doubles as a monitor. But it looks a little small and out of proportion with the machine itself, since the Mac got wider and the keyboard got shorter. (Correction: The keypad-less change happened last revision. I just miss that numeric pad keyboard's width from the first generation of Aluminum iMacs. It seemed to fit perfectly.)

Oh, the white plastic remote that used to ship with all the laptops, AppleTV and iMacs has been replaced by an elliptical, aluminum remote with black rubber buttons. It's longer, and shaped like an iPod nano but no longer comes with the iMac. It costs $19. I think when you buy a computer that is this expensive, they should THROW IN THE DAMN REMOTE.

Competitive Check

There are other all-in-ones from PC makers, but at the moment, none as large or high-res as the iMac 27. The ones from Sony (like the L) and HP have various extras like IR touchscreens, glowing monitor bodies, TV tuners and Blu-ray drives. Some are pretty decent, like the Touchsmart we just reviewed. If these things matter to you and you are not married to the Mac platform, you might consider them. But that touchscreen functionality is still half-baked, so don't do it for the groping potential.

Value

The sweet spot is the $1200 21.5-inch config. But don't upgrade that model beyond base without seriously considering the big bad 27-incher for $1700. And don't upgrade that one at all without considering the quad-core models; both look very promising at $2000 or $2200. Basically, the custom builds are not a great value until you get to the quads. Go cheapest, 27, or quad. But cautious folks will wait on the quads 'til we test them.

There's another angle here, too. Again, comparing the 27-inch iMac to the old as hell 30-inch Cinema Display makes those standalone monitors look like a pretty bad value when it costs only $100 more for just 10% more pixels—and, hey, it's also not a computer.

Nerds, Sheathe Thy Wallet If You Can

Although the quad core benchmarks aren't here yet, I think you've got enough information here to make an adult decision on whether to go cheap or double your price for something faster and bigger. It's not like those new chips will be slower. But waiting a month on a new internal layout, design and screen is a great way to let Apple shake out whatever inevitable hiccups are there at the start of a new run. Plus, if Snow-Leopard-specific apps make their way to market (hello, <Handbrake!) and some performance scores come out in the meantime, hey, cool.

Big beautiful screen is super high res and bright.

Chassis design evolving to new heights of beauty; less chin.

Faster parts not out yet; current components available in previous generation.

No Blu-ray player, touchscreen or other things that aren't important to me, but may be important to you. Maybe.

Software

Once you have looked over everything Windows 7 has to offer and decided (correctly) that the upgrade is worth getting, the first thing you have to do is figure out which version is right for you. The Real Cost of Upgrading to WIndows 7 will help you answer that question along with tips on how to cheaply upgrade your hardware if necessary. You also have the option of purchasing OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) copies at a significant discount if you are willing to sacrifice transferable PC keys and support. NewEgg is a great place to score OEM disks.

If you are a college student there is even better news—you can still get real deal Windows 7 on a Ramen budget with the deal Microsoft is throwing your way. If you are a student at an American university or you have a working university email, you can get Windows 7 Home Premium or Pro for only $30. Even if you don't currently attend college, many of you might still have a valid email. Make sure and check before you go and waste money on a full price copy.

Hardware

If you have decided to get your copy of Windows 7 along with some brand new hardware, launch day is a great time to hunt for deals on laptops and desktops. Here are a few great deals already coming down the pipeline:

• Best Buy will offer a HP Slimline laptop, HP mini netbook, 18.5" LCD monitor and Netgear Wireless-G router package with Windows 7 (includes Geek Squad setup) for $1200. This is one hell of a deal—pre-orders are already being taken on Best Buy's website.

• Customers who buy a new PC running Windows 7 Home Premium can upgrade a Windows XP or Windows Vista-based PC they already own with a discounted box copy of Windows 7. This offer will run through Jan. 2, 2010.

• Dell is offering $100 off on a Dell Studio XPS13

• The Acer AZ5610-U9072 23" Touch All-in-One will be priced at $880

• Techdealdigger has some great deals on laptops including a 17.3-inch HP with Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD and Windows 7 Premium for $550, and a 16-inch HP with Core i7 processor, 3GB RAM, 320GB HDD and 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium for $800.

• Check out the Windows home page tomorrow. Word on the street is that they will be showcasing several deals from retailers.

Chances are there will be deals going on everywhere you look, so make sure to shop around before you buy. If you are patient enough, the potential for a glut of Windows 7 PC inventory could translate into even better holiday deals.

It's a heat-sensitive latch—get it? More specifically, it's a "heat-sensing strip on the lip that, when swiped with a finger, glows white and automatically opens the aluminum lid," according to a report in BusinessWeek.

