The 100 Best Products of 2005
When you're buying hardware, software, and services, you want the top combination of power, features, reliability, and value. That's what you'll find in these World Class Award winners--starting with the Product of the Year.
Click here to read about the 100 best products of 2006.
What makes a product great? For 22 years, we've answered that question in the form of our World Class Awards. The products, technologies, and categories keep changing. But in 2005, as in 1983, great products meld practical features with innovation. They help you rather than annoy you. And they do it at a fair price. This year we chose 100 tools--the most in years--for work, home, and everywhere in between. Then we ranked them from 1 to 100, scrutinizing each product's design, features, performance, innovation, and price. The resulting honor roll is as wide-ranging as today's world of personal technology. (And 23 of our 100 winners have the best price of all: They're free.)
In the following pages you'll find our top picks grouped by category (for example, Security on page 4 and Digital Photography on page 8), as well as in ranked order from 1 to 100 on page 12. Here, we begin with our Product of the Year.
WEB BROWSER (Free) Let the browser wars begin anew: This open-source program is streamlined, customizable, and just plain better. No wonder it has attracted millions of users in just a few months. Is it merely a coincidence that Microsoft finally plans to give the aging Internet Explorer the major overhaul it has needed for years? Review | Download
Marc SimonAlienware Aurora 5500 PERFORMANCE PC ($3500) Powered by a very capable 2.6-GHz Athlon 64 FX-55 processor, the Aurora 5500 embodies what Alienware does best. Quick and well designed, it exudes a sophisticated cool that will appeal to many users. This is currently our speed-record-holding desktop system. Look no further if you want a blazingly fast PC. Review
DESKTOP CASE ($169) It has top-notch fit and finish, noise-abating features like a 120mm chassis fan, and a cool swiveling front control panel. Review | Latest Prices
UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLY ($150) A real savior in an outage, it also fixes over- and under-voltage without even engaging its battery. Review | Latest Prices
SMALL PC (Starts at $499) Tiny, elegant, quiet, and inexpensive, Apple's latest inventive machine could turn you into a Mac user. Review
MOTHERBOARD ($185) It comes with practically every port you could need, and uses speech synthesis to tell you what's wrong if the PC can't boot. Review | Latest Prices
Marc SimonCompaq Presario V2000 ALL-PURPOSE NOTEBOOK (Starts at $780) The versatile V2000 offers a sleek profile, a great keyboard, a bright 14-inch wide screen, and superlong battery life. It would be at home on your desk or on the road. Review
MOUSE ($200) This one-of-a-kind input device, a mouse-in-a-tray, takes some getting used to. But it offers an innovative alternative if you find ordinary mousing awkward and painful. You move the RollerMouse pointer by shifting the rotating bar up and down, and side to side. It comes with a scroll wheel, as well as right-click, left-click, double-click, and changeable buttons. Company Web Site
Dell Inspiron 6000 DESKTOP REPLACEMENT NOTEBOOK ($1369) A 15.4-inch wide screen, swift performance with a 2-GHz CPU, and a slew of ports make the 6000 a very capable alternative to a desktop machine. Review
IBM ThinkCentre A51p ALL-PURPOSE PC ($1627) Easy-access design and advanced security features distinguish this good-looking, all-business black tower. Review
ULTRAPORTABLE NOTEBOOK ($2249) Offering arguably the best keyboard around, this lightweight notebook trumps the competition with a built-in fingerprint reader--for extra security--and a full-featured docking station. Latest Prices
PC SPEAKER SYSTEM ($299) Booming bass, detailed surround sound, and a superb digital control center with equalization and surround processing make the Z-5500 an outstanding set of speakers. Review | Latest Prices
GRAPHICS BOARD ($180) The 6600 GT supplies most of the 3D graphics muscle of the higher-end 6800 Ultra at less than half the price. Review | Latest Prices
Marc SimonShuttle Computer XPC i8600b SMALL PC ($1611) Striking a terrific balance between compactness and expandability, the XPC packs many of the features of a full-size desktop computer. It will appeal to folks who want a PC that can grow with them without taking up much space. Review
