6 alternatives to Apple's tech toys

Apple has spent more than a decade leaching its hip little tech toys into American homes and pop culture with very little pushback from the stodgy tech sector. Time's up.

A month after releasing its iPhone 5 and about a week away from debuting its iPad Mini and newest 13-inch MacBook Pro, Apple finds itself in a peculiar position. Revenue jumped 23% last quarter from the same period a year ago and the company's next year-end summary follows up a 66% annual revenue spike in its 2011 report.

As ubiquitous as the company seems, though, it's still not as big a force as it could be. Its 17% market share among mobile phones in the U.S. still trailsSamsung (25.7%) and LG (18.2%), according to market research firm ComScore.

Meanwhile, its iOS platform's 34.3% share of the U.S. smartphone market still trails Google Android's growing 52.6% stake.

That disparity is far more pronounced globally, where research firm Gartner says Nokia and Samsung's 41% mobile market share dwarfs Apple's 5%. Among global smartphone users, Apple fares somewhat better, with a 24% share of the market that's still been surpassed by Android's 50% dominance.

Among computer operating systems, Mac and iOS are still small players. According to Web metrics firm Net Applications, Microsoft Windows is the operating system of choice on 84% of all personal computers in the world. Mac operating systems are just 6.30%, or little more that Windows Vista's 6.15%.

So if Apple isn't meeting the monstrous potential its market cap and share price indicates, why is it so hard to find an Apple product that doesn't top a wish list of tech toys? The competition simply wasn't playing Apple's game ... until recently. While Apple products still hover near the top of critics lists, we and the folks at Decide.com found examples of products that either give Apple's playthings a good fight or bite into Apple's market by beating it at their own game.

These picks are going to require a few hours of comments field fury:

SMARTPHONE

(Photo courtesy of Samsung)

Apple contender: iPhone 5

Alternative: Samsung Galaxy S III 4G

How seriously are Samsung's Galaxy products threatening Apple's dominance? So seriously that Apple and Samsung remain embroiled in litigation over whether Samsung infringed on Apple iPhone and iPad patents to make its Galaxy smartphones and Nexus tablets.

Sales of both Samsung products were banned in the U.S. for a bit, but now the Galaxy S III is available to AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and even iPhone-deprived T-Mobile customers for as much as $150 less than the iPhone. The phone's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 4G LTE capability and quick dual-core processor are lovely, but the Galaxy SI's strong 8-megapixel camera and S Beam technology that allows users to move photos, videos, documents and other files between phones by tapping their backs together are its biggest advantages. Those earned it the same 94 out of 100 that Decide.com gave the iPhone 5.

While its S Voice is a pale replica of the iPhone's Siri and drains an already weak battery, the Galaxy S III is already beating the iPhone in an area where Apple was once thought invincible: apps. Say what you will about Google Play's selection compared with the App Store, but Google execs never had to offer an embarrassed apology for the quality of Google Maps.

MP3 PLAYER

(Photo courtesy of Samsung)

Apple contender: iPod Touch

Alternative: Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2

Apple's played this game with users for years, so why shouldn't Samsung?

You take all of the elements people really like about your popular smartphone, yank out the phone element for folks who don't want to pay for airtime or parents who don't want the cost of their kid's toy added to their monthly phone bill and watch the money trickle in.

This was the exact thinking behind the Galaxy Player, a 4-inch handheld that blazes past the Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet with its front and rear cameras, GPS, Bluetooth and support for Google's suite of official mobile apps, including Gmail, Google Talk and the Android Market. The iPod Touch clearly has the better camera of the two and a smoother display, but the Galaxy supports more video formats, high-quality YouTube and Netflix streaming, better sound quality for audio files with Samsung's SoundAlive audio enhancement settings and an FM tuner for old folks who still care to listen to the radio.

The latest Galaxy Player is competing with an Apple afterthought in a dying electronics segment, but Samsung's still taking the time to get it right. While not as impressive as the Galaxy S III, the Galaxy Player earned the same 90 rating from Decide as the latest iPod while selling for less. If price is the deciding factor, the Galaxy Player wins the day easily.

