Best electronics
Ratings of 400+ products, including what's new for the holidays
This article appeared in 
Geeks, your shopping secret is out. While loved ones assume your trips to the mall and hours of Web surfing are all to buy gifts, a poll by the Consumer Reports National Research Center reveals otherwise. A majority of the survey respondents who planned to brave electronics stores last year on Black Friday, the sale-crazed day after Thanksgiving, were actually looking to get gear for themselves.
New electronics products flood the market in the final weeks of the year, and this annual section rates more than 400 of them in a dozen categories.
Many of our Ratings include top-ranked models that raise the bar in their respective categories. But the values for many buyers are models that score almost as highly and cost less.
For example, the Ratings of 15- and 16-inch laptops (available to subscribers) are topped by an Apple MacBook Pro model that has a battery life of 8.5 hours, one of the longest we've ever measured. A Toshiba Satellite model ranked sixth, and a CR Best Buy, is heavier than the Apple, has an ample 7-hour battery life, and costs a lot less—roughly $1,300 less.
Click on the links at left for other news and advice to help you shop for electronics this holiday season—for anyone, yourself included.
