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The frog returns in his LED splendor.

(Credit: NEC)

LED is definitely the new black in the world of computer monitors. Most vendors have gotten behind the technology and many more are beginning to announce LED-based products. Check out my list of the five best LED monitors, and see what the current top-rated models are.

NEC is the latest vendor to drop its hat into the mix. On Wednesday, it announced the MultiSync EA222WMe, the company's first LED monitor.

Aesthetically, judging just by the picture, the monitor resembles the previously reviewed NEC MultiSync EA221WM.

Like the EA221WM, the EA222WMe has a 16:10 aspect ratio screen, 1,680x1,050 resolution, and a four-way ergonomic stand. In addition, the LED-based monitor includes a 250 cd/m2 brightness, 30,000 dynamic contrast ratio, VGA, DVI, USB, and DisplayPort inputs, and built-in speakers.

The monitor includes an Eco mode that caps the brightness, a carbon meter, and a cost meter. According to NEC, it also uses less packing materials than the company's non-LED monitors.

The MultiSync EA222WMe comes with a three-year, parts-and-labor limited warranty and is now available at an estimated street price of $339.

Just thought I'd show something different to illustrate how the XL2370 takes advantage of its technology.

(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)

Over the last few months I've seen a flood of LED-based monitors released, and by "flood" I mean like four. Thing is, four is a huge improvement over the first half of the year where we saw fewer than half that number of LED-backlit monitors come through these offices.

While I'm as excited as the next person about the prospects of LED-based displays, not all of them live up to their promise of brighter screens, thinner panels, and more accurate colors.

There are a few that do and a couple others that come close. I've compiled a short list of my current favorites.

Seriously, a plant pot in your monitor. I bet you'll never question the "greeness" of this monitor now!

(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)

LED monitors were the new hotness at CES last January, but it wasn't until the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 debuted that we really started to believe in them.

That was the first monitor that really seemed to live up to what has been promised by LED monitor manufacturers'.

That monitor was followed by several more that, while not as impressive as the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370, were still good, solid monitors--like the LG W2486L and AOC V22.

The new BenQ V2400 Eco gets a few things right--very low power consumption and a thin design. Not to mention a small pot built into the footstand, just in case you wanted start a small garden in your monitor. Seriously.

Check out the full review to see what else it gets right (and wrong).

Shoppers anticipating the release of the Vizio VF552XVT will have to wait until after the holidays.

(Credit: CNET)

Remember when we crowed about Vizio's upcoming lineup of "Via"-branded TVs, citing a prodigious feature set that includes local dimming LED backlighting, interactive add-ons galore, Wi-Fi connectivity, and a QWERTY-equipped Bluetooth remote (pictured), all for an appropriately Vizio price?

Since then we've received lots of e-mails asking when the Via models would be available, and we dutifully repeated the same question to Vizio's reps. Now it's been answered: the company is officially pushing the Via models back until January 2010.

(Credit: Vizio)

Assuming Vizio can deliver even a passable interactive experience, we expect our eventual review of the "Via" 55-inch VF552XVT to brim with accolades despite the delay. That anticipation is based primarily on our recent review of the excellent VF551XVT (itself a past victim of a too-aggressive Vizio release date announcement). It's basically the same TV, minus the interactive doo-dads, and miraculously its lifespan prior to being replaced by its Web-ready brother has been effectively doubled by the new anticipated release date.

Of course, much like at the contemporaneous NFL playoffs, anything can happen at CES 2010. Vizio's lead in the features standings will face stiff challenge from other HDTV makers' CES announcements, which are sure to be chock-a-block with keywords (Netflix, YouTube, Facebook, Rhapsody) and may even include a QWERTY Bluetooth remote or two. Let the anticipation begin again.

Tokyoflash's latest series of slick designer wristwatches features lightweight aluminum construction, LED lights, and maddeningly confusing time displays.

(Credit: Tokyoflash)

The Kisai series inherits the qualities of previous incomprehensible Tokyoflash timepieces such as the Fire and the Pleasure Seeker, namely that users must spend hours deciphering their alien time-reckoning systems.