TABLET

(Photo courtesy of Google)

Apple contender: iPad 2

Alternative: Google Nexus 7

It's not often that the competition makes Apple move first, but how else do you explain the Nexus 7 beating the iPad Mini to the market by about six months?

The Nexus 7 is a whole lot smaller than the iPad 2 at 7 inches and comes in at about half the price of its big competitor. Starting at $200, it's also less than half the price. It has a fantastic HD display that lends itself well to games and movies thanks to a quad-core Tegra 3 processor delivers fast performance and a beautiful and responsive screen.

It's been getting some early competition from the $160 Amazon Kindle Fire HD, but the Amazon mini tablet gives buyers a bit more size and bulk than the Nexus 7. Google's also given its tablet a fighting chance by adding TV shows and buyable movies, welcoming Google Play to compete with Amazon Prime and iTunes offerings.

Right now the little tablet is the winner by default, but even if Apple gives the iPad mini the built-in expandable storage and back camera the Nexus 7 lacks, that lightweight design and low price are going to be tough to beat.

LAPTOP

(Photo courtesy of Lenovo)

Apple contender: MacBook Pro

Alternative: Lenovo ThinkPad

Apple is supposedly tacking the introduction of its 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display onto the end of its iPad Mini presentation, which tells you about as much as you need to know about where the company thinks Macs fit in these days.

If iPads are doubling the sales and revenue of Mac laptops and Apple is pouring much of its efforts into its tablets and smartphones, what's the point of paying a premium for a Mac if its security is no longer uncrackable and integration is its only draw? Dell and HP may be hurting, but Lenovo just signed a sponsorship and supply deal with the NFL and wants folks to take a chance on its Windows-based laptops.

Decide loved the company's older 11.6-inch models and rated them second only to MacBook products among laptops. Its nearly 16-inch models are monsters by today's 13-to-15-inch standards, but Decide's given them an 88 out of 100.

The business community gives a whole lot of love to Lenovo models such as the X1 Carbon and X230 ultrabooks for their rugged style, keyboard setups that put the MacBook Air to shame and the familiar trackpad and trackpoint bump that the folks in blue shirts love so well. Their goal was to slim down, compete with new MacBooks on price and give their users a familiar experience the Macs still can't match. While the ThinkPads may win the race with MacBooks to laptop extinction, they're pulling in as many mourners as possible along the way.

DESKTOP

(Photo courtesy of HP)

Apple contender: iMac

Alternative: HP Pavilion Phoenix Desktop

Yet another category that tech companies seem to care about less and less.

iMac sales make up roughly a fifth of all Mac sales and were down almost 20% in the third quarter from the same time last year. In all of 2011, iMac desktop sales grew just 1% from 2010. The decline is speeding up and the sector is dying.

Still, there are offices that need workstations and desk space that needs filling. Decide gives a slight edge to the 27-inch iMacs and their all-in-one screen design, but is similarly taken with HP Pavilion Phoenix towers that come in at roughly half the price but offer 10 gigabytes of memory and a two-terabyte hard drive.

For gamers, that means no lag, great graphics and ridiculous sound from Beats Audio. For business folks, that means a smooth transition to Windows 8. For the average joe, it means having to find a monitor instead of having a nice, compact, minimally fanned all-in-one, but it also means having more speed and storage than you could ever hope to use.

STREAMING BOX

Photo courtesy of Roku

Apple contender: Apple TV

Alternative: Roku 2 HD

Apple TV is great for Apple fans who want to integrate all their media and have access to all their iTunes files via their living room or use their Apple mobile device as a remote. Beyond that the perks stop at Netflix, Hulu, Major League MLB.tv, NBA League Pass, Vimeo, YouTube and Flickr and NHL Game Center.

That's wonderful and all, but if you're less keen on mirroring your Mac screen on your television and more concerned with cutting the cable cord, the similarly priced Roku 2 HD holds far more value.

