To view as a single page, click here

Voices: There are a few voice modulation apps on the shelves of the App Store, but none has captured Jesus' heart like Voices:

Retro tape recorder and microphone, cute icons, simple touch interface, and sharing via Twitter, Facebook, and email, so you can spook everyone with that infernal Reverse Voice effect. For $1, it's impossible to resist.

Zosh: Signing things over email: a thing that is dumb. Zosh: a thing that makes that process much easier.

Zosh is a $3 app that allows you to sign attached documents on your iPhone. Basically, you forward the emailed document to Zosh from the iPhone's mail app, then you open the Zosh app to sign it (plus you can add a date and stuff).

I especially like this one because it's not just a good way to sign documents on the iPhone, it's a good way to sign documents in general. I mean seriously, who wants to scan their signature, or jitter one out in MS paint? One catch: it only supports PDFs for now, so convert or die.

CatPaint: Negative space, as defined in the eminent McFairlyshire Encyclopedia of Artistic Principles (1904): An area, perimeter or measurable expanse that lacks cats. And one of the first thing they teach to you any good art school is to fill it up, with cats. Facts! Enter CatPaint:

Cats can be added to preexisting photos or cat-scarce shots from the iPhone's camera, and either saved to your camera roll or sent via email. Using it takes a while to get used to: Once you've selected a cat from the app's animal palette and set the slider for size, each tap on the photo instantly splashes a new cat at the point of contact, which can't be edited, save for a temperamental shake-to-delete function.

It is the best thing, this app. A dollar.

Knocking: Live Pic Sharing: Uses server-side galleries to let you view photos in sync with other people, which you can send or flip through by "knocking." Ideal scenario: You're talking to your friend over the phone, you want to show him a gallery of pictures, you tell him to jump onto Knocking, and suddenly you're in control of his viewing experience. It pretty much works like that. Free.

Blower: Real Air: Can you guess what this one does? Really, no? Then you're probably a good candidate for spending money on it. For what it's worth—something?—Blower explores the iPhone's absurd novelty potential in a completely new way. From the reviews, a perfect description: "It feels like an ant blowing on you."

Call of Duty: The control scheme isn't perfect, and the price ($10) is high, but it's tough to argue with a Nazi Zombie shoot 'em up with the Call of Duty name. Protip: switch to the tilt controls, because the overlaid joystick is not good. (They never are!)

Magellan: It's a late entrant into a crowded field, and without extensive testing it's hard to recommend plunking down for Magellan RoadMate's $80 introductory price. That said, for Magellan devotees, which probably exist somewhere, RoadMate is great news.

FunMail: MMSes are a bit of a conundrum. Like, it's great that you can send pictures and sounds and all, but phones—even the iPhone—aren't exactly the best tools for creating media, so you usually end up sending some pretty basic stuff: pictures of puppies, brief voice recordings, hot nudez, etc. FunMail takes whatever you type and converts it into an MMS-able image, generally with some kind of punny adornment. Call someone an ass, and there's a picture of a donkey. Say you want to get coffee, and your recipient gets your message overlaid on a picture of a mug. It's earnestly cheesy and a lot of the images look like clipart, but this isn't always a bad thing. FunMail works over MMS, email or Facebook, and it's free.

Fit or Fugly: Rounding out our cr-appier selections for the week, an app that purports to measure your beauty according to some kind of mathematical equation. It's not a good way to actually tell if someone is attractive, nor is it a particularly well-executed app. It is, however, a good excuse to tell your friends that their faces are asymmetrical, which evokes surprisingly intense responses. Try it! (The face thing, not necessarily the app.)

Google Earth 2.0: You can create and store your own customized maps in the desktop version of Google Maps, and save them to your account—this is great for keeping running routes, sharing driving directions and the like. You can view them in the new version of Google Earth for the iPhone now, which is useful, and also sort of hilarious, since you can't even access them in the official Google Maps app. Sound silly? Welcome to the iPhone, y'all!

Konami Apps: Whooooole bunch good stuff discounted to $1 for a few weeks, including: Field Prowlers, Frogger, Metal Gear Solid Touch, Silent Hill: The Escape, Silent Scope, Krazy Kart Racing, DanceDanceRevolution S, DanceDanceRevolution S+ -Power Pros Touch. Decent stuff to take a look at, with a few gems—especially MGS:T.

This list is in no way definitive. If you've spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our previous weekly roundups here, and check out our Favorite iPhone Apps Directory. Have a great weekend, everybody!

If you have a problem with you TV, like a certain 70-year old Missouri man did with his converter box during the DTV transition, DO NOT get loaded, shoot it and engage in a standoff with the police. [Link]
If you work in a tech-related retail store, DO NOT do what 29 year old Aaron Seiber did and stab yourself so you don't have to go. Making up a phony story about a skinhead attack to the police doesn't help matters either. [Link]
If you have trouble getting up the stairs, escalators are a real lifesaver. However, DO NOT use one like the man in this video.
If your phone dies, DO NOT take it to get fixed and threaten to shoot it in the store with the 9mm concealed in your jacket. There are no cellphones in prison—unless you have a really good hiding place (and there is only one really good hiding place). [Link]
If you have a tall hedge, and no gadget designed to trim it, DO NOT raise your ride-on mower up with a crane to do the job like this lunatic from New Zealand. [Link]
So you have bought a new phone and you are not sure what to do with your old one. Unless is is complete garbage, DO NOT smash it. Get some money for it or donate it to charity. If you want an iPhone to smash, there are cheaper ways to do it. [Link]
If your kid acts up in a Verizon store, DO NOT drag him around on the floor with a leash. Someone with a cameraphone is bound to make a video of the whole incident and share it with the police.
If your internet connection goes down while playing an online game, DO NOT vent your frustrations by grabbing a knife and stabbing the first 15-year old girl that walks down the street near your home. You could wind up in a mental hospital with pending manslaughter charges. [Link]

Panasonic Z1

Panasonic's flagship HDTV is its thinnest 54-inch plasma HDTV ever, with only 1-inch depth. They did it by eliminating a third sheet of glass found in all other plasmas except Pioneer's Kuro, and bonding the anti-reflective coating directly top glass. The Z1 employs SiBEAM's 60GHz 1080p for wireless glitch-free images sent via the included transmitter/media box from up to 30 feet away. The Z1 has THX picture mode and a custom calibration mode, plus nice bonus features including VieraCast Internet connectivity for YouTube and Amazon VOD and an SD card reader for photos. The Z1 delivers amazing performance with full 1080 line motion resolution, accurate HD color, deep black levels and 96Hz for judder free movie viewing.

The sexiest HDTV of 2009, the TC-P54Z1 will set you back $4000.

Update: Many of you have commented that you prefer Panasonic's excellent Viera V10 series, and to Gary's credit, he gave the TV his highest rating, and is including it in his top 10 list, which he'll publish next week. There's nothing wrong with that TV, and if we indicated six here, it would certainly be shown. It has the same NeoPDP panel as the Z1, but it's not the same picture, because it has the third separate piece of glass with anti-reflective coating.

Pioneer Kuro Signature

You know it's been a weird year for TVs when not one but two of our top picks are no longer being manufactured, but are still being sold. Pioneer's sweetest (and last) Kuro line is technically a monitor: There's no tuner or audio. But the Signature models offer the deepest black of any high definition display on the market—without any white-letter-on-black-background halos occasionally seen on LED-based LCD TVs. The Signature models features hand selected parts, 2.5-in. depth, Custom Calibration, 72Hz refresh and control over the internet via its Ethernet connection. The Pioneer uses a single top sheet of glass to minimize internal reflections, with the anti-reflection coating bonded directly to the surface.

The Signature models are available at scattered retailers around the country in the 50-inch size (PRO-101FD) for about $3000 to $3500, and 60-inch size (PRO-141FD) for $4000 to $4800.

Samsung LNB8500

The 8500 series is Samsung flagship LED LCD TV. It feature packed with thin 1.6-inch depth, white LED local dimming backlights for improved uniformity, dual-chip 240 Hz plus a scanning backlight for excellent motion resolution and the best black level of any LED LCD observed to date. The 8500 features four HDMI inputs plus internet connectivity with Flickr, YouTube, weather, news and other widgets. It also has a PV+C input for connection to your computer or HTPC. This is a benchmark LED LCD to judge against every other make and model.

All this performance comes at a price. The LNB8500 series comes in 46-inch (UN46B8500) and 55-inch (UN55B8500) screen sizes, currently on Amazon for $2620 and $4020, respectively.

LG LH90

This LG has all the hot LCD performance features video freaks crave, including white LED dimming backlights for excellent black levels, wide viewing angle LCD IPS panel, accurate color, and 240Hz (120 refresh + scanning backlight) for excellent motion resolution. This LG also has all the tweaks anyone could ask for including ISF CCC mode for calibration, THX certification and LG's "picture wizard" for user set-up without calibration discs or external test signals. The LH90 isn't the thinnest LED LCD, but it more than makes up for it with its price.

The LG LH90 series is available in 42-, 47- and 55-inch screen sizes at street prices that are considerably lower than many competitors' edge lit 120 Hz LED edge lit models. The 42LH90 is online for $1200 to $1500; the 47LH90 sells in the $1700 range; and the 55LH90 goes for $2200 to $2800. In case you couldn't tell, the LH90 series is the value/performance leader of the pack.

Sony XBR8

A comparable model never replaced Sony's 2008 flagship model in 2009. It is the only HDTV available with separate red, green and blue LED backlights (rather than all white), with local dimming for deep black levels. Though slightly thicker than other TVs in its class, the XBR8 has accurate HDTV color, enough brightness for a beach house, a non-glossy anti-glare screen coating (rare for 2009), 120Hz refresh rate and Sony's Bravia Engine 2 signal processing.

You can still find the XBR8s—we spotted the 46-inch KDL-46XBR8 for under $2200 and the 55-inch KDL-55XBR8 for under $4000.

Gary Merson is the HD Guru, the industry's leading HDTV journalist. He's been reviewing TVs for well over a decade, and recently wrote a guide to choosing an HDTV.

