Yes. The SE115's bass driver is so improved, I actually don't want to go back to my SE110s. The SE115s provide a clean resonance in your ears that was previously missing, but not at the cost of overall clarity. Shure says the magic lies in their second-gen Dynamic Microspeaker, previously found in the larger-bodied E2c model, finally shrunken down to fit in earbuds this small.

To test, I went with two songs: Charles Mingus' "Solo Dancer," because it makes use of a subtle, melodic bass in the background and The Bug's "Poison Dart," because it's one of the more in-your-face, bass-heavy tracks to come out in the last five years.

The SE115s outperformed the SE110s in both instances, able to put that extra rumble in your head without losing the nimbleness and the dexterity of the music. Mingus' beefy double bass, in particular, took on new life with the SE115s stuck in my ears—going from a complementary noise, to an instrument demanding to be heard. For the upper register, there's really not much distinction at all, on those tracks and on others with less basso profundo, such as The Beach Boys' "Caroline No." Whether or not you want more low-end will may come down to personal preference, but this is a natural augmentation. Think of it this way: The fuller sounding SE115 simply does a good job demonstrating what's missing from the SE110.

On the technical side, the SE115 has a slightly better frequency response range. I used 20-20000 Hz and 20-200 Hz WAV files to listen for differences between the two sets. I noticed the SE115s rumbled longer on the low end and even squealed at a little higher pitch than the SE110s, but in that upper register, it's probably nitpicking to draw any significant difference.

Externally, these new SE115s share the exact same body and ear cushion options as the SE110s so the comfort factor is identical. The black pair has gold logos instead of silver, and if you're more daring, they also come in red, blue and pink. They both have the same breakaway cable, so you can add the original cellphone-mic extension if you so choose. The lightweight and foam-covered, in-canal drivers have never been a problem for me, but again, it all comes down to personal preference. In any case, at $100, I can't help but champion the SE115s as the best relatively affordable headphones at the moment. [Shure's Product Page with MSRP—shop around for the $100 price]

(Frequency Sweep WAV files are from burninwave.com)

Price: $200

The Verdict: There's a lot to love about the Master Blasters. Clearly the name is awesome, but the look and sound of these headphones also rise to the occasion. I particularly love the vinyl record-look on the outside of the cans, and the firm fit that the ball and socket hinge provides. The leather keeps things soft and comfy, and while the lightweight means you can wear them for more than 30 minutes without feeling like a pile of bricks. The rotating volume knob around the speaker cabinet is also a quick and easy way to kill the sound.

As for the sound, the Master Blasters excel in high and mid-range clarity, able to delineate one intricate sound texture from another. On the other end, the bass handling is adequate, if not spectacular. Punchy bass tends to sound lifeless, while rumbling, fuzzy bass has a mild, pleasant resonance. I used Sony's V700dj headphone as a reference pair of headphones, since the two are similarly spec'd. In my brief, very unscientific tests, the Master Blasters were better when it came to the upper range of sound frequencies, but the bass and lower mid-range of the Sony's are noticeably better.

Basically, Nixon's Master Blaster's aren't the cheapest or most portable full-sized headphones around, but if you're willing to pay a little extra for good design and a nuanced improvement in sound, these are well worth considering. [Nixon]

Especially Good For: Horn-based Jazz, Lo-fi Indie, Ambient, IDM, Glitch

Not Really Great For: Dirty South Hip-hop, Dubstep, Metal, Bass music

The Price: $500 (includes installation), plus $30/month for service (1 GB cap)

The Verdict: According to Autonet, the appeal to their service is that you're not limited to any single carrier's cell towers for a signal. Instead, they work as a middleman and allow you to connect to towers owned by Sprint, Verizon and Alltel. Their service is designed to seamlessly hop between towers and connect to the one offering the fastest speeds. Autonet says they also track fully your usage sessions, and as a result, will already have a solid idea of what the problem is if you call for support.

The device itself is about the same shape and size as Linksys' classic WRT54 router, except a bit slimmer and wider. It's intended to be bolted to the floor and connected to a car battery, though the freestanding model I tested came with adapters for the cigarette lighter and home outlets. There's also a mystery serial port, but none of the documentation makes any reference to it.

