We loved Samsung's F2380 monitor--but we love the new F2380M, on its way into the shops right now, even more.  It's the same great monitor, but not comes with new speakers, a headphone jack, and, most importantly, a HDMI input, three things the the F2380 is missing.  And even better, it's no more expensive than its predecessor!

Samsung F2380M     Electrical 123  158.00  Hughes Electrical Direct  158.99  Electrical coop  159.00  Appliances Online  159.00  Appliance Deals  161.00  365 Electrical  177.25  Compare prices

With this set-up, the Samsung F2380M gains the fifth star that the F2380 just missed out on, thanks to the inclusion of these new features.

For us, the new F2380M is now the monitor the others have to beat.  We like everything about it: its wide viewing angles, the even colours across the whole screen, the height-adjustdable stand … just about everything, really.  Apart from one detail: Samsung could have done a better job of improving the responsiveness.  It's not a slow monitor, but we know that the manufacturer is capable of more. 

Each monitor has its own page on our site, but the F2380 will likely lose its place to the F2380M over time.

> Test: New Samsung SyncMaster F2380M

> Test: Samsung SyncMaster F2380

> Product Survey: 23'' to 28'' Monitors

Today sees the launch of a new Product Survey for us: Bluetooth Headsets.  We'll start our look with a selection of eight very different headsets, but we'll bringing you a lot more over the weeks to come.

First up is a headset from iLuv, the i222, which comes with an adaptor for accessories that don't support Bluetooth.

Plantronics Discovery 925     Misco UK  46.99  Ligo Electronics  52.99  John Lewis  68.00  Euroffice  70.49          Compare prices

Next up is a whole range of Nokia earpieces and headsets, all from the same range: the BH-102, BH-504, BH-606, BH-703 and BH-804.

Finally, we also looked at a high-end option from Plantronics, the Discovery 925, and in-ear headphones from Sony-Ericsson, the HBH-IS800s.

> Product Survey: Bluetooth Headsets

Here's an e-mail we received from a reader:

Hello, I've just bought a Panasonic FT1 camera.  What I don't understand, though, is why you didn't mention the EZ zoom technology in your test? Thanks,

Panasonic's Extended Zoom, or EZ, technology is a way of allowing the camera to 'zoom in closer' by reducing the definition of the image.  Or, to put it another way, by cropping it.

If your camera has 12 Megapixels, you can reduce the definition to 6 Megapixels and could out the edges of the frame before you even take the photo.  That can be useful if you know exactly what you want to photograph and are happy to give up on being able to crop your image later on using your computer.  It also means you end up with smaller files.

But what's the difference between that and the standard 'digital zoom' that we always tell you to avoid?  Well here, every pixel remains just that: a single pixel.  A digital zoom also relies on just the central part of the frame, but then blows it up to reach the theoretical maximum resolution, interpolating the 'extra' pixels, which can have some negative effects on the quality of the photo.  On the example above, look at how pixellated the arms of the subject's glasses are, for instance.  In  our example, the 6 Megapixel image has been increased using a 2x digital zoom to create a 12 Megapixel image, meaning the file is just as big.

To answer the original question, though: why didn't we mention this Extended Zoom?  Because it's actually nothing new.  It's been on Panasonic's cameras ever since 2005, and on Pentax digital cameras, where it's known as Intelligent Zoom, since 2007.  Nikon has a similar feature too.

Even on a camera that doesn't have this feature, you can achieve exactly the same effect by taking a full-resolution photo and then editing it using your favourite image-editing software.  And you can crop any part of the frame, not just the centre.