Top 20" Wide-screen LCD - ASUS PW201

Looking for a new LCD monitor? If you have enough budget, a 24" model would be good to have. But if you don't want to spend $1,000+ on a monitor, then look at 20" models which have the best combination of performance and price at the moment. Among all those 20" LCDs on the market, the ASUS PW201 would be a good one to consider.

ASUS PW201 has good picture performance, smooth adjustments and selling for around NZ$725 (US$540). Its resolution is 1680x1050 and contrast ratio is 800:1. It also comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera and picture-in-picture function. Connectivity wise, it provides composite, S-Video, component inputs as well as DVI, earphone jack and USB ports for connecting your business and entertainment devices. Overall, the ASUS PW201 is a fine choice for work, play or both.

All New Sony Digital Photo Frames

Digital photo frame is a very popular product now. It's a perfect gift to anyone and also looks great when put in your own bedroom or living room. I have bought one for my mom last year as a Christmas gift and she liked it very much. At the moment, we have the choices from Philips and Samsung and some other brands. But Sony is releasing its digital photo frame products as well. Let's have a quick look at what Sony offers.

The upcoming Sony DPF-D70 digital photo frame has a 7" 800x480 resolution and 15:9 aspect ratio LCD screen. It comes with 256MB internal memory and supports most memory card formats. The price will be US$140 (NZ$175).

Apart from the basic model DPF-D70, Sony will also release two advanced models - the 7" DPF-V700 and 9" DPF-V900. Both models come with 512MB internal memory instead of 256MB and also have an HDMI output for viewing photos in high definition on an HDTV. The 7" V700 will cost US$190 (NZ$235) and the 9" V900 will be on sale at US$250 (NZ$310).

All the models will be available from April this year.

Two New Sony DSLRs - Alpha A300 & A350

Looking for a new DSLR camera? Of course, we can choose a Canon or Nikon. But don't forget Sony. I'm currently using a Sony Alpha A100 which works fine. While I'm looking at the replacement model A200, Sony has unveiled the new 10.2 megapixel Alpha A300 and 14.2 megapixel A350.

The A300 is an entry-level DSLR and has a nice price US$799.99 (NZ$988) for the A300K bundle, which comes with a 18-70mm zoom lens. The A300X bundle, which comes with 18-70mm standard zoom and 55-200mm telephoto lens will cost US$999.99 (NZ$1,235).

The Alpha A300 DSLR uses Sony's Bionz image-processing engine and the ISO is up to 3200. It also has a sensor-shifting image stabiliser - that makes very clear shots in low light. It equips with a tilting 2.7" LCD display and two levels of anti-dust protection for the CCD. The A300 has the Live Preview feature as well which is almost standard for any DSLRs this year.

The A350 has almost the same specs as the A300, but it has the resolution up to 14.2 megapixels. The A350K bundle with one 18-70mm lens costs US$899.99 (NZ$1,115) and A350X with two lenses will cost US$1,099.99 (NZ$1,360).

The A350 will be available in March this year and A300 would be coming in April.

Sony Ericsson + Windows Mobile = XPERIA X1

Sony Ericsson has announced a new Windows Mobile based smartphone - XPERIA X1. This will be the first Windows Mobile device from Sony Ericsson. It also means that four of the top five phone makers in the world now are producing Windows Mobile phones.

The new XPERIA brand will focus on multimedia and mobile web communication. The X1 looks very cool and has both QWERTY keyword and touch screen. Let's have a quick look at what it offers:

• Fully functional QWERTY keywobard
• Touch screen with finger touch navigation
• 3" wide WVGA TFT display (800 x 480)
  
• UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA/EDGE
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• aGPS
• Windows Mobile 6
• WiFi
• microSD

Is this the perfect smartphone to get? But it won't be available until the second half of 2008.