Power on a Budget -> Acer Aspire AS5741Z-5433

Price: $579.98 list

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With a 15.6-inch screen, dual-core Pentium processor, 4GB of RAM, 320GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Home Premium, the Aspire AS5741Z-5433 (available at Staples) has an impressive list of features for a budget laptop. In addition, its battery life and overall performance places it in the top tier in its category.

Weighing 5.39 pounds, this system is relatively light and has a very subdued design, with a smudge-resistant lid that’s covered in a dark-gray, plastic matte coating that has a textured, mesh pattern, while on its keyboard dock is a smooth, matte-silver metallic surface with light streaks. The Chiclet-style keyboard includes a numeric pad, but lacks dedicated volume and brightness buttons. The keyboard flexed way too much for my tastes, but the touch pad was very responsive.

Sony 3D HDTV Delivers -> Sony Bravia KDL-55HX800

Price: $1500 direct

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When the Bravia KDL- 55HX800 arrived in PC Labs, we couldn’t wait to tear open the box. And we weren’t disappointed: Besides delivering 3D, it also has the latest TV tech, including LED backlighting and a fast 240-Hz refresh rate, which translates to a beautiful 2D picture, too.

The HX800 series is the least expensive of Sony’s family of 3D HDTVs, though you wouldn’t know it by this 55-inch HDTV’s hefty $3,400 price tag. And by the time you add in $150 3D glasses for the family and a 3D transmitter, you’re in for around $4,000. That doesn’t include a 3D-capable Blu-ray player or discs. As with most brand-new technologies, you’re paying a premium to be in on the ground floor.

But you won’t be disappointed. With its sleek lines and thin glossy black bezel, the HX800 is one good-looking HDTV.

An All-in-One Winner -> Lenovo IdeaCentre B500

PRICE: $1,399 direct

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The IdeaCentre B500 eschews trendy features like a touch screen and HDMI inputs in favor of rocksolid HD and multimedia performance. You won’t miss the touch screen once you put this entertainment oriented system on your desk and rock out to World of Warcraft while simultaneously listening to music. Granted, you’ll pay a couple hundred dollars more for the B500 than for its rivals, but that premium is worth it.

The B500 has an angular look, setting itself apart from the more minimalist all-inones, such as the Apple iMac and Gateway One ZX6900 series. The JBL stereo speakers sit low under the 23-inch widescreen and are highlighted by a show-through perforated grill with orange accents.

The system has a decent number of connections and is mostly wireless, with 802.11n and Bluetooth for the keyboard and mouse.

BlackBerry Goes Touch Screen -> BlackBerry Torch 9800

Price: $450 direct

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The new BlackBerry Torch 9800 with BlackBerry 6 keeps RIM in the smartphone game. It’s the first truly usable touch screen BlackBerry, and it’s packed with new features: a new Web browser, apps, interface, and social networking hooks. Messaging is still clearly at this phone’s core, though, leaving the Torch a strong bet for those who type and chat all day, and still behind the leaders for those who prefer to play games, surf the Web, or watch videos.

The 4.4-by-2.4-by 0.6-inch (HWD), 5.7-ounce Torch is black and silver, with a soft-touch back and a comforting heft. The screen slides up to reveal a BlackBerry Bold–like keyboard, which I found to be flat-feeling but still very useable. And the 3.2-inch, 360-by-480 capacitive touch screen is very responsive. The device has 4GB of on-board storage and comes with an additional 4GB MicroSD card. The new BlackBerry 6 OS offers a great balance of keyboard, track pad, and touch-screen input. You can do almost everything two or three ways, which makes this the best AT&T phone for people who are more comfortable typing on a hard keyboard than on a touch screen.

A Workstation For Tight Spaces -> HP Z200

Price: $2,496 direct

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The HP Z200 small-form-factor (SFF) PC offers workstation-level performance in a surprisingly small package. Sure, you won’t get the myriad expandability options of a tower, but how many of your workers actually need 16TB of hard drive space anyway? The Z200 works best as a workstation for the space-constrained staffer with a heavy multimedia-oriented workload. It’s got many advantages and a few drawbacks, but the main thing that might make potential buyers retract their wallets is the steep price.

The Z200 looks just like the $800 PCs you buy your rank-and-file employees, but at roughly 4 by 13 by 15 inches (HWD), this diminutive workstation hides a good amount of internal power. It supports Intel Core i3, i5, and quad-core Xeon processors and has.....

A Gaming-Multimedia Crossover -> Dell Studio XPS 7100

Price: $1,149 direct
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The Dell Studio XPS 7100 is a genre-straddling desktop PC. On one end, it has a quick six-core AMD multimedia processor and 1.5TB hard drive. On the other, it comes with an ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics card, so it’s a contender as one of the better entry-level gaming rigs. It’s packed with a lot of future-proof technology, and its price tag won’t break the bank.

The XPS 7100 comes in a silver version of the tower on the XPS 8000. The system is angled, so it appears to be leaning back, making it easier to access the media card bays and optical drives. The XPS 7100 also has some internal expansion room, including space for one PCI card, two hard drives, and one optical drive. You’ll need a screwdriver to get inside, but everything is well laid out and easy to access. Also notable is the fact that this system comes free of bloatware.

A New Tech Data Projector - Casio Green Slim XJ-A145U

Price - $999.99 direct

Not many projectors offer both a 2,500-lumen rating and a light source designed to last the life of the projector. In fact, the Casio Green Slim XJ-A145U and a few closely related Casio models are the first to make that claim. The secret is Casio’s innovative Green Slim hybrid light source. Not only does it last a lot longer than the traditional lamps, it has the additional benefit of being mercury free, which makes it a much more ecologically friendly projector than most.

In some ways, the 1.7-by-11.7-by-8.3–inch (HWD) XJ-A145U is a typical lightweight...