CNET Announces ``Next Big Thing`` Award Winners at 2005 Consumer Electronics Show

2005 International CES

Booth #71351

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 7, 2005--

CNET`s Expert Editorial Team Recognizes Most Promising Products for 2005; Honors the Samsung 67-inch DLP HDTV with the ``Best of Show`` Award

CNET (Nasdaq:CNET) (www.cnet.com), the trusted resource for people interested in enhancing their lives with personal technology, today announced the winners of its ``Next Big Thing`` Awards at the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The CNET editors, who reviewed hundreds of entries, awarded Samsung the Best of Show Award for its 67-inch DLP HDTV (http://www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5619186-1.html). Twelve companies were recognized as having the best products in their respective categories.

CNET`s expert editors judged products on criteria including their promise to delight customers with their usefulness, design, and/or capacity to entertain; their ability to endow the owner with a certain cachet; breaking new ground in ease of use; working easily and readily with other products; pioneering a new category; setting a new standard for excellence in an existing category or innovation; selling in substantial numbers; and capturing the ``wow`` factor.

The winners are:

1. Televisions:

Samsung HLR-6768W 67-inch DLP HDTV

(http://www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5619186-1.html)

2. Car Technology:

iBiquity Digital Radio

(http://www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5618837.html)

3. Digital Photo and Video:

Kodak EasyShare One 4-megapixel camera with Wi-Fi

(www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5618451-1.html)

4. Home Theater:

Toshiba HD-DVD recorder

(www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5618766-1.html)

5. Portable Audio and Video:

Samsung YH-820 micro-HD MP3 player/photo album

(www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5618605-1.html)

6. Cell Phones and Handhelds:

Samsung SCH-i730 Windows Mobile smartphone

(www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5619304-1.html)

7. Computers:

Alienware DHS 2-Series Media Center PC

(www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5619334-1.html)

8. Peripherals:

Minolta Magicolor 2430DL color laser printer for photos

(www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5618403-1.html)

9. Burners and Storage:

Buffalo TeraStation 1-terebyte RAID drive

(www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5618710-1.html)

10.Software and Services:

Orb Networks` Orb digital media streaming service

(www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5618292-1.html)

11.Networking:

Linksys Wireless-G router with SRX (Speed and Range Expansion)

(www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5618593-1.html)

12.Accessories:

Slingbox Personal Broadcaster

(www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5619284-1.html)

``These are the products that are setting the standard by which others will be measured in 2005,`` said Patrick Houston, CNET`s editor-in-chief. ``Our annual Next Big Thing Awards provide technology-forward consumers the best predictions from our team of expert editors to help them make smart decisions as the products begin to hit the store shelves next year.``

To review a detailed summary of the products selected, a video of the winners and finalists showcasing their technology is available on http://ces.cnet.com.

About CNET

CNET, a property of CNET Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNET), is dedicated to helping people buy and use personal technology to enhance and enrich their lives. CNET`s award winning editorial staff reviews thousands of products each year, providing expert and unbiased advice on what products to buy. The site also offers help and how-to features enhanced with video content that visually shows consumers how to get the most out of technology once they own it. And, with an extensive directory of more than 200,000 products and price comparisons, CNET also gives consumers the most up-to-date and efficient shopping resource on the Web.

About CNET Networks, Inc.

CNET Networks, Inc. (www.cnetnetworks.com) is a premier global interactive content company that informs, entertains, and connects large, engaged audiences around topics of high information need or personal passion. The company focuses on three categories -- personal technology, games and entertainment, and business technology - and includes such leading brands as CNET, ZDNet, TechRepublic, MP3.com, GameSpot, CNET Download.com, CNET News.com, Webshots, Computer Shopper magazine, and CNET Channel. With a strong presence in the US, Asia and Europe, CNET Networks has operations in 12 countries.

Contacts

CNET

Sarah Winterhalder, 415-344-2218

sarah.winterhalder@cnet.com