In areas with good EV-DO coverage, the router works pretty well. Once it's turned on an running, you connect to it like any WEP wi-fi network, and proceeds as expected. The router setup menu is pretty straightforward, allowing you to configure SSIDs, WEP keys, MAC filters, and a handful of radio/transmission settings.

Going back and forth between San Francisco and Fremont, I found speeds to be about what you'd expect from an EV-DO connection. Fast enough to browse standard web pages with ease, and satisfactory enough to stream media, such as music and flash videos. But it will not magically conjure up a signal in areas where EV-DO isn't so prevalent, so you should definitely check EVDOmaps to make sure you live or travel in an area with good service.

Occasionally (about every 10-15 minutes), there would be a 5 second hiccup in service, presumably while the connection hopped to another tower. It generally wasn't a big deal, but it did interrupt my Pandora stream, which was going from my iPod touch connected to a car stereo,

Users have complained about Autonet's lack of features for power users, such as no WPA encryption and port forwarding. Not having WPA encryption is totally valid to bitch about, and I was surprised it wasn't at least an option. As far as port forwarding options go, I don't think this router is intended for that type of crowd and I don't think it's that kind of device.

This is really meant for you to be able to check email, look up a map, get the latest news, and maybe download a few songs. And seeing as Autonet is going for the minivan/car rental market, I think simplicity was a goal when determining what functionality it would have. I don't think you're supposed to be playing WoW or downloading 20 torrents with the router. And with a 1GB cap, which stops service after you exceed the limit, it would be hard to do that anyways.

The bottom line is this: I think soccer moms and road warriors alike will glean some value from the device, which will help appease bratty kids or feelings of disconnectedness while on the road. But at $500 plus $30/month, this is not really for someone who plans to use it in a casual manner, or would like to use it more places than the car. If you prefer portability, you may want to look at the Cradlepoint router, but then you still need the USB 3G dongle and you don't have the freedom to switch between carrier towers.

Price: $250 (after 2 year contract)

The Verdict: As far as Windows Mobile phones go, the 800w is a pretty good one. It's no frills as far as smartphones go, but this is almost exclusively for the enterprise crowd. It's not the prettiest, nor is it the smallest, but is powerful enough to run Windows Mobile 6.1 like it should. It moves from menu to menu reasonably quick, and ran most of the apps lag free. In terms of size, it's less wide than previous Treos, but thickness is more or less the same and the keyboard feels the same as old Treos. The bright and crisp 320x320 touchscreen is also a nice upgrade for the 800w.

But the 800w also good because Palm put some of their TLC into the product. The main "Today" screen you see when you first use the phone has a GPS search that lets you find points of interest without first having to launch a separate app. The SMS interface is pulled straight from the Palm OS, meaning text-based conversations can be easily managed. There's also a Wi-Fi button at the top of the phone that allows you to turn on your Wi-Fi and connect to a pre-configured network in a matter of seconds with a touch of a button. It seems minor, but it eliminates a fair amount of tedious menu surfing.

Reception is always at full strength where I'm at, meaning call quality is clear and the EVDO rev.A is speedy. The bottom line is that if you need an enterprise phone and want a physical keyboard, the Treo 800w isn't a bad choice.

The Price: $199 (after 2-year contract)

The Verdict: Long story short, the hardware is great, the music interface is decent, the T-Mobile interface sucks. But let's start with the good. Not only do I like build quality, and how the button layout changes according to the phone's function, I also like that the haptic feedback really feels like the phone has buttons (Herrman is still convinced there aren't haptics). As a music player, the capacitive ring and menu system give it an iPod sort of feel, which is nice. It's pretty easy to use, and doesn't suffer from much lag. Syncing with Windows Media Player is a relatively painless process, but that means it's also Windows only (Mac Users have to transfer files via MicroSD, ugh).

The thing that makes me never want to touch the phone again is T-Mobile's UI skin, which takes competent phone software and turns it into a laggy, unresponsive pile of crap. Seeing as this phone is a T-Mo exclusive, I think it's important to highlight how much I dislike it. Frequently I try to enter into a menu for the camera, or text messages, only to be thrown back to the MyFaves home screen. After hitting another button in response, the phone decides it wants to go to the app I was originally trying to use, and then respond to my subsequent button pushing. The dialog boxes also like to clash with the menus, which allow for frequent input errors. I liken the process to playing voicemail tag with someone, which is to say it's totally annoying.

