Author: Blancer

The laptop is at its end. You may have already purchased your last one. We’ve touched the future, and it feels a lot like the iPad. The gesture-based interface is instantly understandable and better than anything else we’ve tried—ever. It’s addictive, and we find ourselves attempting to swipe and tap and stroke the displays on our desktops and are disappointed when they ignore our caresses. But the deep hotness here is the Internet everywhere—3G flowing through a rich, eyeball-friendly screen on a device lighter than, well, some issues of this very magazine. After just a few months, we already feel genuine affection. We loved it when we checked into our flight from the taxicab, navigating drop-downs that would have been too tricky on a phone. When we used it to sidestep the hotel’s exorbitant Wi-Fi fees. When we carried it to our brother’s hospital bedside, where the Netflix app helped him forget his pain. We love it every time we bring up a map at the trailhead, every time we find a new recipe on Epicurious, every time we watch a game on MLB at 35,000 feet. Sure, it could be improved: Give it a camera, a supersharp Retina display, and more data-plan options, please. But don’t copy everything iPhone; we’re fine keeping the antenna on the inside. And seriously: Liberate us from AT&T. But for now, this is it. If you don’t have one yet, you will soon enough.

See Also:

• With 3G, iPad Comes Into Its Own — Network Permitting
• Tablet PC From Archos Is No Competition for iPad
• iPhone 4 Leads the Pack With Stunning Design, Interface
• For Apple's New Stream Machine, Jobs Giveth, Jobs Taketh Away
• Amazon's Third-Generation Kindle Keeps e-Reader Fire Burning …
• Hands-On With the Apple iPad

Photo: Jens Mortensen, Everett

No matter how much you paid for that 72-inch tyranno-vision TV with 9.2 surround, it’s not worth squat if there’s nothing to watch. That’s why our 2010 pick for the living room isn’t a TV or a media player or a booming array of speakers. Hell, you can’t even touch it. Even so, we’re completely grab-hands for Netflix Streaming. This was the year Netflix Streaming came out to play. With more than 20,000 movies and TV shows, completely free to subscribers, viewable on more than 100 devices and counting (what’s up, Apple TV?), Netflix is well on its way to fulfilling the promise of digital media: whatever you want, wherever and whenever you want it. But it’s the little touches that really blow us away. Want to pause an episode of 30 Rock on your TV and finish it tomorrow on your computer? You got it. Didn’t catch why everyone’s laughing at Tracy? Just slide the scrub bar to rewind. Blu-ray disc has a 30-day wait? Stream that sucker in HD, right now. Suddenly, checking the mailbox for the little red envelope seems, well, primitive.

See Also:

• Battle of the Boxes: Apple TV vs. Western Digital and Seagate
• Logitech's Google TV: Brilliant Concept Hampered By Networks
• LG Player Is a Blu-ray, Netflix Mashup Machine
• For Apple's New Stream Machine, Jobs Giveth, Jobs Taketh Away
• Samsung's Fancy Blu-ray Player Will Have You Up Against the Wall

Each year, computer and electronics companies spend countless millions of dollars and man-hours to create what they hope will be the next blockbuster gadget — the sort of tech breakthrough that will transform how we interact with the world. Most of them fail. But not all of them. This year, the best products represent completely new visions of what our gear can do for us. On the following pages, we present our top picks for 2010, tested and rated.

Photo: Jens Mortensen

Sometimes, a little identity crisis is a wonderful thing. Since acquiring Voodoo in 2006, HP has been quietly injecting the specialty gaming PC maker’s high-dollar DNA into its own mass-market machines. It’s taken some time, but the fruits of that marriage are finally ripe: an inexpensive yet fast, feature-rich, and exquisitely designed computer. HP dropped serious hardware into this box, with a 2.4-GHz Intel Core i5 processor and smoking ATI Radeon 5650 graphics card, backed up by enough RAM and hard drive space to rip a pile of movies on the quick. And all that power is ensconced in decadent luxury. The spacious island-style keyboard offers full-size arrow keys typically unheard of on laptops. The slot-loading DVD drive is smooth and responsive, battery life is great, and three USB ports keep your gear connected. Even better is the gloriously high-resolution LED-backlit display that loads up on enough pixels (1600 x 900) in its 14.5 inches to give games, movies, and photos an immersive level of realism. Finally, it’s simply beautiful to behold, with a richly textured and patterned aluminum case that looks like a custom etching. The result is a sophisticated and sleek machine that makes Envy an affordable luxury.