UPDATE: We had to add a Page 2 with TVs, Video Games, Printers and Software

Doorbuster items marked with an *

Cell Phones

AT&T Sony Ericsson W518a - Free w/2 Year Contract * [Best Buy]
BoostMobile Motorola Clutch i465 - $59.99 [Best Buy]
DLO Jam Jacket For iPhone - $9.99 [Best Buy]
Jabra BT-2080 Bluetooth Headset - $19.99 [Best Buy]
LG Chocolate Touch From Verizon w/Two Year Activation - $0.00 * [Best Buy]
MiFi 2200 By Novatel Wireless w/Two Year Activation - $0.00 [Best Buy]
Mobile Broadband Card 598U By Sierra Wireless w/Two Year Activation - $0.00 [Best Buy]
Motorola S9 HD Stereo Bluetooth Headset - $49.99 [Best Buy]
Net10 Samsung T401G - $39.99 [Best Buy]
Sprint BlackBerry Curve 8330 Smart Phone - Free w/2 Year Contract [Best Buy]
Sprint Samsung Instinct S30 - Free w/2 Year Contract [Best Buy]
T-Mobile Motorola Renew Phone - $7.99 [Best Buy]
Verizon Wireless DROID - $199.99 w/2 Year Contract [Best Buy]
Verizon Wireless Motorola Rival - Free w/2 Year Contract * [Best Buy]
Virgin Mobile Kyocera X-tc - $49.99 [Best Buy]

Computer Accessories


APC 450VA Battery Backup - $19.99 [Staples]
APC 550VA Battery Backup - $24.99 [Office Depot]
Acer 17.3" Blue Laptop w/4GB Memory, 320GB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Premium (Online Only) - $498.00 [Wal-Mart]
All Case Logic Laptop Sleeves - 50% Off [Office Depot]
Altec Lansing VS2621 PC Speakers - $19.99 [Staples]
Any Business Case, Sleeve, or Backpack - 40% Off [Staples]
Belkin 6-Outlet Surge Protector w/Left Extension Cord Combo - $5.99 [Staples]
HP 15.6" Notebook w/Intel Processor, 3GB Memory, 250GB Hard Drive (Model # G60-519WM) - $298.00 * [Wal-Mart]
HP 17" Notebook w/4GB Memory, 320GB Hard Drive (Model # G71-329WM) - $398.00 [Wal-Mart]
HP OfficeJet J4680 Wireless All-in-One Printer - $49.99 * [Office Max]

HP OfficeJet Pro 8500 All-in-One Printer - $139.99 * [Office Max]

HP Wireless Mouse (Black) - $9.99 [Staples]
Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave Combo - $39.99 [Office Max]

Logitech QuickCam Pro Webcam - $49.99 [Office Max]

Logitech V220 Optical Wireless Mouse - $9.99 * [Office Max]

Logitech V450 Wireless Laser Notebook Mouse - $14.99 [Staples]
Logitech Z13 Speaker System - $29.99 [Office Max]

Logitech C600 Webcam - $39.99 [Staples]
Logitech Illuminated Keyboard - $29.99 [Staples]
Logitech LX6 Cordless Optical Mouse - $7.99 [Office Depot]
Microsoft Lifecam VX-5000 Webcam - $9.99 * [Office Max]
Microsoft Mobile 300 Mouse (Pink) - $4.99 * [Office Max]
Microsoft 4000 Wireless Laser Keyboard/Mouse Set - $29.99 * [Staples]
Microsoft Digital Media Keyboard 6000 - $12.99 [Office Depot]
Microsoft Natural Ergonomic 4000 USB Keyboard - $19.99 [Dell]
Microsoft VX-3000 LifeCam Webcam - $9.99 [Staples]
Height-Adjustable Mobile Laptop Cart - $17.99 [Office Depot]
Moble IT Retractable USB Hub - $4.99 [Office Depot]
Targus 208-CD/DVD Album - $9.98 [Staples]
Targus Chill Mat Notebook Fan - $9.99 [Staples]
USB Web Cam - $9.99 [Office Depot]
eMachines 15.6" Notebook w/AMD Processor, 2GB Memory, 160GB Hard Drive (Model # EME627) - $198.00 * [Wal-Mart]
iHome Wired Optical Mouse - $6.99 [Office Depot]

Computers


Acer Aspire One 10.1" Netbook w/ 1GB RAM, 160GB HD, Windows XP - $149.99 * [Office Max]
Acer Aspire 15.6" Widescreen Notebook Computer w/AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core Processor L310, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive - $379.99 [Office Depot]
Compaq Presario Dual-Core Desktop w/ 3GB RAM, 500GB HD, Windows 7 - $239.99 * [Office Max]
Acer Netbook 10.1" Computer w/Intel 1.6GHz Atom Processor N270 - $199.99 [Office Depot]
Compaq CQ4010F Desktop Computer w/AMD Sempron LE-1300 Processor, 2GB RAM, 250GB Hard Drive - $229.99 [Office Depot]
Compaq Netbook w/Intel Atom Processor, 1GB Memory, 160GB Hard Drive - $179.99 [Best Buy]
Compaq Netbook w/Intel Atom Processor, 1GB Memory, 250GB Hard Drive - $229.99 [Best Buy]
Compaq Presario AMD LE-1300 Desktop w/18.5" Monitor - $329.99 [Office Depot]
Dell 10.1" Inspiron Mini 10V Netbook w/Atom 1.6Ghz Processor N270 - $249.00 [Dell]
Dell 10.1" Netbook w/Intel Atom Processor, 1GB Memory, 160GB Hard Drive - $379.99 [Best Buy]
Dell 14" Inspiron 14 Notebook w/Intel T4300 Processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive - $599.00 [Dell]
Dell 14" Studio XPS 13 Notebook w/Intel P7450 Processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive - $999.00 [Dell]
Dell 15.6" Inspiron 15 Notebook w/Intel T4300 Processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive - $549.00 [Dell]
Dell 15.6" Studio 15 Notebook w/Intel T6600 Processor, 4GB RAM, 250GB Hard Drive - $499.00 [Dell]
Dell 15.6" Studio Laptop w/Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 Processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive - $599.98 [Staples]
Dell 16" Studio XPS 16 Notebook w/Intel P7450 Processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive - $999.00 [Dell]
Dell 17" Studio 17 Notebook w/Intel T4300 Processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive - $749.00 [Dell]
Dell 20" Studio XPS 8000 Desktop w/Intel i5-750 CPU, 6GB RAM, 750GB Hard Drive - $899.00 [Dell]
Dell Desktop PC w/AMD Athlon X2 215 Processor, 4GB RAM, 640GB Hard Drive, 20-inch LCD Monitor - $499.98 [Staples]
Dell Inspiron 537s Desktop w/Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5300 Processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive - $349.00 [Dell]
Dell Inspiron 537s w/Intel E5300 Processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive, w/20" LCD Monitor - $499.00 [Dell]
Dell Inspiron w/Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 Processor, 3GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive - $499.00 [Dell]
Dell Studio Desktop w/Intel E7500 Processor, 6GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive, w/18.5" LCD Monitor - $699.00 [Dell]
Dell Studio Desktop w/Intel Q8300 Processor, 6GB RAM, 640GB Hard Drive, w/20" LCD Monitor - $749.00 [Dell]
Dell Studio Slim Desktop w/Intel E5400, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive, w/18.5" LCD Monitor - $599.00 [Dell]
Free Software w/Purchase of Computer - Free [Office Depot]
HP 15.6" Laptop w/Intel Celeron Processor 900, 3GB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 - $299.98 * [Staples]
HP 15.6" Laptop w/Intel Pentium Processor T4300, 4GB RAM, 250GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 - $399.98 * [Staples]
HP 15.6" Notebook w/AMD Turion II Dual Core Processor M500, 6GB Memory, 320GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 - $599.99 [Best Buy]
HP 15.6" Notebook w/AMD Turion II Dual Core Processor M500, 8GB Memory, 500GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 - $699.99 [Best Buy]
HP 17.3" Laptop w/Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 Processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive - $599.98 [Staples]
HP Desktop AMD X4 Quad Core, 8GB Memory, 1TB Hard Drive w/20" Monitor, HP Deskjet DJ350 Color Printer & Windows 7 Home Premium - $499.97 [Best Buy]
HP Notebook Computer G60-508US w/Intel Celeron Processor 900 - $299.99 [Office Depot]
HP Notebook Computer G71-343US With Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6600 - $449.99 [Office Depot]
HP Pavilion Desktop P6229PG w/20" Widescreen LCD Monitor - $499.99 [Office Depot]
HP Pavilion All-In-One 19" Desktop w/4GB Memory, 500GB Hard Drive, MS213 AMD - $598.00 [Wal-Mart]
HP Pavilion Desktop w/AMD Processor, 3GB Memory, 320GB Hard Drive, w/20" Monitor (Model # P6243w-b) - $398.00 * [Wal-Mart]
HP Pavillion Slimeline Intel E5300 Desktop w/20" Monitor - $519.99 [Office Depot]
HP Pavillion Slimline s5220f Desktop Computer w/Intel Pentium Processor E5300, 4GB RAM, 640GB Hard Drive - $369.99 [Office Depot]
Macbook 13.3" Notebook w/2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 Memory, 250GB Hard Drive, w/$150 Gift Card - $999.99 [Best Buy]
Sony 15" Laptop w/Intel Dual Core Processor, 4GB Memory, 320GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 - $399.99 [Best Buy]
Sony 15" Laptop w/Intel Dual Core Processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB HD, Windows 7, Sony Headphones, Built-In Blu-ray, Blu-ray Movie - $479.97 [Best Buy]
Sony 15.5" Laptop w/Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 Processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive - $649.98 [Staples]
Toshiba 15.6" Widescreen Notebook w/AMD Turion II Dual-Core Processor M500, 3GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive - $469.99 [Office Depot]
Toshiba 16" Laptop w/Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 3GB DDR3 Memory, 250GB Hard Drive (Model # L505-S5984) - $399.99 [Best Buy]
Toshiba 16" Laptop w/Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 4GB DDR3 Memory, 320GB Hard Drive (Model # L505-S5984) w/Printer and Case - $499.97 [Best Buy]
Toshiba 17" Notebook w/AMD Turion II M500, 3GB RAM, 250GB Hard Drive - $499.99 [Office Depot]
Toshiba L505-S5998 T4300 4GB RAM, 320GB HD Notebook - $399.99 [Office Max]
eMachines Desktop w/AMD Athlon Processor, 3GB RAM, 320GB HD, Windows 7, w/18.5" LCD Monitor and HP Deskjet Printer - $299.97 [Best Buy]

