Design Review

Motorola's Droid: The Hummer of smartphones

Is Motorola ready for a comeback? For much of the last decade, Motorola enjoyed a reputation for building great mobile phones -- like the clamshell StarTAC and the ultra-thin Razr -- that were must-have devices for style wonks as well as the high-tech elite. Then along came Apple's iPhone, and smart devices from companies like Research In Motion, HTC, and Palm, and Motorola found itself in the very uncomfortable position of playing catch-up to a pack of ambitious upstarts.

Motorola needs to get back to front of the pack. The Droid, a Motorola smartphone released late last year, is more

The Olympus EP-1: Modern features, retro look

These are challenging times for camera manufacturers. The megapixel race is coming to an end, profit margins on entry-level cameras are slim to nil, and the thin line that separates cameras and phones will only get more blurry in the years ahead.

The challenge now is to make interesting products that offer features you won't ever find on a mobile phone. The new Olympus EP-1 (CNET review) does that by giving the point-and-shoot user a camera that offers a dSLR-like experience in a compact package that evokes the stylish feel of a classic camera from the "Mad Men" era. more

The Sony X Series Walkman: An iPod it isn't

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It's not easy for Sony. For decades, Sony's Walkman devices dominated the personal audio market with great and popular products. Then along came the iPod. Sony has been playing catch-up since.

Sony's latest attempt to regain traction is the X Series Walkman (NWZ-X1051). It's a touch-screen music player with 16GB of storage, a 3-inch OLED display, digital noise canceling, integrated Wi-Fi, and a built-in Web browser. The NWZ-X1051 is an impressive media player, but does it have what it takes to unseat the Apple iPod--a modern triumph more