The 100 Best Products of 2006
By Alan Stafford
PCWorld |
Today's Best Tech Deals
Picked by PCWorld's Editors
Top Deals On Great Products
Picked by Techconnect's Editors
Best Products: 21-30
Blu-ray Drive ($1000) The first Blu-ray drive comes not as a set-top player for high-definition movies, but as an internal PC drive for backing up massive amounts of data. Review | Latest Prices
Image Editor ($600) Anything that you want to do with a digital image, you can do with Photoshop CS2. Not a pro? Avoid CS2's expense by opting for Adobe's Photoshop Elements (#11). Review | Latest Prices
23. Citrix GoToMyPC 5
Remote Access ($20 per month) Turn any Web-connected computer into a clone of your distant desktop, so you can gain access to programs, files, and networks. GoToMyPC is a bit pricey, but its speedy, secure, hassle-free approach is unbeatable. Review | Web Site
24. Dealnews.com
Online Bargain Tracker (free) Many sites keep track of bargains for you, but Dealnews does more than just provide you with a link. It'll even let you know whether today's deal is better than last week's. Review
GPS ($250) A clear interface and reliable directions make this device a great add-on to your Palm PDA. Don't leave home without it; don't get lost with it. Review | Latest Prices
26. MioNet
Remote Access ($7 per month) Two-way remote access permits you to tunnel into your work computer from home and vice versa--or to securely share resources with others--without having to spend time worrying about firewalls. Review | Web Site
27. Ubuntu
Linux Distribution (free) The Breezy Badger release of Ubuntu has a desktop interface that Windows users may find reassuringly familiar. The new Dapper Drake version should be out as you read this. Review
28. Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5
E-Mail Application (free) Excellent junk-mail filtering and efficient address gathering make Thunderbird the best e-mail application for your electronic correspondence, regardless of price. Look for a beta of version 2 this summer. News Report
Multifunction Printer ($400) The MP950's magnificent 3.6-inch color LCD screen and whoa-Nelly resolution of 3200 by 6400 dots per inch are among the most impressive photo MFP specs available. Review | Latest Prices
30. Yahoo Mail (Beta)
Web-Based E-Mail (free) This limited beta offering rates as the best Web mail client we've seen. Its Ajax-based interface convincingly imitates Outlook Express, without carrying over that program's clutter. Review
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Generic Company Place Holder Canon EOS 30D Digital SLR Camera
Uses the same CMOS sensor as the 20D, but has a larger LCD and a spot meter. Controls are intuitive and easy to use.
Pros
- High quality RAW conversion
- Excellent interface
Cons
- Software's RAW conversion is slow
- Auto-bracketing limited to three stops
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Citrix GoToMyPC 5
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Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8.0 Preferred
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Best Software Simply Accounting 2005
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Corel Painter IX
Pros
- Interface improvements
- Excellent Snap-to-Path feature
- Sophisticated new oil brushes
- Dramatically better performance than that of previous versions
Cons
- Weak history feature
- Steep upgrade price
- No 16-bit-color support
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Vonage VoIP
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Adobe Photoshop CS2 (Full Product, PC)
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Intuit Quicken Premier 2006
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Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro
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Adobe Photoshop Elements 4
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Very fast, expensive PC with two graphics cards will appeal to hard-core gamers and graphics pros with deep pockets.
Pros
- Fast PC
- Easy to upgrade
Cons
- Open PCI Express X1 slots are blocked
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Nero 7 Ultra Edition
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LaCie d2 External 400GB SATA Hard Drive (Serial ATA, 7200 RPM, 8MB)
Fast and cleanly designed SATA drive comes with a PCI controller that provides external SATA connections.
Pros
- Fast, cleanly designed drive
Cons
- Relatively expensive
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Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 (PC)
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Palm GPS Navigator (3207NA)
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Pros
- Works with AIM, ICQ, IRC, MSN, Yahoo
- Terrific photo- and file-sharing features
Cons
- Icons make services appear too similar
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A big color LCD and two-sided printing make the well-designed iP6600D attractive. It prints high-quality photos quickly.