Office Software
UTILITY ($15) It backs up, restores, and synchronizes files--even when they're locked or open--to multiple locations such as networked drives. Review | Download
OPERATING SYSTEM ($129) Tiger's big new addition--to what was already a well-engineered Mac operating system--is Spotlight, a speedy, well-integrated tool for searching your hard drive. And it's the best-looking OS around. In other words, Mac fans are already enjoying the cool features that Windows won't deliver until late 2006. Review
ACCOUNTING AND PERSONAL FINANCE ($50 for Basic, $300 for Pro) Software offers headroom to satisfy businesses with complex requirements. Review | Latest Prices
DESKTOP SEARCH SOFTWARE (Free) Although this utility isn't quite as efficient as Google Desktop Search, search geeks may prefer it. Copernic can hunt for files by size or by date and can store its index file in the location of your choice. Review | Download
DATABASE ($299) This version adds a relational capability that makes the app even more useful. Review | Latest Prices
DESKTOP SEARCH TOOL (Free) It does a speedy job of retrieving the results you want, but it could use a better way of paring down your results. Review | Download
LINUX DISTRIBUTION (Free) With a bit of tinkering, you end up with the slickest Linux around. Review
UTILITY ($30) It wipes out file histories, browser cookies, cache contents, and other remnants. Review | Download
BROWSER SECURITY PLUG-IN (Free) Use it to block sites and IP addresses that try to install malware or that host ads appearing in spam messages. Review | Download
SPAM FILTER ($40 a year) This tool (formerly SpamNet) garnered one of the best antispam filter accuracy rates in our tests. Review | Download
PASSWORD MANAGER (Free for up to 25 log-ins, $25 for unrestricted version) Keep track of your passwords with this frugal and utilitarian tool. Company Web Site
Sunbelt Software CounterSpy ANTI-SPYWARE SOFTWARE ($20) Adept at rooting out troublesome apps, it uses real-time monitoring to help prevent further spyware infestations. Review
PRIVACY SOFTWARE (Free) Its onion routing service strips away information from Internet data packets that might reveal your identity while you are browsing. Tor goes a step further than paid competitors, anonymizing your e-mail, IM, IRC chat, or any other TCP/IP network data. Company Web Site
DATA RECOVERY SOFTWARE ($149) It boots from CD to diagnose problems or to take data off a dead system (or to put data back on to help revive one). Review | Download
ANTIVIRUS AND FIREWALL SOFTWARE ($25) Take the premier software firewall, pair it with Computer Associates' capable antivirus program, and you have a winning combination. Company Web Site
BACKUP SOFTWARE ($50) Sometimes, the easiest means of recovering from a hard-drive disaster may be to restore your system from an image--and True Image makes doing so a snap. Review | Latest Prices
PORTABLE HARD DRIVE ($399) This supercompact portable hard drive is easy to tote around for backups on the go. Integrated backup software and a built-in USB 2.0 connector seal the deal. Latest Prices
BACKUP SOFTWARE ($129) Cheaper backup options abound, but Retrospect gets our vote for its handy tools and inclusion of a network client. Review | Latest Prices
NETWORK HARD DRIVE ($360) This slick-looking external drive adds 300GB of centralized storage to an existing home or office network. The device's Drag and Sort feature supports quick, general organization of your data. Review | Latest Prices
REWRITABLE DVD DRIVE ($239) Top speed, sleek design, and a useful software bundle propel this external DVD burner onto our list. It connects to a computer via USB 2.0 or FireWire. This model--and the internal version, the $139 PX-716A--rank among the fastest DVD drives in their class. Review (PX-716A) | Latest Prices
BURNING SOFTWARE ($100) Roxio EMC's easy-to-navigate interface simplifies burning tasks. This update broadens the suite's scope by adding the full version of BackUp MyPC 6 Deluxe. Review | Latest Prices
INTERNAL HARD DRIVE ($350) Seagate's Serial ATA drive gives you more than enough performance for desktop use. Its native command queuing adds to its smarts--and performance potential--in server applications. Review | Latest Prices
PORTABLE HARD DRIVE ($140) Don't be put off by this drive's hockey-puck design. The device carries 5GB of data efficiently and safely, letting you carry loads of files on the go. Review | Latest Prices
EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE ($350) This 400GB hard drive is a breeze to install and use, and you can configure it in a multidrive stack. Latest Prices
USB MEMORY KEY ($190) This 2GB flash drive speeds its way through data transfers. It includes security and file-synchronization software, too. Latest Prices
SEARCH ENGINE (Free) Amazon's clever A9 search engine and toolbar starts with Google results. But it does Google one better with features like auto-syncing bookmarks, a search history, and amazing photo-based Yellow Pages. Download
WIRELESS NETWORKING (Router $160, network card $110) They offer dramatically faster speeds and better range than their 802.11g predecessors. Review
INSTANT MESSENGER (Free) A universal client, Trillian works with AIM, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and other IM networks. Version 3 adds audio and video chat, plus links to the Wikipedia online encyclopedia. Review | Download
PHOTOGRAPHY SITE (Free) Post snapshots or rummage through other people's collections. Review
SEARCH ENGINE (Free) The king of search continues to introduce important innovations--such as Google Maps, Google Answers, and Google Scholar--while maintaining a clean interface. Review
WEB MAIL (Free) Fast, simple, and with 2GB of storage, it has the elements of a paid service, delivering messages sans pesky graphical ads. Review
WEB SITE (Free) Who says you can't fit the entire Web under one domain? Well, maybe not the whole Web, but enough of it to keep any browser busy for a couple of lifetimes. Review
E-MAIL PROGRAM (Free) This client gives you useful features such as fast search capability and an RSS reader. It's great at blocking spam, too. Review | Download
BROWSER PLUG-IN (Free) Add oomph to Internet Explorer: Jump between pages in a tabbed interface, block ads, and pick from 300 skins. Review | Download
TRAVEL ROUTER ($80) Give yourself the freedom to wander about 30 feet from an ethernet jack and to create your own secure Wi-Fi network. Review | Latest Prices
WEB SITE (Free) NYTimes.com serves up great content, a clear layout, and interactive features. Company Web Site
SPAM FILTER ($3 a month) Service filters spam from up to three e-mail accounts. In our tests it caught more than 99 percent of unsolicited mail. Review
WEB BROWSER (Free) Find Firefox too austere? Opera is an attractive, feature-rich alternative. Review
INSTANT MESSENGER (Free) Not only does Qnext bring all your IM services together, it puts file sharing, photo sharing, music streaming, and games into the same interface. Review | Download
VIDEO INSTANT MESSENGER ($5 a month, $50 a year) Its lip sync is unbeatable on one-to-one calls, and it's above average on multiparty calls. Review | Download
BLOGGING TOOL ($5 a month, $50 a year) Though tools such as Blogger are free, bountiful features (including options for making blogs public or private), slick templates, and customization options make TypePad a smart investment. Company Web Site
VOIP SERVICE (Free) PC-to-PC phone calls have never sounded so good--plus, it's easy to set up. Review
VOIP SERVICE (Starts at $15 per month) Vonage stands out for its dependable service and first-rate call quality. Plus, the company has plans to roll out enhanced 911 (E-911) soon. Review
ONLINE RESOURCE (Free) Constantly updated and self-policed, this collaborative online encyclopedia offers insight into almost everything. Review
Dell 3300MP PROJECTOR ($1599) It includes every connection you can imagine and produces great images, too. Review
17-INCH LCD ($349) The 1704FPV puts all the parts together: a great screen, an adjustable stand, and USB 2.0 ports--at a bargain price. Review | Latest Prices
24-INCH WIDE-SCREEN LCD ($1019) This big beauty is designed with entertainment inputs that let you hook it up to such devices as DVD players and digital video recorders. Not only is this monitor easy on the eyes, but its category-shaking price tag is easy on the wallet, too. Review | Latest Prices
19-INCH LCD ($499) Pivoting this sleek LCD auto-corrects the image to display right side up. Review | Latest Prices
30-INCH LCD TV ($3800) This high-definition LCD TV stands out for its rich, lifelike colors and superior sound system--not to mention its built-in digital TV tuner for snagging over-the-air HDTV broadcasts. Review | Latest Prices
REAR-PROJECTION TV ($2500) This svelte 50-inch DLP HDTV set delivers sharp images and terrific sound quality. And it's stylishly designed, too. Review | Latest Prices