Digital Cameras


Ativa Digital 1080p HD Video Camcorder 4x Optical Zoom - $89.99 [Office Depot]
Canon 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera, EOS Rebel XS - $569.99 [Sears]
Canon 980IS 12.1MP Digital Camera - $279.99 [Sears]
Canon EOS Rebel T1i D-SLR Camera w/18-55mm IS Lens - $699.99 [Best Buy]
Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera (Grey) - $149.99 [Best Buy]
Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera (Teal) - $149.99 [Best Buy]
Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera w/Extra Battery and Case (Grey) - $179.99 [Best Buy]
Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera w/Extra Battery and Case (Teal) - $179.99 [Best Buy]
Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS 10.0-Megapixel Digital ELPH Camera - $149.99 [Office Depot]
Canon PowerShot A1100 12.1 MegaPixel Digital Camera w/4x Optical Zoom, 2.5" LCD (Silver) - $129.99 * [Staples]
Canon PowerShot SD780 IS 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - $179.99 [Office Depot]
Canon Powershot SD780 IS 12.1MP Digital Camera - $179.99 [Sears]
Canon Rebel Tli Camera w/55-250mm IS Telephoto Lens and Lowepro D-SLR Bag - $849.97 [Best Buy]
Canon Rebelx XS Digital SLR Camera & Canon EF 75-300MM Telephoto Zoom Lens - $669.98 [Sears]
Disney Pix Micro Digital Cameras Designed For Just For Kids - $9.99 * [Sears]
Flip Ultra Camcorder w/2" LCD - $129.99 [Staples]
Free Canon Photo Printer With Purchase Of Any Digital Camera (After Rebate) - $0.00 * [Staples]
Fuji J29 10MP 3X Zoom 2.7" LCD Digital Camera Bundle - $89.99 * [Sears]
Fujifilm FinePix A170 10.2 Megapixel 3x Optical Zoom Digital Camera (Silver) - $59.99 [Dell]
Fujifilm Finepix Z37 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera w/Extra Battery and Case - $149.97 [Best Buy]
Fujifilm Finepix Z37 Polka Dot 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera - $119.99 [Best Buy]
GE A1250 12MP Digital Camera - $69.99 * [Sears]
Hi Pro Camera Kits - 50% Off * [Sears]
Insignia 720p HD Camcorder - $69.99 [Best Buy]
Insignia NS-DSC10A 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera (Pink) - $49.99 * [Best Buy]
Insignia NS-DSC10B 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera (Blue) - $49.99 * [Best Buy]
Jazz T20 4X Digtal Zoom 1.5" LCD Camcorder - $19.99 * [Sears]
Jazz T55 Camcorder - $49.99 * [Sears]
Kodak 10.0 MegaPixel Digital Camera w/Memory Card And Bag - $79.99 * [Staples]
Kodak CD80 10.2MP, 3x Zoom Digital Camera 2.4" LCD 2GB Card And Case - $79.99 * [Sears]
Kodak EasyShare C140 Digital Camera With 7" Kodak Digital Photo Frame - $109.99 [Best Buy]
Kodak EasyShare C180 10.2 Megapixel 3x Optical Zoom Digital Camera w/Kodak P820 8" Digital Picture Frame - $99.99 [Dell]
Kodak EasyShare C182 12.0 Megapixel Digital Camera - $69.00 [Wal-Mart]
Kodak EasyShare CD80 Digital Camera Bundle - $79.99 [Office Depot]
Kodak EasyShare M381 Digital Camera w/Case & Tripod - $169.99 [Office Depot]
Kodak EasyShare Z915 Digital Camera w/Case & Charger - $199.99 [Office Depot]
Kodak M1063 10.3MP Digital Camera - $89.99 [Sears]
Kodak Z950 12 Megapixel Digital Camera - $149.99 [Office Max]
Nikon L20 10 Megapixel Digital Camera - $79.99 [Office Max]
Olympus X905 10MP Digital Camera - $49.99 * [Office Max]
Nikon COOLPIX L20 Digital Camera - $99.99 * [Sears]
Nikon CoolPix S230 10MP Digital Camera - $139.00 [Wal-Mart]
Nikon Coolpix 12MP S570 Digital Camera - $149.99 [Sears]
Nikon Coolpix L100 10.0 MegaPixel Digital Camera w/15x Optical Zoom, 3" LCD (Black) - $199.99 * [Staples]
Nikon Coolpix P90 12.1 Megapixel Digital Camera - $299.99 [Best Buy]
Nikon Coolpix P90 12.1 Megapixel Digital Camera w/Extra Battery and Case - $329.97 [Best Buy]
Nikon Coolpix S60 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera (Red) - $179.99 [Best Buy]
Nikon Coolpix S60 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera w/Extra Battery and Case - $209.97 [Best Buy]
Nikon Coolpix S570 12.0 MegaPixel Digital Camera - $149.99 * [Staples]
Nikon Coolpix S570 12.0 Megapixel Digital Camera - $149.99 [Office Depot]
Nikon D3000 10.0 MegaPixel Digital Camera - $499.99 * [Staples]
Nikon D3000DX 10.2 Megapixel D-SLR Digital Camera w/10-55mm VR Lens - $499.99 [Best Buy]
Nikon D3000DX 10.2 Megapixel D-SLR Digital Camera w/10-55mm and 55-200mm Lens and Bag - $599.97 [Best Buy]
Olmpus FE-4000 12MP Digital Camera - $99.99 [Sears]
Olympus Stylus FE 4000 12.1 MegaPixel Digital Camera w/4x Optical Zoom - $99.99 * [Staples]
Samsung C10 SD 1200 Digital Zoom 10X Optical Zoom 2.7" LCD Camcorder - $149.99 * [Sears]
Samsung Compact Full HD Camcorder - $399.99 [Sears]
Samsung SL40 12.2MP Digital Camera - $79.99 [Sears]
Sony 4GB Camcorder - $249.99 [Sears]
Sony Cyber-Shot H20 10.1MP Digital Camera - $249.99 [Sears]
Sony Cyber-Shot W180 10.1MP Digital Camera - $99.99 [Sears]
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC S930 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera - $79.00 [Wal-Mart]
Sony Cyber-Shot W220 12.1 MegaPixel Digital Camera w/4x Optical Zoom - $129.99 * [Staples]
Sony Cyber-Shot W220 Digital Camera - $129.99 [Office Depot]
Sony Cyber-Shot W290 Digital Camera w/Case & Charger - $229.99 [Office Depot]
Sony Cyber-Shot W180 10.1 Megapixel Digital Camera (Black) - $99.99 [Best Buy]
Sony Cyber-Shot W180 10.1 Megapixel Digital Camera w/Flexpod and Camera Case - $119.97 [Best Buy]
Sony DCR-SR47 60GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder - $299.99 [Sears]
Vivitar Digital Camera Bundle - $49.99 [Office Depot]

Digital Media Cards


Olympus 2GB xD Memory Card - $4.99 [Office Max]
PNY 4GB Flash Drive - $9.99 [Best Buy]
PNY 4GB MicroSD HD Memory Card - $9.99 [Best Buy]
PNY 4GB SDHC Memory Card - $9.99 [Best Buy]
SanDisk 2GB SD Card - $5.99 [Sears]
SanDisk 4GB Memory Cards Or Flash Drive - $8.99 * [Sears]
SanDisk 4GB Ultra II SDHC Memory Card - $12.99 [Office Depot]
SanDisk 4GB microSD Memory Card - $7.99 [Office Max]

SanDisk 4GB SDHC Card - $4.99 [Office Max]
SanDisk 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo - $14.99 [Best Buy]
SanDisk 4GB SDHC Card - $8.00 [Wal-Mart]
SanDisk 8GB SD Card - $19.99 [Best Buy]
SanDisk 8GB SDHC Card - $14.99 [Sears]
SanDisk 8GB SHDC - $19.99 [Office Max]
SanDisk 8GB Memory Stick PRO Duo Memory Card - $24.99 [Office Depot]
SanDisk 8GB SD Memory Card - $14.99 [Office Depot]
SanDisk 8GB Ultra II CompactFlash Memory Card - $19.99 [Office Depot]
Sony 2GB Memory Stick PRO Duo - $12.99 [Sears]
Sony 4GB Memory Stick - $20.00 [Wal-Mart]

DVD Players

Coby 7" Portable DVD Player - $49.99 [Staples]
Curtis DVD Player AR - $17.99 * [Sears]
GPX 8" Portabe DVD Player PD808BU - $79.99 [Sears]
GPX BD707B DVD/CD Boom Box w/7" LCD Display - $99.99 * [Sears]
Insignia Blu-ray Disc Player (Model # NS-BRDVD3) w/Superman Returns or Beetlejuice Bluray - $99.99 [Best Buy]
Magnavox DVD Player with VCR - $49.99 * [Sears]
Magnavox DVD Player with VCR - $49.99 [K-M]
Magnavox NB500 Blu-ray Disc Player - $78.00 * [Wal-Mart]
Memorex 1080P HDMI Upconvert DVD Player - $29.99 [K-M]
Memorex Compact DVD Player With Progressive Scan - $19.99 [Target]
RCA 7" Dual Screen Portable DVD Player With Car Adapter - $88.00 [Target]
RCA 7" Portable DVD Player - $47.00 [Target]
Samsung BD-P1590 Blu Ray Player (Saturday) - $148.00 [Wal-Mart]
Samsung BD-P1600 Blu-Ray Disc Player - $149.99 [Best Buy]
Samsung BD-P4600 Blu-Ray Disc Player - $279.99 [Best Buy]
Samsung Blu-ray Disc Player (Model BD-P1600-A) - $149.99 [Sears]
Sony BDP-S360 Blu-Ray Disc Player - $149.99 [Best Buy]
Sony BDP-S360 Blu-Ray Player with $20 Gift Card - $149.99 [Target]
Sony BDP-S360 Blu-Ray Player - $149.99 [Sears]
Sony BDP-S369 Blu-Ray Player - $148.00 [Wal-Mart]
Sony DVD Player DVP-SR200P - $34.99 [Sears]
Sylvania 7" Portable DVD Player - $49.99 * [Sears]
Sylvania 7" Portable DVD Player - $49.99 * [K-M]

Electronics


1.5" Digital Photo Frames - $7.99 [Office Depot]
2GB Pulse Smartpen w/$30 Gift Card - $169.99 [Best Buy]
4-Device Universal Remote - Free After Rebate [Staples]
AT&T DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone System with 4 Handsets - $59.99 [Sears]
AT&T DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone With Digital Answering System - $49.99 * [Staples]
All Philips HDMI Cables With Any TV Purchase - 15% Off [Sears]
Ativa 8" Digital Photo Frame - $49.99 [Office Depot]
Belkin HDTV Starter Kit - $34.99 [K-M]
Bose In-Ear Headphones - $89.99 [Best Buy]
Brother P-Touch PT-1290 Electronic Labeler - $9.99 [Office Depot]
Canon Vixia HD HF20 Camcorder - $499.99 [Best Buy]
Canon Vixia HD HF20 Camcorder w/Extra Li-Ion Battery & 8" HDMI Cable - $599.97 [Best Buy]
Casio Keyboard With Stand And Song Book - $49.99 [Target]
Cobra Radar Detector - $29.99 * [K-M]
Cobra Two Way Radio Pair - $19.99 * [K-M]
Coby 7" Digital Photo Frame - $29.99 * [K-M]
Coby 7" Digital Photo Frame - $29.99 * [Sears]
Coby 8" Digital Photo Frame - $49.99 [Sears]
Coby 7" Portable Digital TV - $99.99 [Staples]
Digital Decor Color LCD Key Chain Holds 48 Pictures - $10.00 * [Target]
Dynex 7" Digital Photo Frame - $29.99 [Best Buy]
Emerson 3-Handset DECT Phone Bundle - $39.99 [K-M]
Emerson Portable Karaoke CP398 System - $29.99 [Sears]
First Act Electronic Drum Set - $35.00 [Target]
GE 6 Foot HDMI Cable - $9.99 * [Target]
GPX 2.1 Channel DVD Home Theater System - $39.99 [K-M]
GPX Portable Karaoke Machine - $39.99 [Best Buy]
HP 8" Digital Picture Frame 512MB Memory - $109.99 [Staples]
HP 10" Digital Picture Frame 512MB Memory - $139.99 [Staples]
Insignia 7" Digital Photo Frame - $44.99 [Best Buy]
Jazz VGA 4X Digital Zoom 1.5 in. LCD Screen Pocket Digital Camcorder - $19.99 [K-M]
Kodak EasyShare P720 7" Digital Frame - $49.99 [Sears]
Logitech Harmony 510 Advanced Universal Remote - $39.99 [Best Buy]
Maxell Noise-Canceling Headphones - $20.00 [Staples]
Memorex 7" Widescreen Portable DVD Player - $29.99 * [Office Max]