When it comes to how I open super thin $2,000 laptops, I expect nothing less. [BusinessWeek via Engadget]

Supposedly, we'll see them early next year. If so, and if it uses Gulftown, that'd give Apple a small window of exclusivity with the speed demon chip, which wouldn't be the first time Intel's given them access to silicon before anybody else. [HardMac via AppleInsider]

This isn't Carol Brady's first foray into tech support however. She was also on the front lines during the DTV conversion. Perhaps that, along with her confusion regarding the intricacies of her own cellphone provided the inspiration to start up FloH.

"I didn't grow up with this technology," she said. "It's like learning a new language."

Now, as a proficient text-messenger, Skyper and active member on Facebook, she wants to help others learn to do the same.

FloH memberships run $25 for a month or $250 for the year and includes access to their telephone support network for any computer-related queries. For an additional $50, users can participate in one-time personal training session on issues ranging from setting up a Facebook account to tuning up your PC. In other words, it's quite a racket. Although, Florence doesn't have to be the one manning the phones from 8am to 2am. To those people all I can say is...Godspeed. [FloH and NYT]

The U505 has a 13.3-inch screen, while the M505 has a 14-inch screen. Both have Toshiba's touch UI, "Lifespace Bulletin Board" a dashboard for calendaring and to do lists and "Reeltime" a visual thumbnail browser that shows recently opened files.

Also, meta: Toshiba, your press site is terrible. I can't find shit in there and I had to research for a good chunk of time to figure out what's actually new about your new hardware. Come on. [Toshiba Hot Hardware via Engadget]

Between this quarter and the next, we can finally pass Dell

Not only that, they think they can "breach the gap" with HP as well. [WSJ]

I'm guess the qualifier is that it's 30 percent of the computers at retail, not including biz or education, but still, that's a crazy amount of computers.

The tip came from, of all places, the existing Mini 311 service manual, where MyHPMini discovered a host of interesting tidbits regarding the line's future, post-Windows 7:

* Full NVidia ION support
* 80GB SSD
* 2GB / 3GB RAM
* 250GB HDD 5400rpm
* 320GB HDD 5400rpm
* Windows 7 Starter, Premium and Professional (all 32-bit) OSes

Presently, the Mini ships with only 1GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive and ION LE (no DirectX support, notes Liliputing). With greater features comes great price, obviously, but you didn't need me to tell you that. For reference, the current price is $400. Update: Clarified the headline. Thanks for the heads up, comment folk. [MyHPMini via Netbooked via Liliputing]

Coming after the HP TouchSmart's jugular, the Vaio L will have all the multimedia goods and seems to be packed with new Sony multimedia software that brings Sony TV to your PC. [Sony]

VAIO L Series Puts TV, Internet and Blu-ray Disc Movies One Touch Away

NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2009 – Sony today unveiled its new touch-enabled, multi-media machine- the VAIO® L Touch HD PC/TV.

With the VAIO L Series' multi-touch screen easy access to your PC, HDTV, DVR- your entire entertainment hub- is readily at your fingertips.

Equipped with a 24-inch (diagonal) WUXGA (1920x1080) widescreen panel, the unit displays high-definition content in Full HD resolution.

Select models feature a Blu-ray Disc™ optical drive so you can enjoy high-definition movies. A rewritable BD drive for recording, storing and playing back personal content on high-capacity BD media is also available.

"The L Series is the ultimate multi-media hub- it's your PC, HDTV and DVR in one compact, stylish device," said Mike Abary, senior vice president of the VAIO business group at Sony. "And with cutting-edge features such as multi-touch, it's ideal for media lovers who appreciate HD performance and cutting-edge technology."

Select models feature a built-in tuner so you can connect to your digital cable TV service and Over-The-Air (ATSC) HD TV signals (antenna required) and watch television on your PC

An optional HDMI™ input is available, so in addition to the unit's built-in HD features you can connect a compatible HD cable box, satellite receiver or PLAYSTATION®3 (all sold separately) via a single cable and enjoy HD entertainment without powering on the PC.

And with built-in DVR capabilities and up to a terabyte of storage, you can create a personal entertainment library with up to 100 hours of HD television.

It comes with Windows® 7 Home Premium or Professional 64-bit operating system. Leveraging these new operating systems, the L Series is able to offer new functionalities such as a touch screen display enabling you to do anything you could do with a mouse with the touch of a finger.

