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Didn't read every single blog published on Crave this week? For shame! Well, here's a brief primer to catch you up on just a few of the many weird and wonderful stories we covered.

• This week in leaked phone pics: an Acer smartphone, LG Neon, and more!

• Palm Pre, just when will it be?

• How much would you pay for a DVR? We asked, and you answered.

• India's $20 laptop played loose with the term laptop.

• Valentine's Day gift ideas for geeky girls. And snorers.

• If looking in the mirror isn't enough for you...

• Swarovski Disease … Read more

Google wants to take you places you have never been before, and it's coming along for the ride.

Google Earth upped the cartographic ante, incorporating even more data from NASA, the BBC, National Geographic, and other proprietary sources to create one of the most unique map offerings ever, meshing comprehensive real-time data on Earth's surface with information on the oceans, the stars that we see, historical maps, and topographical information on Mars.

With Google Earth 5.0, users can now explore Mars in the same way they've been able to instantly view 3D images of much of … Read more

After years of fits and starts, the first wireless HDMI systems have finally hit the market. Sony's DMX-WL1 is one of two such systems, along with the Gefen EXT-WHDMI, and after comparing them directly, we're giving the Gefen the higher score.

It comes down to the reliability of the transmissions. Both systems deliver great-looking video, and, in fact, the Gefen, with its minor problems with false contouring, looks slightly worse than the Sony. But we stress "slightly," and the occasional breakup and dropped signals we experienced with the Sony, compared with the rock-solid Gefen, were enough … Read more

Dell's middle-of-the-road 15-inch Inspiron laptops have long been an excellent go-to choice for basic computing, especially if you take the time to configure a system to your needs via Dell's online configurator. Fixed configuration versions available in retail stores have been more hit-or-miss, sometimes undercutting the price of built-to-order versions, but also missing some key features.

The $649 Dell Inspiron I15-157Bgives you a powerful combo of an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and 4GB of RAM for not too much more than a decently configured Netbook. At the same time, it's about as stripped down as a … Read more

Dell's Studio brand of laptops sits somewhere between the inexpensive Inspiron line and the high-end XPS line, incorporating some of the design cues of the XPS systems, such as their tapered bodies, with a cost-conscious mainstream set of components. (Recently, Dell has further muddied the waters with a hybrid Studio XPSbrand, as well...)

The $749 Dell Studio S17-162Bis a fixed-configuration retail laptop with a 17-inch screen, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and touch-sensitive media controls. Sure the RAM, hard drive and processor are the same as some of the budget 15-inch InspironDells we've looked at, but the S17 is still … Read more

It's been a good few weeks in CNET cell phone land. Just weeks after CES, two new handsets that debuted at the show actually went on sale. First we had the Motorola Tundra and now we have the Nokia 7510.

Since it usually takes months for CES handsets to actually hit sores (if they do it all) we relish the rare times that we have to wait just a few days for a full review. T-Mobile announced the 7510 the same day it announced its new RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 and T-Mobile Shadow. The 7510 is a chunky flip … Read more

We've scoured the retail shelves of big box electronics stores, searching for the specific laptop configurations and models you'll find boxed up and ready to go, or listed in Sunday newspaper sales circulars (be on the lookout for Presidents' Day sales on many of these).

Bookmark this page and check back regularly to follow these links to the full reviews, which we'll be publishing over the next several weeks. We'll also be picking our favorite in each category, showing you who offers the very best bang for your buck.

Entry level ($599 or less) Compaq CQ60-215DX [… Read more

The iPhone 3G brought changes in shape, function, features, etc., relative to original model, but, to the dismay of many cell phone, photographers, the device retains the same 2.0 megapixel camera. Apple enhanced the camera by coupling the camera to the GPS features of the iPhone 3G to enable photo geotagging, but this did little to calm the complaints about the camera's resolution, lack of flash and other features available on a few other phones. Last October, I wrote a lengthy article about the state of photography on the iPhone and, months later, I'm still amazed by … Read more

Too busy making plans to watch--or ignore--Sunday's Super Bowl to keep up to the minute on Crave? Here's a quick rundown of some of the weird, wonderful, and otherwise Crave-worthy stories we had our eye on this week.

• Rock-a-Bye Baby BlackBerry...

• Will February 9 bring the Amazon Kindle 2?

• Get the latest Dell smartphone rumors here!

• Crave UK got up close to a "mutant telly."

• Spruce up your walls with Wi-Fi blocking paint.

• Forget QWERTY. Say hello to ABCDEF.

• These are few of his favorite slings.

See anything we missed? Write to us at … Read more