Pros
- Big color LCD display
- Very high quality photo prints
Cons
- Lacks PictBridge support
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Serious Magic Ovation
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Generic Company Place Holder Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 Bridge Camera
Delivers top-notch image quality, but the autofocus behaved unpredictably, the zoom range is limited, and the price is high.
Pros
- Top-notch image quality
Cons
- Autofocus is unpredictable
- Zoom range is limited
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Apple iPod nano 4GB MP3 Player - Black
This elegant model has high audio quality and native photo support. But it's pricey and limits you to the iTunes Music Store.
Pros
- Elegant design
- High audio quality
Cons
- Limits you to iTunes Music Store
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Canon PIXMA MP950 All-In-One Photo Inkjet Printer (29 PPm, 9600x2400 DPI, Color, PC/Mac)
Read PCWorld's reviewThe MP950 has a nice 3.6-inch LCD and great paper handling, and delivers quality text and photos. Scan results were mixed.
Pros
- Stunning 3.6-inch color LCD screen
- Supports film scanning
Cons
- Lacks faxing and an ADF
- Scan quality could be more consistent
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Microsoft Xbox 360 System
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NEC 21.3" MultiSync LCD2180WG-LED-BK-SV Black LCD Monitor (21.3", 1600x1200, 25ms, DVI, PC/Mac)
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Yamaha RX-V4600 Receiver (7.1 Channels, 130 W/Channel, 0.04% THD, Supports 10 Devices)
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Apple IPod Video 5th Generation 60GB MP3 Player - Black (60GB Internal Hard Drive)
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Pros
- Excellent malware detection
Cons
- Slow scan speed
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HP MD5880n 58" DLP Projection TV (16:9, HDTV)
DLP set aced our image-quality tests handily, and has unique, easily accessible front-mounted ports.
Pros
- Excellent image quality
- Front-mounted ports
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Mitsubishi XD460U DLP Projector
Bright high-quality images and enhanced color capabilities justify this projector's premium price.
Pros
- Supports multiple PCs inputs
- Great image quality
Cons
- High price makes it less competitive
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ATI Radeon X1900 XTX Video Card (512MB, PCI Express x16, Dual DVI)
Powerful card competes well against rival GeForce 7-series top dogs, but it'll cost you.
Pros
- Top-notch performance
Cons
- Top-shelf pricing
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Webroot Spy Sweeper 4.5
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Generic Company Place Holder Fujifilm FinePix E900 Compact Camera
Delivers high image quality and many controls. However, the price is high and image editing software is limited.
Pros
- Quick access to commonly used controls
- Many manual controls
Cons
- Need two hands to operate menus
- Pop-up flash feels a little flimsy
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Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe Motherboard (Athlon X2/ Athlon FX/ Athlon 64/ Sempron, nForce4 SLI X16, Socket 939, ATX, 4GB DDR, 1000MHz Bus)
Pros
- Innovative heat pipe cooling system
- Has eSATA port for external SATA drives
Cons
- Expensive
- Some larger heat sinks may not fit
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This big display showed extremely sharp text and bright graphics, and it has plenty of media card slots and USB ports.
Pros
- Offers excellent image quality
- Includes media card slots
Cons
- Does not have any OSD controls
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Creative ZEN Vision:M 30GB Media Player - Black (2.5
The VisionM has a touchpad and delivers great-looking video. However, it needs a dongle to sync files.
Pros
- High audio quality High audio quality
- Great screen for photos and video
Cons
- Audio codec support somewhat limited
- Requires dongle to charge and sync files
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In2M Mvelopes Personal
Simple and useful Web-based budgeting software
Pros
- No cumbersome installation of software
- Offers mobile access to your info
Cons
- Performance can be sluggish
- No investment tools
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This bulky handset offers built-in Wi-Fi, so you can browse the Web and send e-mail and instant messages quickly and easily.
