The free Google Currents is a welcome addition to the Android newsreading apps space thanks to a slick design, the ability to tap your Google Reader feed for content, native offline reading, and cross-device syncing.

The LG Galaxy Attain is a fine midrange smartphone for MetroPCS users, but it could easily have been a better one.

Apple OS X Lion is hands-down the best consumer OS on the market today.

Simple to use and extremely useful, Dropbox for Android is a file synchronization app will keep all of your files in step. You can't move files among folders, but it's still a very capable app.

The CRU-Dataport ToughTech Duo QR rugged, RAID-equipped hard drive is made for photographers and videographers in the field.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X130e is a semi-rugged netbook, outfitted with enough padding to survive the day-to-day dings of traveling across campus or running from terminal A to B.

The 24-megapixel Sony Alpha 65 is capable of shooting at a blazing fast 9 frames per second with continuous autofocus, but is held back by a kit lens that doesn't match the quality of its high-resolution image sensor.

The LG Marquee has a bright, beautiful screen and plenty of Android power for Boost Mobile users.

The Monster iSport Immersion In-Ear Headphones are waterproof and can be washed, making them ideal for the gym, but they're a bit expensive compared with other exercise-focused earphones.

Sony's XBA-NC85D is the first-ever in-ear noise canceling earphone pair without an in-line box to house the circuitry, but it suffers from some deep bass distortion and a high price tag.

The Able Planet Clear Harmony NC1050 offers excellent audio performance and very good noise cancellation, making it a solid competitor in a crowded field led by Bose.

The Energy Power EM-2.1 PC speaker system provides affordable audio and fits entirely on your desktop, but a little more money can get you a lot more performance.

The Apple iPhone 4S for Verizon Wireless is the carrier's best iPhone yet—but a lack of 4G keeps it from the top of the heap.

Complete may not offer the smoothest tax prep experience, but needy users and those who switch from the competition can use it to do their federal (but not state) returns for free.

iCloud dutifully backs up your Apple devices and can synchronize a lot of data, but don't mistake it for a true file-syncing service.

Featuring easy, pick-up-and-play action and numerous levels to complete, Sea Wolf is an extremely enjoyable iOS timewaster.

Want to quickly transfer a file from your Android device to your PC, but can't find a cable? There's an app for that—Software Data Cable.

The Asus ET2410IUTS-B018C provides quad-core processing, integrated Wi-Fi, a healthy port selection, and an HDMI input to extend the useful life of the monitor, all for a reasonable price.

PocketCloud is a free Android app that provides quick and easy access to a remote Windows or Mac machine.

Firefox remains a lean, fast, customizable browser that can hold its own against any competitor. This time better extension updating and new developer tools.

The NP43 from NEC Display Solutions of America is a small, highly portable projector for traveling businesspeople who need to quickly set up and run presentations.

The Verbatim Store 'n' Go Hard Drive for Macs puts one step forward, but is ultimately pricey for what it does.

The Western Digital My Passport Studio (1TB) external hard drive gives you quick, home studio–quality storage in a portable package.

The Brother HL-3045CN color laser offers output quality that's good enough for most business use, but its best points are speed and, to a lesser extent, paper handling.

The Brother DS-700D scanner is portable, gets power over its USB connection, and can scan both sides of a page at once.

The HP LaserJet Pro M1217nfw MFP offers fast speed, prints through the cloud, and works with Apple AirPrint.

SocialFolders lets social media mavens move files between their computers and social networks with ease—for the most part. Files sometimes took a long time to sync to social networks—and the ability to upload or download is tied to the target social network you're using—but Facebook, Twitter, and other social network users should check it out.

The Samsung ML-2545 can serve nicely as a personal mono laser in any size office.

The Epson Artisan 730 inkjet MFP delivers fast speed and reasonably high-quality photo output.

Unless you enjoy fiddling with networking products and have a small area to boost a wireless signal, you will want to consider other wireless extender options other than the D-Link Amplifi DAP-1525 Wi-Fi Booster.

The Canon imageFormula DR-C125 can scan to searchable PDF format as quickly as it scans to image format.

