Canon EOS 5D Mark II (body only)

Three years is a long time for any product to hang around, especially when the technology changes as rapidly as it does for digital cameras. Though it's always had a big fan base, Canon EOS 5D users have nonetheless been itching for more.

The successor Canon delivers: the EOS 5D Mark II is in many ways a must-have upgrade, especially for the wedding photography crowd for whom the 5D is a workhorse. And with many of the imaging components of the 1Ds Mark III (including a later version of the image-processing engine, Digic 4) for a price tag $5,000 lower, it's certainly an attractive alternative. It's also priced fairly aggressively compared with the competition despite its new 21-megapixel CMOS sensor and groundbreaking movie capture capability.

iHome iA100

The good: Speaker dock supports iPad along with iPhone/iPod; works with iHome's iOS app to deliver a rich alarm clock feature set, including weather updates and Twitter/Facebook messaging; built-in speakerphone and Bluetooth audio streaming capabilities.

The bad: Sound could be better for the money; lacks support for landscape/horizontal viewing mode found on competing Altec Lansing model.

The bottom line: Though we wished it sounded a little better for the money, the iHome iA100 is a full-featured tabletop stereo system with a built-in Bluetooth speakerphone functionality and iPad charging/docking.

Apple iPhone 4 - 32GB - black (AT&T)

Editors' note: In light of Apple's decision to offer free cases for the iPhone 4's antenna, we are not changing our original iPhone's 4 rating. We are, however, withholding the Editors' Choice rating because of the attenuation issues that we experienced.

We updated this review November 22, 2010, to reflect the new features from iOS 4.1 and 4.2.

With a revamped design, a sparkling new display, a speedy processor, and additional features, the iPhone 4 is the biggest upgrade to Apple's smartphone since the iPhone 3G. It's also the showcase handset for Apple's newest operating system, iOS 4, which adds a selection of long-overdue features, plus some smaller tweaks that we weren't expecting.

Panasonic HDC-SD60K

Is it just me, or are four nearly identical versions of the same product a wee bit much? Panasonic seems to be taking a carpet bomb approach to the entry-level HD camcorder market, with those four models in the slim range between $500 and $700. The HDC-SD60, TM55, and TM60 are all identical save the amount of built-in memory: none, 8GB, and 16GB respectively; the TM60 is an exclusive to Best Buy. The HS60 includes a 120GB hard disk, and because of that has a slightly different design. Reviews of all four products are based on testing of the SD60 and HS60.

Kodak EasyShare Z915

There are plenty of sub-$200 compact cameras around, but few offer as much as the Kodak EasyShare Z915. The pocket megazoom camera has a strong feature set including fully manual and fully automatic shooting options. It's uncomplicated to use and has faster performance than much of the competition. It has some photo quality issues, but the level of concern about them should be measured by how you use your photos and how natural you like your colors.

Toshiba Portege R705-P35

Editors' note: The review below reflects hands-on testing of the Toshiba R705-P25 model. The R705-P35 here adds a built-in 4G wireless option, but is otherwise identical. As such, it retains the Editors' Choice designation of its predecessor.

We know that the quest for the perfect laptop is ultimately fruitless. Different users have different needs, budgets, and expectations, and tomorrow's technology threatens to make any just-purchased laptop semi-obsolete before it even comes out of its cardboard box. That said, the new Toshiba Portege R705 comes about as close as anything we've seen this year, offering a great mix of price, design, features, and performance.

Panasonic Viera TC-P50VT25

There's plenty of hype surrounding 3D TV, much of it promulgated by the people at Panasonic, but the main reasons we like the TC-PVT20/25 series so much are contained by the traditional two dimensions. Yes, it beats the one other first-generation 3D-compatible TV we've tested, and yes, it actually includes 3D glasses, but with the scarcity of 3D content available today, the need to buy additional, expensive glasses for every family member, and the basic fact that 3D TV isn't for everyone, we think this TV's 2D prowess is the main reason to buy it.

Pioneer VSX-1020-K

Pioneer ran away with our Editors' Choice in the AV receiver category in 2009, with the VSX-1019AH-K delivering an unmatched combination of performance and features in its price class. Pioneer hasn't slowed down with the new 2010 model, the VSX-1020-K, upping the HDMI connectivity to six inputs while keeping the same excellent sound quality we loved on last year's model. Our main knock is that the VSX-1020-K lacks some of the newest HDMI features that are available on competing receivers, such as audio return channel and standby pass through. We're also not thrilled that it's the only receiver at this price level with a one-year warranty--the rest have two or more. Still, those are small nitpicks on what is overall an excellent value for a midrange AV receiver. Just note that competitors have caught up in areas like iPod connectivity and graphical user interfaces, so the Pioneer is no longer the easy pick of the litter.