Crave

If not sexy, then...practical.

(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)

I've been looking forward to the Dell UltraSharp U2410 with as much (or more) anticipation as some of our most fervent readers.

I feel a lot of monitor enthusiasts were expecting perfection from this monitor, so I'll get this out of the way right now: It's not perfect.

This may seem more disappointing than with other monitors, but that's mostly because of the super high expectations the U2410 had prerelease.

The monitor includes a H-IPS panel, one of the newer iterations of IPS panel technology and one that I have little hands-on experience with. Some of the problems I encountered with the monitor could be inherent to the technology, but having not dealt with another H-IPS, I can't say for certain.

Still, it earned our editors' choice, so it must have done something right. Right?!

So, the cat's out of the bag. The Dell UltraSharp U2410 isn't perfect; however, that doesn't mean it can't be perfect for you. Read the full review to determine if it is.

As always, new monitor reviews can always be found here.

See? The black hardly shifts from this angle...

(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)

You gotta love a good Super Patterned Vertical Alignment (S-PVA)-based display, don't you? Well, you're obviously not required to love them, but with their deep blacks, good viewing angles, and, for the most part, accurate colors, they certainly make it difficult to dislike them.

Case in point: the NEC MultiSync P221W is a 22-inch, $390 S-PVA display that includes the aforementioned perks of most S-PVAs.

A monitor needs to have more than just great performance, however, to justify its price. Extra features and connection options can work wonders toward a monitor's overall worth. With Dell recently lowering the price of its feature-rich, 24-inch UltraSharp 2408WFP to $450, can the 22-inch NEC be expected to compete?

Check out the review to find out. Also, be sure to take a look at more monitor reviews with new ones added every week.

The Sharp LC-LE700UN series uses less power than any TV we've tested.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

LCD TV makers have always charged a premium for LED backlighting. In fact, the first LED-based LCD TV Sharp released, the inch-thick XS series, debuted last year at a cool $11,000 MSRP for the 52-inch model. LED has become a lot more mainstream since then, and so have Sharp's ambitions for the well-marketed backlight technology. The Sharp LC-LE700UN series encapsulates that progress toward the mass market: it's the least-expensive LED-backlit LCD available today, it measures the standard 3-odd inches thick, and as a result, its owners will have a tough time convincing visitors that it's anything more than a normal, CCFL-based LCD.

This Sharp uses different LED backlight technology from any of the other "LED TVs" available today, and perhaps as a result its picture quality has no major advantage over non-LED-based LCDs. On the other hand, it sips power more sparingly than any other TV we've reviewed, and its solid feature set is highlighted by a unique selection of widgets and superb built-in support options. The Sharp LC-LE700UN series will appeal to people on a moderate budget who still want the energy efficiency of an LED-backlit LCD.

Read the full review of the Sharp LC-LE700UN series.

Sharp LC-LE700UN series--photos

Sharp Aquos Net--photos

The NetWalker is part Netbook, part ultramobile PC.

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

CHIBA, Japan--The Sharp NetWalker comes off like a computer with an identity crisis.

It's part Asus Eee PC Netbook and part Samsung Q1 ultramobile PC.

And it's a little bit puzzling.

The NetWalker is dressed up like a super-petite Netbook, weighing less than a pound, with a five-inch touchscreen and a measly 512MB of memory and wireless LAN.

It's got a pretty robust battery life--up to 10 hours, according to Sharp--and runs Ubuntu. There's a Firefox browser, Thunderbird for e-mail, a Twitter app, and some open-source programs for word processing and reviewing spreadsheets, so you can perform some normal PC functions on a screen larger than an iPhone or BlackBerry, but smaller than the increasingly standard 10-inch Netbook display.

The way you use it, though, is more like an ultramobile PC. Holding the NetWalker with two hands, you type with your thumbs. On the right side above the keyboard is an optical pointer that, when you run a finger over it, functions as a mouse.

The price is a more Netbook-like $500, but it's unclear how consumers will respond. It's only been available here in Japan for a couple weeks, so there aren't any solid sales numbers yet to offer any picture of how customers are reacting.

Still, history shows that just hovering somewhere in between two established categories of computing can be an easy way to turn off a lot of potential buyers.

The Touch Wood mockup (top) and prototype based on the SH-04A model (bottom).