See Also:

• Gaming Notebook Nose-Dives off Ugly Tree, Hits Every Branch on Way …
• HP Printers Work with Apple's iOS4 AirPrint
• MacBook Pros With New Intel Chips Could Arrive Soon
• HP's New Notebooks Target Hipsters, Fashionistas
• Razor-Thin Desktop PC Has Price, Performance to Match

Want to shoot pro-quality photos without forking over a month’s salary? These high-end compacts have built-in lenses with specs so tasty they could make Terry Richardson drool all over his white walls.

1. Samsung TL500

The 3X wide-angle lens on Samsung’s flagship compact boasts a fast f/1.8 aperture that lets so much light hit the 10-MP sensor, it’s practically blinding. We captured gorgeous close-ups of flowers with lush, blurred backgrounds for a professional look; just don’t forget to use a superfast shutter speed in bright daylight or your highlights will be obliterated. In candlelit portraits, our subject’s face was sharp and evenly illuminated.

WIRED Manual shooting and RAW image capture options let you get creative like the pros. 3-inch swiveling AMOLED display is great for composing over-the-head and low-angle photos.

TIRED Biggest and heaviest of group. Shutter and power buttons dangerously close together. Pricey.

$450, samsung.com

2. Canon PowerShot SD4000 IS

Canon was able to cram a nice f/2.0 lens into the SD4000’s slender and stylish body, making this a great camera for a night on the town. We got surprisingly sharp portraits of singers and musicians in tricky lighting at a rock concert. It was also rock-solid when shooting HD video, with decent stereo sound. Unfortunately, you’d miss all the action by the time you change settings on this annoyingly menu-driven compact.

WIRED Built-in stabilizer helps keep the 10-MP images sharp. Great macro mode for close-ups of flowers, bugs, and set lists.

TIRED Image size shrinks to 2.5 megapixels in high-speed (8.4 fps) mode. Snazzy beveled edges cause camera to fall over on flat surfaces.

$350, canon.com

3. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX75

The good news? This 14.1-MP monster has a bright f/2.2 lens. The bad news? It has no manual controls to let you fully exploit the lens’s potential. Despite high-end components, this is an idiot-proof automatic model meant for the camera-phobic. Getting the lens to open to maximum aperture was a crapshoot, and we had no luck defocusing the background in our close-up shots of flowers.

WIRED Helpful 24-mm to 120-mm focal range does right by everything from landscapes to long-distance candids. 3-inch LCD touchscreen. Records HD video in space-saving AVCHD Lite format.

TIRED Fully automatic functionality reduces creativity. Noisy low-light images. Dull design.

$300, panasonic.com

4. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX5

This pipsqueak paparazzo is outfitted with a 5X zoom seemingly made for a bigger model. The G-series lens—the moniker Sony uses for its top digital SLRs—is capable of opening up to f/2.4, but you have little control over it. The WX5 does offer one great noob-friendly feature—a Background Defocus mode that sets the lens to a wide aperture so you can focus attention on your subject.

WIRED 3D Sweep Panorama automatically stitches together a 3-D-like image to show off on a compatible TV. HDR mode blends multiple shots into one with picture-perfect exposure.

TIRED Small body and buttons make it hard to shoot with. Weakest of the bunch in image quality.

$300, sony.com

See Also:

• Trickle-Down Features Color Panasonic's Gateway Shooter
• Olympus' Little Retro Point-and-Shoot Costs Big Bucks
• Jill-e Clutch Bag: Tote Your Compact Camera in Style
• Fuji Introduces Compact 3-D Camera for Consumers
• Nikon's Stages Compact Comeback with Flash-Friendly P7000

Air travel is an abomination. But don’t double-fist brewskis and head for the emergency slide. Make the best of it with a totally fly travel kit that will keep you comfy and entertained in cattle class, while clocking in at just over 6 pounds.