Memorex Micro Speaker System for iPod - $11.99 [Office Max]
Memorex Home Audio System For iPod - $49.99 [Target]
Memorex iPod Clock Radio - $25.00 [Staples]
Midland LXT360VP3 2-Way Radios - $24.99 [Staples]
Motorola H390 Bluetooth Headset - $9.99 * [Staples]
Omnitech 12" Digital Picture Frame - $69.99 * [Staples]
Omnitech Bluetooth Speakerphone - $20.00 [Staples]
Omnitech Digital Photo Ornament - $10.00 [Staples]
Omnitech Mini-Speaker - $9.99 [Staples]
Panasonic DECT 6.0 Digital Cordless KX-TG9332T Phone Answering System (After Rebate) - $29.99 [Office Depot]
Panasonic DECT 6.0 Expandable Cordless Phone System w/3 Handsets - $59.99 [Best Buy]
Panasonic DECT 6.0 Expandable Cordless Phone w/Digital Answering Machine - $49.99 [Staples]
Pandigital 9" Digital Photo Frame - $59.99 [Best Buy]
Pandigital 10" Digital Photo Frame - $69.99 * [Sears]
Phillips 4-Device Remote Control - $9.99 [K-M]
Plantronics Explorer Bluetooth Mobile Headset 220 - $14.99 [Office Depot]
Sharp Handheld Calculator - Free After Rebate [Staples]
Skull Candy Ink'd Earbuds - $9.99 [Staples]
SmartPants 8.5" Digital Photo Frame - $49.99 [K-M]
Sony DCR-SR47 Handycam Camcorder - $249.99 [Best Buy]
Sony DCR-SR47 Handycam Camcorder w/Extra Li-Ion Battery & Bag - $299.97 [Best Buy]
Sony DCR-SX40 Handycam Camcorder - $199.99 [Best Buy]
Sony DCR-SX40 Handycam Camcorder w/Extra Li-Ion Battery & 8GB Memory Stick - $259.97 [Best Buy]
Sony E10 Ear Buds Headphones - $4.99 [Sears]
Sony Earbuds - $4.99 [K-M]
Sony Earbuds - $7.99 [Office Depot]
Sony Reader Pocket Edition And Cover With Light Combo - $214.98 [Staples]
Sony Reader Pocket Edition Cover With Light - $54.99 [Staples]
Sony Reader Pocket Edition With 5" Display - $199.99 [Staples]
Sony Reader Pocket Edition w/$30 Gift Card - $199.99 [Best Buy]
Sony Reader Touch Edition And Cover With Light Combo - $319.98 [Staples]
Sony Reader Touch Edition Cover With Light - $59.99 [Staples]
Sony Reader Touch Edition With 6" Screen - $299.99 [Staples]
Sony Studio Monitor Headphones - $9.99 [Best Buy]
Sony Wireless Headphones - $29.99 [Sears]
Sungale 7" Widescreen Digital Photo Frame - $29.99 * [Office Max]

Sungale 7" Digital Picture Frame - $29.99 * [Staples]y
Uniden DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone w/5 Handsets & Digital Answering Machine - $59.99 [Staples]
VTech DECT 6.0 Expandable Cordless Phone System LS6215-2 w/2 Handsets - $44.99 [Best Buy]
Verizon 100 Cordless Phone w/ 2 Handsets - $19.99 [Office Max]
iHome Dock - $9.99 [K-M]
iHome PC Accessories - $9.99 [K-M]
iHome Portable Alarm Clock Speaker iPod Dock - $39.99 [Best Buy]
iHome Portable iPod/MP3 Speaker System - $9.99 [Sears]

GPS

Garmin GPS Friction Mount - $14.99 [Best Buy]
Garmin Nuvi 205 GPS - $89.99 * [Sears]
Garmin Nuvi 205 GPS Navigation System - $99.99 * [Best Buy]
Garmin Nuvi 255WT GPS Navigation System - $129.99 [Best Buy]
Garmin Nuvi 1200 GPS Navigation System - $119.99 [Office Depot]
Garmin Nuvi 1300 GPS Navigation System - $149.99 [Office Depot]
Garmin Nuvi 1350T GPS System - $179.00 [Target]
Lowepro Black Neoprene Sleeve - $7.99 [Best Buy]
Magellan RoadMate 1220 GPS - $84.99 * [K-M]
Magellan RoadMate 1220 GPS - $89.99 [Sears]
Magellan RoadMate 1440 GPS - $119.99 * [Sears]
Magellan SE4 GPS - $89.99 [Best Buy]
TomTom 540S Portable GPS Navigation System - $149.99 [Best Buy]
TomTom GO 630 GPS Navigation System - $169.99 [Office Depot]
TomTom GO 730 Portable GPS Navigation System - $174.99 [Best Buy]
TomTom ONE 125-SE GPS - $59.00 [Wal-Mart]
TomTom ONE 130 GPS - $79.99 [Sears]
TomTom ONE 130 GPS - $77.99 [Office Depot]
TomTom ONE 130 GPS - $79.99 [K-M]
TomTom XL325 GPS - $89.00 [Wal-Mart]
TomTom XL325S GPS - $99.99 [Sears]
TomTom XL325S GPS - $99.99 [K-M]
TomTom XL 330 GPS Navigation System - $97.99 [Office Depot]
TomTom XL 340S GPS With Case - $97.00 [Target]

Hard Drives


LG External Slim Portable USB 2.0 DVD Drive - $49.99 [Best Buy]
Seagate FreeAgent Docking Station - $19.99 [Office Max]
Seagate 500GB Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive - $59.99 [Office Max]

Seagate 1TB External Hard Drive - $69.99 * eBay [Staples]
Seagate 1TB External Hard Drive - $79.99 [Office Max]
Seagate 1.5TB External Hard Drive - $99.99 [Office Depot]
Seagate 1.5TB External Hard Drive - $139.99 [Staples]
Seagate 2TB FreeAgent External Hard Drive - $179.99 [Office Depot]
Seagate 320GB Expansion External Portable Hard Drive - $59.99 [Office Depot]
Seagate 640GB FreeAgent Go External Portable Hard Drive - $119.99 [Office Depot]
Seagate 750GB Free Agent Go External Portable Hard Drive - $149.99 [Office Depot]
Verbatim 1TB External Hard Drive - $79.99 [Office Depot]
Western Digital My Passport Essential 320GB Hard Drive - $49.00 [Wal-Mart]
Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB Portable Hard Drive - $69.99 * [Staples]
Western Digital Elements 500GB Portable Hard Drive - $59.98 [Target]
Western Digital 500GB My Passport Elite Portable Hard Drive Titanium - $79.99 [Best Buy]
Western Digital 1TB 3.5" External Hard Drive - $78.00 [Wal-Mart]
Western Digital Elements 1TB Desktop Hard Drive - $59.98 [Target]
Western Digital 1.5TB My Book Home Edition External Hard Drive - $119.99 [Best Buy]
Western Digital WDTV Media Player - $74.99 [Best Buy]

Home Theater

4' Monster Cable 700 Series HDMI Cable - $49.99 [Best Buy]
Ativa Home Theater System 5.1 - $39.99 [Office Depot]
Init Cherry Wood Stand With Mount For TVs Up To 46" - $99.99 [Best Buy]
Init Cherry Wood w/Black Glass Shelves TV Stand - $149.99 [Best Buy]
Klipsch Icon 2-Way Triple 5.25" Floorstanding Speaker - $186.99 [Best Buy]
Klipsch Icon 2-Way Triple 6.5" Floorstanding Speaker - $236.99 [Best Buy]
Samsung 5.1 Channel 1000W Home Theater System With Blu-ray Disc Player - $399.99 [Best Buy]
Sony Bravia DAV-HDX589W 5.1 Channel 1000W Home Theater System - $279.99 [Best Buy]
Sony STR-DH800 7.1 Channel 770-Watt A/V Receiver - $279.99 [Best Buy]
Tilting Wall Mount For 30"-56" Flat-Panel TVs - $99.99 [Best Buy]

Monitors

Acer 20" HD LCD Monitor - $79.99 [Best Buy]
Dell 20" S2009W HD LCD Monitor - $99.99 [Best Buy]
Dell 21.5" S2209W Full HD Widescreen Monitor - $144.00 [Dell]
Dell 23"SP2309W Full HD Widescreen Monitor w/Webcam - $219.00 [Dell]

MP3 Players

3 $10 iTunes Gift Cards - $25.00 eBay [Best Buy]
Apple 8GB iPod 5th Gen Nano (Black) + Wall Charger & Case - $159.97 [Best Buy]
Apple 8GB iPod 5th Gen Nano (Blue) + Wall Charger & Case - $159.97 [Best Buy]
Apple 8GB iPod 5th Gen Nano (Pink) + Wall Charger & Case - $159.97 [Best Buy]
Apple 8GB iPod 5th Gen Nano (Purple) + Wall Charger & Case - $159.97 [Best Buy]
Apple 8GB iPod 5th Gen Nano (Silver) + Wall Charger & Case - $159.97 [Best Buy]
Apple 8GB iPod Nano With Free $15 Gift CardApple 8GB iPod Nano With Free $15 Gift Card - $145.00 [Target]
Apple 8GB iPod Touch 3rd Generation w/$30 Gift Card - $199.99 [Best Buy]
Apple 32GB iPod Touch With Free $30 Gift Card - $295.00 [Target]
Ativa 2GB MP3 Player With Video And FM Radio - $17.99 [Office Depot]
Ativa Speaker Dock For iPod PF112 - $19.99 [Office Depot]
Bose Sound-dock Series II Digital Music System - $269.99 [Best Buy]
Element 2GB Stick MP3 Player - $9.99 * [K-M]
GPX 4GB MP3/4 Player - $32.99 [Sears]
Mach Speed MP3 Player - $24.99 * [Sears]
Memorex Docking Clock Radio For iPod - $34.99 [Office Depot]
Microsoft Zune 120GB MP3 Player - $199.99 [Dell]
Power Pack for iPod/iPhone - $19.99 [Best Buy]
RCA 1GB Sport MP3 Player - $13.99 * [Sears]
Sandisk 4GB Fuze MP3 Player (Black) - $44.99 [Best Buy]
Sandisk 4GB Fuze MP3 Player (Blue) - $44.99 [Best Buy]
Sandisk 4GB Fuze MP3 Player (Red) - $44.99 [Best Buy]
Sony Speaker Dock Clock Radio For iPod Or iPhone - $79.99 [Office Depot]
Sylvania 4GB MP3 Player - $19.99 [K-M]
iH4 iHome Alarm Clock For iPod - $29.99 * [Sears]

Networking and Wireless

D-Link Basic N Wireless Adapter - $19.99 [Office Depot]
D-Link Basic N Wireless Router - $19.99 [Office Depot]
Linksys Wireless-N Rangeplus Adapter - $39.99 [Office Depot]
Linksys Wireless-N Rangeplus Router Or Adapter - $39.99 [Office Depot]
Linksys Wireless-N Ultra RangePlus Broadband Router w/4-Port Switch - $59.99 [Best Buy]
NetGear Wireless N Router (Model # WNR2000-100NAS) - $49.99 [Best Buy]

Portable USB Storage


Ativa 4GB USB Flash Drive - $7.99 [Office Depot]
Lexar 32GB TwistTurn USB Drive - $59.99 [Office Depot]
SanDisk 8GB Cruzer USB Flash Drive - $14.99 [Office Depot]
SanDisk 16GB Curzer USB Flash Drive - $27.99 [Office Depot]
Sandisk 4GB USB Flash Drive - $8.99 [Sears]
Sandisk 32GB Cruzer USB 2.0 Flash Drive - $49.99 [Office Max]

UPDATE: This list is so long we had to add a PAGE 2...

Click HERE for TVs, Video Games, Printers and Software

To bypass the gallery format, click here. And no, this is not a holiday gift guide.

