WHAT: Samsung 2.1 Ch Soundbar Home Theater System (HT-WS1G)
COMPARE TO: Philips Soundbar
PRICE: $349
FUN FACT: If grey is too plain, you can also get the Soundbar in Red.
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING:
So you blew a paycheck on a sick HDTV. You then got an HD cable box and set up your Xbox to stream Netflix movies in HD. Around this time you think you’re set, right? Nah, not quite. You maybe enjoying high quality visuals with your new set up, but what about the audio? We know your pockets are hurting after dropping all that dough on a new TV, but you don’t have to drop a stack to get your movies sounding as good as they look. Yes, a 5.1 surround sound system would be awesome, but if money’s tighter Tyga’s jeans, a system like Samsung’s Soundbar is perfect. It’s small, inexpensive and will perform well enough to make you think twice about ever going to a movie theater again…
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WHAT: Casio EXILIM EX-G1
COMPARE TO: Olympus Stylus Tough 6020
PRICE: $299
FUN FACT: The Exilim G1 is also available in red.
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING: If there’s one thing Casio knows how to do well, it’s building electronics that can take a beating. Look at their G-Shock watch line. Introduced in ‘83 as an affordable, extreme sports timepiece, Casio’s rugged sub-brand went on to become the definitive source for well priced, stylish, feature-filled, durable watches. It only makes sense that they extend that know how to the other branches of their company like they did with the Exilim EX-G1. Borrowing some of the same tech from their watches, Casio’s new G line also brings you well priced, stylish, feature-filled, durable camera’s. And unlike a lot of other brands whose rugged cameras look like something that would be at home next to a bunch of military gear, Casio’s EX-G1 is designed to, well, look like a regular camera. On top that it’s also the thinnest rugged camera on the market. Casio may not offer them in as many colors as they do G-Shock’s (not yet, at least), but if you’re looking for camera that won’t crap out on you after you drop it on hardwood, or spill beer on it, it’s worth a look.
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WHAT: Sony VAIO P Series
PRICE: Starts: $849
FUN FACT: Sign of the times? Sony no longer sells stand alone desktop computers.
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING: When the Sony VAIO P series first came out, its design wowed many, making some gadget groups and magazines to throw it on their best of lists without ever using it. And then they got their hands on it. What they found, to quote ZDnet.com, was a “sleek two-seater with the engine of an econobox.” The main bottleneck wasn’t the hardware, it was the software. Running Windows Vista on such a low-powered machine was crippling: there was a delay for most actions, the screen took a while to redraw itself. But that’s all in the past now that Vista has gone the way of the Shop Boyz and Windows 7 has taken its place. Now, with slightly upgraded hardware, the same industry leading design and an operating system that is more scalable and therefore able to run on slower systems, the Sony VAIO P series is actually a contender in the netbook/sub-notebook category. Read on to find out more…
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WHAT: Monster Turbine Pro Gold Edition Professional In-Ear Speakers
COMPARE TO: Klipsch Image X5
PRICE: Retail: $299, Amazon: $202.96
FUN FACT: Monster Cable also owns a record label called Monster Music which was started in 1988 and has released music for artists like 3 Doors Down and Ray Charles.
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING: For many, buying a pair of headphones over $100 is akin to buying a white tee for the same price. Just ridiculous. Yet and still, companies churn ‘em out for that small discernible crowd who happen to know and appreciate the difference between the ear buds that come packaged with your iPod and the ones that could double as studio reference monitors. The Monster Turbine Pros are for that group. Made by Monster Cable—the company known primarily for HDMI cables and, more recently and importantly, the line of Beats By Dr. Dre headphones—the Turbine Pro’s are their top-of-the-line in-ear headphones. And they’re good. Very good. But are they worth the price? Read on to find out…
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WHAT: Apple iPod Nano
COMPARE TO: Samsung P3, Creative Zen
PRICE: Starting at $149
FUN FACT: The fourth generation iPod Nano stopped using Firewire. Now all iPods use USB to connect to computers.
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING: Because amongst the hoopla surroundings Apple’s halo product, the iPhone and their upcoming iPad, it’s easy to believe that Steve & Co. is all about touch screens and apps. Yeah, that may be all their touting in advertisements, but that’s not what’s paying their bills. Apple’s best selling iPod is, and has been, the iPod Nano. It’s a no-brainer as to why. It’s the perfect medium between size and service: it’s small enough to slip into your pocket, no matter how skinny your jeans may be; and the latest generation (5th) has more features than any iPod ever. Sometimes you just want something to play music, not tell you the weather, where to eat, what new drug LiLo is snorting or who Tigers latest jump off is. Dare we say, it’s the perfect MP3 player? Read on to find out why….
