Palm Centro AT&T

While it doesn't do everything the iPhone does, the Centro does do lot of the same stuff for a lot less. Admittedly, it could use a little tweaking here and there, mainly because of the outdated applications Palm bundles with the handset.

But the Centro is also pretty good at messaging in extended use, the Centro's small, gel like QWERTY keys aren't as off putting as they look but it wouldn't want to use either handset for long missives.

The Centro's touch screen requires the stylus, since most of the interface elements are too tiny for your finger. (The iPhone, by contrast, doesn't need a stylus and doesn't include one).

The 2.2 inch, 320 by 320 pixels LCD is sharp and bright, only a few tenths of an inch smaller than a regular Treo.

The glacier white handset it self measures 4.2 by 2.1 by 0.7 inches (HWD) and weighs 4.4 ounces. There's a hardware ringer switch on top (all phones should have them) along with a well placed, well balanced array of hard and soft keys.

Getting around the device is an exercise in simplicity. The cheap quality of the included plastic stylus is a downer but not a deal breaker. Voice calls sound clear and crisp for the most part, though during testing one was choppy enough for a redial.

The small body is easy to hold comfortably for however long your conversation lasts. The Centro sounded clear and powerful when paired with a Plantronics Explorer 370 Bluetooth headset. Its speaker phone was okay, but not quite loud enough for outdoor use. On the plus side, the Centro now has a voice dialing client.

The GSM-based device is quad band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and supports both GPRS and EDGE data protocols. Even though the Sprint version of the Centro supports 3G, the AT&T version doesn't.

And this is where Palm OS rears its ugly, outdated head, as it lacks support for UMTS and HSDPA data networks. (This is the reason the Palm Treo 680, which debuted almost 18 months ago in AT&T and unlocked versions, also lacked 3G support). Unlike the iPhone, the Centro doesn't support Wi-Fi, either. Ouch.

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Polk Audio's SurroundBar 360

Remember that soundbar from Polk Audio we spotted last year? We certainly hope you've been saving those pennies if you instantly considered yourself in the market for one, because Polk's mighty proud of it.

Debuting officially at CES, the SurroundBar 360 DVD Theater is a two piece surround sound system that includes a single "multi channel loudspeaker" alongside a separate console that houses a DVD / CD player, SDA (Stereo Dimension Array) signal processing amplifier, AM / FM radio and a host of inputs. '

Course, whether or not you'll really feel immersed by sound is debatable, but at least you can look forward to 1080i DVD up conversion, an HDMI output and a gaping hole (known in this example as $1,199.95) in Sir Wallet.

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LG 50PY3D

The TV's glossy black frame incorporates a couple of slick design touches, such as a multifunction display centered along the bottom edge that shows which video input is selected or the channel that's currently tuned. And immediately to the right of the display are a set of stylish, touch sensitive controls that are visible only when in use however, these controls were a magnet for fingerprints.

Integrated side mounted speakers give the set a relatively wide stance for a 50 inch screen. It's similar in width to larger 52 inch LCD, such as the Sharp LC-52D92U and the Samsung LN-T5265F.

With its crescent shaped swivel stand that provides 40 degrees of total travel (20 degrees both left and right), the 50PY3D measures 34.3 by 51.3 by 14.0 inches (HWD) and weighs 117 pounds.

Removing the stand reduces the height and depth to 31.9 inches and 4.3 inches, respectively.

The remote control is similar to those included with most LG HDTV, including the 47LBX.

Its rectangular face has a slight curve that transitions nicely into its beveled sides, and the wedge shaped profile thickens toward the bottom, providing a natural gripping point.

The buttons on this comfortable, well balanced control also have good tactile feedback, but the only back light keys are those located along its top edge. Programming the remote to control other components such as a VCR, DVD player, audio receiver, or set top box requires using the codes provided on an included CD.

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V7 NAV740

Tested two V7 models, the NAV740, which is for budget GPS devices, and its smaller screen sibling, the NAV730, both of which boast generous feature sets and low prices. The primary differences between the two devices are screen size and price.