(Credit: NTT DoCoMo)

If you don't think plastic is fantastic, here's some good news: Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has created a new prototype cell phone made from cypress wood.

The Touch Wood handset is crafted from surplus wood culled during forest maintenance work.

DoCoMo teamed up with Sharp and Olympus to create the prototype (seen bottom right, with an ergonomic mockup above). More Trees, a reforestation group supported by musician and actor Ryuichi Sakamoto, was also involved.

Olympus contributed "three-dimensional compression molding" that made the wood usable for phones, according to DoCoMo. The molding also made the cypress shiny and resistant to insects, mildew, and water.

The prototype's GUI features graphics based on the work of photographer Mikiya Takimoto.

The Touch Wood phones will be shown off next month at ITU Telecom World 2009 and Ceatec Japan 2009.

Microsoft's Turtle looks like a chunky child's version of a Palm Pre, according to Gizmodo.

(Credit: Gizmodo)

"Project Pink" is Microsoft's new phone for regular people. Rumors about the software go back months, but the hardware, and who's making it for Microsoft, has been a mystery. Here are the first pictures of Pink phones, Turtle and Pure.

These phones are going to be made by Sharp, which will get to share branding with Microsoft. Sharp produced the Sidekick hardware for Danger, which was bought by Microsoft two years ago. (Which is honestly the only reason we can think of why Microsoft stuck with Sharp for the new phones, versus someone like HTC.) Pink will be primarily aimed at the same market as the Sidekick, and branding and identity for it is highly developed, pointing toward a later stage in the development cycle.

Microsoft's Pure looks like a standard slider.

(Credit: Gizmodo)

The hardware design has a younger feeling too: Turtle looks like a chunky child's version of a Palm Pre, while Pure seems like a standard slider, and both are clearly plastic. They have an overall sense of roundedness, with lots of soft angles and circular keys.

It's been reported elsewhere that Pink phones will include Zune services, and have its own app store, making it as close to the Zune phone as we may get. We'll see if it's close enough in the coming months, though these are the only facts our source will let us safely publish for now.

This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.

The DK-AP8P

(Credit: Sharp)

We've seen our fair share of iPod speakers, the vast majority of which don't let you take them on the go. Sharp today has announced two new iPod speakers for such a task, the DK-AP8P and the DK-AP7P.

The larger, more powerful AP8P has a very unique design, with its front face plate also doubling as the system's control panel. The magnetic cover actually comes off the system itself which makes for an interesting remote control. The AP8P and AP7P both offer 2.1 sound with built-in subwoofers and compatibility with iPods and the iPhone. Better yet, the portable systems will charge your music player while docked.

Both models include an internal battery that should net you around six hours of playback. Also, both units have auxiliary line inputs that will let you connect any device with a headphone jack. Keeping with the on the go mentality, each also includes a soft carrying case.

The DK-AP7P

(Credit: Sharp)

The DK-AP8P and DK-AP7P will be available in a glossy black finish this month for $190 and $130, respectively.

Sharp announced a new Blu-ray player, the BD-HP52U, at CEDIA today, which will come out in October with a list price of $380. It has the standard suite of Blu-ray features, including Profile 2.0-compatibility and onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Sharp is promising that premium streaming video content will be available on the BD-HP52U, but the company isn't ready to announce who the provider is until later in the month.

Unfortunately, that's all the information available; Sharp hasn't offered up an image yet for the new player. Regardless, it will be hard for the BD-HP52U to gain much traction against competitors like the LG BD390 and the Samsung BD-P3600, which offers up a wide array of streaming media content, along with premium features like 7.1 analog outputs, onboard memory for BD-Live storage, and Wi-Fi.

You know, there's just something about 2,560x1,600 pixels that makes everything look great! Even goblins.

(Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET)

Finally, a 30-incher has come back to C...NET. Yes, I'm a "Rock" fan and yes that is a loooong throwback to a bygone era, but it seemed appropriate.

Last week we got in the HP LP3065 30-incher. Now I know it's been out for a while, but I've gotten a few recent requests to review it. After the Samsung 305T, the Gateway XHD3000 and the Dell UltraSharp 3008WFP it's one of the only 30-inchers I haven't reviewed.

Check out the pics and video below to get a glimpse and look for a review of this monstrosity soon.

HP LP3065 30-inch monitor--photos