Photos: Top-rated reviews of the week
Here are a few of CNET Reviews' favorite items from the past week, including the Samsung Jet, RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630, and the Sonos Bundle BU250.
Samsung Jet
Samsung Jet
Editors' rating: 4
The good: The Samsung Jet has an attractive design, an easy-to-use touch-screen interface, and satisfying performance.
The bad: The Samsung Jet lacks voice dialing, instant messaging, and GPS software for directions. Customization options are limited.
The bottom line: The Samsung Jet is a powerful multimedia phone with decent performance and a few welcome user interface upgrades. But don't mistake it for a smartphone.
Read CNET's full review
Price: Most online retailers sell it for about $525.
RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 (Sprint)
RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 (Sprint)
Editors' rating: 4
The good: The RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 boasts world-roaming capabilities as well as Bluetooth, GPS, and a 3.2-megapixel camera. The smartphone features a high-resolution display and an easy-to-use QWERTY keyboard. Sprint offers a number of services for the handset and it also supports BlackBerry App World.
The bad: The BlackBerry Tour doesn't offer Wi-Fi. You can't save downloaded applications to a memory card.
The bottom line: Despite the lack of Wi-Fi, the RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 is a feature-rich and well-performing smartphone that will serve Sprint's globe-trotting customers well.
Sonos Bundle BU250
Sonos Bundle BU250
Editors' rating: 4
The good:Two-room, wireless digital audio system, expandable to as many as 32 rooms; includes wireless, color, touch-screen remote; can also be controlled from any iPhone or iPod Touch via free app; easy setup and installation for most home networks; streams the same audio to all rooms or different music to each room; excellent compatibility includes nearly all DRM-free digital audio file formats streamed from networked PC, Mac, or NAS drive; PC-free access to Sirius, Napster, and Rhapsody premium streaming services, plus free streams from Pandora, Last.fm, and thousands of Internet radio stations worldwide; ZonePlayers double as wireless network bridges for other devices in your home.
The bad: While the Sonos components are all wireless, you'll need a hard-wired connection to one base station or the $99 wireless bridge accessory; podcast access could be more streamlined; competing Logitech products offer more music options for less money; while impressive, the touch-screen remote does little more than what you'll find on the iPhone remote app.
The bottom line: An excellent touch-screen remote and equally usable iPhone remote app breathe new life into Sonos' excellent multiroom digital-audio system.
Toshiba E105-S1602
Toshiba E105-S1602
Editors' rating: 4
The good: Sturdy construction and pleasing overall design; comfortable keyboard and touchpad; backlit keys; lengthy battery life without bulky battery; a twice-as-nice two-year warranty.
The bad: Uses integrated graphics while other laptops at this price feature dedicated graphics; poor speakers, even for integrated standards.
The bottom line: Toshiba improves on last year's excellent Best Buy Blue Label laptop by slashing the price while serving up a nearly identical machine. Long battery life, a lengthy warranty, and a backlit keyboard highlight Toshiba's winning Satellite E105-S1602.
Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera
Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera (aqua blue)
Editors' rating: 4
The good: Video capture up to 1080p HD resolution; image quality is quite good for a mini camcorder; SD card slot; removable, rechargeable battery; bundled composite and HDMI cables; strong low-light performance; external mic jack; electronic image stabilization; 5-megapixel still capture; macro focus mode.
The bad: Bundled software isn't Mac compatible but necessary for smooth playback of 1080p video; price doesn't include an optional memory card.
The bottom line: With the Zi8, Kodak finally surpasses Flip Video's video quality and feature set.
Read CNET's full review
Price range: under $200
HP Mini 5101
HP Mini 5101 (Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, XP Home Basic)
Editors' rating: 4
The good: Revamped version of one of our favorite Netbooks; excellent keyboard and touch pad; sturdy and durable; includes accelerometer; optional higher-resolution display.
The bad: Loses its ExpressCard slot; standard Netbook components at a premium price.
The bottom line: HP's biz-minded Mini 5101 is a successor to the Mini 2140 (one of our all-time favorite Netbooks). It looks and feels great, but for a premium-price Netbook, we expect to get more features, not fewer.
Read CNET's full review
Price: $425
Garmin Nuvi 260
Garmin Nuvi 260 GPS device
Editors' rating: 4
The good: The Garmin Nuvi 260 boasts a compact design and is easy to use. It offers accurate directions and some nice tools for the traveler. The Nuvi 260's text-to-speech reads street and POI names aloud.
The bad: Though the Nuvi 260 is more affordable than other models in the series, we wish the price was slightly lower based on the included feature set.
The bottom line: The Garmin Nuvi 260 offers drivers and travelers a more budget-friendly version of the popular portable navigation devices and includes text-to-speech, but we think the price is still slightly high for what you get.