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL REVIEW…
WHAT: Sonos ZonePlayer S5
COMPARE TO:AirPort Express Base Station , Bose SoundDock
PRICE: $399
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING: Take a second and think about all the physical media you currently own. Now, think about how much of that is music. Now think about how much of that music has been digitally converted. We’re not psychic, but we’re willing to bet almost all of your music can be found on your computer. If we’re right, and that’s the case, why are you still buying traditional stereos to play your music collection in your crib? With all your music stashed on a internet enabled computer, leaving it all up in the proverbial cloud, you need something that can easily pull it down from the cloud and play it wherever you want it played. Sonos’ latest ZonePlayer, the S5 can do just that. And it can do it very well.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REVIEW…
WHAT: Samsung Behold II
COMPARE TO: Motorola Droid, Apple iPhone, HTC MyTouch 3G.
PRICE: $399 (base), $149 (w/ 2 year contract)
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING: Yep, the smartphone market has exploded. Every couple weeks, there’s a new phone on the market that claims to be able to do things no other mobile phone could. But as these handsets get more and more powerful, however, they seem to get bigger and bigger. Now, we love a plethora of features—who doesn’t like to be able to edit the video they shoot on their phone, actually on their phone?—but we believe there’s a sweetspot when it comes to the size to features ratio. Yes, we want a full keyboard, vivid camera and awesome screen, but we don’t want a phone that can’t fit comfortably in our jeans pocket with our keys and Chapstick. To us, that sweet spot lies somewhere between the Blackberry Curve and the iPhone. Samsung’s second Google Android offering, the Behold II, falls well within that spot.
SOFTWARE: The Behold II runs Google’s Android operating system 1.5. Why they didn’t go with 2.0 is anyones guess. Yet and still, the OS is fast, attractive and extremely customizable. It doesn’t have the cool simplicity of the iPhone’s OS, or the fluid elegance of the Palm Pre’s Web OS, but it works. Well. If Kris Jenner and Robert Kardashian had a fourth daughter that, looks wise, could fit between Kourtney and Khloe, that would be Android 1.5…
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REVIEW…
WHAT: Sony VAIO L
COMPARE TO: Apple iMac, MSI AE2010-02SUS, HP TouchSmart 600xt
PRICE: Starting at $1300
FUN FACT: If you have any old Sony electronics, you may be able to trade them in for credit towards new Sony products through their Sony Trade In Program.
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING: The number of people computing from a desktop computer is dwindling. Thanks to Moore’s Law, we know computers (really, all gadgets) will become increasingly smaller and more powerful as the years go on. What does this mean for you? Well, it means you’ll be able to do a lot more with a lot less, which for a lot of people is negating the necessity to purchase a desktop computer. Unless your line of work needs the power of a desktop, why get one when you can cop a thin laptop you’re able to carry everywhere? And let’s not even get started on net books. So what does the future of the desktop computer look like? We think it looks a lot like Sony’s newest all-in-one desktop offering, the VAIO L series…
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WHAT: Panasonic 360 Quick Iron
COMPARE TO: Whatever janky iron you currently own.
PRICE: $80/$50 (pictured)/$40
FUN FACT: According to a poll, 9% of people enjoy ironing. But can they cook, though?
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING: Look, we all know that ironing is up there with flossing as one of those annoying self-maintenance chores that we’re supposed to do daily but usually don’t. But here at Complex, it doesn’t make sense for us to recommend that you buy a $300 shirt and then sit here and let you press it with some cheap dollar-store iron that’s more likely to crease (or even singe) your investment than make it look better. Enter the new 360 Quick series of irons from Panasonic…
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REVIEW…
WHAT: Sony Reader Touch Edition
COMPARE TO: Amazon Kindle 2
PRICE: $299.99
FUN FACT: Sony will release a wireless Daily edition in December.
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING: We’ve been waiting for Sony to drop an answer to Amazon’s watershed digital reading device, the Kindle, since its release back in 2007. Although Sony was the first to market with an e-reader offering, Amazon’s e-book device stole the show with its built in wireless connection that allowed users to download books directly to the device from Amazon’s digital store. Last month, Sony finally upped the competition with a completely updated reader line that included a mini reader, a version with built-in 3G (that drops in December) and an all new version with a much welcomed, highly intuitive touch screen.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REVIEW…
WHAT: BenQ Joybee GP1 Projector
COMPARE TO: Samsung P400 DLP, InFocus Work Big, ViewSonic PJD5111
PRICE: $499
FUN FACT: BenQ is offering a $50 rebate on Apple’s Composite AV cable until 9/31, making it easier to play iPods and iPhones.