The NAV740 ($299.95 list) has a 4.3 inch wide screen, while the NAV730 ($199.95 list) has a 3.5 inch screen. For this review, I'll focus on the NAV740 model, but will highlight some differences with the NAV730.

The hardware platform is similar to many other navigation devices we've reviewed.

It's based on the Samsung S3C2440 400-MHz processor with 64MB of flash memory and 64MB of SDRAM. The software runs on top of Windows CE .NET 5.0.

The receiver is a 20 channels SiRFstarIII with a built in antenna. As with virtually all portable

GPS devices, there's an antenna jack for an external antenna, but with the sensitivity of the SiRFstarIII, you rarely need one.

The NAV740 measures 3.3 by 4.9 by 0.8 inches (HWD) and weighs 7.1 ounces. At about three quarters of an inch thick, it's not the thinnest unit on the market, but it does come close. The 4.3 inch WQVGA display is 480 by 272 pixels. V7 rates the built in 1,600 mAh lithium polymer battery at 3.5 hours in GPS navigation mode.

Both devices come with the standard suction cup windshield mount, as well as a car power adapter. The NAV740 also includes an AC power adapter. Neither unit comes with an adhesive disk to allow dashboard mounting in states where windshield mounted devices might get you a traffic ticket.

Each device features a standby power switch, a reset button, a 3.5mm audio out jack, and a mini USB connector on the right hand side. At the left, you'll find the slot for the SD card as well as a volume up or down switch.

It's nice to have a dedicated volume switch, that founded a hardware volume control is easier, and safer, to use while driving than navigating through menus. Both devices also support dynamic volume adjustment, meaning that you can set them to increase volume automatically based on your driving speed.

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Cobra Nav One 5000

The first thing that will strike you when you see the Nav One 5000 is its huge screen. What's most important about the display, however, is its 4:3 format, as opposed to the 16:9 format found on wide screen models.

Those of you who remember your algebra know that calculating the dimensions for a 5 inch screen with a 4:3 format yields a total screen area of 12 square inches. A 4.3 inch screen with a WQVGA resolution measures 3.9 by 2.3 inches, resulting in a surface area of 8.7 square inches.

Thus, a 5 inch display in a 4:3 format has almost 50 percent more screen area than a 4.3 inch screen. This translates into a map that can show 20 percent more of the road ahead and text rendered in large fonts that are easy to read from a distance.

In addition, with a bigger screen, the Nav One 5000's on screen keyboard, configurable in either an alphabetic or QWERTY layout, has larger, easier to hit keys.

Though the Nav One 5000 has a built in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, it definitely falls outside of the shirt-pocket GPS category.

It measures a large 5.3 by 4.3 by 1.3 inches and weighs a hefty 9.5 ounces without its mounting bracket. The 5000 slides into a groove on the suction cup equipped bracket.

Because of the size and weight of the 5000, it had to mount it fairly low on my car's windshield where it could rest on the dashboard and not obstruct my view. The arm on the bracket is fairly short as well, so it took a little extra effort to get the suction cup attached.

And although it was easy to slide the device out of its bracket, I found it tricky to remount. In addition, you have to connect all of your cables directly to the Nav One 5000 since there are no pass through connections on the bracket.

The bottom of the device has connections for an external speaker, microphone, power, external GPS antenna, a USB port, and the optional RDS traffic receiver. Unlike the 4500, the 5000 has no buttons adjacent to the screen. Two hardware buttons, one for power and one for the main menu, are on the top of the device.

The menu system has a comfortable feel, and you can choose either the map view or the main menu as your opening screen. New users will appreciate the voice help, enabled by default, which walks you through the steps you need to create or customize a route. It also provides brief descriptions for each menu screen.

The main menu contains icons for Location, Address Book, Interest Points, and Go Home. Smaller icons either return you to the map view or open the Settings configuration menu.

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