Pros
- Bulit-in Wi-Fi for easy Web access
- Impressive battery life
Cons
- Some keys are small and cramped
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Generic Company Place Holder LN-S3251D 32" LCD TV (16:9, 1366x768, 4000:1, HDTV)
Bright, high-quality screen and sleek, piano-black cabinet make this TV a proud living-room centerpiece.
Pros
- Attractive model with swiveling base
- Graphic equalizer, useful menu tooltips
Cons
- Switching between HDMI inputs isn't easy
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Strong performance, battery life, and keyboard make this expensive business notebook a winner.
Pros
- Very fast
- Well designed
Cons
- Very expensive
- No touchpad
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The hefty G35-AV600 has one-touch TV, a nice display, and terrific sound and battery life; gaming performance was dissapointi
Pros
- One-touch TV; nice display
Cons
- Disappointing gaming performance
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Generic Company Place Holder Olympus EVOLT E-330 Digital SLR Camera
Standout LCD plus good optic and image quality, but there's no LCD status display and lens options are limited.
Pros
- LCD screen can be used as a viewfinder
- Unlimited continuous shooting
Cons
- Rear-mounted LCD can be distracting
- Limited lens selection
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Epson Perfection V700 Photo
Pros
- Dual lens system allows for transparency scans of up to 6,400 dpi
- Speedy
Cons
- Colors in images skew toward red
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Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 Pro
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Intel Core Duo Processor (2.16GHz, 2MB, 667GHz FSB, Socket 478)
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AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Dual-Core Processor (2.4GHz, 2MB, 2GHz Bus, Socket 939)
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Seagate Portable ST9160821U2-RK External 160GB Hard Drive
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Toshiba HDA1 HD-DVD Player
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eVGA GeForce 7600 GT Video Card (256MB, PCI Express x16, Dual DVI)
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Sonos ZonePlayer 80
Amp-less, lower-cost ZonePlayer for Sonos' complete home music system.
Pros
- Provides nearly all the features and benefits of the ZonePlayer 100 to an existing stereo system for a lower price and in a much smaller package
Cons
- Digital Music System requires at least one ZonePlayer be connected to your computer, router, or wireless bridge
- Digital Music System still has a few minor limitations noted in
- No headphone jack
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RedOctane Guitar Hero Bundle (PS2)
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Pioneer Blu-Ray Disc Writer (2x/2x/2x BD, 8x/4x/8x DVD+RW, 8x/4x/8x DVD-RW, 2.4x DVD+R DL, 2x DVD-R DL)
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Mionet
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TiVo ? Series2? 80-Hour Digital Video Recorder (80 GB)
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Apple Mac mini/1.66GHz
Unlike the single-core 1.5GHz Intel-based Mac mini, this model is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo chip. It also features more storage capacity and an 8X dual-layer SuperDrive. Other features -- an integrated graphics processor that shares memory with the system RAM, built-in wireless networking capabilities, and the Front Row multimedia management program -- are the same as what you get with the 1.5GHz Mac mini.
Pros
- Two processing cores
- Analog- and digital-audio input and output
- Four USB 2.0 ports
- Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0
- Front Row software with Apple Remote
- Improved performance in many native applications
- Built-in SuperDrive
- Gigabit Ethernet
Cons
- RAM is difficult to upgrade
- Integrated graphics reduces available RAM
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Western Digital Raptor X 150GB Hard Drive (Serial ATA-150, 10,000 RPM, 16MB)
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EIZO Nanao FlexScan S2410W 24.1" LCD Monitor (24.1" 1920x1200, 16ms, DVI, PC/Mac)
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SmartHome SYLVANIA Z-WAVE DELUXE STARTER KIT BY UNICAL ENTERPRISES
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Salling Software Salling Clicker 3
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Mindjet MindManager Pro 6 with Media - 1-User License
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iRiver Clix
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BFG Technologies GeForce 7900 GTX OC Video Card (512MB, PCI Express x16, Dual DVI)
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Channel Sources Dist. ThinkFree Office (Full Product)
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NewsGator FeedDemon 2
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