Photos: Top-rated reviews of the week

Here's our weekly roundup of the new products CNET reviewers liked best.

Dell Studio XPS 8000

Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5

The good: Strong visual appeal; competitive features for its price.

The bad: Minimal upgrade room; no out-of-the-box overclocking; no option for AMD's latest graphics cards.

The bottom line: The Dell Studio XPS 8000 offers a strong combination of midrange performance parts that should satisfy anyone looking for a midtower desktop for general productivity, digital media editing, or gaming. It lacks a few performance-oriented extras, but it makes up for any deficiencies with its attractive looks.

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Price range: $1,099.00

Amazon Kindle wireless reading device (U.S. and international wireless, latest generation)

Editors' rating: 4 out of 5

The good: Large library of tens of thousands of e-books, newspapers, magazines, and blogs via Amazon's familiar online store; built-in free wireless "Whispernet" data network that works in the U.S. and some countries abroad (no PC needed); built-in keyboard for notes; with 2GB of internal memory, it's capable of storing 1,500 electronic books; font size is adjustable; good battery life; displays image files, and plays MP3 and AAC audio; compatible with Windows and Mac machines; Text-to-Speech feature allows you to have text read to you aloud; text appears slightly darker on this model than on the earlier U.S.-only version.

The bad: No Wi-Fi; no expansion slot for adding more memory; no protective carrying case included; battery is sealed into the device and isn't removable; isn't compatible with loaner e-books from your local library that use the ePub format; if you're using the wireless service overseas, you're charged extra fees for downloading full books and periodicals.

The bottom line: While the new internationalized Kindle looks exactly like the earlier U.S.-only model, this e-reader, which uses AT&T's data network for wireless access, represents an incremental improvement to the Kindle line--just as serious competition is ramping up in the e-book market.

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Price range: $259.00

Palm Pixi (Sprint)

Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5

The good: The Palm Pixi features a remarkably thin design and an improved QWERTY keyboard. An updated OS brings Yahoo integration as well as enhanced messaging features. It also offers Bluetooth, GPS, and 3G support.

The bad: Lacks Wi-Fi. The smartphone can be sluggish and battery can drain quickly. The camera's picture quality is subpar and still lacks video recording and editing options.

The bottom line: While not as powerful as the Pre, the Palm Pixi offers first-time smartphone buyers a decent set of features in a sleek little package. However, to be really competitive, we think it needs to come down in price just a touch.

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HTC Droid Eris (Verizon Wireless)

Editors' rating: 4 out of 5

The good: The HTC Droid Eris offers a slim design, plentiful features, and satisfying performance. It also has pinch and zoom multitouch.

The bad: The HTC Droid Eris has mixed multimedia quality. It comes only with the Android 1.5 OS, there's no file manager, and internal performance was occasionally sluggish.

The bottom line: Though its performance wasn't completely top-notch and we would prefer a more recent Android OS version, the HTC Droid Eris is a satisfying Android device that offers a nice contrast to the Motorola Droid. And you can't beat the price.

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Price range: $99.99

Dell UltraSharp U2410

Editors' rating: 4 out of 5

The good: The Dell UltraSharp U2410 has a plethora of connection options and ergonomic features.

The bad: The Dell UltraSharp U2410 has a slightly narrow viewing angle when compared with other IPS and VA monitors. It also has a slight pink tint and its RGB presets produce dithering when viewing dark gray colors.

The bottom line: The Dell UltraSharp U2410 is a feature-rich monitor that performs great while watching movies and playing games.

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Price range: $549.00

Booq Boa Squeeze

Editors' rating: 4 out of 5

The good: Fantastic design; impressively compact; great padding; holds a 16-inch laptop plus books.

The bad: Slightly small for a backpack.

The bottom line: Armed with one of the most eye-catching designs around, the Booq Boa Squeeze is one of the most compact yet capacious laptop backpacks we've seen.

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Price range: $99.95

Mobile Edge Ultra Portable Netbook Messenger Bag - notebook carrying case

Editors' rating: 4 out of 5

The good: Versatile design and extremely comfortable shoulder strap; excellent for smaller laptops.

The bad: No top handle; bulky look.

The bottom line: The checkpoint-friendly Mobile Edge Ultra Portable Netbook Messenger Bag is among the most comfortable laptop bags we've ever used--but not everyone will be wild about the design.

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Price range: $34.99 - $52.45

Canon PowerShot S90

Editors' rating: 4 out of 5

The good: Excellent control system for manual, semimanual shooting; fantastic wide-angle f2 lens; very good low-light photo quality.

The bad: Performance is merely average; no HD movie mode or optical zoom while recording; a couple design miscues.

The bottom line: As long as you're not expecting dSLR speed in a tiny body, the Canon PowerShot S90 is an excellent compact camera for advanced amateurs.

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Price range: $429.00 - $430.00

Nokia Booklet 3G (black)

Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5

The good: Excellent design; great battery life; seamless 3G connection.

The bad: Slower CPU leads to frustratingly sluggish performance.

The bottom line: Nokia's entry in the crowded Netbook field shows that the company's hardware know-how translates to computer design, but a poor choice of CPU should give you pause.

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Price range: $599.99

Zvox Z-Base 525

Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5

The good: Excellent pedestal design makes it disappear on your TV stand; dynamic sound on movies; two analog audio inputs; adjustable controls for treble, bass, and stereo width; built-in subwoofer; subwoofer output allows you to add a separate sub to the system.

The bad: Both audio inputs are always active, so sound gets mixed with devices that are always on, like DVRs; no digital audio inputs; can't fill a large room with sound; doesn't compare to separate speakers for music; remote's button layout is uninspired; can't support large, heavy plasmas.

The bottom line: The Zvox Z-Base 525 sound bar delivers better-than-average sonics and its unique pedestal design will make you forget it's even there.

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Price range: $349.00

Asus UL50AG-RBBBK05

Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5

The good: Very thin; solid design; good battery life.

The bad: Slower than a typical Core 2 Duo laptop; no Bluetooth.

The bottom line: The design and portability of the Asus UL50AG make it one of the slickest 15.6-inch DVD-drive-equipped laptops we've seen, but an ultralow-voltage processor compromises its computing power.

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Price range: $679.99

Magellan RoadMate 1470

Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5

The good: The Magellan RoadMate's OneTouch menu puts the most commonly accessed destinations and searches at a user's fingertips at all times. The smartly designed destination confirmation screen gives users a good deal of flexibility as to how they get where they're going. Large 4.7-inch touch screen gives users more real estate for maps and menus.

The bad: Poorly designed cradle interferes with power cable when mounting. The onscreen keyboard cannot be changed from its alphabetical layout to a more familiar QWERTY layout.

The bottom line: The Magellan RoadMate matches the competition's performance and user-friendliness, while providing a larger screen at a lower price.

Read CNET's full review
Price range: $169.89 - $249.99