1. Exped Air Pillow

WIRED Lighter than a Sky Mall catalog at a mere 3 ounces. Packs down small enough to fit inside a coffee mug. Separate one-way valves for inflating and deflating let you dial in just the right amount of skull-cradling pressure. Contoured shape adjusts to more sleeping positions than Rodney Yee. Soft, polyester tricot shell is gentle on your face yet stands up well to scrubbing. Totally has your back—also makes a great lumbar support.

TIRED Somewhat useless in the aisle seat. Ted Haggard-y valves sometimes go both ways.

$29, exped.com

2. Powermat Rechargeable Travel Mat

WIRED Built-in battery pack for portable, cordless power-ups. Small enough to fit in our back pocket (we wear big jeans). One full charge juiced our thirsty iPhone more than five times. Includes adapters for USB, Nintendo DS, various phones, and all of Apple’s iWhatevers. Wireless magnetic induction charging sure to amaze juggalos.

TIRED Flimsy hinges for a portable device. iPhone case ($40!) thicker than a Stieg Larsson plotline.

$130, powermat.com

3. Timbuk2 Commute 2.0

WIRED “Checkpoint friendly” TSA-compliant laptop pocket unzips so your rig doesn’t have to go naked during the security dance. Waterproof shell wards off boozy spills from cramped coach seatmates. Backside sleeve secures to a roller bag. Roomy main compartment plus 10 gear pockets will store more bric-a-brac than your crazy cat-hoarding aunt.

TIRED Neither upright nor locked—bag flops onto the laptop compartment when placed on ground. Awkward shoulder strap.

$110, timbuk2.com

4. Sony MDR-NC300 headphones

WIRED Excellent sound; music and movies were both handled beautifully. Good battery life. Movie, Bass, and Normal modes deliver audio for almost any situation; cancellation function silences unwanted noise like a grade-school principal. Monitor button mutes the tunes to let you listen to the captain speaking. Ships with seven extra sets of earbud covers.

TIRED No way to customize modes. Bulky battery pack and processor. We would have preferred more volume. Thanks for the extra covers; they come off faster than shirts on Jersey Shore.

$300, sony.com

5. Dell Streak

WIRED Tablet phone flies like a hummingbird at a mere 7.7 ounces. Slim profile slips easily into a coat pocket. At 5 inches, screen is big enough to showcase gory details of True Blood, small enough so your seatmates won’t catch you watching Glee.

TIRED Sluggish touchscreen had us doing more poking than a Facebook first-timer. Available in any color you like, as long as it’s black. As power-hungry as a third-world dictator. Hear that? It’s 2009 calling. It wants its outdated Android OS back.

$300 (with two-year AT&T contract), dell.com

See Also:

• Icon Motors Re-engineers the King of the Trail
• TSA-Compliant Laptop Bag Takes (Some) Shame Out of Airport …
• Size Does Matter With the 11-inch MacBook Air
• Inflatable Bike-Bag for Air-Filled Air-Travel

Mobile carriers love holding their customers by the brass ones. But don’t sweat commitment. These days, buying a month-to-month prepaid cell phone doesn’t condemn you to toting around a flaming POS.

1. Motorola i1 | Boost Mobile

The i1 isn’t exactly the freshest phone, due to its outdated Android 1.5 OS. But with a vivid 3.1-inch HVGA display, good-enough touchscreen, Wi-Fi, and 5-MP camera, this month-to-monther is actually a keeper. And we can say “No contract, suckaz!” faster than you can type #ATTFAIL.

WIRED More than 50,000 apps! Thin and pocketable. Tough casing can take a tumble yet looks sharp at the office. Free push-to-talk chatting and SMS with other iDen handsets (surely all your peeps are on Boost, yo?).

TIRED Built-in mic is weaker than a virgin daiquiri. 15-fps video resembles footage from the moon landing. Fake-out: What looks like a touch scroll wheel is just a D-pad. 2.5-mm headphone jack. Bail is cheaper.

$350, motorola.com

2. BlackBerry Curve 8530 | Virgin Mobile

Like Mephistopheles, carriers have perfected the art of temptation. Minus a two-year contract, this workhorse costs 10 times as much. It could well be worth it, thanks to document, spreadsheet, and presentation editing, plus a full-on BlackBerry OS (not some watered-down version) that supports roughly 6,000 apps. There’s even tethering, if you’re willing to sidestep Virgin’s terms of service.

