Entertain Yourself

Did you keep expenditures down during the holidays because of the economy? Valiantly hold off on that widescreen TV for the Super Bowl, then instantly regret it? If you’re finally ready to upgrade, try these hot products.
-By Paul Stone

SAMSUNG 46-INCH LCD TV
Samsung.com
$3,400
If you’re checking out our Pets’ fave sex scenes, you’ll want the most crisp and clean images possible. Enter the LN46A950 high-definition (1,920 x 1,080) LCD TV. It’s sleek and sexy, and sports a hint of color in the black frame. It’s also packed with features: preloaded recipes, fitness exercises, games; a link to weather, news, sports, and stock info from USA Today; and PC-connectivity, so you can access your music, video, and photo files.

TIVO HD XL DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDER
TiVo.com
$600
We’re several years into the twenty-first century, which means it’s now official: No home-entertainment setup is complete without a DVR. Of course, the industry’s big boy is TiVo, and the company is still at the forefront of the digital-TV revolution. This monster of a recorder can store 150 hours of high-definition TV—and an incredible 1,350 hours in standard definition—and record two channels at the same time. It has all the usual features, including the ability to pause live TV, watch in slow motion, and jump back and forth in a recorded show. The only thing it won’t do is work with satellite TV.

SONY T700 CYBER-SHOT DIGITAL CAMERA
SonyStyle.com
$400
Maybe you’re feeling inspired enough to do a Penthouse-style photo shoot of your own. Try Sony’s new T700 digital camera. It’s a 10.1-megapixel powerhouse with a 3.5-inch touch screen and four gigabytes of internal memory, so you can go snaphappier than a cracked-out paparazzo. You can even retouch directly on the camera, so if your girlfriend says no to posing because she’s worried about where photos on your computer could end up, you’ve got the solution. The zoom is only 4x, but that’s a good thing. Trust us when we say that when it comes to nudes, you should leave the extreme close-ups to the pros.

BOSTON ACOUSTICS CS 226 FLOORSTANDING SPEAKERS
BostonAcoustics.com
$250
These Classic Series dual six-and-a-half-inch, two-way, freestanding speakers are best used with multichannel home-theater systems, but the truth is, they provide amazing sound no matter what they’re paired with. It’s all about the science: Soft dome tweeters, graphite-injected-polymer woofers, and MagnaGuard magnetic shielding all maximize the crisp sound. You’ll be able to hear every groan, sigh, whisper, or scream … or not, if you and your mute button so choose.

IPEVO UNIVERSAL POINTER CAM
IPEVO.com
$100
What’s that? You say you’d like to put your images up on the web? We recommend this new pointer camera. Its flexible design works well whether you’re posing in front of your monitor or, um, in action, and you can capture images for instant download to your social-networking-site profile. (You’ll still need an audio device if you want to add sound.) Besides that, it’s the coolest-looking webcam we’ve ever seen.