User Rating:
Good: The compact Samsung Freeform 5 has a responsive QWERTY keyboard and won't drain your bank account.
Bad: Low-end specs and half-baked features make the Freeform 5 outdated, even for a feature phone. Image quality is dull and flat.
Bottom Line: Consider buying the Samsung Freeform 5 if you really need a QWERTY feature phone, but rival handsets will get you about the same experience for less. [Read more]

User Rating:
Good: The Logitech Harmony Smart Control is a unique universal-remote system that makes it possible to control eight devices -- including the PS3 and Wii -- using your iPhone or Android phone or the included simple remote, which communicates with the included Harmony Hub. The remote is remarkably light and thin, and operates via RF, rather than IR, so you don't need line-of-sight to your components. Harmony's activity-based buttons offer a single button for functions like "Watch TV."
Bad: Harmony's setup can take a lot of initial work and requires some tech savvy. The included remote only has three dedicated activity buttons, which isn't enough for many home theaters. And the option to control your devices via a smartphone is cool, but not really that useful. There aren't any dedicated tablet control apps, either.
Bottom Line: The Logitech Harmony Smart Control combines RF functionality and smartphone control in an affordable universal-remote package, but the complexity of the initial setup will burden some buyers. [Read more]

User Rating:
Good: The Pentax K-50 features a weather-sealed body that's unique in its price class, an interesting set of shooting features, support for AA-size batteries, and a relatively nice viewfinder. Plus, it comes in colors, if that appeals to you. The cheaper K-500 has the same feature set but lacks the weather sealing and color combos.
Bad: Image quality and performance, while acceptable, don't match the competition's, and the cameras lack an articulated LCD. Also, both the shutter and the lens make a lot of noise.
Bottom Line: A reasonable option for an entry-level dSLR, the Pentax K-50 should satisfy if you need the weather-sealed design. But while acceptable, it and its cheaper sibling the K-500 lag behind the competition in image quality and performance. [Read more]

User Rating:
Good: The Pentax K-50 features a weather-sealed body that's unique in its price class, an interesting set of shooting features, support for AA-size batteries, and a relatively nice viewfinder. Plus, it comes in colors, if that appeals to you. The cheaper K-500 has the same feature set but lacks the weather sealing and color combos.
Bad: Image quality and performance, while acceptable, don't match the competition's, and the cameras lack an articulated LCD. Also, both the shutter and the lens make a lot of noise.
Bottom Line: A reasonable option for an entry-level dSLR, the Pentax K-50 should satisfy if you need the weather-sealed design. But while acceptable, it and its cheaper sibling the K-500 lag behind the competition in image quality and performance. [Read more]

User Rating:
Good: The Pentax K-50 features a weather-sealed body that's unique in its price class, an interesting set of shooting features, support for AA-size batteries, and a relatively nice viewfinder. Plus, it comes in colors, if that appeals to you. The cheaper K-500 has the same feature set but lacks the weather sealing and color combos.
Bad: Image quality and performance, while acceptable, don't match the competition's, and the cameras lack an articulated LCD. Also, both the shutter and the lens make a lot of noise.
Bottom Line: A reasonable option for an entry-level dSLR, the Pentax K-50 should satisfy if you need the weather-sealed design. But while acceptable, it and its cheaper sibling the K-500 lag behind the competition in image quality and performance. [Read more]

User Rating:
Good: The Pentax K-50 features a weather-sealed body that's unique in its price class, an interesting set of shooting features, support for AA-size batteries, and a relatively nice viewfinder. Plus, it comes in colors, if that appeals to you. The cheaper K-500 has the same feature set but lacks the weather sealing and color combos.
Bad: Image quality and performance, while acceptable, don't match the competition's, and the cameras lack an articulated LCD. Also, both the shutter and the lens make a lot of noise.
Bottom Line: A reasonable option for an entry-level dSLR, the Pentax K-50 should satisfy if you need the weather-sealed design. But while acceptable, it and its cheaper sibling the K-500 lag behind the competition in image quality and performance. [Read more]