They certainly put one's brain to work. The Sensai model (right), which weighs 2.5 ounces and sells for about $233, tells the time after a button on its right side is pushed. The button first initiates a circular animation of colored LEDs.

When the animation stops, the hour is shown according to the number of red LEDs. So far, so good. When it comes to minutes, things get tricky.

Eleven green LEDs represent five-minute groups and four yellow LEDs represent single minutes. So, three red, two green, and two yellow equals 3:12 (editor's note: this post was updated to indicate the correct breakdown of colors; thanks to the reader who pointed the error out). Clear as mud? There's a demo here.

To watch an explanation of how another Kisai model works, click the vid below (the speaker calls the watch a "friend maker").

Now if only Tokyoflash could come up with an impenetrable Mayan Apocalypse Watch, they'd corner the market for the 2012 doomsday set.

Enlighten: Case-mate's solution for nighttime reading on the Kindle.

We've seen a few Kindle cases that offer built-in lights so you can read in dimly lit environments, but Case-mate's Enlighten is unusual in that it features a lighted acrylic panel that sits on top of your Kindle instead of an LED light with a flexible neck.

Due out in December, Case-mate's billing the $79.99 Enlighten as "the first case on the market equipped with a LED-powered light for nighttime reading as well as an interior side pocket for storage."

Here are its key features:

• Clear acrylic panel with integrated LED light with two levels of brightness
• Old English book style with genuine leather exterior and locking hinges to secure the device
• Interior side pocket for storage
• View prior pages using the previous page button
• Two AAA batteries (included) provide a maximum of 24 hours reading time
• Available in December ($79.99)

We've been playing around with an early unit, and it works pretty well although the light doesn't splay across the screen as uniformly as it does in the included press-release images (on the left side, the light leaks onto the Kindle screen and creates an interesting ripple effect). Hopefully, Case-mate can tweak the lighting a bit before launch because overall the design of the unit--aside from making your Kindle substantially heavier--is attractive and the acrylic panel does offer another layer of screen protection.

What do you guys think? Hot or not?

Additional reading: Top Kindle cases and accessories

LG's 15-inch OLED TV, which is set to go on sale in Korea by December.

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

On the heels of announcing a 15-inch OLED display going on sale in Korea this December, LG predicts that prices for panels using the coveted technology will fall below those of LCD panels in seven years.

"Forty-inch and larger OLED panels will be fairly expensive in 2012, but they will be available in the market," said Won Kim, VP of OLED sales and marketing, at a trade show in Japan yesterday. "OLED panels will cost less than LCD panels in 2016."

Allow me to dissect that prediction for a moment. Calling the affordability of any technology so far in advance is pretty bold, but 7 years is a long time and a lot can happen between now and then. But I think the main message to be gleaned from Kim's words for customers watching the market and still waiting for OLED is: don't.

Three LED flashlights for five bucks? How can you go wrong?

(Credit: Froobi)

I really dig the new breed of LED flashlights. (Of course, I'm easily impressed by bright, shiny things.) LED flashlights are supercompact, but give off way more light than the big, bulky, skull-cracking glow sticks of my youth.

Today only, daily-deal site Froobi is offering a three-pack of 9-LED flashlights for $0 (plus $4.95 shipping).

Each light measures about 3.5-inches long and promises a whopping 100,000 hours of bulb life. (Take that, tungsten!)

You'll have to supply the batteries (three AAA's per flashlight). Speaking of, I'm a big fan of Duracell precharged rechargeable batteries that are only a little pricier than disposables, but can be recharged hundreds of times (ergo, they're way cheaper in the long run--and better for the environment, too).

These little flashlights are crazy-handy. Toss one in your car's glove box, another in your tool kit, a third in the junk drawer--you get the idea.

It's difficult to tell from the product page just what colors you're going to get, but the ones shown are all metallic and cool looking.

Alas, it's too late to get these in time for Halloween (they'd be perfect for trick-or-treaters), but, hey, there's always next year.