2011

Magnepan, based in White Bear Lake, Minn., has built nothing but flat-panel speakers since 1969. The company will be premiering a new speaker, the MG 3.7, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, from January 6-9. To some this may appear to be a deja vu event, mirroring last year's introduction of the MG 1.7, which turned out to be one of my speaker of the year picks for 2010.

But I wouldn't want you to think of Magnepan as one of those companies that rolls out "all new" models every year. The … Read more

The most remarkable thing about the Samsung WB700 is its 18x 24-432mm lens crammed into a body that's just less than an inch thick. Of course an 18x zoom will only get you so much attention, so Samsung's decided to lead with the camera's Smart Zoom feature that digitally extends the zoom range to 24x. (Judging by the sparse details in the press release, it sounds similar to Panasonic's Intelligent Zoom feature that basically crops in on a photo and then sharpens for better detail.)

In other zoom-related digital hocus-pocus, the WB700 has active noise cancellation … Read more

Jumping the CES gun by a little bit, Samsung decided on an early announcement for a couple of its 2011 cameras. In addition to the WB700, the company is adding the NX11 to its interchangeable-lens camera line. Ostensibly a follow-on, rather than replacement for the NX10, the NX11 seems to offer minor tweaks and a different kit for a slightly lower price.

The main change over the NX10 is support for the i-Function lens system that was introduced with the NX100. i-Function allows you to use one of the lens rings to adjust shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation, white balance, … Read more

Chinese automaker BYD (Build Your Dreams) will debut two new SUVs and an electric bus at the 2011 North American International Auto Show next month. The world premiere of these vehicles is part of the manufacturer's "Three Green Dreams" lineup--which includes not only vehicles but other green technologies as well--and adds to the F3DM plug-in hybrid sedan that's currently being tested by the Los Angeles Housing Authority.

The 2012 E6 Premier is an all-electric crossover with a top speed of 87 mph and a range of 186 miles. The five-seater can be fully recharged in 6 … Read more

The end of the year is the perfect time to reflect back on the achievements of the past 12 months and look expectantly ahead to the potential advancements coming in the near future. So we here at Download.com we did just that.

For starters, we rounded up our top 10 most popular downloads from 2010. The site served up billions of downloads in 2010; check out the roundup and you can find out which 10 Windows programs were the most popular throughout the year.

We also made some predictions for CES 2011. Software and services may take a back … Read more

Mercedes released photos of its updated 2012 C-Class, which adds to the entry vehicle lineup a generous handful of technology upgrades and improved fuel economy.

The C-Class vehicles are set to receive Attention Assist, Adaptive Highbeam Assist, Parking Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, and Blind Spot Assist for added safety. The next-generation infotainment and navigation system will get new features, including the ability to display text messages. And it may also add Nokia Terminal mode, according to an article in Telematics News.

Citing Automobilwoche.de, Telematics News reports that the 2012 C-Class will feature COMAND Online, which brings in Internet access … Read more

You may have only heard of the iGrill, a Bluetooth device that allows you to keep tabs on the temperature of your grill, wirelessly. At CES 2011, you can see it in action.

iDevices, the maker of the wireless cooking thermometer that's used with the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad announced today that it will demonstrate the device at the Las Vegas show in January.

The iGrill comes with a probe for you to put inside your grill. The probe is connected to a Bluetooth display, which communicates with your Apple devices via an app and lets you … Read more

Software and services aren't the main attraction at CES 2011, but that doesn't mean there won't be plenty of innovation at the show for the coming year. Of course, we won't know exactly what that innovation will be until we get there, but you can bet we have some ideas about it. Most notably, we'll be seeing even more of a shift from the computer to mobile devices, with companies aiming to keep you connected and entertained on the go.

The cloud expands

Mobile devices are great for both business and pleasure. There's just … Read more

Oh, HTC, how you tease. The Taiwanese handset manufacturer posted a teaser site early this morning, dropping some clues as to what it might reveal at CES 2011.

On the site, HTC shows off three devices: the HTC Evo 4G, which was the first 4G handset in the U.S., the T-Mobile G2, T-Mobile's first 4G smartphone, and a third cloaked device that promises to be another 4G first and is set to debut on January 6.

Coincidentally, Verizon is scheduled to hold a press conference on the same day and has already confirmed that it will be demoing … Read more