monitors

If you're thinking that these powered speakers look similar to the Audioengine A5+ bookshelf speakers we wrote about last year, we don't blame you. However, while those relied on a 3.5mm minijack or stereo analog inputs, this pair from Nocs is AirPlay compatible.

The NS2 Air Monitors by Nocs are the first speakers from the relatively new Swedish company and come in a choice of six different colors (as you can see above). The speaker enclosures are made of medium-density fiberboard with rubberized exteriors, while the 3-inch woofer cones are reinforced with Kevlar, a material used on … Read more

Acer unveiled five new monitors today aimed at those of you attracted to stylish, thin, LED-backlit displays. You know, pretty much everyone.

The announced monitors consist of the S200HL (20-inch); the S235HL, S230HL Abd, and S230HL Abii (all 23-inchers); and finally the 27-inch S271HL. Each of the larger models features resolutions of 1,920x1,080 pixels, while the S200HL has a native resolution of 1,600x900 pixels.

All models sport a 5ms response time, and while Acer doesn't explicitly say so, they all likely house twisted nematic (TN) panels, so don't expect wide viewing angles or incredibly accurate … Read more

The Dell UltraSharp U2412m trades in the series' staple, the H-IPS panel, for a cheaper and lower-performing E-IPS panel.

I'll admit to being a bit disappointed when I learned Dell went with a cheaper panel. However, what this enables it to do is offer a monitor full of ergonomic features, a fully stocked OSD, and--despite its less-than-stellar viewing angles--excellent performance at a great price.

The full review has always been waiting for you. You just needed to believe in yourself first in order to see it.

More reviews can be easily accessed from the monitor hub.

SUMo is short for Software Updates Monitor. It's a handy, free tool that scans all your programs and automatically checks online for program updates. It can help you find the updates, too, though you have to install them individually since each is different.

SUMo's simple, list-style interface and controls make it very easy to use. The Scan button scanned our PC for installed software, though we could also drag and drop executables directly into SUMo as well as use Add and Remove buttons and configure an Ignore list. SUMo displayed all our programs listed alphabetically or by program … Read more

Let's talk a bit about the effect an incredibly high-resolution screen can have on a video game's presentation. And by video game, I mean PC game.

Thanks to powerful video cards, many PC games are capable of running at resolutions that dwarf what console-only owners are accustomed to.

Most PC gamers however don't get to experience the face-melting experience of a 2,560x1,440-pixel resolution and higher screen however, because of the usual high prices of extreme definition (XD-2560x1440) and extreme high-definition (XHD-2560x1600) monitors.

By offering an XD monitor for about $700, HP changes all that with … Read more

AT&T is making two announcements in conjunction with the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that could help consumers reduce their environmental footprints.

First, the company is announcing a new remote monitoring platform that will ultimately allow users to remotely and automatically adjust energy usage in their homes. The service and technology is being developed for international carriers, who can then develop and sell energy conserving services around the world. The service platform will also allow carriers to offer home security services too.

AT&T is calling the new platform Digital Life. The system, which can be … Read more

You know I can't resist a good monitor deal.

While supplies last, Mwave has the refurbished Hannspree Hanns-G HF225DPB 22-inch LCD monitor for $89.99, plus $4.99 for shipping. [Note: At 9:18 a.m. PT, this deal is marked "temporarily unavailable."] That is without question one of the best deals I've seen on a monitor of this size.

Okay, technically it's a 21.5-inch monitor, but apparently manufacturers are allowed to designate that as "22-inch class." In any case, this would work nicely alongside your laptop or existing desktop monitor. (I'… Read more

Sleep-monitoring and wake-up wristwatch SleepTracker Elite, known for its alarm system that triggers a vibrating and/or beeping alarm only when you're nearly awake anyway, has another trick up its sleeve: a free analytics tool that tracks a user's sleep data over time.

The idea is that SleepTracker Analytics, which the company unveiled today for Mac and PC, will encourage users to cut out sleep destroyers--caffeine, alcohol, a generally gloomy outlook on life--by visually charting the effect these bad habits have on a good night's sleep.

Once downloaded, you connect your watch to upload sleep data to your personal Analytics account and check out details such as when you went to bed, when you woke up, how many minutes throughout the night your sleep was interrupted, and your resulting sleep score on a scale of 1 to 100.

A company rep says that previously SleepTracker users only had access to software that evaluated one night's sleep, with users being able to manually input notes such as whether they drank caffeine late at night. Being able to track sleep patterns over time seems like an obvious tool for those trying to make actual lifestyle changes.… Read more

For some, a monitor is a monitor, and the lower the price, the better. As long as it pumps images from their PCs into their eyes at a reasonable quality, they're good. Thing is, there are cheap monitors and then there are cheap monitors.

And by cheap I mean "the last time I saw my power button was when it went flying past my face immediately after pressing it for the first time." Yes, this actually happened to me some years ago. I pressed the power button on an older monitor, only to have it pop off and nearly take out an eye on its way to some now forgotten crevice in CNET Labs.

Luckily, I've not had that experience with any monitor on this list. At least not yet. The list features the best monitors priced under $200.

The only criterion for the list is that each monitor has to be available from a major retailer for $199 or less. From there, the four best monitors I've reviewed were chosen.

Dig in.… Read more