Top-rated reviews of the week (photos)
Here are a few of CNET Reviews' favorite items from the past week, including the Pantech Laser, the Canon PowerShot SX130, and the Apple MacBook Air.
Acer Aspire TimelineX AS1830T-68U118
Acer Aspire TimelineX AS1830T-68U118
Editors' rating: 4 out of 5
The good: Excellent specs for its size; good battery life; compact, lightweight.
The bad: No dedicated graphics; plastic body looks and feels cheap; keyboard and touch pad are substandard.
The bottom line: Acer's high-end and extremely portable 11.6-inch TimelineX 1830T-68U118 offers a great combination of processor power and features that match what you'd find on a full-size laptop.
Apple MacBook Air Fall 2010 (Core 2 Duo 1.4GHz, 64GB SSD, 11.6-inch)
Apple MacBook Air Fall 2010 (Core 2 Duo 1.4GHz, 64GB SSD, 11.6-inch)
Editors' rating: 4 out of 5
The good: Amazingly slim design; great keyboard/trackpad combo; new iLife '11 software included; decent graphics performance; 16:9 display.
The bad: Pricey for an 11-inch laptop with an older processor; lacks backlit keyboard and SD card slot.
The bottom line: Apple makes the MacBook Air both smaller and less expensive, creating an excellent ultraportable, but leaving out a few features along the way.
Pentax Optio W90 (black)
Pentax Optio W90 (black)
Editors' rating: 4 out of 5
The good: Outstanding design; excellent feature set, shooting options for its class.
The bad: Short battery life; no optical or mechanical image stabilization.
The bottom line:The well-designed Pentax Optio W90 offers up very good photos and performance at a reasonable price for a rugged pocket camera.
Rosewill RK-9000 USB Keyboard
Rosewill RK-9000 USB Keyboard
Editors' rating: 4 out of 5
The good: Cherry Blue switches offer satisfying tactility with every click; cheaper than most mechanical-switch keyboards; durable braided cord; small footprint.
The bad: Lacks extra USB ports.
The bottom line: Mechanical keyboards are gaining popularity in circles that miss the tactility of the original IBM Model M, and Rosewill introduces an inexpensive version in the RK-9000. It doesn't have the bells and whistles of competitors like Das Keyboard, but the Cherry Blue switches, molded keycaps, and simple-yet-durable design make the Rosewill RK-9000 an excellent, affordable product to start your click-clack keyboard addiction.
Bose MIE2
Bose MIE2
Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5
The good: Improved sound; earphones fit securely and comfortably; protective carrying case included; "open" design has its appeal; pleasantly full bass; in-line microphone for cellphone use.
The bad: Fit may not appeal to everyone, especially those who prefer noise-isolating earphones; treble is a little on the harsh side.
The bottom line: The Bose MIE2/MIE2i headsets offer a good combination of comfort and solid sonics for the money.
Dell Inspiron Zino HD (AMD Phenom II X4)
Dell Inspiron Zino HD (AMD Phenom II X4)
Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5
The good: Blu-ray, wireless networking, and HDMI make this tiny PC ideal for serving up living-room content; streams online HD video flawlessly; can play forgiving 3D games thanks to discrete graphics card.
The bad: Comparably slow productivity performance; upgradable slim-tower competition offers more potential and faster performance for a lower price.
The bottom line: With its thoughtful features, Dell's charming little Inspiron Zino HD is perfectly suited to serve up HD content to your living room. We wish it had more general computing speed, and design purists will find the Mac Mini more sophisticated, but on balance we recommend it, especially to more casual home theater PC enthusiasts.
Onkyo HT-RC260
Onkyo HT-RC260
Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5
The good: Great value compared with other midrange receivers; six HDMI inputs; graphical user interface; analog video upconversion; audio return channel supported; 3D compatible; second-zone functionality.
The bad: Lackluster sound quality; iPod dock costs $80 extra; does not support standby pass-through.
The bottom line: The Onkyo HT-RC260 offers an extraordinary value for a receiver with six HDMI inputs, although its sound quality isn't what we expect from an Onkyo.
Canon PowerShot SX130 IS
Canon PowerShot SX130 IS
Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5
The good: Excellent photo quality, features for its class; semimanual, manual shooting modes; uses AA-size batteries.
The bad: Slow shooting performance; bulky, heavy body.
The bottom line: The budget-friendly Canon PowerShot SX130 IS is a solid compact megazoom for those who prize creative control and photo quality more than fast shooting performance or a small, lightweight design.
Pantech Laser (AT&T)
Pantech Laser (AT&T)
Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5
The good: The Pantech Laser is a slim and attractive slider phone with a full QWERTY keyboard, a 3-megapixel camera, 3G, GPS, and plenty of multimedia features.
The bad: The resistive touch screen is not as smooth as we would like, photo quality was disappointing, and call quality was average.
The bottom line: The Pantech Laser's generous features and stylish good looks makes it one of the better messaging phones in AT&T's lineup.
Samsung Intercept (Virgin Mobile)
Samsung Intercept (Virgin Mobile)
Editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5
The good: The Samsung Intercept is a solid first foray for Virgin Mobile into Android territory. The phone brings with it a 3.2-megapixel camera, a great QWERTY keyboard, 32GB expandable memory, and the Android 2.1 OS.
The bad: Photo quality on the Intercept could be stronger, the screen could be larger, and the dimensions could be sleeker. We found the optical touchpad too small to be truly useful.
The bottom line:The Samsung Intercept is one of the most advanced and priciest phones for Virgin Mobile, but it's an excellent addition to the carrier's lineup.