For one, it gives Amazon Prime customers access to their Amazon Instant Video shows and movies and gives Wal-Mart's Vudu customers a link to their television and film content. It also pipes in music from Pandora and Rdio, content from Crackle, NBC News, Crackle, Disney.com, and CBSSports.com and gives viewers their pick of video games.

If you're looking to link up Apple devices, there's really no other streaming box choice. If you care more about the content than making all your toys communicate, though, the Roku 2 is really worth considering.

License to drive: Best cars from James Bond films

Over the last half century Ian Fleming’s iconic cinematic secret agent has piloted just about every manner of vehicle ever conceived in the long-running series of James Bond films, from a helicopter, fire engine and jet pack to a snowmobile, Russian tank and even a lunar rover. Still, it’s agent 007’s seemingly endless fleet of exotic cars – in some instances they’re virtually disposable within the context of the storylines – that are the movies’ un-credited co-stars.

To help celebrate the golden anniversary of the franchise – the first James Bond film Dr. No premiered 50 years ago – we’re revisiting our fan-crazed selections from earlier this year for what are arguably the best 007 vehicles of all time.

Note: Car nuts and 007 aficionados alike can still check out the “Bond in Motion” exhibit at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, England (about 87 miles southwest of London). This exhaustive aggregation of 50 of the most recognized 007 vehicles – including ones from the 23rd film in the series, Skyfall –runs through January 6, 2013.

Aston Martin DB5

First seen in the 1964 film Goldfinger, the venerable DB5 is arguably the car that’s inexorably associated with James Bond. A luxury grand touring car produced between 1963 and 1965 that came powered by a 282-horsepower 4.0-liter engine, the DB5 packed such then-upscale amenities as reclining seats, wool pile carpets, electric windows, chrome wire wheels, full leather upholstery and even a fire extinguisher. The DB part of the car’s name stands for David Brown, who owned Aston Martin throughout much of its post-WWII glory days.

Bond’s version featured such essential secret-agent accessories as a front-firing machine gun, passenger-ejection seat, smoke screen, oil slick dispensers, a bulletproof barrier, revolving multinational license plates and front and rear retractable ramming arms. It also came with extendable wheel hubs that could disable an adjacent vehicle by slashing its tires. The durable DB5 also saw duty in Thunderball (1965), GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and Casino Royale (2006); it was even used as the basis for the spy character Finn McMissile in the 2011 animated film Cars 2. 

Lotus Esprit

As seen in 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me, the low-slung Lotus Esprit served double duty as an on-road sports coupe and a compact submarine. Roger Moore’s 007 takes the Esprit deep below the surface to engage in a reconnaissance of the villain’s underwater facilities. As if that’s not enough, the Esprit was also handily equipped with anti-aircraft missiles, which Bond subsequently uses to blow a helicopter out of the sky. For its submerged skills the cinematic version of the vehicle earned the nickname “Wet Nellie.”

Meanwhile, the road-going version of the wedge-shaped Esprit was manufactured from 1976-2004, with the first generation, dubbed S1, being the model featured in the film. It came powered by a rear-mounted 2.0-liter engine that generated a modest 140 horsepower in its U.S. configuration. While it wasn’t a particularly fast car, the lithe and lightweight Esprit made up for a lack of power with its tenacious handling abilities.

Ford Mustang Mach 1

Diamonds are Forever (1971) marked Sean Connery’s return to the Bond series after a one-film hiatus. Here, the vehicular star of the show was a 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 owned by diamond smuggler Tiffany Case (1970’s bombshell Jill St. John) In the process of preventing the villainous Blofeld from controlling the world, Bond pilots the Mach 1 to out-maneuver pursuing police cars down the Las Vegas Strip that leaves assorted collisions in its wake. The sequence’s signature maneuver is an extended escape down an otherwise too-narrow alleyway with the Mustang somehow squeezing through on only two wheels.

