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Without Steve Jobs, is Apple Sony?

Updated at 5:20 a.m. PDT with Phil Schiller keynote info.

When it was first announced that Steve Jobs was taking a leave of absence I was interviewed for an ABC affiliate about the prospects of Apple without Jobs. What would happen? Would he be missed? Was Apple vulnerable?

Sadly, I can't say that I came up with any earth-shattering sound bites. I said Apple would be fine in the short run; it had a roster full of talented executives, including a rock-star head designer (Jonathan Ive), and that the company's product road map was planned out into the future--presumably with Jobs' stamp of approval.

That said, no one could replace Steve Jobs, pitcher extraordinaire, a Sandy Koufax on the marketing mound, if there ever was one.

The fact is, no one can create a reality distortion field like Jobs. And ultimately, I said, that's what Apple would miss most, especially after Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, Phil Schiller, hadn't done much to inspire the faithful with his ho-hum keynote speech at MacWorld 2009.

However, little did I know that Jobs' absence would be felt so acutely in the release of the company's latest products, though I probably wouldn't categorize the new Mac Mini, updated iMacs, and third-generation iPod Shuffle as premium releases for Apple.

While the new releases may be a step up from Apple TV, which just hasn't been able to find a broad audience, they're not the iPod Nano or a new MacBook or iPhone OS 3.0. But what's a little disconcerting is how the products, particularly the Mac Mini and iPod Shuffle, landed with a bit a thud. Sure, they got a ton of publicity--and publicity is good--but a lot of it ranged from neutral to negative.

… Read more

Introducing series reviews of HDTVs

As you may have noticed, I've recently changed the way I do reviews of HDTVs at CNET. I call the change "series reviews," and I'm curious to know what you think. But first I'll tell you why I did it.

Individual HDTVs are typically members of a series, where the only difference on the specification sheet between various models in a manufacturer's lineup is screen size. A great example is the Panasonic TC-PS1 series, which includes six screen sizes at various price points, from 42 to 65 inches. In my review of the TC-PS1 series, I only performed a hands-on evaluation of the 42-inch model. But I also posted the review to the 46-inch and the 50-inch model, making sure to explain that I didn't actually perform hands-on evaluations of them.

Previously, we would review one screen size in a series and post a simple note (example), not a review, on the other screen sizes, basically saying that you could expect similar picture quality from all screen sizes in the series.

Why the change?… Read more

BlueStar freestanding ranges offer plenty of choices

Every home kitchen is different, and every home cook appreciates options. When kitchen appliance makers cater to choice while providing quality results, home cooks everywhere are free to perfect their craft without fear of unnecessary equipment failure. The first place to start in any kitchen is the oven. BlueStar Freestanding Ranges offer a multitude of options, while providing features that are designed to provide performance.

The freestanding ovens come in four categories, which can be broken down into three convection models and one standard oven. The Nova Burner models feature convection ranges, while the Culinary Series uses a more conventional … Read more

Dell hopes tough guys still buy laptops

Dell is back with a slimmed down version of its fully rugged 14-inch laptop.

Like the company itself, the XFR's second-gen improvements on the device are incremental and in some cases, slightly experimental. The E6400 XFR is the name of what used to be the Latitude XFR D630. The laptop gets an internal tuneup, boasting better processing power (Intel Core2Duo), discrete graphics enabled by better cooling. The new XFR also keeps most of its original features: touch screen, a solid-state drive, mobile broadband, GPS, and long battery life. In this case, Dell says an additional battery pack will keep the laptops going for up to 13 hours.

The XFR is strengthened by a new exterior material the PC maker is calling Ballistic Armor, which replaces the magnesium alloy used in its other laptops. It's allowed the machine to be trimmed down--it's now 8.5 pounds instead of 9 pounds--and also strengthened: it meets military specifications for ruggedness and can withstand a 4-foot drop rather than 3.

Ballistic Armor was developed by a partner company and licensed exclusively to Dell. It's a hybrid, nonmetal polymer designed to better absorb shocks and withstand the elements. That Dell is experimenting with different materials is intended to signal its willingness to try new things and focus on creating different options for targeted customers.

In this case, that's military contractors, government, and utility company field workers, law enforcement, and other groups that are not known for being particularly gentle with their computers. … Read more

World's sexiest plasma gets ugly price tag: Panasonic Z1 will cost $6,000

Our friend Gary Merson, aka the HD Guru, got his hands on some early pricing for certain Panasonic HDTVs--and now he's got some numbers for Panasonic's 1-inch thick plasma, the 54-inch TC-P54Z1. Not surprisingly, the "Z1" will set you back a pretty penny when it comes out this summer. Six grand to be exact.

Now, we love Merson, but we're not so sure his statement declaring the Z1 potentially "the hottest HDTV for 2009" is all that accurate. Yes, Panasonic's loaded the Z1 with lots of features and high-end specs--and it should … Read more

Our favorite budget gaming laptop returns: the Gateway P7805u FX

Gateway's budget-minded 17-inch gaming laptops have impressed, offering a mix of decent components and high-end video cards for around $1,200. While the now discontinued P-7811 FX is still hunted for on message boards and eBay, Gateway now has a mostly worthy replacement, the P-7805u FX (part of our Winter 2009 Retail Laptop Review Roundup).

Getting an Nvidia GeForce 9800 GPU and a big 320GB 7200rpm hard drive for only $1,149 is about as good a bang for your buck as you're going to find, but, there were a couple of corners to be cut, notably the … Read more

What's up with the latest A-series Canons?

The spring 2009 Canon A-series cameras are here! OK, so maybe it's a little tough to get attention for Canon's "easy and fun" compacts, but those interested in cost-effective shooting will be interested in the refreshed cameras that feature more megapixels and improved image processing in two of the three announced Tuesday.

Sure, the A-series cameras aren't as ultracompact as the Digital Elphs, but if you don't need something incredibly portable these new models seem capable. Without further ado, here are the details on the A2100 IS, A1100 IS, and A480.

PowerShot A2100 IS:

12.1-megapixel resolution 6x optical zoom lens with image stabilization 3.0-inch LCD Digic 4 processor Smart Auto mode automatic scene recognition Powered by two AA batteries Available in April at $249.99 Full specs… Read more

Canon's dramatic Spring Elphs

Some years it seems like Canon makes no real changes to its designs. Then there's 2009. Almost every camera the company has announced thus far looks significantly different from its predecessors as well as completely unlike its linemates. Unsurprisingly, this is most evident in the new PowerShot ultracompacts.

At the top of the pack is the SD970 IS, which replaces the SD890 IS. While many of the SD models retain their optical viewfinders, the SD970 forgoes one in favor of a larger LCD, 3 inches up from 2.5. Since I complained about the small LCD in my review … Read more