Prizefight

Prizefight: Apple iPhone 5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S3

This is a Prizefight throwdown showdown between Apple's iPhone 5 and Samsung's Galaxy S3, before the Jelly Bean update, that will continue on for generations to come.

The iPhone 5 finally has caught up to technologies that the Android world has had for more than a year, so how will it match up with one of Android's crown jewels, the Galaxy S3?

You can bet we'll be pitting these two against each other after the Jelly Bean update, but you can't have a better matchup than this. There's no way to go wrong with … Read more

Prizefight: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS4 vs. Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS

It's a Prizefight throwdown showdown! We're throwing two of the best point-and-shoot cameras that were made to outlast the elements. It's the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS4 versus the Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS!

Panasonic's TS4 brings a sleeker design that's still rugged with better image quality results. Olympus' TG-1 is chunkier, but it brings a larger feature set and is even crushproof.

Both of these bad boys are waterproof, shockproof, and freezeproof; which do you think deserves to be crowned the Prizefight King of the Ring?

Cast your vote!

Prizefight: Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker vs. Jawbone Big Jambox

It's a Prizefight Punchout! Bose has always had a solid reputation but do they have what it takes to take down the upstart Jawbone and their Big Jambox?

These wireless speakers each cost $300 so let's find out who packs the biggest punch in Design, Sound Quality, Features and Value.

Who do YOU think deserves to be the Prizefight champion? Is it the Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker or the Jawbone Big Jambox?

Cast your vote!

Prizefight punch-out! HTC Titan II vs. Nokia Lumia 900

AT&T is making quite the name for itself as America's top Windows Phone promoter. However, with so many Windows phones out there, it's getting harder to tell which one you should get.

Fear not, friends. Brian Tong straps on his gloves for a prizefight throwdown between the top Windows Phone contenders: the HTC Titan II, with its giant screen and 16-megapixel camera, and the Nokia Lumia 900 with its standout design and AMOLED display.… Read more

HP Folio 13 vs. Dell XPS 13: Ultrabook laptop Prizefight

Ultrabooks are a hot topic right now, but with so many superslim 13-inch laptops available, how do you choose the best one? It's especially hard in the new pseudo-category, as most of the ultrabooks we've seen are very similar, both in design and specs. For this eagerly awaited Prizefight, we pitted two of our favorite ultrabooks against each other: the HP Folio 13 and the Dell XPS 13.

The Dell has a very MacBook-Air-like design, whereas the HP is a bit more businesslike, but has fantastic battery life. Below, you'll see our laptop experts, me along with Julie Rivera and Brian Tong, rate both systems across several key categories, and at the end, we'll tally up the score and declare a winner. … Read more

Sony PS Vita vs. Nintendo 3DS: Handheld gaming Prizefight

While some think that Apple has run away with the mobile gaming market, Sony and Nintendo are boldly holding on to their gaming franchises with reinventions of their hardware.

The Nintendo 3DS, which debuted last year, is an improvement in terms of graphics from its Nintendo DS predecessor, but time has not been kind to Nintendo's hold of the casual games market--and, glasses-free 3D has been a gimmick, at best. Still, with Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart plus a price drop, the 3DS is on a rebound.

Meanwhile, the newly released PlayStation Vita has superior graphics and … Read more

Tablet Prizefight: Transformer Prime vs. iPad 2

We all know the iPad 2. Sure, it's great, but it's about time someone cut that smug slate down to size. You know, give it the ol' sucker punch before the iPad 3 comes out and turns us into drooling fanboys again.

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime is up for the challenge. It has the beauty (polished metal construction), the brawn (Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor), and the brains (Android 4.0) to make the iPad feel a little out of its league.

Failing that, Asus gave the Transformer Prime a secret weapon--a snap-on keyboard dock with … Read more

Prizefight: Asus UX31 vs. Apple MacBook Air

Our latest Prizefight pits one of the new generation of superthin Ultrabook laptops, the Asus Zenbook UX31, against the system it was clearly designed to emulate, Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air.

The Prizefight scoring system is as follows: Each judge rates on a zero to five scale. At the end of each round, we will take an average of the three judges' scores. The final score for each laptop will be an average of all five rounds. … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs. Sony Tablet S

When a tablet manufacturer prices its product exactly the same as the Apple iPad, it's either confident or crazy.

Sony and Samsung have reason to be confident. Both companies offer beautifully designed Android tablets that are chock-full of unique features--some of which even the iPad can't match.

In this week's CNET Prizefight, we put the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 up against the new kid on the block--the Sony Tablet S.

See which contender comes out on top. … Read more

Netflix vs. Blockbuster: What's the best service for streaming and DVDs?

Editors' note (September 19, 2011): Since this story was first published, several important changes have occurred. Netflix has initiated new pricing plans and is spinning off its DVD-by-mail program into a separate company known as Qwikster; Starz content will be disappearing from Netflix streaming as of February 28, 2012; a new Blockbuster subscription streaming service is rumored to be debuting before the end of the year. We'll update this story in the future once the details on these new developments are fully revealed.

There are more choices than ever for your entertainment dollar, but Netflix and Blockbuster remain the only two that offer both online streaming and disc-by-mail options. Recent changes to both--a controversial Netflix price hike and a change of ownership for Blockbuster--make this a perfect time to re-examine how both of these vendors stack up against one another.

In the analysis below, we explain how Netflix and Blockbuster stack up against each other on both fronts (discs and streaming), look at the other competitors (including Hulu Plus, Amazon, Vudu, and iTunes), and make an overall recommendation on the best choices for you.… Read more