The 100 Best IT Products of 2006 – Part 6

(Data Source: PC World)

# 50 Vonage

This VoIP service is not the cheapest, but it has useful features such as call-forwarding during an outage and quality controls. A US$14.99 (NZ$23) Basic plan includes 500 minutes anywhere in US, Canada & Puerto Rico (from within the US). You may also want to consider Skype for VoIP calls, which is the most popular VoIP service at the moment. By using SkypeOut, you can call any landline and mobile in the world, direct from Skype at a very lost-cost. For example, NZ$23 credit will let you call any landline in New Zealand, Australia, UK, USA and many other countries for more than 750 minutes. Click the link for VoIP accessories.

# 49 Mitsubishi XD460U

This US$2,100 (NZ$3220) projector ranked high for overall image quality - making it a good choice as a crossover projector for both conference-room and living room use. You may also want to consider the Sony VPLCX21 Ultra Compact LCD projector. It has great image as well as being very good looking. Click the link for pricing and more information - Sony VPLCX21 Ultra Compact LCD projector.

# 48 Opera 9

If you don’t like both IE and Firefox, Opera 9 may be another good option for you. It is loaded with polished features, such as useful ad and graphics blocking. Download it free from - http://www.opera.com/download/

# 47 Google Desktop

This free desktop search let you find a file within 10 seconds, which Windows’ search utility usually takes 10 minutes.

# 46 Creative Zen Vision:M

This digital audio/video player has exceptional screen quality, a responsive interface, and a great battery life. It’s a worthy alternative to an iPod and available in black, white and green. Click the above link for pricing and more information.

# 45 Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro

This US$249.99 (NZ$383) earphone uses dual drive technology and has professional quality sound and noise isolating design. If you think it’s too expensive, here are some good but much cheaper headphones for you.

# 44 Olympus Evolt E-330

This US$1,100 (NZ$1,686) digital SLR camera shows you a live preview on its LCD screen – the first for a digital SLR. It also has a useful dust-removal feature. So what is the hottest digital SLR I hear you ask? It must be the Canon EOS 400D. It will arrive on 15 September 2006 in New Zealand so watch this space for the latest update.

# 43 Apple iTunes

This free digital audio software is not just a conduit for files between Apple’s Music Store and an iPod; it is great even if you just use if for your desktop. You can download it from - http://www.apple.com/itunes/

# 42 NEC MultiSync LCD 2180WG-LED

This 21” LCD monitor uses LED technology (the first among desktop PC monitors). The backlighting via LED gives it crisp contrast and detail. Only downfall is that it does cost US$6749.99 (NZ$10,402). Click the link for other large LCD monitors that we can afford.

# 41 Alienware Aurora 7500
Alienware is always nice - both the machine and the price. The Aurora 7500 starts from NZ$3,603 to around $10,770. You can configure this PC with the best of everything, including AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 and dual NIVDIA GeForce 7900 GTX. Click the link for all other notebook and desktop PCs.