Tag: HGG-1000

Onkyo HT-S7200 Home Theater System (Media Hound, Under $1,000) Beyond the big screen, what really separates a trip to the theater from a Netflix night is the sound. Big, booming, immersive, oh-god-the-zombies-are-coming-for-us surround sound. And when it comes to surround sound, there's your tinny, run-of-the-mill glorified computer speakers, and then there's Onkyo's new 7.1 system, the ...

Areaware Vanmoof Bike (Earth Lover, Under $1,000) If the hipster trend of sleek, lightweight fixed gear-bikes leaves you cold (or with a concussion, as the case very well may be), then a less-aggressive cruiser might be more your speed. Leave it to the Dutch, who are perhaps the world's most devout users of two-wheelers, to make the most of the ordinarily drab cruiser. Areaware's Vanmoof ...

Music Hall MMF-5.1SE Turntable (Style-O-Phile, Under $1,000) Much to the delight of Baby Boomers and pedantic audiophile soothsayers, vinyl is back in a big way. Which means two things: your husband/boyfriend/son/whoever was right about keeping those stacks of wax instead of selling them at a garage sale, and; he's going to need something to play them on. If budget isn't an issue but top-shelf ...

BFG NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 H2O Watercooled GPU (Gamer, Under $1000) If you're a gamer yourself, BFG's Frankenstein monster of graphical terror needs no introduction. If you aren't, then here's the gist: BFG's modded NVIDIA GTX 295 is to date the most powerful consumer GPU on the market (the thing in a computer that handles the onscreen graphics), and can handle insane amounts of 3D ...

G-Robots G-Dog (Gadget Head, Under $1,000) For the robot enthusiast, the nonpareil G-Dog by G-Robots ($949.99) satisfies both the creative brain (you have to build it from the included parts) and gadget obsession. The fully-functional robot comes programmed with 17 actions -- like walk, kick, hand stand, and even "go potty" -- but the user can play with the G-Dog motion editor software to ...

Litl Webbook (Novice, Under $1,000) Think of the Litl Webbook ($699) as the anti-PC. Sure, the 1.6 GHZ Atom processor and 1-gigabyte (GB) of RAM comes standard with most netbooks, but that's where the similarities end. For starters, the user interface strips away the menus, icons and folders typically found in Windows and Mac OSX, letting you view photos, online videos and update your ...

Sonos ZonePlayer S5 (Homebody; Under $1,000) Ideal someone who wants to play their PC's music in the kitchen, living room or other room without having to configure a complicated media extender, the compact all-in-one Sonos ZonePlayer S5 ($399) is by far the most affordable wireless networkable speaker system in the company's lineup, with high-performance audio that rivals Bose's SoundDock ...

JVC HD Everio GZ-HM400 (Creative, Under $1,000) If you aspire for your homemade movies to be more 'American Beauty' than America's Funniest, you'll need to forgo the raft of pocket-sized but underpowered HD camcorders and opt for a higher-end model. Which is where's JVC's newest Everio, the GZ-HM400 HD camcorder steps in. Able to record both crisp 1080 at 60fps HD video, as well 600fps ...

Dyson Limited Edition DC25 Blueprint (Homebody, Under $1000) Vacuum cleaners are like eyeglasses and headphones -- when you buy one, it's worth paying for quality (particularly if you live with a dog and/or significant other that sheds regularly). And once you use a "serious" vacuum cleaner, it's tough to go back. Dyson's Limited Edition DC25 Blueprint ($529.99) is arguably the nicest ...

Panasonic GF1 (Gadget Head, Under $1000) Gadget heads, take notice: the Panasonic GF1 ($800) is a ridiculously nice camera to shoot with. Because it uses the new Micro Four Thirds standard, it essentially allows for most of the benefits of a dSLR -- interchangeable lenses, and thereby excellent image quality -- without all the bulk. The solid, sturdy metal body is definitely too big for your ...

We hate to say it, particularly since you're probably trying to save money, but now is a pretty good time to buy an HDTV. Prices have never been lower for televisions of every shape, size, and technology. In fact, you can get an HDTV for less than $300, which is finally getting close to what a TV should cost. That said, if you're a movie watcher and have a big enough room, then we'd ...

Samsung HL50A650 50-inch DLP 1080p $999.99 at BestBuy WHAT'S A DEAL: It's 50-inches, yo, for those folks who are looking for size (and sorry, but size does matter when dealing with HDTVs). It also has some nice extras like a USB input, so you can hook your video or still digicam directly to the TV and watch a slideshow in full HD splendor. WHAT'S THE CATCH: It's a DLP TV, which means ...

Vizio SV420XVT1A 42-inch LCD 1080p $999.99 at Costco WHAT'S A DEAL: It's got all the things you'd want in an HDTV – 1080p resolution, four HDMI inputs, and three built-in surround sound speakers that actually sound good. Also, it has a 120Hz refresh rate – a rarity in this price range – which means sports and fast-action scenes look smooth (no pixellation). WHAT'S THE ...

Sharp LC-32-D64U 32-inch LCD 1080p $949.99 at Target WHAT'S A DEAL: Excellent picture, insane 10,000:1 contrast ratio, sexy styling, and otherwise high-end features. WHAT'S THE CATCH: It's only 32-inches, and we'd expect a 120hz refresh rate at this price/size combination. BOTTOM LINE: This is a case where smaller is better. In other words, if overall picture quality and decent features ...

Sanyo DP50747 50-inch plasma 720p $948 at Walmart WHAT'S A DEAL: Big size, small price; high 8000:1 contrast ratio; built-in Dolby Digital Surround Sound. WHAT'S THE CATCH: It's only 720p, which will disappoint Blu-ray disc lovers. It also only has three HDMI inputs (compared with the four HDMI inputs increasingly found on televisions of this size). Lastly, its generic looks are a bit ...