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by WoW Insider
CNET provides the latest tech news, unbiased reviews, videos, podcasts, software, and downloads, making tech products easy to find, understand and use.
8.8 out of 10
KEF KHT3005 (black)
The KEF KHT-3005 is one compact, beautifully designed speaker package with solid aluminum satellites that feature unique driver technology to produce incredible clarity. Meanwhile, the equally astounding dual 10-inch, 250-watt powered subwoofer delivers ultradeep bass. Full Review
8.8 out of 10
KEF KHT3005 (silver)
The KEF KHT-3005 is one compact, beautifully designed speaker package with solid aluminum satellites that feature unique driver technology to produce incredible clarity. Meanwhile, the equally astounding dual 10-inch, 250-watt powered subwoofer delivers ultradeep bass. Full Review
8.8 out of 10
Aperion Intimus 4T Hybrid SD (cherry)
Six-piece home theater speaker package with slender towers; compact center and surround speakers; remote controlled subwoofer with adjustable equalization; gorgeous furniture grade real cherry wood or black gloss finishes; 10 year warranty; 30 day in-home trial; free shipping. Full Review
8.7 out of 10
Dish Network ViP622 (200-hour DVR)
Receives and records new MPEG-4 AVC programming, including local and other HD channels not available on older receivers; dual-output mode for secondary TV; can record up to three HD shows simultaneously while playing back a fourth; 30-second commercial skip; exceedingly quick response time; well-designed, highly customizable interface; search function includes history; superb remote; impressive image quality; USB port enables connections to portable media players and external hard drives to expand storage capacity. Full Review
8.7 out of 10
Sony PlayStation 3 (80GB)
Swanky design with quiet operation; all games in high-definition; PSP-like, easy-to-use interface; plays Profile 2.0 high-definition Blu-ray movies in addition to upscaling standard DVDs; built-in Wi-Fi; 80GB hard drive; HDMI output with 1080p support; no external power supply; free online gaming service. Full Review
8.7 out of 10
Sling Media Slingbox Pro-HD
Streams home TV and other audiovisual sources to any broadband-connected Mac, Windows PC, Windows Mobile, Palm, or Symbian device in the world; streams HD video (bandwidth permitting); no host PC or monthly charges required; easy-to-use software; controls almost all cable and satellite boxes and DVRs; superb video quality over home network, good video quality via the Internet; simple, straightforward setup. Full Review
8.6 out of 10
Wi-Ex zBoost YX510-PCS-CEL cell phone signal extender
The Wi-Ex zBoost YX510-PCS-CEL significantly boosts your cell phone reception and is easy to operate. Also, it uses a wireless connection to your phone. Full Review
8.6 out of 10
Turbo Charge Tc2 portable cell phone charger
The Turbo Charge Tc2 portable cell phone charger successfully delivers emergency power to your cell phone. It's easy to use and comes with a couple of surprising features. Full Review
8.3 out of 10
Sanyo SCP-5300 (Sprint)
Vibrant color display; built-in camera with flash; compatible with Sprint PCS Business Connection software; comes with extended battery; solid call quality. Full Review
9.3 out of 10
Canon EOS 1D Mark III
Extremely fast, 10-megapixel continuous shooting; very low noise; highly customizable; well-designed body with weather sealing; 3-inch LCD; abundant optional accessories. Full Review
9.3 out of 10
Nikon D3 (body only)
Full-frame sensor; well designed, pro-level weather-sealed body; very low noise, even at extremely high ISOs; fast. Full Review
9.0 out of 10
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III
Very low noise, high quality images; 21.1 megapixels; live view shooting; pro-level build-quality and performance. Full Review
9.1 out of 10
HP Pavilion Slimline S3330f
Outstanding price-to-feature ratio; Blu-ray/HD DVD combo drive; small, flexible case; great performance thanks to a speedy dual-core AMD CPU Full Review
8.7 out of 10
Dell XPS 630
Fastest gaming performance in its price category (mostly); distinctive chassis; lots of expandability; Nvidia software makes overclocking easy. Full Review
8.5 out of 10
Apple iMac (24-inch, 2.8GHz)
A minor specification update results in some significant performance gains; graphics upgrade an option on this 24-inch model; sleek, polished design didn't receive an update, but we won't start clamoring for a new design until the current one is at least 12 months old. Full Review
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brett @ Sep 4th 2007 6:15AM
I agree with Vinny: Hertz "NeverLost" beggars description. Just how bad can a GPS user interface be? Can it be dangerous, stupid, useless and obtuse all at the same time? Apparently, yes it can, and then some. And we, like Vinny, gave it a name. Actually, we gave it several: "NeverWorks" (same as Vinny), "NeverAgain" and "AlwaysLost"... and also some other names too colorful to print here. We could never decide which was the better description of this execrable piece of wasted technology. While the turn-by-turn directions were OK (imperfect, but potentially helpful), what got me was how hard it was to tell the blasted thing where I wanted to go. NeverLost has a "yellowpages" function (supposedly), but this function is so beholden to sponsored advertisers that the interface designers had to (get this) pretend it isn't a GPS unit!
You see, although the GPS unit "knows" where you are, not very many folks "advertise" with NeverLost, which means that probably NOBODY near your current location, advertises with Hertz. So NeverLost has to "pretend" that it doesn't know where you are, and show you a list of sponsors who might be hundreds of miles away. If you're in Napersville, Illinois, (as I was), and ask for, say Wal-Mart, you get the one in Iowa, over 300 miles away. Because that's the nearest one that paid Hertz any money. This will happen, even if you are IN THE PARKING LOT OF A WAL-MART IN NAPERSVILLE, ILLINOIS! You heard right! In order to narrow your results geographically, centered on your actual current location, you have to tell it where you want it to search, via the (hideous) text-entry interface, a tedious process where you push up/down/left/right arrows until the blinking cursor is over the correct letter on a crude "QWERTY" keyboard picture. So in downtown Napersville, I'm tapping away (right-right-right-right-down "N", up-up-left-left-left-left-oops-right, "A"... and so on, until I've typed in "NAPE"). At this point, NeverLost asks if I want to find something close to Napersville. YES! you infernal piece of crap! Napersville, NAPERSVILLE, where I currently am, and have been, for the past 5 days! Is this a GPS unit, or not?. It knows where I am, down to the street corner. So why does it suddenly NOT know where I am, in the context of business lookups?
Why? Because accountants at Hertz saw NeverLost as an advertising revenue opportunity rather than a GPS unit that the customer is paid for. The sponsors won't pay if Hertz lists competitors for free (simply because they are geographically closer). What to do? The interface designers did what they were instructed to do: make it so crappy and useless and horrible, that the customer just gives up every finding a good Italian restaurant nearby (you know, the one the locals recommended ...just 5 miles away, except I can't find it!). But NeverLost is happy to send me 90 miles to a bad Italian restaurant that Hertz takes money from. Take my advice: find a real YellowPages.
That's a cynical, screw-the-customer attitude, in my book. So NeverLost? NeverAgain! And Hertz? Well, I don't shop there anymore either, if I can help it.