Stories by: Andrew Kliem

What do Gatorade (some flavours!), the Cookie Monster and high-definition media all have in common? They come in blue; now Microsoft is joining the party. At the centre of its new peripheral line-up is BlueTrack technology, a tracking system that will allow computer mice to work on a far wider variety of surfaces than current optical and laser products.

After several years of speculation, Microsoft has finally launched a wireless version of its popular Sidewinder gaming mouse. Featuring 2.4GHz wireless connectivity and the company’s brand new BlueTrack tracking technology, this is one serious piece of gaming hardware.

Filling the gap for users who want a TV upgrade but aren’t willing or able to splurge on a large 1080p panel, Sharp’s LC-37D33X is a mid-range 37in screen. It performed relatively well in our tests, but had a few issues with pixelation, black levels and sound quality that stopped it from getting top marks.

All the talk these days is about massive flat panel TVs for living rooms or personal theatres. 100Hz, 1080p and 24p playback are the order of the day. It's easy to forget that there is another market for TVs: secondary units for the kitchen or bedroom that don’t need the same goliath designs and fancy features as their larger siblings.

Ditching the Caplio name is an interesting decision by the small camera manufacturer Ricoh.

Designed with classical, jazz and blues listening in mind, the SHE9850 headphones are part of Philips' new line of in-ear monitors.

The days of boxy, black, uninspiring TVs appear to be behind us. With manufacturers realising that a flat panel TV is also a fashion statement, all the latest units come with their fair share of coloured bezels, glass frames and chrome mags with bonus spoilers. Samsung’s latest top-of-the-line panel, the LA40A650, joins the party with the typically stylish Samsung shape and a very funky deep red colour scheme.

A relatively simple unit for users who want a stylish and petite compact camera, the Nikon CoolPix S550 is yet another competent but not particularly special camera. Its 10-megapixel (Mp) sensor captures decent images, but its performance is a little sluggish and will frustrate some users.

Sporting a gigantic 14.3x optical zoom lens and a robust black plastic body, you could be forgiven for mistaking the FujiFilm S100fs for an SLR. But although it is larger than some SLRs on the market, this unit doesn’t quite go all the way. It falls into the popular bridge category of advanced cameras for those who want more control without jumping into SLR territory. On the whole this camera is a fairly impressive unit, combining good quality images with a host of features and a huge lens.

If Kermit the Frog is to be believed, it ain’t easy being green. However, we believe the FujiFilm FinePix Z100fd would disagree. This extremely stylish chrome/green camera features great build quality and an attractive design, making it ideal for fashion-conscious buyers. Unfortunately, it does have a few issues, including a poorly laid out menu system and lower than average image quality.

Looking extremely similar to the DMC-FX36, Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-FX38 is another fantastic point-and-shoot camera. It sports a 10-megapixel sensor, an ultra-wide 25mm lens and all of the usual automatic modes Panasonic users know and love. We were a little disappointed that little seems to have changed from the previous model, but this is nonetheless an attractive if somewhat pricey camera.