$300

Review: PDF Merge quickly combines multiple PDFs into one document

With its rather basic but intuitive drag-and-drop interface, PDF Merge for Mac successfully combines several PDFs into one file. The program performs only one task, but does it quickly and without any problems.

The free trial version's basic menu lacks any advanced graphics or a user tutorial. Fortunately, the design is intuitive and well thought out. The trial limits the number of PDFs combined to three, but the full version of PDF Merge for Mac with no limits can be purchased for $18.99. A medium-size window has one area where files can be dragged and dropped. Users can … Read more

Review: Vienna provides easy access to various news feeds

Vienna for Mac keeps all of your favorite news feeds in one place by providing a feature-rich, open-source RSS and Atom newsreader for the Mac OS X operating system.

Vienna for Mac installs quickly and features a well-organized and easy-to-navigate interface. On the left menu there are three folders available for classifying articles as well as a list of available subscriptions. By default there are links to Vienna Support, Apple Hot News, Mac OS X Hints, BBC News, and similar, with the number of available news items. By clicking on one of these, a list of available articles appears in … Read more

Dazzle your ears with KEF's X300A powered speakers

KEF's new X300A is a nifty desktop speaker, but it can also be used as a hi-fi or stereo home theater speakers. Granted, it's a bit pricey, but it sounds a lot better than say, a $699 Sonos Playbar. The X300A is a bona-fide high-end speaker system, so it sounds clearer and all around better than all the high-priced sound bars I've heard to date. After all, performance goals for most sound bars are pretty low, they just have to sound better than the iffy speakers built into TVs, and that's easy. Compared with a decent … Read more

Charge your Nexus 4 without hassle

BARCELONA, Spain--Hot new handsets weren't the only products LG had up its sleeve at MWC. The phone maker also unveiled a new wireless charger, the LG WCP-300.

About the size and shape of your average bar coaster, the WCP-300 is designed to be simple and straight forward. Once connected to a power outlet (or Micro-USB port), just drop your compatible phone onto the WCP-300's disc-shaped charging pad. A small LED on the charger's edge lights up in green when juice is flowing.

Since the LG WCP-300 relies on the Qi wireless charging standard, it supports numerous smartphones … Read more

How Boeing's 777-300ER could help save American Airlines

It has become the world's most-successful twin-engine airplane, but until now, no U.S. carrier has flown Boeing's 777-300ER. But with the launch on Thursday of its Dallas to Sao Paolo, Brazil, flight, American Airlines has broken new ground, and is now depending on its fledgling 777-300ER fleet to re-earn its once legendary wings. And make it a lot of money.

Among the many passengers aboard the inaugural flight to Sao Paolo was Chris Sloan, an aviation writer who often flies on the most notable planes in the skies and blogs about those travels on Airchive.com. Sloan, … Read more

LED desk lamp wirelessly charges smartphones

One of the fascinating things about living in this era is observing how everyday products can become far more useful with a little infusion of technology.

Konica Minolta today debuted a desk lamp with an ace up its sleeve: it features a built-in induction charging pad for devices that support the Qi wireless charging standard (such as the Nokia Lumia 920 and many other products). It appears to be the first of its kind. … Read more

Provide an Internet connection to any PC with PdaNet for Android

Allowing you to transmit Web-based data and content via Bluetooth, PdaNet for Android allows your PC to connect to the Internet using both the phone's standard radio and its Bluetooth radio. PdaNet for Android is free to try but the full version will cost you $23.95.

The version of the app discussed here is the one paired with a 64-bit Windows machine. When it comes to the interface, access to the PdaNet for Android app is almost instantaneous. You are just given two options, to enable USB tether or to enable Bluetooth DUN. Each option, when chosen, provides … Read more

Snapshot adds a social twist to sharing images

We're not sure we fit into Snapchat's target demographic, because we just didn't get it. It's a social app, which means it works best when you have lots of friends who also use it. The premise is fairly simple: take a picture, scribble a quick message on it, and send it to a friend. But you also have to set a timer for how long your friend can view the picture, which is where it lost us.

Before you start, you have to create a Snapchat account by entering your e-mail address and a password. After … Read more

Iomega ships 2 new business StorCenter NAS servers

Iomega today announced the availability of the StorCenter px2-300d and the StorCenter ix4-300d NAS servers for business environments, ranging from small offices to enterprises.

The former is a dual-bay NAS that offers up to 6TB of storage space and the latter is a four-bay with a top capacity of 12TB. Both servers are available in a diskless configuration, leaving users the option of picking the type of hard drive and the capacity on their own. Both also offer Iomega's Personal Cloud feature, which was first introduced with the Home Media Network Drive more than a year ago.

Iomega says … Read more

Which gadget would you buy for $300?

In the past week, CNET has reviewed three separate media devices, each costing $300, and one of them was a television. And guess what: the TV wasn't terrible.

The three products were the TCL L40FHDP60 ($309), the 3M Streaming Projector ($299), and the Apple iPod Touch ($299). Seeing them all together got me thinking: which one of these would I actually buy if I had the money? Is there something else I'd rather do with my $300?

Until we find out whether the Apple iPad Mini exists, I cast the net out a bit farther and two other … Read more