Other than that, it's just slow, the capacitive ring is no good for navigating the main menu, and trying D-pad feels cramped. So while I think the phone is an above average candybar, I'd hold out for a version running different software.

Price: £299.99

The Verdict:: For a non-smartphone, I really like the W890i. I've always been a huge fan of the Sony Ericsson OS and UI on their phones, and that hasn't changed. But what makes this phone so good is that I could see myself using this as a media player if I didn't already have five other dedicated devices lying around. Like the W880i, the W890i has full media playback, a front-side camera for video conferencing, TrackID and other music-related apps. Unlike the W880i, it also has the SensMe music mood mapper, and a higher res camera (3.2 MP vs. 2.0 MP).

The Walkman 3.0 interface is well organized and easy to use, video is crisp, and everything is responsive. I really like that the home screen dedicates one of its soft keys to the Walkman player, and there is also a side hard key for the same purpose. It seems minor, but it really makes the media player accessible and eliminates the thinking process. SensMe analyzes the song's tempo and sound to determine its "mood," and then maps out the songs on a graph for you to select accordingly, and the camera takes bright, crisp photos (indoors and outside). The W890i also has the standard array of Bluetooth, games, productivity apps, and a radio to round out the features.

What I don't like about the W890i is the continued use of proprietary Sony hardware. Audio, data, and charging are still done using a proprietary data port that uses a strange and clunky connector. Buttons are a little crammed together, but this isn't as maddening as the K850i button layout. Other than that, I have no complaints. The W890i is a good, simple music-phone for people who want a good, simple music-phone. [Sony Ericsson on Giz]

Price: $50 (w/ two-year activation and current Sprint web special — $250 normally)

The Verdict: Like other cards in the Sierra Wireless line, the 597 has a microSD reader, GPS, and 3G data speeds. But the two things worth focusing on are the size and software package. It's about half the size (in length and thickness) than the Sierra 595u, making it easy to carry around and set up. It doesn't fold up like the 595u, but it's unobtrusive enough that it doesn't really matter. It also has a soft orange glow coming from a light at the top, which could either be nice or annoying depending on preference.

The Sprint software works on Mac and PC, and is really worth using on the go. It allows you to tap into the GPS function to display current position, search for streets and locations or display the rate at which your moving. And it shows reception strength in decibels.

Speaking of reception, the 597 antenna is as good as any of the other Sierra products, though we haven't been able to compare reception to the similar Novatel U727 card. But all in all, The Compass 597 is a solid mobile broadband choice. [Sprint]

The Verdict: The dedicated camera buttons (on/off, shutter, zoom, photo/video/playback) on the side go a long way toward making this feel like a real point and shoot. It takes good photos in average daylight situations and has a powerful flash. It comes with a standard array of modes (macro, sports, twilight, etc...), and specialized features like BestPic, which takes 9 "burst" photos and lets you pick the best one. The four digit keys on the right side also become dedicated buttons in camera mode, with blue icons that glow while active. Photos are good in daylight and the flash is powerful. Videos are smooth, but show visible signs of compression.

As a camera, the interface its a step toward feeling like an actual camera, but it's still not there. It's extremely awkward to hold the phone in camera mode and and use any of the buttons on the backside of the phone. It's just not ready to replace a point and shoot. Which makes it's size (almost an inch thick), somewhat inexcusable.

Sony Ericsson's UI is as polished as a non-smartphone interface comes. Everything on the screen is laid out clearly, menus are intuitive, icons are bright and colorful. I'm not a huge fan of the keypad cosmetically, but it does look nice when it glows. My main gripe is the keypad has too many buttons crammed around the screen. A green four-way navigation ring wraps around two buttons, neither of which are used as a select button. (Both are hot keys; one for web, one for messaging.) The selection and context functions are passed on to the touch-sensitive keys, which are a nightmare to use. I have to press the touch keys repeatedly and in different ways to get them to work. The silver hard keys are placed too close to the touch-sensitive keys, which led me to hit wrong keys repeatedly.

While there are a lot of good things this phone offers, none of them outweigh the bad found in the essential features.