OSA PB2 "Less-Lethal" Multipurpose Pistol
Ever since I watched Rosa Klebb trying to kill Bond with her shoe-dagger, I considered the Russians the world experts in tiny hideaway weapons. The PB2 is an eeency-weeency little double-barreled "less-lethal" pistol weighing less than 7 ounces, firing anything from rubber bullets to flares to flashbangs. It's also got a safety and integral laser sights, which can be upgraded to near-Scott-Summers strength on order. Just don't practice on some poor country bumpkin like they did here. [OSA]

DrugWipe by Securetec
The DrugWipe is what makes the customs guys all-knowing. It's a tiny drugtest in a pocket. These plastic sticks can test up to four classes of illegal drugs in a single go. According to Securetec's PR guy, your saliva can give you away 12 hours after doing—or even just being near—cocaine, weed, opium, meth or whathaveyou. All the government grunts have to do is wipe your tongue. Won't open your mouth? They can also swipe your sweat and random stuff you're carrying. [Securetec]

Spy Watch
When I approached the director of a small security/protection company to ask about this normal looking watch, he wouldn't tell me a whole lot. What I managed to squeeze out of him is that although it's normal size, it also records audio and video. Near the 2 o'clock mark you can see a tiny lens, activated by buttons on the side. He wasn't the only cagey guy on the show floor—the guys in a nearby booth forbade me from taking pictures of their micro surveillance gear.

Trikke uPT
The Trikke uPT (ultralight personal transporter) was the funnest (and funniest) thing at the entire expo, and that's saying a lot when you're surrounded by a pirateload of guns. It's an idea so simple, the company's European director, the dark-suited Dutchman whizzing around on it, couldn't figure why his potential buyers would spend any money at all on the wayyyy more expensive Segways parked in the next booth. The uPT is a trike tricked out with a 250-watt electric motor and a 22-mile range lithium-ion battery; it weighs just over 37 pounds. And like that blasted Segway, there are plenty of models to choose from. [Trikke]

RiotBot by Technorobot
The RiotBot is billed by its makers as "the first robot for riot control." It uses a PS3-looking remote controller to zip this PepperBall-equipped metal beast at 12 miles/hour into all kinds of riots. The carbine fires at 700 rounds per minute and can be operated for 2 hours. [Technorobot]

MaxFit Gloves
It's usually next to impossible to do precise tasks with gloves on. Most of the time, your hands move around in the gloves, you can't feel what you're holding and you end up feeling as useless as a eunuch in a whorehouse. But the MaxFit workgloves are fanfriggintastic. They were the thinnest, grippiest workgloves I had ever worn. Their try-out test was having me grip an Armor-All lubed PVC tube, then try to twist it out of my hand—it didn't budge. Unfortunately, though the site advertises that it's good for construction, DIYers and "fall yardwork," I couldn't help but wonder what ulterior activities they were promoting it for at a security show. [MaxFit]

Piexon Guardian Angel
The Guardian Angel is a tiny plastic toy that looks like your niece's water pistol, but it's actually a lightweight, disposable two-shot explosive-propelled pepper-spray gun. The cartridges give it way more range than a spray can. Just don't carry it around in Scandinavia or other places where it's banned, or they'll arrest you for it (like they nearly did with me two months ago). By the way, it's interesting to note that the Piexon website names "liberal politics" as a chief reason for needing more protection these days. [Piexon]

Rimmex 288 Prototype Amphibot
The Rimmex 288 is a prototype amphibious robot that can roll straight into water—streams, rivers and lakes mostly, or just very muddy terrain—and then roll right back out again. Its single arm with 6 degrees of freedom can be swapped with whatever you like—from a gun to an x-ray, apparently, depending on your, uh, objectives. [ROV Developpement]

Apoorva Prasad is a freelance writer and photographer based in Paris, France, who recently covered the Milipol 2009 military-police expo for us. He has a thing for holo-scoped assault rifles, and sounds disappointed when admitting he's never been Tased.

Just to be clear, I'm not talking about Chrome OS 1.0. You can build that now and (maybe) install it on your netbook, and should be able to buy on hardware next year. All that stuff is, to borrow a word that Google loves to misuse, is a beta. A test. A trial. A first step toward a larger vision, which Google has been hinting at since they branched out from search: In the future, we will live on the internet. We'll be able to do all the things we do on computers now, and probably more, while connected to the cloud. And it'll be great.

Chrome OS is an explicit step towards making this happen, but the version we saw today is just an early, broad step. Google even said so! Despite early talk about how Chrome OS could be a full replacement OS one day, suitable for regular ol' laptops and desktops, today's preannouncement of a version strictly for netbooks included an admission that it would only be intended as a secondary OS. So, what does Google need to see this thing through, and make Chrome as capable as the OSes we're used to using now? Lots:

The Internet Needs to Get Way, Way Faster

And I'm not just talking about higher bandwidth. Broadband connections are pretty quick nowadays, but compared to reading—and especially writing—data to a hard drive, sending bits over the internet is excruciatingly slow. And Chrome OS isn't even really a true web OS: it'll slurp the guts of larger web applications like Gmail and Gcal and effectively make them local, meaning that the kinds of tasks that require low latency and fast load times will run tolerably.

That kind of local storage, along with Javascript technologies like AJAX, is a salve. We need them because communicating with a server for every event in an application would take forever, and make using them miserable. Remember how webmail used to be, before it got all AJAXy? Awful. And it still would be, if not for recent Javascript advances and local storage.

There's nothing fundamentally wrong with making web apps local, and Chrome OS will keep doing that forever: it's the only way Chrome OS can work offline. But that doesn't cover everything. What about high-bandwidth tasks like photo and video editing? To do it the way they suggest would require constant syncing between local memory and a remote server. These are basic tasks for a computer. Basic tasks that'll be impossible on Chrome until super-low-latency, 100mbps+ broadband is commonplace, and not only commonplace, but wireless and effectively ubiquitous. That's quite a few years away, even by generous estimates.

Web Apps Will Need To Get Much Better

I'm sure Gmail, Google Reader and Google Calendar will be totally swell in Chrome OS. They're some of the most feature-complete web apps in the world, and they're good enough to replace desktop apps for most people. But what about VoIP apps? Torrent clients? Media players? Image editors? Video editors? There are web apps for almost all of these things, but collectively, they amount to a big bag of dick. Trimming videos with YouTube's tools is nothing like editing them in Final Cut, or even iMovie. Cropping a few images in an online photo editor and playing with their contrast is fine, but what about my bloated Sony RAW files? There are still some massive gaps in the web app world, hence Google's repeated, vague pleas for developers to do better, alright?

Web Standards Will Have To Evolve, Fast

Google wants to replace regular apps with web apps by making web apps more like native apps, in concept and execution. Eventually, the hope is that they could use the new features of HTML5, like local storage, drag and drop, canvas drawing, native animation and location awareness, to have all the powers of a native app. Thing is, HTML5 is just a stepping stone; it'll take more than a few new HTML tags to pave the way for honestly native-seeming applications.

Google's obviously got a lot of leverage over standards bodies like the WHATWG and W3C, so they could help move new HTML capabilities along in theory. But even HTML5 is brand new, and very few people are using that. It'll be at least another generation before developers will be able to code native-equivalent apps in web languages, and that's assuming that standards development keeps heading in that direction. Which it might not.

Someone's Going to Have To Solve the UI Problem

Talking about Chrome OS's interface almost seems like a waste of breath, since your real UI is the internet, which is the very definition of inconsistent. Part of the reason email apps, Twitter apps IM clients, and the like are still so popular is because they offer services that people want in an interface that's consistent with the rest of their system. Web apps offer no such thing.

Sure, if all you use are Google products, you're fine: Your life is blue, white, boxy and clean. But what about when you want to jump over to Meebo? Or Aviary? This kind of inconsistency wouldn't be acceptable in another OS, so it would feel like a compromise here. I suppose you could use tools like Greasemonkey to reformat pages on the client side, but this is hacky and, well, lots of work. We'd need some kind of framework for skins, or something, to make the experience more uniform.

People Will Have To Give Up On Owning Media, an Get Comfortable With Subscription Services

People need their music and videos, and now, most people have collections. That's sooooooo 2009, am I right? For Chrome OS to work, people are going to have warm up to subscription services and streaming media.

Before you get mad at me, forget about Rhapsody and Napster, and think more about your cable company, your wireless company, or your beloved Netflix. Those work, and these kinds of arrangements are going to have to be extended to all media. Which is possible, but also fraught, since you really won't own your media.

The Rest of the (Browser) World Has To Be Onboard

During the announcement, Google made the point that the Chrome browser in Chrome OS won't have any special talents that Chrome elsewhere won't, and that at present it's no more able—in terms of what kinds of web apps it can run—than, say, Firefox. Nobody's going to want to write web apps just for Chrome (that would make them Chrome apps, right?), so it's vital that other browsers support the same new HTML standards that Chrome needs to succeed. Google can go all out supporting the latest, greatest web standards, but unless everyone else does too, nobody—not even Google—is going to write for them.

None of these things are impossible; in fact, most of them sort of feel inevitable, given that they're all just extrapolations of obvious trends from the last few years. They're just optimistic, and sit well in the future. Chrome OS can carry out Google's LET'S ALL LIVE ON THE INTERNET vision when the conditions are right, eventually. But these are long-term bets, measured in years.

That might make sense to a room full of Google engineers. To the rest of us, though? It's abstract. It's strange. It seems gimped. It's largely irrelevant, and it's not all that exciting. Yet.

To be clear, we're only looking sets that are at least 46 inches—go big or go home. And though there are some nice 720p plasmas out there for amazing prices, the majority of TVs we're concerned with are 1080p—it's the standard now, even in cheap HDTVs, and probably the only resolution you'll see next year.

We focus on LCDs quite a bit here, not because we prefer them, but because there are key enhancements that can be put in LCD technology to make them look better. With plasma, the problems—energy consumption, weight, thickness—are more of an evolutionary, year-to-year thing. A cheaper plasma often is one that's just using older technology.

Also, we're using Amazon as our pricing base line, since it's on average a good standard for low but legitimate street prices, and we use Samsung examples a lot because they have a ton of different models on the market, so it was easier to isolate individual features, and to gauge subtle differences in pricing.

Size Matters

The first, and most obvious thing that'll cost you is more screen real estate. There's not an absolute inches to dollars ratio, but generally speaking, the first step up is the cheapest, and somewhere in the middle, there's a sweet spot, after which you basically lose money by upgrading. The funny thing is, each maker seems to have a different idea of where the sweet spot is, which you could play to your advantage:

Take for instance, Panasonic's plasma G10 series. It's $200 to go from the 42-inch model to 50, and then $400 to go up to 54. So the sweet spot is at 50 inches. Similar thing happening with Vizio's XVT line: Going from 42 to 47 inches is just $250, though going up to 55 from 47 costs about a a grand. Hence 47 inches makes the most dollar-per-inch sense if you like that TV.

With Sony and Samsung, though, it pays to keep going up. In Sony's top-of-the-line Bravia XBR9 series, the hop from 40 to 46 is $360, but going from 46 to 52 is just $250. Samsung's LED-backlit TV costs $350 to go from 40 to 46, and just $500 to go from there to 55 inches. (There's a limit, of course, Samsung's 65-inch LN65B650 doesn't have many of the frills discussed below, but still lists for $6000.)

The real lesson here: Don't think of size as a foregone conclusion. When you've narrowed down your options using all the criteria, go back and check the sizes and relative prices. There may be a surprise, hopefully good but possibly bad.

Vroom, Vroom

Everything after size you can roughly sweep everything you'd pay more for into the category of performance. The grand trick of buying TVs though, according to our friend Gary Merson of HD Guru, is that "the TV industry is setup like the car industry." Just like buying a Corvette to battle your mid-life crisis because it vrooms real good, when you pay extra money for extra horsepower, you're also going to get leather bucket seats and the in-dash GPS. It's hard to buy a stripped-down car that just delivers better performance, and the same goes when you're trying to scrimp on a TV without compromising picture. In the case of TVs, a higher performer might come with a million HDMI jacks or integrated Wi-Fi and video on demand, and you never know exactly what you're paying for.

