The 100 Best Products of 2006
Best Products: 41-50
41. Alienware Aurora 7500
Power Desktop Computer ($1799 and up) You can configure this flashy PC with the best of everything, including AMD Athlon 64 X2, nVidia SLI graphics, and the Ageia PhysX processor. You'll pay dearly for it, all right, but this gaming rig is tops if you want to play. Review | Web Site
Flat-Panel Monitor ($6900) The NEC MultiSync LCD 2180WG-LED's backlighting via LED (a first among desktop PC monitors) gives it crisp contrast and detail. The leaky fluorescent backlights that most LCDs use add a faint glow, turning inky black to graphite gray. But on this 21.3-inch beauty, a black zipper pull stood out sharply against a black jacket pocket and nuanced whites and grays of a snowy mountain loomed in the background. The LED technology is sure to catch on. Review | Latest Prices
Digital Audio Software (free) Not just a conduit for files between Apple's Music Store and an iPod, iTunes is great even if just for your desktop. It's compatible with both Macs and Windows PCs. Web Site
Digital SLR Camera ($1100) The E-330 shows you a live preview on its LCD--a first for a digital SLR--and it has a useful dust-removal feature (addressing a common bugaboo that afflicts such cameras). Review | Latest Prices
45. Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro
Earphones ($250) Comparable in sound quality to Shure's high-end E5C earphones, this set costs far less. And it does a nice job of sound isolation. Review | Latest Prices
46. Creative Zen Vision:M
Digital Audio/Video Player ($300) Exceptional screen quality, a responsive interface, and great battery life make this portable player a worthy alternative to an iPod, if you like to run wide of the herd. Review | Latest Prices
47. Google Desktop
Desktop Search (free) Where did you put that file? To find it you could spend 10 minutes using Windows' search utility--or 10 seconds using Google Desktop. News Report
48. Opera 9 (Beta)
Browser (free) Opera deserves more exposure than it usually gets. Opera 9 is loaded with polished out-of-the-box features, such as useful ad and graphics blocking. Review
Projector ($2100) The XD460U ranked high for overall image quality in our tests, making it a great choice as a crossover projector for both conference-room and living-room use. It relies on a five-segment color wheel to achieve better imaging. Review | Latest Prices
50. Vonage
VoIP Service ($15 and up) Its Internet phone packages aren't the cheapest, but Vonage has useful features such as call-forwarding during an outage and quality controls. Review | Web Site