The Price: $49.99

The Verdict: The Ci70 is a good typer, but you'll want this for the mini USB convenience. If you're a person that often syncs your digital cameras, smartphones or portable hard drives to your PC, you probably have a lot of mini USB cables. The Ci70 lets you ditch all those cables and just use one embedded into a slideable, hidden compartment that you can never lose. Ultra convenient.

The keys feel very much like the Kensington Slim Type Keyboard, but this time has both the Windows key and the Apple Command key on one unit instead of making two separate models for each type of machine. It's also fairly quiet and has laptop-ish (scissor switch) keys.

The only complaint we have are because of its slightly condensed size (Kensington says it's 35% "smaller"), which, like the Kensington Slim Types, place the Home/Page Up/Page Down/End keys vertically to the right of the Enter key. The same scrunched design also make the arrow keys smaller than usual and harder to hit. Other than these fairly minor issues, it's a pleasure to type on and almost ranks as high as Apple's aluminum keyboards in our book.

At $49.99, the Ci70 is a great keyboard for people who are looking for a quiet, soft typing experience and the convenience of not having to dig around for a mini USB cable. [Kensington]

The Price: $169

The Verdict: For a piece of crap, this thing is pretty awesome.

Sure, the UI is slow and ugly, the buttons are confusing even after repeated use, and the playable formats are somewhat limiting (yes MP3, WMA, AVI; no AAC or DivX). But hey, it works. It does almost everything advertised.

Putting photos, music, videos, and ROMs on it is a breeze. It came with Super Mario Bros. and Contra Force for Nintendo and Raiden Triad and Street Fighter 2 for Sega, and you can get other ROMs through, let's say, back channels. Video game play is solid, though I recommend only playing very basic games on a screen that small—that is, 3 inches, with 320x240 resolution.

Video playback was great for the preloaded clips, but chopped and stunted with my own (this may have been an encoding problem on my part, but seriously, it only supports 320x240 AVIs, that's pretty weak). The e-book reader is just a glorified text viewer, but it can also do text-to-speech reading in a relatively normal voice. Photo browsing is awkward, but it works. The machine came preloaded with some shots of LL Cool J and Lou Gosset Jr., so who am I to complain?

Hardware wise, there are ups and downs. Two headphone jacks and an obnoxiously loud speaker work fine, but adjusting the volume is a pain since there is no dedicated button. There's an SD slot, but it'll only get you an added 2GB, as it doesn't support SDHC. The nice thing is, the boasted solar charging actually worked, especially for the device itself, but even with other random electronics. My iPod took some finagling, but I figured out how to do it, and it works well. The only thing I couldn't get it to charge was an iPhone. What's up with that?

Of course, as I was finishing up my testing, the device just had to crash; it took an hour of draining the battery just to be able to restart it. Calling tech support in the middle of the afternoon didn't yield any results either, as the company was closed. You're absolutely getting what you pay for with this relatively cheap PMP, but since it's got features you won't find on mainstream players (for legal reasons and otherwise), it is a decent buy. Besides, if you have sunlight, you won't have to worry about a charger. [MediaStreet]

The Verdict:

As you can see, my test subject (aka wife) stuffed the bag to the brim with lady-themed folders, various tiny containers and her Macbook. The Timbuk2s expand a ton and their shape holds up pretty well considering the load.

And while the new premium fabrics look and feel nice enough, it's Timbuk2's staple internal corduroy laptop liner that sells the bag. It simply feels safe to when your laptop slips in, and a Velcro strap wraps over the top to make sure that your computer can't come loose.

The only real downside to the new fabrics are their price—$23 is a pretty steep upsell if multiplied out to three panels—and a fairly limited pattern selection with only eight choices. Sure, you can still mix and match your standard colors for no additional fee, but we really like the idea of these specialty patterns and wish there were more styles.

Either way, the new fabrics are only adding more options to the Timbuk2 line. It seems like a good thing just got a little bit better. [Timbuk2]

The Price: $199.99

The Verdict: The hook here is the iPhone-friendliness of the product. While testing the T612, GSM buzz never occurred once, making good on Altec Lansing's claim. The dock also mutes the music when a call comes through, so you can hear your ringer and pick up the call (the T612 doesn't have speakerphone, to be clear).