Fortunately, we can break performance into a two major categories so it's slightly easier to interpret those price differentials: Backlight (for LCDs) and panel quality.

Fancy Backlighting

The single most expensive upgrade for LCD TVs right now is LED backlighting. As we explain here, there are a bunch of advantages to LED over conventional CCFL backlighting for LCD TVs. Which particular advantages you pick up depends on the kind of LED backlighting in the set. While both offer instant on and power savings, edge-lit models mainly deliver serious thinness, while backlit sets can offer local dimming, which delivers noticeably better black levels and contrast.

How much will it cost you? Well, comparing two Samsung sets with fairly equivalent panels, the price difference is about $500. The CCFL-backlit LN46B650 is $1360, while the UN46B6000 is $1850. Because it's got LED edge lighting, the B6000 is only 1.2 inches thick, compared to the B650's 3.1 inches. When you step up and compare Samsung's edge-lit to back-lit, the difference isn't as great: A 46-inch 8000 series edge-lit model goes for $2300, while the 8500 series with local-dimming is $2600. (If you're already paying for LED technology, you definitely want to step up.)

So yes, backlit LED sets with local dimming tend to cost more. Sony's year-old Bravia XBR8 uses tri-color LEDs to improve color accuracy over the most LED sets, which use white ones. Though its production is discontinued, it's still nearly $2200 at 46 inches. However, Toshiba consistently delivers cheaper sets than most of its fellow "name" brands, and their 46-inch LED backlit set with local dimming is just $1700.

Panels and Oh, It Hertz

The panel is the other major thing that determines how good an HDTV actually is, and it applies to both LCDs and plasmas. Typically, as you move up in price, you get a better panel. Cheaper sets generally use older panels with previous-generation tech that Merson says have a poorer viewing angle, so there's a smaller area you can actually stare at on your TV to get a good picture. The problem is that no TV manufacturer actually declares its panel attributes on the box, so you're often on your own to figure it out. The best way is to go to the store and check out the viewing angles.

Hertz, for the uninitiated, is simply the number of times per second that LCD TVs refresh their picture. (Plasma isn't part of this discussion because phosphor pixels work differently than liquid crystal ones, and plasma's "refresh rate" would be way higher—to the point of irrelevance.) A 60Hz LCD refreshes the picture 60 times a second, 120Hz is 120 times a second, and so on, up to 240Hz in the top-priced LCD sets. A higher refresh rate is supposed to increase the ability to see fast-moving video at its highest intended resolution, and works well in theory, though there are issues with 240Hz execution. At this point, a minimum of 120Hz is a given on all premium LCDs, says Merson. There isn't one LED-backlit set that doesn't have it.

Here's how the refresh-rate step-ups look: The 46-inch Samsung B550 is a standard 1080p CCFL-backlit set for $1020. Moving up to the same size B650 for $1360—$300 more—gets you 120Hz (plus a higher contrast ratio). Going up again, to the B750 for $1630, another $300, you get 240Hz, and again even better contrast ratio. That's about the top of Samsung's CCFL-backlit line.

You can see the same thing with their LED sets: The 46-inch B6000 is a 120Hz LED edge-lit set for $1850. The 46-inch LED edgel-lit B8000 goes to 240Hz, and it costs $2300, about $450 more.

What About Plasma?

As we mentioned, plasmas are a little less complicated, since there's nothing like refresh rates to deal with. On the other hand, the situation may be more obtuse, since you don't always know what the real differences are. Merson says there are a few basic levels of plasma performance. On Black Friday, Walmart is selling a 50-inch plasma for $598 if you don't mind the fact that it's 720p (and branded Sanyo, which is probably Panasonic-based but who knows?). Stepping up to the 50" 1080p plasmas will generally cost $300 to $400 more.

There are more issues, however. Panasonic has a new panel called NeoPDP that's more energy efficient, but it's sometimes hard to tell which models have it and which don't. (Hint: Look for the Energy Star sticker.) Finally, you have THX-certified panels that offer nearly perfect calibration right out of the box. Beyond that, contrast ratios do tend to get better over time, but it's relative: At the low end of the HDTV price spectrum, plasma sets have generally delivered better picture than LCD anyway.

Frills and Other Stuff

The funny thing about TVs nowadays is that there's more to them than the screen. Like inputs. Until recently, one thing you got more of by paying more money were more holes to stick things into. That's not really the case once you get up into 46-inch sets—you're gonna get 4 HDMI slots in a set that big no matter what. But, there are other things nowadays. Like video services that come in through other holes, or maybe without wires at all.

An example, to use our old friends at Samsung: The B6000 looks a lot like the B7000, but with the B7000, for $180 more, you get online video services via Yahoo's widget engine, like YouTube.

Or, let's look at the upcoming crop of LED TVs that aren't even out yet, or are in limited distribution for now. LG's 55LHX and Sony's Bravia XBR10 both have wireless HDMI and 240Hz, but with Bravia Internet Widgets and Slacker radio, the Bravia is $5000, $200 more than 55LHX. Wireless HDMI itself is a pretty pricey feature. Same Sony, compared to Samsung's 8500. The 8500 has built-in video services, but no wireless HDMI, and it's $500 cheaper, at $4500. Oh, and did I mention that the Sony is even 3 inches smaller than the Samsung and LG?

Wireless is still in the gimmick phase, but next year, we assume we'll be able to track its price premium as well as we can track size, refresh rate, backlighting and other factors today, $300 to $400 at a time. How do you get from $600 to a $6000? You just add, add some more, and then keep adding.

Still something you wanna know? Send questions about addition, subtraction, hertz, aches, pains and LEDs here, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.

Google went to great pains to emphasize that today's event wasn't a launch—that'll come a year from now, apparently, with a public beta still well over the horizon. This is all about a seeing the OS for the first time; understanding in real terms how it's different from what's out there; figuring out why you might actually want to use it; etc. So! Here's what we knew going in:

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks" and "most of the user experience takes place on the web." That is, it's "Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel" with the web as the platform. It runs on x86 processors (like your standard Core 2 Duo) and ARM processors (like inside every mobile smartphone). Underneath lies security architecture that's completely redesigned to be virus-resistant and easy to update.

Like I said, there were plenty of questions. Onwards:

What It Is

• It's basically just a browser: meaning that it'll be based around preexisting web services like Gmail, Google Docs, and so on. There are going to be no conventional applications, just web applications—nothing gets installed, updated, or whatever. Seriously.

• It only runs web apps: It's going to integrate web apps into the operating system deeper than we've ever seen before, meaning that a) they'll seem more like native apps than web apps and b) they'll be able to tap into local resources more than a typical web app in Firefox, for example. They're web apps in name, but they'll have native powers.

• How, exactly?: With HTML 5. This is the next version of HTML, which gives the browser more access to local resources like location info, offline storage—the kinds of things you'd normally associate with native apps. More on that here.

• Chrome is Chrome: The user's experience with Chrome OS will basically be synonymous with their experience on Chrome Browser. Technically speaking, Chrome OS is a Linux-based OS, but you won't be installing Linux binaries like you might on Ubuntu or some other Linux distribution. Any "apps" you have will be used within the browser. Chrome OS is effectively a new version of Chrome, that you can't leave. There are a few reasons Google's pushing this, which we'll get to in a bit.

• And as you've probably guessed, it's super-light. It starts up in a matter of seconds, and boot straight into the browser. Likewise, the Chrome browser is apparently very, very optimized for Chrome OS, so it should be faster than we've ever seen it.

• It won't support hard drives, just solid state storage. I mean, hard drives are dying, sure, but this is pretty bold. Hardware support sounds like it'll be pretty slim, because:

• You'll have to buy a Chrome OS device: You might be able to hack this thing onto your current machine, but you won't just be able to install it to replace Windows, or opt for it on your next laptop, for example. You'll have to buy hardware that Google approved, either component by component, or in a whole package. They're already working on reference designs.

• For now, it's for netbooks. It's not intended for desktops, to the point that Google is saying that the first generation of Chrome hardware will be secondary machines.

How It Looks

• It looks like Chrome browser—specifically, like the leaked shots we saw before. As in a browser, you have tabs—these have to serve as a taskbar as well. To the left of the tabs, you have a sort of start menu, which opens up a panel full of shortcuts. These are your favorites. These are your apps. (Get used to this weird feeling, btw. That Google whole point here.

• You can peg smaller windows, like chat windows or music players, to sit above your tabs at all times. This feature looks a lot like the Gchat feature in Gmail, which is to say, it's a box in the corner.

• Along with tabs, it's got its own version of virtual desktops. This means you can have multiple "windows" of Chrome OS to switch between, each of which is a different set of tabs. Think one desktop for work, one for play, on for porn, etc etc etc. It's a bit like using Spaces on Mac, except only with the browser.

When, and How, It's Coming

Google's staying specifics on the exact release date—it'll be sometime next year—but the source code for the project is published now. That doesn't mean it's ready, really, but rather that they're just planning on developing it in the open from here on out. Expect builds to start showing up online, which'll probably work wonderfully in a virtual machine app like VirtualBox.

The code is available as part of the Chromium OS (the Chromium/Chrome distinction should be familiar to anyone who's wrestled with the open source Mac version of Chrome) project, posted here.

Why It Matters

With Chrome OS, Google is taking (or in a way, forcing) the operating system to go totally online. As Google's freshly designated evangelists are eager to tell you, the browser is already the center of most people's computing experience. The idea here is to make the browser powerful enough to render the rest of the operating system, and its native apps, moot.

It's more pure than a lot of people expected: When Google said that Chrome OS would be centered around the web, I think most people just assumed it would be a lightweight Linux distribution with deep integration for Google web services. It's not that. It's a browser.

But it's a browser that runs different processes for each tab, that will have access to local OS resources, will to some extent work offline. In other words, it's not really a browser in the sense that we use the word, and the web apps that we'll be using won't be like the ones we're used to now, either. The idea, here, it seems, is to replicate most, if not all, of the functionality in a native OS, while keeping the lightweight, ultra-secure framework of a thin client. In other words, Google's not asking much of its users in terms of changing how they do stuff; they're trying to change the way the operating system lets you do those things, transparently.

Think of it this way: now, the buttons in your taskbar or dock are now tabs; your email client now runs within your browser, but stores stuff offline just like Mail or Outlook; your documents will still open with a few clicks, but they'll be stored remotely (and locally only if you choose). It's all the same stuff, given to you in a different way.
Update: you can download it here. [Chrome on Giz]

It looks very similar to what everyone imagined. I'm glad we are moving into single-window, task-oriented environments.

Everything you need to know about Google here.

Well, rather, I know that it's definitely something about the phone itself. It's missing that spark, the emotional drippings of OMG, that say, the Droid has. The X10 is perfectly fine. It's just that everything outwardly belies the specialness of what's going on inside. The all plastic-build feels just slightly better than cheap, the shape is kind of awkward unless you have gorilla hands, the design—it all just feels, well, incredibly ordinary.

What stood out in terms of hardware was the screen (at 4 inches, with a resolution of 854x480 it's big), and the camera, which borders on amazing for a phone. The extra betaness of the software meant we couldn't really get a grasp on how deadly the 1GHz Snapdragon processor is, since while things were quite speedy, the phones also froze a lot, apps crashed or wouldn't start, etc.

