From the Editors

Prius' new kingpin, 3D printers impress CNET reviewers

Last week, CNET reviewed some classic consumer technology: a smartphone, a camera, some speakers. This week, we ventured into less-traveled tech territory and unearthed some gems.

The best Prius of them all Let's start with a car. The drivers behind CNET Car Tech have been working their way through the new, expanded 2012 Prius lineup, reviewing the smaller Prius C and larger Prius V. This week, they returned to the flagship Prius, not too radically different since the last major model overhaul in 2010, and explained in their four-star Prius review that there's no Prius like the old … Read more

Samsung has winning U.K. strategy, but users want more

Samsung has been on a real roller coaster here in the United Kingdom in the last few months. Its phones are selling well in lots of countries, but the British seem to have a particular affinity for its Galaxy line. Last week the company chose London for the world launch of its flagship model, the Galaxy S3, staging one of the largest tech events I have seen in this country. CNET did a great job of covering it in a live blog, but what might not have come across was the sheer scale of the event.

Samsung hired Earls … Read more

HTC One X, Canon DSLR, budget speakers make their mark

If you clicked over to CNET on Thursday, you might not have noticed any of our full reviews, because we were too busy nerding out over (and previewing in-depth) Samsung's announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S3. Samsung's followup to the hugely popular S2 and flagship Android phone dominated the conversation this week with its Siri-like voice commands and ability to sense your eye movement.

The Galaxy S3 won't come out until this summer, though, and we don't expect everyone (or anyone) to sit around and wait for it, especially since no one is sure yet how … Read more

Best tech: Ivy Bridge rigs, slim iPad keyboard case

Sometimes, CNET goes weeks without bestowing an Editors' Choice award. We give the badges only to tech that we love so much, we'd personally buy these devices. There must be some magic in the air (or our drinks) this week, because we doled out not one, but three CNET Editors' Choice awards.

But before I walk you through our award winners (a surprising and diverse group in their own right), I'd like to point out two non-winners that deserve your attention. These two four-star computers, the Origin Genesis and the Origin EON17-S are a desktop and a laptop … Read more

HTC One S and crazy-expensive headphones are the top-reviewed tech this week

Sometimes, you really do get what you pay for. In this week's roundup of CNET's top-rated gear, I'll explore some premium choices, but prepare yourself for sticker rage.

HTC One S shows T-Mobile customers how the other half lives Case in point: On T-Mobile, cheaper phone plans mean fewer high-end smartphone choices -- and by fewer, we mean no Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphones at all...until now. This week, T-Mo joined the ICS club with the HTC One S, which our reviewer Brian Bennett calls T-Mobile's best phone yet. It's thinner than the iPhone 4S … Read more

CNET's mobile site redesign works like a mobile app

At CNET, we spend a lot of time with our phones -- probably more than any human should. We know that there's nothing as frustrating as a hard-to-navigate mobile Web site. There's so little space on a phone screen that every pixel has to earn its keep. So when we redesigned our m.cnet.com site from the ground up, we took cues from something everyone knows and loves: mobile apps.

First, we simplified the layout of our mobile site and made its navigation familiar to anyone who uses Facebook, Path, or any other common mobile app. When … Read more

Tech that matters: Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 and 2012's best Blu-ray player

Every week at CNET, we test dozens of gadgets. Not every device stands out as amazing or wonderful, and we've seen our share of failing storage drives or -- shudder -- candy bar "feature phones." (That's what the industry calls a cell phone that's not quite a smart phone.)

But not a week goes by without at least a few standout gadgets. Sometimes, these gems shine in a crowded field. Sometimes, they break the mold. Occasionally, we review a high-quality device from an older category that does its job so well, we fall in love … Read more

The evolution of CNET video

It's the end of an era and it's the birth of an era.

If you're a CNET fan, you may have listened to a CNET podcast or a thousand since Molly Wood and Tom Merritt launched the trailblazing Buzz Out Loud podcast in 2005. Buzz Out Loud (all 1,588 episodes!) and the shows that followed in its footsteps, from Rumor Has It to Crave and Dialed In, number among the most creative, fun live shows on the Internet.

But here's the thing: we've closely observed over the past few months how our audiences watch … Read more

Apple iBooks in schools: Devil is in the hardware

There was an Apple II in my third-grade classroom. We used it to play Oregon Trail. Then it died.

Therein lies the problem with iPads in high school: devices break. When Apple announced digital textbooks for primary schools via iBooks 2 this morning, the first thing I thought was: Oh, God, what about the hardware? I've done hard, rewarding time in public schools. Both my parents were high-school teachers and I've chaired the PTA at my children's public grade school and can say with certainty that the best software in the world won't make it practical … Read more