On the audio side of things, the T612 is powered by two 3-inch drivers and two 1 -inch tweeters. The dock sounds good enough if you only listen to pop songs at a moderate volume that don't go too crazy with highs or lows. When you start to venture outside the musical comfort of Celine Dion, heavy bass has a hollow sound, and if you turn it up too loud, everything gets really muddy. Of course, you can adjust the bass and treble to remedy this, but then the music loses some of its punch.

Also available is a wall mount, but you have to pay an extra $3 to have it shipped, and it doesn't look all that great. $199.99 seems a little steep for this dock (especially compared to Logitech's $150 Pure-Fi Anywhere ), but if you really need to dock your iPhone as a music solution, and you can't stand to deal with the interference (or putting your phone in flight mode), maybe this is for you.

The Price: $349 ($319 if you don't want the 2GB Micro Vault)

The Verdict: Useful, but it's too expensive. Although it's very convenient being able to carry around a 2GB or 4GB USB stick for data without having to keep it in our pockets (already crowded by an iPhone, wallet and keys), Mark Wilson says it makes us look douchey when worn on the outside of our shirts. More douchey than normal, that is. In it goes.

The Olinari guys said that the sterling silver is actually a small part of the price, and that assembling and crafting the two pieces (which are soldered together) is what made it so expensive when produced on their small scale. That said, Olinari actually has a new version coming soon that's more affordable, customizable and will store different types of flash memory (not just Sony's Micro Vault). We've got no qualms with the build quality, so if they can get the price down to a more affordable $100-$150ish, we can definitely recommend it to everyone. [Olinari]

I know, everyone's mad at Apple for charging $20 for an upgrade that only brings the iPod touch up to speed with the original iPhone (minus the phone, of course), but it seems to me, anyone who paid $399 for a first-gen 16GB touch especially can spring for the extra Jackson. Besides, I think Apple learned a thing or two about overcharging and then regretting it with the iPhone—because of that, the chances are slim that the company will change its mind and turn this into a free download. It would cause additional outrage that Apple doesn't want.

The good news is that the upgrade works great. We added two accounts to Mail within minutes, sending e-mails with a cute little "Sent from iPod" sig file. The Maps program uses Wi-Fi triangulation to identify the general vicinity and it works within a minute, and completely indoors (obviously). I'm not thrilled with the directions app, and a reliance on Wi-Fi for the map makes it hard to envision using as a real guide in the car, but it's a good start. Stocks, Weather, Notes and the web clip option in Safari are all what they are, but all in all it's a welcome improvement over the paltry Calendar, Contacts, Clock and Calculator that were there initially. (Didn't Apple once rip on PCs for bragging about a Calculator?)

Some things to keep in mind: When you upgrade, remember that it's two separate iPod touch updates. First, after you've upgraded your iTunes to 7.6, connect the touch and click "Check for Updates." You'll get 1.1.3, but things won't look any different than they did before. You then need to go to iTunes, click on the "January Software Upgrade" offer and buy it.

Once purchased, you go to your iPod Summary page and click Sync. If things don't work out just right, don't panic (like we did). Instead, uncheck "Manually manage music and videos"—you might get an error message saying it can't sync all 1 billion of your MP3s, but still, it will sync the new apps and they'll be visible in seconds. [Apple]

—Video by Benny Goldman

The Price: $299

The Performance: Fantastic. We were able to stream live 1080i over-the-air (OTA) HDTV with no glitches for the most part, and whatever glitches we did see were due to the fact that OTA reception in our area isn't great and we had a small antenna. But when we watched pre-recorded content in both 720p and 1080p, there were zero glitches or dropouts. We tested this both with the wired internet and the Wireless 802.11N network via Linksys's WRT600N Router, and it was super smooth even over Wi-Fi.

Its DVD playback was fine, and is convenient if you want to use this in a spare guest room or a bedroom to stream HDTV off off without hooking up HDTV connections or getting another DVR. The DVD is just a bonus. Also, this extender handles XviD files (but not DivX), meaning you can grab TV shows you missed off of BitTorrent and watch them as well, without having to transcode anything.

