Monitors

Your mobile device screens aren't large enough! At least, that's what Samsung thinks. On Wednesday it announced three new lines of monitors, which wirelessly connect to both your tablet and smartphone and allows you to control them from the displays' 27-inch screens.

A smarter, less 'Central'-ized station? In 2011 Samsung introduced Central Station, its wireless monitor docking station for laptops. Given the novelty of the tech, I couldn't help but be impressed with it, but definitely saw room for improvement. Compatibility with tablets and smartphones however, wasn't exactly what I had in mind. But, maybe … Read more

If HP's latest business monitor, Samsung's Central Station, and Apple's Thunderbolt Display are any indication, monitors that act as docking stations are indeed a trend. If, of course, like me, you're willing to call it a trend after only a couple instances.

The HP Compaq L2311c sports a 23-inch, LED-backlit screen and features two USB 3.0 upstream ports. These allow your laptop to not only connect to the display, but to have its battery charged by it as well.

You'll also find two USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, VGA, and audio ports.

Samsung's … Read more

We saw some pretty cool monitor innovations in 2011. A new panel technology debuted, the thinnest panel yet was revealed, as was a monitor that functioned fully, without requiring a physical connection to a PC.

Going into 2011, we'll likely continue to see thinner monitors with more power baked into them, cheaper IPS monitors, more monitors that are completely self-sufficient (no PC required, necessarily), and be on the lookout for DisplayPort to finally take off in a big way.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Right now now it's time to take a look back at 2011 and the most impressive monitors that came through CNET Labs. … Read more

Patches of tiny needles have already been shown to effectively deliver medications painlessly, and without a bloody mess. Now the tiny needles could also be used to monitor body chemistry in real time.

The new tech, developed by a team of biomedical engineers out of North Carolina State University, the University of California at San Diego, and Sandia National Laboratories, employs electrochemical sensors in the hollow channels of microneedles to detect certain molecules. The researchers reported their findings in the chemistry journal Talanta.

Current body chemistry monitoring involves taking samples, often before or after an event. Wearable micro-sensors, on the … Read more

Tracking where humans migrate and cluster in any given country from season to season is, in some places, a tall order. Which makes tracking the risk of infectious disease outbreaks that thrive in dense populations tricky as well.

Satellite images of nighttime lights could be the answer, according to researchers at Princeton, who report on their findings today in the journal Science.

Using nighttime images taken of Niger's three largest cities between 2000 and 2004 by a U.S. Department of Defense satellite, and checking those images against public health records compiled by Niger's Ministry of Health, they … Read more

All right, people, I hate to be the bearer of such grave news, but resolution season is almost upon us. If you're wondering how to make 2012 the year you finally shed those extra pounds, start choosing the apple over the fries, floss every day, etc., read on.

As of late last night, there's an app for all that--and it's free. Called Macaw, the app for iPhone and Android phones could just be the health and fitness app game changer.

Developed by U.S. Preventive Medicine alongside wireless health network provider Qualcomm Life, design firm Fjord (… Read more

Mobile health technology continues to prove itself. The latest example comes in the form of on-the-go diabetes management.

In a recent small trial, 30 patients with type 2 diabetes spent 12 months using a smartphone app that provided real-time feedback on their blood-sugar levels, prompted them when to eat or take other action, and sent digital logbooks of their readings back to their doctors.

The surprising result: these patients had 58 percent fewer ER and hospital visits over the year of the study than they'd had the previous year.

It's important not to overinterpret that result. Not only … Read more

If there's one monitor vendor I can always count on to get me excited about the monitor category -- something admittedly difficult to get too worked up about -- it's Samsung.

Of course, not every Samsung monitor turns out great, but, for my money, the company has, year after year, created great reasons to get excited about the category.

No other monitor vendor has consistently created such aesthetically stylish monitors that at the same time push the envelope in terms of performance and unique features.

Of the Samsung displays previously put through CNET's testing abattoir, these recent models emerged as the best.… Read more

Happy Cyber Monday! I've always preferred this "holiday" to Black Friday, as it allows me to shop in my preferred garb: bathrobe and slippers. (Tried that on a Black Friday once; I am no longer welcome in the mall.)

Indeed, this is arguably this biggest shopping day of the year for the ol' Cheapskate, as all the deals are, by definition, online. I'll be discussing some of my favorites live today on CNET's Holiday Help Desk, which airs at 3 p.m. ET, noon PT.

In the meantime, here are some assorted Cyber Monday goodies … Read more