Top-rated reviews of the week (photos)

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

Sony VAIO VGN-NW270F/S

Editors' rating: 4 out of 5

The good: Low price; Blu-ray drive; roomy display but still relatively lightweight; great keyboard.

The bad: Seems to be room for a bigger battery; no media control buttons.

The bottom line: The Sony Vaio VGN-NW270F/S is a low-cost, Blu-ray-equipped laptop that makes a great choice for home use and, should you be willing to tote around a 15-inch machine, a decent choice as your everyday, take-it-with-you laptop.

Read CNET's full review
Price range: $784.99 - $899.95

Sony Vaio FW560F/T (brown)

Editors' rating: 4 out of 5

The good: Affordable; slim for a 16-inch laptop; Blu-ray playback; decent gaming performance.

The bad: Screen isn't 1080p; media buttons hard to see in dim light; mediocre battery life.

The bottom line: With Blu-ray playback, a large screen and decent discrete graphics, the Sony Vaio FW560F/T is a very compelling sub-$1,000 multimedia notebook.

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Price range: $949.95

Asus Essentio CG5270-BP004

Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5

The good: Top-tier performance results; plenty of upgrade room; versatile array of motherboard connections.

The bad: Power efficiency needs improvement; oversized case gives the appearance of a more aggressive system.

The bottom line: Massive case notwithstanding, the affordable Asus Essentio CG5270-BP004 delivers a competitive feature set with the horsepower to back it up. We recommend this system for light media editors and anyone who can make use of its straightforward performance and multipurpose features.

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Price range: $649.99

BenQ V2400 Eco

Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5

The good: The BenQ V2400 Eco has a thin and unique, all-white design and virtually no backlight bleed through. It also includes a comprehensive onscreen display and a built-in headphone jack.

The bad: The BenQ V2400 Eco has a shallow viewing angle, lacks a DVI connection, and doesn't include an HDMI to DVI cord or HDMI cord.

The bottom line: The BenQ V2400 Eco is a solid monitor that just can't compare with the best there is in price and performance.

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Price range: $349.00

GoPro Motorsports HD Hero

Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5

The good: The GoPro HD Hero Motorsports captures video in a variety of resolutions and frame rates up to and including 1080i full HD, as well as still photos. The Hero has a large selection of mounting options and replacement parts. The polycarbonate shell is submersible, shockproof, and-- if it takes too bad of a beating--replaceable.

The bad: The lack of a viewfinder makes precise aiming difficult. The tiny LCD display and a cryptic menu is difficult to navigate without first consulting the manual. Low-light performance still leaves much to be desired.

The bottom line: The GoPro HD Hero captures crisp HD video and offers users a great deal of flexibility of resolution and mounting options. However, some users may find it to be too complex for its two-button interface and tiny screen.

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Price range: $299.99

HP Pavilion dv4-2045dx

Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5

The good: Nice design with good port assortment; excellent performance for the money.

The bad: Below average battery life; no Bluetooth.

The bottom line: As long as you're not looking for extremely long battery life, the HP Pavilion dv4-2045dx is a well-rounded mainstream budget laptop with above average looks and performance.

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Price range: $579.99

JVC Everio GZ-MS130 (blue)

Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5

The good: Good video quality for its class; manual controls; small, comfortable design; remote control included.

The bad: No inputs; one-touch YouTube uploading requires bundled software; no optical image stabilization; thin grip strap.

The bottom line: The JVC Everio GZ-MS130 is a nice little flash-memory-based standard-def camcorder.

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Price range: $329.99