While Ford may not have recommended drivers try that trick at home with the stock Mustang Mach 1, the sports coupe was an impressive performer in its own right. In production from 1969-1978 and available as a dramatically styled fastback model, the Mach 1 offered a choice of no less than four V8 engines, with the top powerplant being a 429 Cobra Jet Ram Air version that was a mammoth (even by classic muscle-car standards) 7.0 liters large.

BMW Z8

Noted automotive stylist Henrik Fisker designed this sleek high-performance roadster that had a brief production run from 1999 to 2003. This is the same Henrik Fisker who would later form his own automotive company and create the Karma plug-in luxury hybrid. In the real world, the Z8’s chassis and body were fabricated from lightweight aluminum and it came powered by a blazing 400-horsepower V8 engine. Unique features included novel neon exterior lighting touches.

In The World is Not Enough (1999), Pierce Brosnan’s Bond gets his Z8 equipped with unique features like radar-guided stinger missiles and remote control pads on the keyfob. In the film it winds up being sliced in half in Azerbaijan by a helicopter that was fitted with tree-cutting saws. Apparently Q couldn’t think of everything.

Aston Martin DBS

Another old-school British-club-like car, the original DBS was featured in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – the only film in which George Lazenby portrays 007. The latest iteration was Daniel Craig’s ride of choice as Bond in the 2006 version of Casino Royale and the subsequent 2008 installment, Quantum of Solace. Unlike the gadget-laden DB5 above, the Aston Martin DBS featured in either film stands on its own merits without being retrofitted with assorted armaments.

Both elegant and aggressive, the current DBS (pictured here) is Aston Martin’s flagship model and offers a stunningly modern take on its predecessor’s old-money British sports car styling. Available as a closed-roof coupe or Volante convertible, the DBS packs a hand-assembled mid-mounted 6.0-liter V12 engine that brings a full 510 horsepower to the pavement. In Casino Royale, the car performed a record-breaking seven-roll stunt maneuver after which it was cannoned into the air. Three models were reportedly destroyed during the filming.

BMW 750iL

Perhaps Bond was beginning to feel his age in the 1997 release Tomorrow Never Dies with Pierce Brosnan’s 007 taking to the wheel of BMW’s flagship 750iL sedan, which, then as now, is more typically seen populating country club parking lots than it is traversing the globe on the secret agent circuit. And at that, in the movie’s signature chase scene Bond isn’t behind the wheel at all, but rather is driving the car while hunched in the back seat – not to mention engaging all manner of weaponry including flash grenades, tear gas, rockets and a metal spike dispenser – using his specially modified Ericsson cell phone as a remote controller.

The cinematic chase ends with the BMW sailing off the roof of the building (with 007 leaping from the car in the proverbial nick of time) and crashing into a rental car facility across the street as an onboard system voice says, “Congratulations on a safe journey.” Fifteen BMW 750is were reportedly destroyed in the making of the film.

Sedan smackdown: The best new family cars

The 2014 Mazda6 is going on sale in early 2013.

The stalwart family sedan is maligned almost as much as the poor minivan. But like that versatile people mover, it’s incredibly practical. Four doors, ample room for five and a good-sized trunk. Plus, it’s affordable and gets better gas mileage than a minivan or SUV.

No wonder 27 percent of vehicles sold during the first half of 2012 were mid-sized sedans, according to Experian Automotive. In fact, mid-sized cars account for five of the 10 best-selling vehicles in the U.S., and sales in the segment are up 25 percent, growing faster than the overall industry.

This fall, there’s an all-out family car feud going on in dealer showrooms, with newly redesigned mid-sized entries from just about every major player. What’s nice is there’s not a plain-vanilla one in the bunch.

All feature more expressive styling (a couple are downright sexy), better fuel economy, lots of premium features and oodles of advanced technology, for around $25,000 to $30,000.

The average American is driving an 11-year-old car, so your shopping list is probably different from the last time you shopped for a sedan. For the past couple of decades, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord were the only real choices. The Japanese makers dominated the mid-sized car segment years, but lately, U.S. carmakers have been showering more love on their passenger cars, and it shows in their latest models like the Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Malibu, which are better-looking, better-equipped and more refined than their predecessors.

