The 100 Best Products of 2006
By Alan Stafford
PCWorld | PT
Best Products: 61-70
61. Kosmix.com
Search Engine (free) Kosmix categorizes search results into major content areas of health, travel, and politics--a valuable feature, though you'll obtain fewer results from Kosmix than you would from Google or Yahoo. Review
Cellular Phone ($300) This Windows Mobile-based handset supports cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth wireless technologies (but you can't use it as a phone over Wi-Fi). Thanks to its impressive battery life, you can browse the Web with it all day long. Review | Latest Prices
63. Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe
Motherboard ($200) This motherboard packs every feature you could want, including nVidia SLI graphics support, RAID support, six SATA ports, and plenty of options for overclocking. Test Report | Latest Prices
30-Inch Wide-Screen LCD Monitor ($2200) Seeing this humongous, high-resolution LCD after spending hours in front of a 17- or 19-inch model is a bit like turning a corner and walking into a billboard. Review | Latest Prices
65. Meebo (alpha)
Instant Messaging (free) When you're away from your own PC, you can still connect. Use this utility (still in alpha) in an Internet caf\0xE9 to access AIM, GTalk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, or Yahoo buddies by browser. Review
66. Corel Painter IX.5
Graphics Software ($375) Corel's painting program does a fine job of mimicking real paint and canvas, watercolor and paper, and charcoal and paper. Paint runs and bleeds just like the real stuff does. A recent upgrade introduces a rubber stamp and new photo painting capabilities. Web Site | Latest Prices
67. Samsung LN-S3251D
LCD TV ($1799) Among 32-inch television sets that we tested recently, the LN-S3251D won by a significant margin. It's very bright, so colors really pop from the screen, and it has a well-designed stand that swivels fluidly. It's one of the best televisions we've seen, regardless of type. Review | Latest Prices
Instant Messaging Client (free) Using Trillian 3.1 means not having to decide which IM client to adopt, since Trillian works with nearly all of them. Its interface is beautiful, especially compared with AIM--hoo boy, that thing is ugly. You can set Trillian up to log your conversations so that when you forget something you said, you can look it up easily. You can also set up alerts for when people are online, and you can issue a command from your laptop that shuts down the program on your desktop. A new version, called Astra, should be released later this year. Review
Online Music (free to $10 per month) After experiencing a rocky relaunch, the new Rhapsody service looks good. Now you can access it without desktop software (though you may want to use the client, since it works as your streaming service and plays songs from your MP3 library). Web Site
70. In2M Mvelopes Personal 3
Online Budgeting ($8 per month with two-year plan) When you put Mvelopes on the case, you may be surprised to learn how much you spend on Diet Coke and Doritos (you aren't under any obligation to change your habits, of course, but it's still nice to know). Recent updates make Mvelopes easier to use than ever. Review | Web Site
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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