WIRED Spot-on optical trackpad. Downright slick interface. Ships with apps for Twitter, Facebook, and something called MySpace. Fully loaded: GPS, 3G, Wi-Fi, and BBM (BlackBerry messaging). Battery lives for days.

TIRED Scratch-prone plastic back feels and looks chintzy. Dinky 2.0-megapixel sensor. Mere 2.46-inch screen with 320 x 240 resolution. Grainy video.

$250, blackberry.com/blackberrycurve

3. LG Prime | AT&T

The housing has worse plastic than Heidi Montag, while the clunky browser looks a lot like Internet Explorer 4.0. Still, this phone isn’t an entirely bad call. We had fun taking multishot photos and 12-fps video (and playing it all back on a nice 3-inch 400 x 240 touch display). Try that with a disposable handset from The Wire.

WIRED Featherweight at just 3.1 ounces. Standard 3.5-mm headset jack and up to 16 GB of side-loading storage (microSD card not included) mean it serves double duty as a viable music player. Battery delivers hours of talk (assuming calls aren’t dropped).

TIRED Fussy touchscreen is more difficult to finger than a mob hit man. Crummy navigation. Home-screen apps are finicky. Mobile email costs an additional $5 a month. Only 48 MB of internal memory.

$90, lg.com

4. Samsung Intensity | Verizon

Whether you’re a foot soldier or kingpin, nothing’s more satisfying than a spacious QWERTY. This slider provided the smoothest typing of the bunch. Throw in voice-recognition dialing, AIM and Yahoo messaging, and up to 16 GB of external storage, and the call sounds convincing. In practice, the meager display is embarrassingly lo-res (220 x 176 pixels) and too square, making movie-watching about as intense as a bowl of cold oatmeal.

WIRED Dedicated voice command button. Photos turn out well in Night Shot mode. External speaker is bus-shakingly loud.

TIRED Low-quality camera with no video capture. 2.5-mm headset jack. Janky interface. Unless you’re an 11-year-old girl or Lady Gaga, the metallic red casing is a tad flashy.

$100, samsung.com

See Also:

• Samsung's Windows Phone 7 Packs Intuitive, Visual Punch
• Sony's Newest Android Phone Is a High Dose of Can-Do
• Five Ways To Slash Your Cellphone Bill
• How to Take Your iPhone Overseas
• G1 Android Phone at Least $380 Cheaper Than iPhone

Turns out the Age of Rock neither burned out nor faded away. Proof: Plenty of companies still crank out old-school stereo components that let you cruise the highway to hell, one side at a time.

1. Human Speakers Model 81

WIRED Accurate and hearty sound: sweet highs and bass deep enough to make your subwoofer stand up a little straighter, just to get some attention. Everything—woofers, tweeters, cabinets, crossovers—is handmade by a poet in New Hampshire. (That’s right: a poet—who knows how to rock.)

TIRED Online order form straight out of GeoCities. Old-school looks did not pass the lady test. To the man cave, Robin!

$450, humanspeakers.com

2. Raysonic SP-200

WIRED With warm, bright sound that puts a sonic shine on vinyl and lossless audio, this 100-watt integrated amp even smooths the harsh notes of low-bitrate MP3s. Completely groovy stereo imaging, man.

TIRED It’s all about the midrange—very little low thump or ultrahigh splash. Be careful around those eight KT-88 tubes: They run hot enough to shatter if you get greasy fingerprints on them, and replacement will set you back about three bills each.

$2,990 (as tested), raysonicaudio.com

3. Technics SL-1200MK2

WIRED This club-favorite turntable has more street cred than 2Pac—all of our most trusted vinylphile friends spin it. Supersturdy aluminum chassis and platter. Simple to operate without spilling your Coors. Just like 1979: High-torque direct-drive motor is dead steady and easily transitions from Supertrampin’ to scratchin’ and beat matchin’.

TIRED Pitch control and adjustable tonearm overkill for the home user. Stylus sold separately.

$550, technics.com