New Gadget 2011

With the LV220C, video is front and center. It has a tuner plus an MCE remote that supports analog cable and digital over-the-air (OTA) HDTV, as well as unscrambled digital cable channels. (You can use it without a cable box if your provider doesn’t scramble the signals.) Because the LV220C lacks component video or HDMI inputs, you can’t use an external cable or satellite box, or an external high-def Player with it. Our test unit came with a DVD burner that has LightScribe disc labeling, though Eurocom also offers HD optical disc drives.

The system packs a 2.66-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 CPU. The LV220C did well on our Windows Media Encoder test and aced our Photoshop CS3 test in a zippy 32 seconds. Its notebook-class nVidia Go 7600 graphics aren’t up to much 3D gaming, though.

The LV220C's user-serviceable chassis can accept a pair of hard drives. Ours came with a 320GB drive, but the bays can hold up to 2TB between them. If the drives are identical, you can configure them as RAID 0 (for speed and capacity) or RAID 1 (for data safety). You get 2GB of RAM, and there’s an empty slot for another 2GB.

Although the LV220C is a good choice, check out its rivals before buying. Comparable Sony LT systems sell for less, and they offer far more hardware for just a little bit more.

Eurocom LV220C ViiVA Review
Price range: $3,176 direct
Specs:
- 2.66-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
- 2GB 667-MHz DDR2 SDRAM
- 320GB 7,200-rpm SATA hard drive
- 256MB nVidia GeForce Go 7600 graphics card
- Dual-layer DVD±RW drive
- Integrated 22-inch widescreen LCD monitor
- Four USB 2.0 ports
- One FireWire port
- One eSATA port
- integrated stereo speakers
- Windows Vista Ultimate

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This latest version of the WiSpy is a small, slightly customizable (you can adjust the antenna position) USB wireless device coupled with sophisticated analysis software. Chanalyzer 2.1 is a solid bit of code, but the action is with Chanalyzer 3.0, currently in beta 5. This updated package uses smart UI design, so even wireless novices can easily identify surrounding wireless signals, their strength, and their sources. The software is capable of recording analysis sessions. You can then e-mail the recording to colleagues who also use Chanalyzer, or you can upload it to MetaGeek's site for help from the user community. Note, however, that the 3.0 beta requires a Windows machine running .Net 2.0 or later.

The WiSpy 2.4x kit is a smart bit of engineering that gives generalists just the tools they need at a reasonable price rather than the vast array of analysis and diagnostic tools-accompanied by a price many times that of the WiSpy - found in enterprise level spectrum analyzers. I’d like to see 5-GHz capability soon (the company says it's working on it), but despite its absence, this is a solid addition to your network management toolkit.

MetaGeek WiSpy 2.4x Review
Price range: $399 direct
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The 24-inch LCD has a native resolution of 1,920 by 1,200 pixels and offers four color-management options optimized for graphics, text, standard, and movie viewing. With its 3,000:1 contrast ratio and 400-cd/m² rating, the P243W is one bright monitor. I was pleased with its performance, particularly when it came to color quality and displaying small fonts, though the panel did have trouble with very fight shades of gray. DVD movies and 3D-intensive games looked fantastic, but the unit didn’t fare so well on viewing-angle performance.

Though I was pleased to see that an HDMI port is included, along with the standard analog and DVI ports, I would have liked more in the way of multimedia features. DVI and analog cables are included in the box, but unfortunately you’ll have to purchase an HDMI cable separately. On the plus side, the display is backed by a three-year parts-and-labor warranty.

The P243W may be short on entertainment features, but this stylish monitor delivers the goods when it comes to image quality (including video and games) and text reproduction.

Acer P243W Review
Price range: $499.99 list
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The SimpleDrive's 3.5-inch drive spins at 7,200 rpm, has an 8MB cache buffer, and connects to a PC via a USB port. The included software, ArcSoft's TotalMedia Backup & Record (for Windows users) and TotalMedia Backup (for Mac users), is conveniently housed on the drive, so you can load it on any host system.

The software makes full or incremental backups simple. You can schedule backups, add comments to backup sets, and even password-protect them. Unfortunately, the software can't create a full, bootable backup of your operating system, but you can create a disc image and burn that to a CD or DVD. The speedy SimpleDrive can perform a drag-and-drop backup in under a minute, but performance takes a nosedive using the software.

The Simple Drive is covered by a stingy one-year warranty, but you do get toll-free telephone support and a 2GB online storage account. That said, the SimpleDrive is an outstanding value, thanks to its quick transfer rates, elegant design, and attractive price point.

SimpleDrive 500GB Portable Hard Drive Review
Price range: $169.99 list
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LCoS engines avoid the most common image distortions of cheaper DLP and LCD projectors, producing high-quality images with vibrant, saturated colors. The Realis X700’s measured contrast ratio is low, at 130:1, yet it still manages to outshine the competition. The main drawback is cost, although its $2,500 price is actually cheap for this technology.

Setting up the X700 is simple: Connect the appropriate cables, adjust the image size, and either focus manually with the remote or hit the Auto Set button to let the unit correct the setting for you.

The X700 has an impressive number of ports and cables for a business projector. The unit offers analog and digital ports and can connect with your PC, external audio setup, or component video source. It also ships with a soft carrying case and a bundle of cables: a USB cable, an RGB-component video-to-VGA cable, and a VGA-to-DVI cable.

The X700 excelled on our tests, doing surprisingly well at projecting video, which is an unusual advantage for a business projector. I measured the X700's brightness at 2,906 lumens, about 73 percent of the claimed 4,000 lumens. That’s a slightly lower percentage than most projectors deliver, but it's also the brightest projector we’ve tested. The system's one flaw is its virtually useless built-in audio, but that's not shocking for a business projector.

The X700 certainly doesn't come cheap, but if you're in the market for an XGA projector, this is the finest option out there right now for better, brighter images.

Canon Realis X700 Review
$2,500 street
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