The Verdict: Did the extender do everything it promised to do and do it well? Definitely. Streaming perfect HD over 802.11n Wi-Fi isn't a small feat, and doing so when supporting XviD and DVD playback is impressive as well. But is it worth $299 when you can get an Xbox 360 that does pretty much the same thing for the same price? Yes, if you want 802.11n Wi-Fi streaming and XviD playback inside the Media Center interface. If not, then you're better off getting an Xbox 360 and getting gaming out of the deal as well.

The Price: $54.99

The Verdict: Fantastic. We tried it on both an upscaling DVD player and a PlayStation 3 and noticed no signal degradation between this and plugging the devices straight into the TV. It supports up to 1080p, and can be toggled by a simple remote that has the numbers "1" and "2" on two buttons. It takes a second or two to switch from one input to the other, but unless you're toggling back and forth rapidly between a basketball game and a game you're playing on the PS3, you won't really notice. You can get a totally cheap switch from Monoprice for about $20, or another no-name remote-enabled switch for $30. Belkin's, however, comes with a lifetime warranty and a name like Belkin. [Belkin]

The Price: The Zoombak for pets is a steep $200, with water-resistant pouch; the one for cars costs $250, because of the installation kit. On top of that, there's a service charge of $10 per month—looking at the price, there's no forgetting that this device is, essentially, a little cellphone.

The Verdict: I don't have a dog, so I tested it on my in-laws. The thing is small and light, and it really, really works. I activated one of them, set a safety zone perimeter using my address plus 1/2 mile, then handed it over to my father-in-law. After a short while, I got a text message naming the closest street intersection to where he was. (This can also come in the form of an email; it's your call.)

The messages didn't start coming right when he crossed the invisible threshold, but the data seemed to be timely: throughout the day I periodically got new updates as to his whereabouts. At one point, when my father-in-law was sitting not far away, I got a text that he was at some address I didn't recognize. Then I looked at the map and realized it was, indeed, the closest intersection to my house, even though it was just through a patch of woods, and outside our development. If I were really looking for him, he probably wouldn't have been hard to find.

There are some things to keep in mind: as with any other cellphone, it's got a battery that needs recharging. This one lasts up to 5 days or 150 location requests, so keep it charged and put it on your pets (or in-laws) when they're out the door. Also, the web interface is in need of some improvements, but those are easily tweaked and I know Zoombak is adding additional features even now, so I'm not worried. It's a good start; if you're really worried about a wayward pet or other family member, check it out. [Zoombak]

The Price: $17

The Verdict: It works.

[Kingston]

The Price: $59

The Verdict: Unlike normal aerosol sprays or room scenting plug-ins, the Brethe Air Revitalizer is actually supposed to filter air as well as freshen it with scents. The scent part is nice, and comes in lime, vanilla, citrus or lavender. You add two teaspoons to a bowlful of water, and when you switch the thing on, the liquid sloshes around in the base in order to dispense the scents.

We're not sure how well the filtering is supposed to work (there's no actual filter), but I tested it in my bathroom after doing some "dirty work" and could only smell "fragrant lime" and not "disgusting log." The Brethe worked equally well in the kitchen after cooking up a particularly onion-y meal. The only downside to this is that you need to refill the tank with 2 teaspoons of liquid once in a while (around twenty-four hours of use), and that the fan is kind of loud so you probably won't want to use this while you're sleeping or working. The air really does smell a lot "fresher" when it's in use, though we're not sure if that's because of the scent or the "filtering"—but it's nice. If you don't mind spending sixty bucks, this is a fantastic alternative to normal air fresheners. [Homedics]

The Price: $149 with two-year contract.

The Verdict: There's not much about this in terms of general speed and build that we haven't said already in the first hands-on, but here are the things we didn't cover. The 3G is super speedy and pulls down emails and web pages like a champ. Sound quality is on par with other Windows Mobile phones (namely, it's good), and its battery is also much improved over the BJ1, lasting over the weekend on one charge—with us making a handful of calls and doing a little web browsing and Google mapping. The GPS is pretty awesome when used with the free Google Maps, but has a bit of trouble getting a signal around my apartment. It's fine when you're out on the road, even though you're not really supposed to be using this while driving. For this amount of performance (speediness) and functionality (GPS, 3G), the BlackJack 2 is a pretty good deal at $149. If you're a fan of the BlackJack platform, this isn't a revolutionary improvement, but it's definitely a solid evolutionary one. [AT&T]