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Netbooks will get a boost from faster Intel silicon. The question is, does anybody still care?

Intel's new Cedar Trail silicon for Netbooks will endow new models with up to 18 percent better overall performance, including a two-fold increase in graphics speed while maintaining long battery life, according to Intel.

Windows 7-based Netbooks typically sport 10-inch screens, are under three pounds, boast up to ten hours of battery life, and priced below $400.

Netbooks are not designed for high-end productivity like photo editing or demanding games, as the Atom processor in the Windows environment is built for power efficiency, not speed. … Read more

The wireless router is arguably the most important piece of the networking setup at your home or your office.

It's the central gateway that connects to the Internet, then shares that connection with all of the devices connected to it, via a network cable or Wi-Fi signal. Other services depend on the router, as well, such as file sharing, voice over IP, remote access, and VPN.

A router generally has to be on and functioning 24-7. There are thousands, if not millions, of data packages going through it every day, and you expect it to work without any hiccups. Ironically, it's also the device that most people pay the least attention to. In fact, the only time it's noticed at all is when it's not working right.

That said, it's very important to pick a router that's not just fast and feature-rich, but also reliable. Following is the list of the top five wireless routers I've reviewed this year that fit that description.… Read more

Triple Entendre is based on puzzle games like notpr0n, godtower, and qwyzzle, unique games that use a regular Web browser to challenge you to solve riddles. This is one of those games that's hard to describe if you've never tried it, but the idea is: each screen gives you a clue of some kind and it is your job to look at the available information (checking search engines is encouraged) and then provide an answer in the box to move on to the next screen. These games are notoriously difficult, and sometimes it's not even the answer … Read more

All of us, at one time or another, probably wished we could swing from building to building like Spider-Man, but the laws of physics (and lack of web-shooting glands on our wrists) make that dream impossible.

Fortunately there are iOS games that let you use ropes and grappling hooks to go for the greatest distance. Each has different objectives and skills you'll need to master, but the swinging mechanic is what sets them apart from other games in the iTunes App Store.

This week's app collection is all about swinging games. The first lets you methodically swing for … Read more

One of the first things we noticed about the Nokia Lumia 800 is that it looks strikingly like the Nokia N9, which runs Nokia's soon-to-be-extinct MeeGo OS.

Indeed, it has a similar unibody polycarbonite shell along with the same curved AMOLED display. But on probing further, we found that the differences between the two go far beyond just operating systems. Here we compare the two devices side by side.… Read more

We've seen how Nokia tests the durability of its phones, but how about putting them together?

With Nokia World almost upon us, the Finnish company has uploaded a YouTube video of the making of its MeeGo-powered N9. The phone's OS may be dead upon arrival, but we're still drooling over the N9's looks since its first unveiling at CommunicAsia 2011 in Singapore.

Watch how the polycarbonate chassis and curved display get assembled in the video below:

… Read more

Sony's SMP-N200 has all the trappings of a killer streaming-media box.

The spec sheet is filled with excellent services, especially on the video side, including Netflix, Amazon Instant, Hulu Plus, and Vudu. Unlike the Roku 2 XS, it's also DLNA compatible and does a decent job handling your local digital media files, including MKV and Xvid. Most importantly, it packs all that functionality into a box that costs $100.

All of that's true, but the SMP-N200 gets a lot of the small things wrong. The user interface is poorly designed for a streaming-media box, wasting precious screen real estate and often forcing you to browse smallish cover art that's impossible to read from the couch. There's a search function, but it doesn't search any of the video services you care about. For music on your home network, cover art isn't supported at all, even if you've dutifully organized and downloaded it yourself.… Read more

The long-awaited new iPhone has reportedly popped up in Apple's inventory with signs indicating that it will be a major upgrade over the current iPhone 4.

As described by 9to5Mac and SlashGear, the phone uncovered in the inventory list is code-named N94, the same name hidden in code for Apple's iOS earlier this year. That code name was found to point to a device with a dual-core A5 processor, the same chip that's been expected to appear in the iPhone 5.

Citing information from its anonymous but apparently reliable Mr. X source, who is known for leaking … Read more

The WNDR3800 N600 Wireless Dual-Band Gigabit Router isn't intended to be Netgear's top-of-the-line wireless router for homes. That's the role of the WNDR4500, which makes no compromises and offers 450Mbps wireless speed on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.

However, in our testing, we found that the WNDR3800 is arguably the best router among those recently announced by Netgear. For one, despite the fact that it only supports the 300Mbps standard, its real-world data rates on the 2.4GHz band are better than the WNDR4800's.

Furthermore, the WNDR3800 offers something that its big brother doesn't: it can host a USB external hard drive as a personal cloud storage option. It even comes with a piece of software called ReadyShare Cloud PC-Agent, which enables VPN-like access for the remote computer, as though the remote computer were in the same local network as the router.

On the other hand, the WNDR4500's storage capability is limited to that of a local network.

The router also offers great range and signal stability. It comes with a helpful Netgear Genie desktop application and a very easy-to-use and robust Web interface that both help novice and advanced users alike to set up and manage a network.

At a street price of around $150, it's a good choice for homes and home offices.

For more information on the WNDR3800's features and performance, check out CNET's full review of the Netgear WNDR3800 N600 Wireless Dual-Band Gigabit Router.… Read more