PHOTO ORGANIZER ($50) Use this fast, feature-rich program to manage your photo inventory. Latest Prices | Download
IMAGE EDITOR ($599) New features, including Vanishing Point (which clones elements that automatically match the perspective of the surrounding image), keep Photoshop the once and future king of image editing. Artists will like the new photo tricks that further streamline their tasks. Review | Latest Prices
VIDEO EDITOR ($99) Premiere Elements combines a friendly interface with a wide selection of video templates, effects, and transitions. Review | Latest Prices
SCANNER ($400) The 9950F offers fast, crisp, colorful scans; a built-in transparency adapter; and three film holders for scanning multiple photos. Review | Latest Prices
DIGITAL SLR CAMERA ($899) It's an impressive upgrade to the camera that brought single-lens reflex photography to the masses. This 8-megapixel model's lightweight design makes it a standout in the expanding field of SLRs. Review | Latest Prices
DIGITAL CAMERA ($400) The extremely compact, 7.2-megapixel Exilim EX-Z750 brings you sharp photos, a 2.5-inch LCD, long battery life, and an intuitively navigable on-screen menu. Review | Latest Prices
DIGITAL CAMERA ($450) Point-and-shoot photography at its best: It weds simplicity and great imaging in a light, compact camera that features exposure and white-balance bracketing controls. Review | Latest Prices
DIGITAL CAMERA ($699) If you don't want to spring for a digital single-lens reflex camera, this sturdy model is a superb choice for serious shutterbugs. We like its 8-megapixel imaging, 5X optical zoom lens, and huge selection of manual exposure controls.Review | Latest Prices
DESKTOP PUBLISHER ($699) Adobe gives QuarkXPress users some serious reasons to consider switching: finer controls for text and paragraph styles, enhanced tools for object manipulation, and as-you-type spelling check. Review | Latest Prices
MONOCHROME LASER PRINTER ($200) With razor-sharp text and excellent print speeds, the HL-5140 beats the competition hands down. Review | Latest Prices
INKJET/PHOTO PRINTER ($230) The IP4000R provides Wi-Fi, fast speeds, and great print quality. Review | Latest Prices
PAINT PROGRAM ($399) From watercolors to pastels, the tools in this natural-media paint program seem so real that you can practically smell the turpentine. Its new features and speed tweaks prove you can teach an old app useful new tricks. Review | Latest Prices
Dell 3000cn COLOR LASER PRINTER ($449) This workgroup printer delivers crisp text and solid graphics. Review
Marc SimonEpson PictureMate PHOTO PRINTER ($199) Portable printer produces high-quality prints at a reasonable price (23 cents each in our tests) and conveniently writes files from a media card to your external burner. Review
MULTIFUNCTION PRINTER ($300) Great print quality, fast copying, and built-in networking make this multifunction printer an indispensable office workhorse. Review | Latest Prices
BlackBerry 7100t PDA PHONE ($300) BlackBerry users finally get a real phone with the 7100t, as well as an innovative and highly effective predictive text-entry system that works with only a few more keys than a regular phone keypad uses. Review
REMOTE ACCESS ($20 a month) You can find cheaper ways to control a PC across the Web, but nobody has beaten this browser-based service's speed, reliability, and straightforward design. Review | Download
PDA ($199) A 312-MHz processor powers this versatile and very affordable PDA. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Review | Latest Prices
GPS NAVIGATION DEVICE ($964) With great 3D maps, clear visual and audio driving instructions, and easy operation, this is a welcome--but expensive--addition to any car dashboard. Company Web Site
CELL PHONE ($400 stand-alone, $200 with Cingular Wireless service plan) A svelte, innovative design; a large, vibrant screen; and a sturdy metal housing make the Razr one of the most attractive phones around. With support for international roaming, this slick GSM/GPRS phone works in many overseas destinations. Review | Latest Prices
PDA PHONE ($450 with service activation) A bright, high-resolution screen; a more-functional keyboard; and a removable, rechargeable battery are its key improvements over the previous model. Yes, it could use more memory and maybe Wi-Fi, too, but it's still the best PDA phone around.
