New Gadget 2011

The affordable Photosmart R837 has a 7.2- megapixel CCD sensor and features a typical 3X optical zoom lens. Nicely designed and relatively small, it still has room for a 3-inch LCD that’s both sharp and clear. Best of all, though, is the R837s easy-to-use interface and “Camera Help” menu section. There you’ll find tips and tutorials for learning the camera, its features and controls.

Video, though, is captured at 24 fps and not at the smoother 30 fps found in other cameras, so action shots tended to be choppy. Still-picture quality was better. I took pretty clean shots that featured vibrant, accurate color. Still, with the flash, I saw some noncolored noise and blown-out highlights. I noticed shutter lag, too, which can cause you to miss impromptu snaps. I love the Photosmart R837s built-in assistance and how simple it is to operate. But its performance and movie mode just don’t measure up, and leave me wanting more.

HP Photosmart R837: $299.99

This Mac mini is slightly faster than the 1.66GB version that I tested a year ago. Though this model isn’t a speed demon, it’s sufficient for light photo duties. Wed still like to see a TV tuner added. In addition, were not willing to overlook the minis lack of keyboard and mouse, as well as its modest hard drive capacity and system memory in the default configuration.

Although the Mac mini is still a compelling choice, Windows systems are coming on strong in the mini PC arena. Apple needs to spruce up the next version, or at the very least offer features similar to those of its competitors for the price.

Apple Mac mini (1.83-GHz Core Duo): $874

The 8210 comes with a drive that lets you both play and burn Blu-ray discs. The system uses CyberLinks PowerDVD BD, a fine program for HD playback. This desktop replacement laptop ships with Windows XP Professional, so it lacks Vistas Media Center features. It has neither a remote nor physical playback buttons, so you’re stuck with the mouse or touchpad for controlling the video. These factors, combined with the price hike to the system caused by the Blu-ray drive, make the drives inclusion suspect.

Despite our concerns about the drive, the 8210 is a powerful notebook for business or multimedia. Thanks to a 2.16-GHz Core 2 Duo T7400 CPU, 2GB of RAM, and discrete graphics, its performance equals that of a powerful desktop. That’s fitting, because at its weight you won’t want to lug it around.

Acer TravelMate 8210-6038: $2,999

The 4040 is also upgradeable to provide live traffic info. Finally, you can enable the Maestro 4040 to accept voice commands for virtually hands-free operation. In addition, I like how the Maestro supports multiple destination routing. Not too shabby, either, is the big 4.3-inch nonreflective QVGA display and modern SiRFstarIII receiver.

Best of all, Magellan has partnered with the American Automobile Association (AAA) to integrate roadside assistance information and AAA-rated business listings right into the device. On the Maestros main menu, a tap of the tow truck icon displays toll free numbers for both AAA membership and assistance, as well as your exact location. On my road tests, the Maestro 4040 was a great companion, generating accurate routes. The new user interface was also a significant improvement over previous Magellan models.

Magellan Maestro 4040: $499.99

I also wish the camera could capture VGA videos at 30 fps instead of a choppy 10 fps. But I was impressed by the burst mode, which, though not super fast, was very steady. The included glass eyepiece comes in handy under bright light conditions.

During testing, my simulated daylight test shot had a touch of noise, and flash shots exhibited even more noncolored noise throughout. Even so, color was very vibrant and accurate. The camera did very well on the resolution test, averaging 1,500 lineshigh for a 5MP camera. Sadly, I measured a 3.3-second boot-up time that’s acceptable but not super quick, and the cameras 7.2-second recycle time was incredibly slow. On a positive note, I found very little shutter lag.

Though video and nimble performance aren’t the PowerShot A460s strengths, on the whole it’s a very good buy.

CANON POWERSHOT A460: $ 149.95