Sony Ericsson's approach to customizing Android with its own Nexus interface is mercifully respectful of your boundaries. That is, if you don't want to use their TimeScape or MediaScape UI for managing for your contacts and media (though you probably want to in the latter case), you don't have to—the default Android contacts app, and everything else, is still there. The only thing you can't escape is all the blue, which is skinned on pretty much everything, from messaging to contacts. If you take Windows Media Center and imagine it ported to a phone, that's pretty much the Xperia X10. But with more "infinite buttons."

MediaScape actually feels like Media Center, the way it arranges and presents your photos, music and videos. The concept behind TimeScape should be pretty familiar at this point. Everything from a contact, like Facebook, emails, Twitter, photos, text messages, calls, whatever are integrated into a single interface, so you can check their status updates or get a hold of them however you want from one screen. That infinite button is what coagulates all of the services into a cohesive contact, and shows you everything you have on your phone about that person.

For the most part, I think the Nexus interface works (even as crashy as it was today on these pre-production phones). It's easy enough to navigate, it stands out against the other custom Android interfaces with lots of bright colors and transparencies and it's not bad too look at. More than that, you only use it as much as you want. (Some people might want a more complete Android UI overhaul, and that Nexus doesn't quite deliver.) I don't see how Sony Ericsson is going to get developers to put out apps just for Nexus, though I'm not sure how much that matters. It's an example of Android's potential in the hands of phonemakers who actually know how to design interfaces.

Sony Ericsson's always had trouble getting their smartphones to crack the US, since they haven't had carriers footing the bill for phones to make them actually affordable. It seems like they're trying to make that change with the X10, saying it's "our desire to have a carrier relationship for this product." So you might actually get to use one. It still doesn't set my pants on fire like the Droid did, at least not yet, so I'm not sure how much you actually want to. But maybe it just needs more time.

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]

* Indicates a doorbuster item

Computers

Acer 17.3″ Blue Laptop w/4GB Memory, 320GB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Premium (Online Only) – $498.00

eMachines 15.6″ Notebook w/AMD Processor, 2GB Memory, 160GB Hard Drive (Model # EME627) – $198.00 *

HP 15.6″ Notebook w/Intel Processor, 3GB Memory, 250GB Hard Drive (Model # G60-519WM) – $298.00 *

HP 17″ Notebook w/4GB Memory, 320GB Hard Drive (Model # G71-329WM) – $398.00

HP Pavilion All-In-One 19″ Desktop w/4GB Memory, 500GB Hard Drive, MS213 AMD – $598.00

HP Pavilion Desktop w/AMD Processor, 3GB Memory, 320GB Hard Drive, w/20″ Monitor (Model # P6243w-b) – $398.00 *

Digital Cameras

Kodak C82 12.0 Megapixel Digital Camera – $69.00

Nikon CoolPix S230 10MP Digital Camera – $139.00

Sony Cyber-Shot DSCS930 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera – $79.00

Digital Media Cards

Sandisk 4GB SDHC Card – $8.00

Sony 4GB Memory Stick – $20.00

DVD Players

Magnavox NB500 Blu-ray Disc Player – $78.00 *

Samsung BD-P1590 Blu Ray Player (Saturday) – $148.00

Sony BDP-S369 Blu Ray Player – $148.00

Electronics

8″ LCD Digital Photo Frame – $29.00

Philips 6′ Gold HDMI Cable – $19.00

Philips 7″ Portable DVD Player – $49.00

Philips Earbuds – $10.00

Samsung MX20 Red Camcorder – $149.00

GPS Systems

TomTom One 125-SE GPS – $59.00

TomTom XL325-SE GPS – $89.00

Hard Drives

Western Digital 1TB 3.5″ External Hard Drive – $78.00

Western Digital My Passport Essential 320GB Hard Drive – $49.00

Miscellaneous

Duracell UltraAdvanced AA/AAA 6-Pack – 2 For $5

Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA 2-Pack – 2 For $5

Rayovac AA/AAA 12-Pack – 2 For $5

MP3 Players

Apple 8GB iPod Touch w/$50 iTunes GC – $195.00

Phillips 4GB MP3/Video Player – $29.00

Sony iPod Speaker – $69.00

Networking

Belkin N 150 Router – $29.00

Portable USB Storage

Sandisk Cruzer 4GB USB Flash Drive – $8.00

Printers

HP Deskjet F2430 All-In-One Printer – $25.00

Kodak ESP5250LE Wireless Printer – $99.00

Televisions

Emerson 32″ LC320EMFX LCD 720P HDTV – $248.00 *

Emerson 42″ PL-P42W-10A Plasma 720P HDTV – $448.00 *

Flat-Panel TV Stand – $89.00

Philips Large Fixed TV Mount – $69.00

RCA 46″ LCD 1080p HDTV (Online Only) – $688.00

Samsung 32″ LN328360 LCD 720P HDTV (Saturday) – $398.00

Samsung 42″ LN40B500 LCD 1080P HDTV (Saturday) – $598.00

Samsung 42″ PN42B400 Plasma 720P HDTV (Saturday) – $548.00

Samsung 46″ LN46B500 LCD 1080P HDTV (Saturday) – $848.00

Samsung 50″ PN50B400 Plasma 720P HDTV (Saturday) – $698.00

Sansui 19″ HDLCD1909 LCD HDTV – $128.00

Sanyo 50″ DP50719 Plasma HDTV – $598.00

Sony Bravia 32″ KDL32L504 LCD 720P HDTV – $378.00

Sony Bravia 40″ KDL40S504 LCD 1080P HDTV – $598.00

Sony Bravia 46″ KDL465504 LCD 1080P HDTV – $798.00 *

Video Games

2K Sports NBA 2K10 For Xbox 360 – $25.00

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader For PS2 – $7.00

Bakugan For Nintendo Wii – $25.00

Big Beach Sports For Nintendo Wii – $10.00

Call Of Duty 4 Modern Warfare For PS3 – $25.00

Carnival Games For Nintendo Wii – $10.00

Celebrity Sports Showdown For Nintendo Wii – $7.00

Comand And Conquer Red Alert 3 For Xbox 360 – $7.00

EA Sports Madden 10 For PS2 – $25.00

Grand Theft Auto IV For Xbox 360 – $10.00

Lock's Quest (Nintendo DS) – $7.00

Midnight Club Los Angeles (Xbox 360) – $10.00

MX Vs ATV Untaimed (Nintendo DS) – $10.00

Need For Speed Undercover (PS3) – $10.00

NeoPets Puzzle Adventure (Nintendo DS) – $7.00

Nintendo DS Lite – $98.00 *

Nintendo DS Lite Starter Kit – $10.00 *

Nintendo Wii Value Bundle With Console, Remote, Nunchuck, 2 Games And An Extra Set Of Nyko Controllers (Online Only) – $249.00

Over 30 Games For $25 – $25.00

Over 40 Games For $10.00 – $10.00

Over 50 Video Games For $7.00 – $7.00

Playstation 3 Console w/Infamous & Batman Arkham Asylum Games + Dark Knight Blu-ray – $299.00

Rock Band Special Edition (PS3) – $50.00

Rock Band Special Edition (XBox 360) – $50.00

Suzuki TT Super Bikes (PS2) – $7.00

Tak And The Guardians Of Gross (Nintendo Wii) – $7.00

The Godfather II (PS3) – $10.00

The Sims 3 For PC/Mac – $25.00

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Nintendo Wii) – $25.00

UFC 2009 Undisputed (Xbox 360) – $25.00

WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 For PS3 – $25.00

Xbox 360 Arcade w/Madagascar 2 Game & w/Madagascar & w/Madagascar 2 Movie DVDs – $199.00

X Rocker Turbo Sound Gaming Chair – $35.00

[BlackFriday.info via Crunchgear]

First Place—Jim Chitwood

Second Place—Andreas Kokkinos

Third Place—Sergio Hikawa

Pocket camcorders (AKA mini cams or budget cams, or sometimes Flip cams after the pioneer of the category) are simple gadgets. They've got one job to do: Shoot watchable video, often for uploading to streaming video sites. They're also very close to the end of their lifespan, with perhaps only a year or so left before smartphones make them obsolete, but right now they're the easiest and cheapest way to take quick and dirty video. I tested seven of these diminutive camcorders, or more accurately six camcorders and one capable PMP, in five categories: Outdoor, indoor, low light, macro, and sound.

The criteria for judging fell mostly to smoothness of video during motion, image sharpness, noise, and color reproduction. Specs like storage capacity, screen size and battery life are mostly the same across the board, although overall, compared to last year, this crop of mini cams are faster and stronger, with beefed up memory and HD sensors. All save the iPod Nano take 720p video (or better) and add HDMI ports and more memory to accommodate the higher-quality footage. Yet I wasn't really all that thrilled with any of the camcorders—the bar for these cams is so low you could trip over it, and several of them actually did. Battery life was disappointing across the board, as none could break two hours of filming. Anyway, on to the results!

Results

Choosing between the Kodak Zi8, Flip Mino HD and Flip Ultra HD is tricky. The Zi8 is unreliable, but when it's good it's unbelievably good; the Mino HD is diminutive, solid and stylish, but overpriced and with lousy touch controls; and the Ultra HD is a reliably good shooter with a low price and the best controls of all, but physically unappealing (read: fat as hell). In my opinion, you should never judge a book by its obese cover, so the champion is...the Flip Ultra HD!

Flip Ultra HD: First Place

Flip's Ultra HD is the best overall choice. It's one of the cheapest cams around (at $150, it's $70 less than it's younger brother, the Mino HD), but it tied for the highest score in our lineup, and it features nice tactile controls that I much prefer to the sleeker Mino HD's touch-sensitive exercise in frustration. Unfortunately, the Dom DeLuise HD is upsettingly fat—about twice as thick as the Mino HD, but even that doesn't really get across how truly large it feels in the hand. It's not particularly heavy, but it is by a long shot the thickest pocket cam here. On the plus side, that girth hides a useful battery—Flip includes a rechargeable pack, but the John Candy HD can also use two AA batteries, which is great since pocket cams have generally abysmal battery life (usually about an hour, though of course they're often rated for double or triple that). Replaceable, cheap batteries are really nice, but some will have to decide whether the William Howard Taft HD's girth is worth that feature. Given its price, I think it is.

Video quality is just fine, above average if not particularly impressive on every test, and it, like the Mino HD, is extremely user-friendly. Although that simplicity yields less flexibility and a barebones feature set compared to the Kodak Zi8, it's a good distillation of the aims of pocket camcorders, and its 100% tactile controls are a welcome change from the Mino HD. If you're not superficial, it's a very smart buy.

Flip Mino HD: Second Place

Flip's Mino HD is the best-looking and best-feeling camcorder I tried. Its aluminum body feels solid and expensive, which might be because it is—at $230, it's the priciest camcorder I tested. But I wouldn't be surprised if it sells the best, even though it's not the greatest deal, because it looks (and is) simple, cute, and functional. I won't rehash my review, except to say that I hate those goddamn touch buttons more and more every time I use the Mino HD. They're incredibly sensitive and I guarantee that you will accidentally trigger the playback function more times than you can count.

Besides that, it's totally serviceable: It did well on all of my tests, it's thoughtfully designed and stupid-easy to use. But it's definitely overpriced, and I have a hard time recommending it over its physically awkward yet substantially cheaper older brother, the Ultra HD, just for its looks.