Despite some shortcomings in output quality, the HP Officejet Pro 8600 e-All-in-One business MFP can be a good fit for a small office.

The Droid Razr Maxx fuses excellent Android performance with lightning-fast LTE and amazing battery life.

For PC gamers who want high frame rates but don't want to pay more than $500 to get them, AMD's new Radeon HD 7950 video card is a compelling, powerful choice.

Comodo Programs Manager is a free PC utility that makes it simple to manage your PC apps. It will freeze on you at times, and the lack of driver descriptions may sometimes confuse, but it's still a worthy download.

Comodo Internet Security Pro 2012 offers the most basic security suite features at a super-low price. The big benefit, though, is hands-on malware cleanup support from Comodo's GeekBuddy service.

The Mad Catz MLG Pro Circuit Controller isn't cheap, but with a solid build and extensive customization options, it's one of the best gamepads you can get for the PlayStation 3.

The Optoma PT105 is a far more capable projector than you might expect from the price.

The HP Envy 15 (2012) desktop replacement laptop integrates Beats Audio and delivers solid performance, making it a good choice for aspiring creative. professionals.

Pageonce is a quick and easy way for iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7, and BlackBerry users to track all your financial accounts on the go. The free version is much better than the premium version.

The Samsung SCX-4729FD offers everything a small or home office needs in a mono laser MFP.

The Dell M110 projector is surprisingly bright for its size.

The Acer K330 projector is only a little bigger and heavier than a palmtop, but it's a lot brighter, with a 500-lumen rating.

For a free app, Dragon Dictation for iPhone does a good job in its core mission: transcribing what you say aloud. But it doesn't go much far beyond that.

Think ultrabooks have stiff prices, stiff keyboards, and too few ports? The HP Folio 13 is a $900 revelation.

Its elegant looks and significant expandability are the biggest assets of the Cooler Master Cosmos II PC case.

The Samsung ML-2955ND is a compact home or micro-office monochrome laser printer that offers reasonable speed and output quality along with good paper handing.

The Cisco Linksys Wireless-N Range Extender/Bridge (RE1000) is one of the best wireless extenders amid a market severely lacking good options.

H&R Block At Home Deluxe Online provides a clean, thorough path through your 1040 and its assorted forms and schedules. Its frill-free user interface and targeted help also contribute to its excellence, but a post-prep review problem dragged it down this year.

The latest version of Iolo's PC tune-up utility improves system performance with aplomb, and breaks away from license restrictions by letting users install it on any number of computers.

Apple owners looking for an outstanding typing experience need search no further than the Das Keyboard Model S Professional for Mac. But it’s black.

If you've ever wanted to install two computers in the same PC case, the AZZA Fusion 4000 makes that a possibility.

The Fujifilm X10 has one of the larger sensors in a compact, zooming camera, but doesn't control noise in low light as well as you'd expect. Its ergonomics make handling a bit awkward, but enthusiasts will be happy with the sharp images that this retro-styled camera captures.

The high-end Premiere Elite DVR has a lot to offer for TiVo fans, but the competition has surpassed TiVo on several key features, particularly support for devices like smartphones and tablets.

Aperture is a well-designed, powerful photo workflow app. It's a close call, but Lightroom has it beat in a few significant ways.

The Samsung SyncMaster S23A550H is a stylish 23-inch monitor that delivers vibrant colors and does a good job of reproducing the darkest steps of the grayscale. It's easy on your utility bill, but you don't get much in the way of connectivity and ergonomic features.

The Samsung Central Station (SyncMaster C23A750X) is a unique, albeit pricey, 23-inch monitor featuring a built-in docking station and wireless USB connectivity.

The "other" WiDi adapter, the Belkin ScreenCast is a wonderful, wireless way to connect a new laptop and HDTV.

Notebak Anti-Theft can sound the alarm if a thief grabs your laptop and help locate it if lost or stolen. Among its many features is the ability to lock down solid if the laptop leaves a defined "geofence" area or goes a day without connectivity.

The Huawei Ascend II is only a modest refresh over the original; if you're willing to spend a bit of money, you can get a much better smartphone on U.S. Cellular.