7.1-channel output
24-bit/192KHz output for two-channel DVD-Audio sources
THX certified
The bad:
Lacks hardware controls
No remote
The bottomline:
If you don't mind sacrificing a few convenient features for truly portable design, Creative's Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook turns your laptop into a bona fide sound system.
Intel's X-25M solid-state drive enjoys several advantages over both conventional disk drives and other SSDs, including improvements to data throughput, boot time and notebook battery life. If you can forget about the cost, this is by far the fastest data drive available.
Western Digital's My Book Mirror Edition is good value, and if the lack of transfer speed doesn't deter, then short of an NAS it's one of the better ways consumers can keep their data safe.
As long as you're not using Vista on one of your machines, Belkin's Flip DVI-D is a well featured KVM switch that offers support for up to 30-inch monitors.
For those blessed with excellent 3G reception in their homes the Vodafone Internet Stick will serve you well. Be sure to check Vodafone's coverage map before coughing up the cash.
While the QuickCam Sphere produces excellent pictures and has impressed us with its automatic face tracking, these features don't justify the extra expense over the cheaper webcams in the Logitech stable with matching optics.
With all the different types and variations available, it's easy to get confused about memory cards. But as they now fit into everything from digital cameras to printers, phones and televisions, it's important to know your way around the memory card maze.
Figuring they were on to a good thing with the Diamond TV, Philips and Swarovski have again teamed up, but this time on some slightly more affordable jewellery-with-a-practical twist offerings.
Intel and others plan to release a new version of the ubiquitous Universal Serial Bus technology in the first half of 2008, a revamp the chip maker said will make data transfer rates more than 10 times as fast by adding fiber-optic links alongside the traditional copper wires.
Two Pinnacle USB TV tuners for Mac have been launched in Australia -- the Pinnacle TV for Mac DVB-T Stick for digital TV and the Pinnacle TV for Mac Hybrid Stick for both analog and digital signals.
An industry group has formally christened a faster second-generation version of the PCI technology that's used to plug everything from video cards to InfiniBand adapters into computers.
Over this Christmas period, there is bound to be a lot of lounging around on the couch trying to escape the heat. Well, Belkin have taken this idea one step further and applied it to your laptop.