Launch directly into Sony's own Media Gallery software by pushing the designated VAIO button on the keyboard and create high-quality home movies and slideshows in three simple steps. Import your photos and video, choose a theme and soundtrack, click finish and the software does the rest, generating a professional-looking movie complete with special effects- all by touching the screen.
The unit packs a powerful Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor (select models), loads of RAM, and a dedicated NVIDIA® GeForce ® series graphics for graphic-intense gaming and movies.

By utilizing built-in wireless 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi technology and your wireless router (required, sold separately), you can position the model virtually anywhere in your home and access the Internet, email or home network.

The model is ideal for anywhere space is at a premium. It has a mounting capability that allows users to attach a VESA-compatible mount (sold separately) to it and hang it on the wall of your bedroom, kitchen, office or attach to your desk.

When not mounted to the wall, the L Series features an adjustable stand to help you adjust the unit to meet your desired viewing or touch angle or simply to decrease the slant for space-saving. A wireless keyboard, mouse and remote control (select models) are included.

The VAIO L Touch HD PC/TV will start at about $1,300. It is available for pre-orders today online at www.sonystyle.com/pr/l. It will also be sold at Sony Style® stores and select retailers around the country starting next month.

Considering that it's cheaper than the MacBook Air or Dell Adamo, and that Sony's netbook was $500, that's pretty skimpy pricing. On the outside, the X is made of some beautiful metal. On the insides we now know it has a 2GHz Intel Atom Z550 processor, a solid state drive and standard Intel graphic. I am pretty worried about the Intel Atom processor, especially since it is the Z550 which has proven to be quite underpowered. Performance worries aside, Sony says it will run for 17 hours on a charge. Doubtful when you have the Verizon 3G on, but that is an option also. [Sony]

X MARKS THE SPOT: SONY DELIVERS WORLD'S LIGHTEST NOTEBOOK

New VAIO X Series Merges 3G Mobile Broadband and Long Battery Life for Anywhere Computing

NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2009 – Redefining the notebook category once again, Sony today took the wraps off the world's lightest notebook- the VAIO® X Series.

Housed in a lightweight carbon-fiber chassis, the X Series weighs just 1.6 pounds (with standard battery) and is just over a half-inch thin- roughly the width of a cell phone.

It features a 16:9 aspect ratio which means you get a wider workspace-all packed into a compact 11.1-inch (diagonal) footprint. And not only is the scratch-resistant LCD display durable, it also provides brilliant picture quality with 100 percent color saturation and improved brightness, thanks to its LED backlight technology.

The X Series is also supplied with both a standard and super-extended capacity battery, delivering extra-long battery life for day-long productivity-up to 3.5 hours for the standard battery and up to 14 hours for the super-extended capacity battery.

"It's one thing to make a notebook thin but when you consider the fact that the X Series also boasts industry-leading battery life and wireless WAN- you now have a game changer- altering the way people use and think about their PC," said Mike Abary, senior vice president of the VAIO business group at Sony.

The unit's extremely thin profile alone is enough to turn heads but its real elegance is found in its subtle details. Grooved edging traces its perimeter while a seamless sheet of lightly brushed aluminum frames the keyboard and covers the palmrest.

Its uniquely configured keyboard is designed with spacing between the keys for a comfortable typing experience. And the keystroke is firm and solid creating a user-friendly touch and feel that makes finding the keys more intuitive.

The unit's touchpad features a multi-touch functionality commonly associated with touch-enabled smartphones. This means that you can zoom in and out, flip through pictures, rotate items clockwise and counterclockwise, and scroll vertically and horizontally without ever touching your mouse.

The X Series integrates wireless 3G Mobile Broadband technology provided by Verizon Wireless Mobile Broadband Built-In, Wi-Fi (802.11n), and Bluetooth® wireless technologies-so you will always be connected. For 3G Mobile Broadband technology, a separate Verizon service subscription is required.

The model also incorporates real-time GPS functionality, making it easy to find restaurants, hotels or special sites of interest. Destinations can be found by simply typing in an address or keyword and then following the turn-by-turn directions. It even includes estimated drive times to let you know how far you are from a destination (United States or Canada only). No Internet connection is required in the United States or Canada.

The X Series incorporates a solid state drive (SSD) used in place of the spinning hard disk drive found in most computers. This provides a rapid boot-up and quicker access to applications, while reducing the risk of hard drive damage-an ideal feature for those on-the-go who are in situations where sudden movements are common. It will come with Windows® 7 Home Premium operating system.

The VAIO X Series notebook will come in two colors, black and gold, and start at about $1,300. It is available for pre-orders today online at www.sonystyle.com/pr/x. It will also be sold at Sony Style® stores and select retailers around the country starting next month.