Tech that matters: Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 and 2012's best Blu-ray player
We review thousands of tech products. Every week, starting today, CNET Reviews Editor in Chief Lindsey Turrentine tells you which gear impresses us right now and why.
Every week at CNET, we test dozens of gadgets. Not every device stands out as amazing or wonderful, and we've seen our share of failing storage drives or -- shudder -- candy bar "feature phones." (That's what the industry calls a cell phone that's not quite a smart phone.)
But not a week goes by without at least a few standout gadgets. Sometimes, these gems shine in a crowded field. Sometimes, they break the mold. Occasionally, we review a high-quality device from an older category that does its job so well, we fall in love with it anyway.
This week's roundup of top-rated gear includes everything we've awarded three-and-a-half stars or above in our rating scale, but I'd like to highlight a couple of the most newsworthy.
Samsung's new Fire fighter
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is the first Samsung tablet running Android Ice Cream Sandwich, bringing the 7-inch tablet into the modern era of tablets. It's thinner than the competition, and lighter, and it comes with a nifty 50GB of free Dropbox storage for a year.
That's not why this soldier in the tablet wars caught my eye and impressed our critic. At $250, the Tab 2 7.0 costs less than half of the Wi-Fi-only iPad, albeit in a much smaller form factor. For $50 more than the kinder, gentler
Panasonic DMP-BDT220: Crummy name, great Blu-ray player
I'm surprised, too, but this week we fell in love with a Blu-ray player, awarding the
(While we're at it, though, can we have a little talk about tech product names? Giving a gadget a name that looks like a license plate -- DMP-BDT220, really? -- doesn't help it stand out in the market.)
Speaking of crazy product names, this week's collection of reviews highlights Antuan Goodwin's