Don't lose sleep with a lumpy travel pillow

Family & Pets
By Christine Frietchen on September 23, 2009 in

TravelRest pillow
You can find a cheap inflatable U-shaped neck pillow in pretty much any airport shop, but with a little forethought, you can choose a much better travel pillow for a long flight, train ride or car trip. In our new report on travel pillows, we found that experts gave the best reviews to the $27 TravelRest pillow, which doesn't look anything like one of those U-shaped neck pillows. Read more

T-Mobile's smartphone lineup gets a boost

Electronics
By Molly McLaughlin on September 23, 2009 in

HTC Touch Pro2

Tech reviewers frequently lament T-Mobile's poor selection of smartphones, aside from various BlackBerry iterations, but the carrier has spiced up its smartphone lineup recently. The HTC Touch Pro2 (*Est. $200 with contract), previously available unlocked and for a premium pricetag, is one recent entry, but reviewers have a love/hate relationship with it. The problem? It's a Windows Mobile device, and that operating system is notorious for its unwieldy interface. As outlined in our review, HTC does its best to make the Touch Pro2 graceful and easy to use, and is successful most of the time. Reviewers are unanimous in their opinion that the Touch Pro2 is T-Mobile's best Windows Mobile smartphone, but it's not exactly facing a lot of competition in that regard, either.

 

Tech reviewers frequently lament T-Mobile's poor selection of smartphones, aside from various BlackBerry iterations, but the carrier has spiced up its smartphone lineup recently. The HTC Touch Pro2 (*Est. $200 with contract), previously available unlocked and for a premium pricetag, is one recent entry, but reviewers have a love/hate relationship with it. The problem? It's a Windows Mobile device, and that operating system is notorious for its unwieldy interface. As outlined in our review, HTC does its best to make the Touch Pro2 graceful and easy to use, and is successful most of the time. Reviewers are unanimous in their opinion that the Touch Pro2 is T-Mobile's best Windows Mobile smartphone, but it's not exactly facing a lot of competition in that regard, either.

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No more mangled corks!

Kitchen & Food
By Christine Frietchen on September 22, 2009 in

Waiter's corkscrew

If you're not that skilled opening bottles of wine, then you probably understand the particular stage fright that comes with opening wine in front of dinner guests. In an attempt to look practiced and suave, you can end up in a wrestling match with the pinot noir.

With some practice, you could get better at using a standard corkscrew, or you could consider one of the top-rated wine openers in our report. Although many reviewers have a sentimental attachment to standard manual corkscrews, most admit that lever wine openers like the Le Creuset Screwpull Lever Model Elegance are easier to use and require less hand and arm strength.

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2011 Hyundai Sonata dumps current model's conservative look

Automotive
By Alex Nunez on September 22, 2009 in

2011 Hyundai Sonata

The 2009 Hyundai Sonata earned a spot on our list of Best Reviewed family cars for winning over critics with its value and quality -- elements that make it a noteworthy budget alternative to class heavyweights like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. While bang for the buck is clearly a good thing, no one's ever going to accuse the current Hyundai Sonata of being exciting to look at. Its traditional 3-box design is about as vanilla as you can get. But that's about to change. Big time.

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Car seats: Graco SnugRide is tried and true

Family & Pets
By Christine Frietchen on September 22, 2009 in

Car seat
One car seat that has proved itself in the past with owners, parents and safety experts is again judged an excellent infant car seat. The Graco SnugRide is still the best car seat on the market, according to reviews. Parents say the SnugRide is easy to use, comfortable and easy to install in most cars. The primary complaints lodged against this car seat are that its fabric isn't very breathable and that bigger babies will outgrow it before age 1. You can read about the Graco SnugRide and alternatives in our newly-published infant car seat update. Read more

Dishwashers: Plain and fancy

Kitchen & Food
By Christine Frietchen on September 21, 2009 in

Dishwasher
Noise, capacity and style separate pricey dishwashers from less expensive models. If those aspects aren't as important to you, you can get a good dishwasher for about $400. Several Bosch, Kenmore and Whirlpool models offer useful features in a variety of price ranges. See our recently updated dishwasher report for more. Read more

Recycling cosmetics containers

Health & Beauty
By Christine Frietchen on September 21, 2009 in

We reported on MAC Cosmetics' free recycling program when we updated our report on lipstick. And recently, we were pleased to stop by a MAC store and hear the sales clerks reminding people of the program at checkout. We just think it's a good program that bears mention again.

Here's how the "Back to MAC" program works: MAC cosmetics recycles your empty MAC lipstick, eye shadow and mascara containers. And if you turn in six of them, you'll get a free lipstick in return. This got us wondering if any other companies had similar programs...

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Fisher-Price baby swings are parents' favorites

Family & Pets
By Christine Frietchen on September 20, 2009 in

Fisher-Price Starlight Papasan
In our update of baby swings, Fisher-Price models are well-liked by expert reviewers and parents. The Fisher-Price Starlight Papasan Cradle Swing is recommended most often. Parents say the shape of the seat offers a lot of support for infants, and the option to select back-and-forth or side-to-side movements lets parents find the motion that is most soothing to their baby. Read more

Agony of the feet

Health & Beauty
By Sarah Burns on September 20, 2009 in

Agony of the feet

After several Pampered Toes sightings, our staff decided to personally put this product to the test. A few editors stepped forward to volunteer, literally putting their feet on the line for the sake of good journalism. Sadly, like many As Seen on TV products, Pampered Toes just wasn't what it promised to be.
So, after the dust settled (and our folks finally regained the feeling back in their feet), we were left wondering: Surely, there must be a less expensive way to soothe sore, tired feet?
Well, guess what? There is -- and it's MD-approved and absolutely free.

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Is there any difference between men's and women's razors?

Health & Beauty
By Christine Frietchen on September 19, 2009 in

Mach3 razor

The answer: Not really.

Professional reviewers and consumers say the Gillette Venus Divine and the Gillette Mach3 Turbo are the best blade razors, but aside from the handle shape, color and packaging, they're both three-bladed razors that perform equally well. While examining user reviews, we even found one guy who swipes his wife's Venus razor for his face, and we found hundreds of women who are perfectly happy with the Mach3. Read our comparison of these and other women's shavers in our update.

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