Kodak Zi8: Third Place

Wider and taller than the Flip Ultra HD, though not nearly as fat, the Zi8 packs a 1080p sensor and the largest and best screen of the bunch. The controls are easy and tactile and aside from flimsy-feeling plastic covers over the ports (one of mine already fell off), the hardware is high-quality. The Zi8 snagged the bronze medal, because while its highs were higher than either of the Flips, its lows were lower—and given how focused and simple this type of gadget is, reliability is worth more than flashing moments of greatness.

The Zi8 absolutely rocked in two of my tests, outdoor and macro, with perfect color reproduction and excellent clarity, and it even takes pretty decent still photos (think point-and-shoot circa 2006 quality). But the conditions need to be just right to get the most out of this guy—I first tried it in 1080p mode (neither of the Flips can break 720p) and while picture quality was amazing, scenes with lots of motion were pretty jerky to the point of being distracting. But even in 720p, it was still head-and-shoulders above the competition—but only in outdoor and macro testing. In the indoor test it proved to have difficulty focusing on objects closer than 10 feet but farther than 2 feet away, and low light shooting was distinctly tinted red and a bit dark. It wasn't unusable in any test (unlike the similarly uneven Creative Vado HD) and at $180 it's fairly priced, so I'd still recommend it—but you and I are likely to be more forgiving of the Zi8's flaws than, say, your mom, who just wants a camera that works pretty well all the time. For her, go for a Flip.

The Rest

The Creative Vado HD scored pretty high, only a point lower than the bronze medalist Kodak Zi8, but while its design is fairly middle-of-the-road (albeit nice and teeny), its abilities were all over the place. It was one of the worst in standard daytime shooting (it has a hard time with sunlight, a serious problem for a pocket cam) and macro, but was the best at indoor, and while its low light video was a little dark, it was the clearest and smoothest of the lot. It also, likely due to Creative's background in stellar-sounding PMPs and sound cards, boasts excellent sound quality. At $150, it's very fairly priced, but I can't recommend a camcorder that mangles sunlight the way the Vado does.

Apple's iPod Nano is the only "camcorder" in this roundup to peak at VGA resolution, and aside from a surprisingly strong macro performance, it shows. It turned vibrant colors dull and lifeless, washed out detail and made everything seem darker than it was. It can't compete with the Zi8s and Flips of the world, but it's still usable and incredibly priced at $150/$180 for 8GB/16GB—if you've got a Nano already, you probably won't need a dedicated cam. Convergence killed the video star, I guess.

The JVC Picsio GC-FM1 sucked. It's spectacularly ugly (think Ed Hardy-inspired) and cheap-feeling, with a confusing button layout (unforgivable in a pocket cam) and a high price ($200, or $178 at Amazon). Besides all that, it scored poorly in every one of our tests. Avoid.

And finally, the worst—Aiptek's PenCam HD. I wanted to like it, I really did—it's got a tongue-depressor-like design and came with a sweet tripod that attaches to a bicycle's handlebars—but it bombed in almost every one of my tests. The 1.1-inch screen is nearly unusable and battery life barely topped 40 minutes, so it's definitely the loser here.

Here's a giant gallery of all 28 videos I took.

Don Nguyen assisted with this Battlemodo.

Overall, they were surprisingly unfazed by my request for repairs. They were impressed that I had it, and seemed genuinely interested in helping me get it fixed. They couldn't do anything for me, since Apple only keeps equipment from the last five years on hand, but they pointed me towards Tekserve, another Apple-centric store in NYC.

Thanks to Nick McGlynn and Gawker.tv for shooting the hidden camera footage!

The $100 Pixi made sense once upon a time, when the Pre was $200 and Palm needed a phone for the masses—like the Centro, oncer upon a time—to establish the webOS as a real platform. A leaner, cheaper version of the Pre was a good idea. Now, you can get the real thing—faster, stronger, screenier—for under a hundred bucks. The Pixi's existential crisis is not insignificant.

What's Neutered vs. the Pre

• Slower processor (using an older ARM11 architecture vs. faster ARM Cortex A8)
• Smaller and squintier 400x320, 2.63-inch, 18-bit color screen (vs. 480x320, 3.1-inch, 24-bit color)
• 2-megapixel camera (vs. 3MP)
• No Wi-Fi

Pixi Perfect Design (Just About)

There has not been a candybar phone more perfectly designed and executed than the Pixi. It's exactly the size and shape a phone that aspires to be small should be. It's a Hot Pocket sliced in half, but flat and glossy on top and round and rubbery on the bottom. It almost feels fake, like a concept that you hope is a real phone but isn't, except that in this case, it really is. It fits inside of an iPhone, if you wanna get more literal.

Plastic, slightly sticky Rice Krispie keys, arranged in four rows form a keyboard so electrifyingly good it's thrilling, like finding an actually sweet wind-up toy in your cereal box (Rice Krispies, of course) every time you type. They keys are tiny, but have a deceptive amount of rise, so your fat thumbs can feel out individual nubs, which pop in this remarkably satisfying way when you click down. The size-to-goodness ratio might just be the best on any keyboard I've used. If there's any reason to pick the Pixi over the Pre, it's if you type a shocking amount on your phone, because the Pixi's is better by like an order of magnitude. Or eleventy.

Between the screen, with its shaved corners, and the keyboard is a stretch of empty space. Until you run your finger along it, and a spark—a line of light, really—emerges. The LED strip, invisible when it's not indicating something, replaces the ball on the Pre, which I always thought was a weird little speed bump when you stroked the gesture area, anyway. It's kind of beautiful, the stark aesthetic of it emotionally tinged with sci-fi imagery, from Gort to Cyclop's visor.

Two things are wrong. The screen lock button on the top left is a little too in touch with the overall robustness of the phone, so it's hard to push and doesn't provide enough feedback. On the opposite end of that spectrum, the trap door covering the micro USB port feels flimsy and aggravatingly snaps shut, making plugging in a USB cable a struggle worthy of a Homerian epic every single time.

Tinkerbell Would Be Pissed

The Pixi is slow.

Achingly.

Maddeningly.

Ripyourhairoutandsmashitagainstthewallingly.

It lags, it hangs, it stutters, it freezes. A lot. A simple fact: Multitasking isn't better than unitasking when it takes longer to get shit done. An example: I wanted to take a picture while I had the browser and and App Catalog open. Simple. The camera froze spectacularly, rendering the entire phone completely unusable for well over 30 seconds—whenever I tried to flick the camera card away (cards are apps), it would shoot halfway off the screen, then appear back in its place. Somewhere between 30-45 seconds later, it regained composure. That's with just three core apps open, and no active syncing happening in the background.

True, I could sometimes have up to four apps running without problems, at least for a minute or so, before things starting getting cludgy. But it hangs even with just a single app running sometimes. (Just try loading the full Gizmodo page.) And every time you open an app, there's a solid expanse of time that elapses that you can feel, and it gets old real quick. Maybe webOS is just more transparent about load times than the iPhone, which masks them with title screens, but the whole experience of using this phone is like swimming through very pretty Jello, with one arm, wearing a cast-iron suit, or something like that.

Screen, Camera and Other Hardware

You get used to the smaller screen and its 80 fewer pixels, mostly. It's cramped, but you'll only be directly, painfully cognizant of it from time to time, like when you're reading some text outside of Palm's own apps or navigating web pages. It's not a crappy screen, but it's not exceptionally bright or vibrant, either. The touch accuracy seemed less spot-on than the Pre too, though that could've been the effect of smaller targets because of the tinier screen, like the drop down menu for apps in the top left corner, which is just a sliver on the Pixi.

The Pixi's 2MP camera is unimpressive. The comparison shot above—of ramen, people—was taken with a 2MP iPhone 3G in the exact same lighting and place, snapped within 10 seconds of each other. The camera app, when it's not freezing up, is quick to shoot once you press the button though, which is definitely something.

And I'll just say it: No Wi-Fi sucks, since there are lots of place in NY where even Sprint's 3G can't penetrate.

Software

The Pixi comes with webOS 1.3.1. Palm's definitely tuned things up since webOS originally shipped in June with stuff like more support for Yahoo services, the ability to buy songs over 3G, performance improvements and other interface sprucing up, but it's not a radically difference experience than the one Chen documented exhaustively here. (In other words, read that for the software review, since it's basically the same, just much slooooower on the Pixi.)

What's different now is that there are over 300 apps in the App Catalog, and Palm's dumping fresh ones in every week. So the app situation is greatly improved. The problem is that it's still behind the rest of the pack though—iPhone, Android and BlackBerry—and being fourth-place development priority for cross-platform developers with limited resources it not a great place to be, so Palm's got a rough road here. Oh, one interesting point, since this is supposed to be the smartphone OS for multitasking, is that while an app is downloading from the App Catalog, you can't browse for other apps—if you leave the download page, it cancels. So I hope you've got good Sprint reception in your house.

The other thing that's changed is iTunes. Palm's former official way to sync your media to your phone is broken. Irrevocably. Even if Palm does restore iTunes syncing with its dirty hack (no really, it is a dirty hack, impersonating an iPod with a false USB ID) the entire model is screwed. Putting people buying your phone in the middle of a stupid pissing match that you're destined to lose isn't cool. In the meantime, Palm's official solution is for people to sideload or use third-party apps like DoubleTwist.

Don't Buy It

The Pixi is screwed. It's totally cannibalized by the technologically superior Pre, which you can find for under $100. Even if you can get the Pixi for $30 at Walmart, it's worth trading up to the Pre for $40 or $50 more if you're absolutely wedded to the idea of a webOS phone, simply for the speed and screen. Mostly the speed, since the Pixi is brain damaged, three-legged dog slow, as nice as the hardware is on the outside.

Not to mention, for a hundred dollars, there are phones that just offer better experiences and aren't in the same awkward position Palm is in the smartphone fight. I'm talking of course, about the Droid Eris, Android's 99-dollar darling on Verizon. The entire reason to buy the Pixi—a value proposition—has completely evaporated. And I almost feel bad about that. Almost.

Incredible keyboard (for the size)

Awesome design and build

webOS is nice

Camera sucks

Palm's dumb iTunes fight

Slow

I mean, slooooooooooooooooooooow

Yes, that means saying goodbye to Aimee Mullins. She was with us for three essays, all of which dealt with issues of prostheses from unexpected perspectives, that few of us will soon forget. In case you missed any, have a look:

• Is Choosing a Prosthesis So Different than Picking a Pair of Glasses?
• Racing on Carbon Fiber Legs: How Abled Should We Be?
• Normal Was Never Cool: Inception of Perception

Of course, what we really tried to explore is the notion that "prosthetics" aren't just carbon fiber limbs. Is a smartphone with a Bluetooth headset anything but? Using technology to augment ourselves physically and mentally is now a regular part of our agenda, and will be more and more integral to our selves in the coming decades, from implantable computers to programming our body's biological robots to do our bidding.

A big thanks to Aimee Mullins, Marc Hodosh at TEDMED and all of the other contributors and experts who joined us this week:

• Robot expert and author Daniel H. Wilson - Me and My Exoskeleton: The Trick to Super Strength
• Michael Specter, author and science writer at The New Yorker - Synthetic Biology: Why Not Pursuing Crazy Biotech Is Dangerous
• Author Anna Jane Grossman - Psychic Powers, Cochlear Implants, and My Bionic Ex-Boyfriend
• Dr. Debby Herbenick, author and sexologist at The Kinsey Institute and Indiana University - Becoming a Sexual Cyborg (NSFW)

And in case all of that wasn't enough, to read all of the stories from This Cyborg Life, use this link.