New competitors have elbowed their way into consideration, too. Just two years ago, the redesigned Hyundai Sonata – loaded with premium features and more fuel-efficient than any of its rivals – was a finalist for 2011 North American Car of the Year. (It lost to the breakthrough Chevrolet Volt). Now the Sonata’s almost stale by comparison, even though it remains one of the best mid-sized cars on the market.

Now comes a bevy of models that have been redesigned for 2013, including the Malibu, Fusion, Accord and Nissan Altima. Early next year, the 2014 Mazda6 will debut. Even the Camry and the Volkswagen Passat, both redesigned last year are practically brand new. Each one has added more expensive features and technology than the outgoing models, but for about the same money, a measure of the intense competition.

With so many appealing new choices in showrooms now, and the next Mazda6 just around the corner, buyers probably shouldn’t automatically go for the familiar Camry or Accord. Take some extra time to drive them all. See what the family thinks.


2014 Mazda6

Despite its fun-to-drive characteristics, the Mazda6 has often struggled to keep up among better-selling mid-sized sedans. The 2014 model, which goes on sale early in 2013, makes a big leap forward in fuel economy, aiming for 40 mpg with more lightweight steel and its new SkyActiv gasoline engines. Price: not yet announced

Safety features in the new Mazda6 include Hill Assist, to keep the car from rolling backwards, and Smart City Brake Support, which applies the brakes automatically to avoid collisions in traffic.


2013 Ford Fusion

The newest Fusion turns heads for its upscale design, reminiscent of an Aston Martin. It'll be available with five powertrains: three four-cylinder engines, a 47-mpg hybrid, and a plug-in hybrid Ford says will get the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon. Price: $22,495 to $32,995. Plug-in pricing not yet announced.

The new Fusion is loaded with technology typical of luxury cars, including a lane-keeping system that gently directs you back between the lane markers and an auto start-stop system that saves gas.


2013 Honda Accord

The ninth generation Accord has a more sculpted body and will be available as a plug-in hybrid and a conventional hybrid, along with four- and six-cylinder engines. Embedded cameras all over the vehicle provide improved visibility, including a LaneWatch feature that displays your blind spot on a screen when the turn signal is on. Price: $21,680 to $33,430.

The Accord's interior is well-appointed and comfortable, with a generous trunk. Its HondaLink infotainment system includes standard Bluetooth hands-free calling and text messaging and uses voice recognition to connect with Pandora radio, Aha, and other services.


2013 Nissan Altima

The base engine in the new Altima gets 38 mpg on the highway, best in the segment for a conventional gas engine. Its new sloping roofline and wider stance give it coupe-like appearance. If you need to fill the tires, the horn sounds when you've reached the proper tire pressure. Price: $21,500 to $30,080.

A new NASA-inspired seat in the Altima is designed to help reduce fatigue and improve comfort. The NissanConnect system includes standard Bluetooth technology to connect your smartphone to the car's infotainment system for streaming audio, hands-free calls, Pandora radio and Google location search.


2013 Toyota Camry

The Camry, America's best-selling family car, got a full makeover a year ago, and reset the bar for refinement, comfort and roominess. The four-cylinder base engine gets 27 mpg overall, but you can also buy a V6 or hybrid. The hybrid version gets 38 mpg. Price: $22,055 to $30,115.

The new Camry's interior quality is noticeably improved, with more soft-touch surfaces and premium stitching. Bluetooth and USB port are standard; also available with Toyota's new Entune smartphone system for Bing search, streaming Internet radio, traffic, sports and stock information.


2013 Volkwagen Passat

Redesigned for the 2012 model year, the Passat is still a favorite among automotive critics for its European handling and clean, crisp lines. It's the only family sedan with a diesel option, which gets 43 mpg highway. Price: $20,845 to $33,525.

The current Passat is roomier than the previous one, and has a lower starting price to better compete with mid-sized rivals. But the base model is stripped down, and interior quality isn't what it used to be
.