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING IT: In our 2009 Style and Design package, one of the emerging trends we highlighted was the miniaturization of the video projector. Since most people haven’t actually had any experience with a video projector outside of college lecture halls and MTV Cribs, we can see why it may not seem like a big deal to the masses. But let us assure you, it is. With this new crop of mini projectors you’re basically able to carry around your own television set. Now, that can be a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it—you know those dudes on the subway that play music from their phones without headphones? Yeah, imagine that with video—but we’re leaning towards the positive on this one. Especially with models like the BenQ Joybee GP1 on the market. Although it’s not the smallest of the bunch—some projectors, referred to as PICO projectors are almost the size of your cell phone—the GP1 offers a well balanced mix of features and ease of use in a package that can still fit in the palm of your hand…
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW
WHAT: T-Mobile myTouch 3G
COMPARE TO: Apple iPhone, Blackberry Storm, Palm Pre
PRICE: $499; $199 w/ Two Year Contract
FUN FACT: The myTouch 3G comes in three colors: Black, White, and Merlot.
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING IT: In the consumer gadget marketplace, fierce competition breeds great products. And nowhere has that been more evident than in the world of mobile phones. Ever since the iPhone made companies rethink the role phones play in the lives of consumers, we’ve seen a flood of models looking to replicate Apple’s success. One of those phones was the T-Mobile G1, a touch screen slider powered by Google’s new Android phone operating system. And while it brought some widely praised innovations to the market, many felt the phone was not refined enough to do battle with the other touchscreen mobile devices now going for the throne. To give it another go, T-Mobile (and manufacturer HTC) went back to the lab and came back with the more responsive, more attractive and better featured myTouch 3G.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW
WHAT: Western Digital My Passport Essential SE
COMPARE TO: Maxtor One Touch 4 Mini, LaCie Little Big Disk Quadra
PRICE: $300 (1 TB); $200 (750 GB)
FUN FACT: Started in 1970, Western Digital made most of their money from pushing calculator chips before moving into OEM storage in the ’80s.
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING IT: Because when your computer crashes, and it will crash, it’s going to hurt bad when your realize you just lost your term papers as well as your music, video and photo collections that you’ve been compiling for however many months or years. Western Digital’s My Passport Essential SE will help you sidestep such a disaster. Their newest mobile hard drive comes in 750 GB and 1 TB (terabyte) capacities wrapped in a sleek package that checks in at less than half a pound in weight, less than an inch thick and only 5 inches wide. Thanks to a USB 2.0 connection you get crazy fast transfer speeds (480 Mb/s) and the ability to power the drive solely with the USB connection, making it that much easier to just toss in your backpack and go. We recommend going for the gusto with the 1TB—it may sound like too much space, but that’s like saying Kim Kardashian has too much ass, it’s just silly.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE 750 GB MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL SE FOR $169
WHAT: V-MODA Vibe II
PRICE: $128
COMPARE TO: Shure SCL4, Sony MDR-EX500LP, Klipsch Image S4
FUN FACT: The Vibe II’s were awarded Design & Engineering Showcase Honors at 2009 Consumer Electronic Show (CES).
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING IT: We understand non-audiophiles don’t put too much thought into their headphones. Not only do most of them sound the same, headphones are just one of those accessories you expect to misplace, so why bother? Plus who would bother paying over a c-note for some plastic and rubber? All good points. But what if a pair of headphones were priced a tick over $100, sounded as good as headphones double its price and forwent plastic and rubber for cloth and steel? Well, that’s where the new V-MODA Vibe II’s come in…
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WHAT: WowWee Rovio
PRICE: $299
FUN FACT: The Rovio can be controlled via Skype or MSN Messenger through a special video plug in.
WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING IT: Because when the WowWee team came through with the Rovio they completely changed our mind about the little three-wheeled electronic watchdog. Not only did we doubt its usefulness (we love robot’s and all, we just couldn’t think of situation when we’d need one), we were skeptical on how well the Rovio, an electronic assistant that can be controlled remotely from any computer connected to the internet, would really work once they were gone. Well, it worked pretty damn well. And after playing around with it for the better part of the afternoon, we got to thinking. As July winds down and we start planning the last of our summer getaways, we’d love to leave one on in our apartment just so we can keep an eye on everything while we’re OT…
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