Review | Latest Prices
MOBILE INSTANT MESSAGING ($25 first year, $20 thereafter) It's a slick, functional universal IM client that runs on handhelds--PalmOne, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and Symbian. Review
LARGE-CAPACITY MP3 PLAYER ($349 for 30GB, $449 for 60GB) A color screen, photo capability, and a TV-out option make this device the first truly useful digital audio and photo portable. Review | Latest Prices
MEDIA PLAYER (Free) It's great at letting you legally share music with others on the same network. Oh, and did we mention it works with the most popular audio player on the planet? Review | Download
MUSIC DOWNLOADS ($1 a song) One-click simplicity, a huge selection, exclusive tracks, and playlists from many artists give it universal appeal. But we'd like to see a higher bit rate for downloads, as well as a subscription service. Review
SATELLITE RADIO ($300) This device puts all the riches of XM satellite radio--from bluegrass to Major League Baseball--in the palm of your hand. VCR-like recording lets you save up to 5 hours' worth of audio for later listening. Review | Latest Prices
HD RECEIVER AND DVR ($999) This combo allows you to record two HD shows at once and watch another, prerecorded show simultaneously. Review | Latest Prices
FLASH-BASED MP3 PLAYER ($150) An FM tuner with scheduled recording, a voice recorder, and both line- and microphone-level inputs make this player more talented than the IPod Shuffle. Company Web Site
PORTABLE SPEAKERS ($100) The crisp-sounding speakers don't take batteries, but like 17-inch laptops they're just barely portable--and almost as good as what you'd find on a desktop. Review
MEDIA PLAYER (Free) Version 10 combines a compact interface with an innovative DRM technology for enabling music subscriptions that you can take with you on your MP3 player. Review
MEDIA STREAMING SERVICE (Free) This clever service streams music, video, and image files from your desktop to phones, PDAs, and notebooks. Review
MIDCAPACITY MP3 PLAYER ($200 for 5GB, $229 for 6GB) This sleek audio player fits comfortably in your hand or pocket. We like its simple interface, clear sound, and stellar battery life. A price drop on this great-quality player makes it even more attractive. Review | Latest Prices
STREAMING MEDIA DEVICE ($1199 for two players and one controller) If money were no object, there would be no question about buying this set. This streaming-media box offers the slickest, simplest way to aggregate your digital music and play it back virtually anywhere. Review
HANDHELD GAMING DEVICE ($250) The innovative PSP doubles as a personal video player. A beautiful screen, great graphics and sound, and a full lineup of games outweigh the drawbacks, such as slow loading times from Sony's Universal Media Disc and the high cost of Memory Stick Duo cards. Review | Latest Prices
DVD RECORDER ($500) A more capable alternative to TiVo, the RS-TX20 archives video to discs, and stores files in its 120GB hard drive as well. Latest Prices
PC GAME ($55) Half-Life 2 skillfully blends elements of sci-fi, horror, adventure, and puzzle-solving into a seductive productivity-killer. Review | Latest Prices
- Web Browser
- Web Mail
- Operating System
- Wireless Networking
- 24-Inch Wide-Screen LCD
- Performance PC
- Portable Hard Drive
- VoIP Service
- Digital SLR Camera
- PDA Phone
- Antivirus and Firewall Software
- Browser Plug-In
- Midcapacity MP3 Player
- Utility
- Network Hard Drive
- Search Engine
- Travel Router
- Spam Filter
- Handheld Gaming Device
- Graphics Board
- Uninterruptible Power Supply
- Utility
- Password Manager
- Multifunction Printer
- Data Recovery Software
- Linux Distribution
- Photo Printer
- E-Mail Program
- Browser Security Plug-In
- VoIP Service
- Spam Filter
- Image Editor
- Web Site
- Media Player
- Seagate USB/FireWire Hard Drive External Hard Drive
- Scanner
- Flash-Based MP3 Player
- PC Game
- Rear-Projection TV
- Privacy Software
- 19-Inch LCD
- Color Laser Printer
- PDA Phone
- Verbatim Store 'n' Go Pro USB Memory Key
- Internal Hard Drive
- All-Purpose Notebook
- Media Player
- Inkjet/Photo Printer
- Accounting and Personal Finance
- Media Streaming Service
- Photography Site
- Desktop Replacement Notebook
- HD Receiver and DVR
- ACD Systems ACDSee 7 Photo Organizer
- 17-Inch LCD
- Digital Camera
- Instant Messenger
- All-Purpose PC
- Video Instant Messenger
- Online Resource
- Instant Messenger
- CMS 80GB USB 2.0 ABSplus Notebook Backup System Portable Hard Drive
- Digital Camera
- Mouse
- Desktop Publisher
- Small PC
- IBM ThinkPad X41 Ultraportable Notebook
- Video Editor
- PDA
- Search Engine
- Toshiba RS-TX20 Digital Media Server DVD Recorder
- Burning Software
- Plextor PX-716UF Rewritable DVD Drive
- Digital Camera
- Small PC
- Desktop Search Tool
- 30-Inch LCD TV
- Large-Capacity MP3 Player
- Projector
- Database
- Anti-Spyware Software
- Blogging Tool
- Backup Software
- Motherboard
- Monochrome Laser Printer
- Music Downloads
- Web Site
- Web Browser
- Desktop Search Software
- Cell Phone
- Satellite Radio
- Mobile Instant Messaging
- Streaming Media Device
- Backup Software
- GPS Navigation Device
- Portable Speakers
- PC Speaker System
- Desktop Case
- Paint Program
- Remote Access
The Editors of PC World
