This is the best LCD TV we’ve ever tested. Sony has had a tough ride in the last few years but after a catalogue of mistakes, it’s finally come good in the most spectacular of ways. The KDL-46HX853 takes LCD picture quality to a whole new level, particularly where contrast and motion handling are concerned. The set looks gorgeous too, and features what’s for our money the best – or at least the most sensibly focussed – online service around. This all adds up to an achievement made all the more remarkable when you consider that this outstanding TV is being delivered at a more aggressive price than the usually ultra-competitive Korean brands are offering on their range equivalents. To sum all this up, with the KDL-46HX853 Sony isn’t just back, it’s back with a vengeance.
The way the Toshiba BDX3300 doesn’t bother to disguise its BBC iPlayer, Acetrax, YouTube and Picasa services as apps is somewhat refreshing, since the functionality is identical to much more expensive – and certainly more polished, usability-wise – smart TVs and Blu-ray players. When it comes to pure Full HD picture quality, the Toshiba BDX3300 delivers, and we also like the fact that it can support an awful lot of digital files via USB and over a network. It may lack finesse and at times appears a tad archaic, but we can’t find it within us to criticise anything on a super-slim Blu-ray player that combines the best of the smart TV landscape with a price that hovers under £80/£120. For a simple 2D Blu-ray upgrade with some YouTube goodness, we can’t recommend the Toshiba BDX3300 highly enough.
Asus Transformer Pad 300 review
You can’t release a £399, 10.1-inch tablet and not expect comparisons with the iPad, so we’ll cut to the chase. The Asus Transformer Pad TF300 is currently one of the best 10-inch Android tablets you can buy, and represents better value with equivalent performance than the Asus Transformer Prime. The top-notch benchmark scores, wonderful use of the keyboard docking station, excellent battery life and superb usability make it a top recommendation in our eyes. If you’re platform agnostic and are tossing up between this and the iPad, things get trickier. The Transformer is better value, has double the storage, a fantastic keyboard dock which makes it much more versatile, and Ice Cream Sandwich closes the gap hugely. Individual needs and budget will determine if the Asus Transformer Pad TF300 is right for you, but we applaud Asus for marrying value and performance, and the TF300 comes highly recommended.
The TX-L42DT50B is a relatively high-end TV – that much is obvious from its slim depth and metallic bezel, the latter of which is some achievement considering Panasonic’s rather lacklustre history in this department. Feature-packed inside, we’re able to detect that this isn’t the brand’s flagship set, but there’s really no major flaws aside from a stubborn refusal to include 3D specs. It’s a decision which rather underlines why most brands – including Panasonic, to some extent – is quickly turning to passive 3D system with its 99p 3D glasses.
Toshiba’s 55ZL2 is designed to get any tech obsessive’s pulse racing. After all, it breaks new ground in not one but two huge areas. First it can genuinely produce a watchable 3D picture without you having to wear glasses. And second, to help it achieve its first innovation, it employs a native 4K or Quad HD pixel resolution for the first time on a domestic TV.
Amplifiers
Blu-ray players
Cameras
Hands on: Leica M Monochrom review
Desktops
CyberPower Infinity Achilles review
Gaming accessories
Graphics cards
Sapphire HD 7870 OC Edition review
Gigabyte HD 7850 Overclock review
Headphones
Incase Sonic Over Ear Headphones review
Plantronics BackBeat Go review
Laptops
Toshiba Satellite Pro C660-2F7 review
Hands on: Sony Vaio T13 review
Mobile phones
Printers
Processors
Routers
Asus EA-N66 Ethernet Adaptor review
You wouldn’t think so much drama and hand-wringing goes into the creation of something as simple as a SIM card, but where international standards are concerned, compromises must be made. Research in Motion and Motorola have done just that with Apple’s proposed nano-SIM design, which appears to have the majority of votes already.
The Verge has filed an update on the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) search for a new nano-SIM standard to replace the current micro-SIM used in Apple’s iPhone 4 and 4S, as well as other popular handsets such as the Nokia Lumia 900.
While ETSI members have already been quietly voting on the future of the SIM card this month, a competing standard proposed by Nokia, Research in Motion and Motorola persists. That is causing some concern among members that two different standards could emerge, much like the VHS and Betamax situation during the heyday of home video.
To appease ETSI members, Motorola and RIM have gone back to the drawing board to find a compromise “by merging the two proposals into one, a notion supported by Samsung.” While Apple seems to feel it’s not possible given the more radical approach used by the competing standard, the iPhone maker appears open to adoption of both standards, given Cupertino already has the support it needs for its own nano-SIM.
“At that point in the meeting, Apple already knew that it had somewhere around 80 percent of the voting body behind its standard from the chairman’s previous show of hands.” the report reveals. “And realistically, how many carriers would stop carrying the iPhone over its SIM design anyway? Apple’s pioneering move with the micro-SIM in 2010 ultimately led to broad-scale adoption — presumably, it has no reason to think it can’t push nano-SIM with even more force than it could two years ago.”
ETSI members won’t meet again until May 31 in Japan, when we should have some idea of whether or not Apple will accept the proposed compromise.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
(Image courtesy of The Verge)
All we need to say can be summed up in the words Superpig Speaker Docking System. After that, all these other deals are gravy on top of our favorite deal we’ve ever offered. I mean, just look at that adorable thing. Impulse buys like these you never regret.
15.4″ MacBook Pro quad-core Intel Core i7 2.2GHz
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17″ MacBook Pro quad-core Intel Core i7 2.3GHz
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Porthole
Decable your living room and the rest of your house with Porthole, now on sale for .51 (33% off). Stream Pandora, Spotify, or any other music to Airplay Speakers, Airport Express, or your Apple TV and do it on the cheap.
5 Fonts Plus
Wow, 95% off means you’re getting a 5 value for a fraction of that at .99. Five fonts, two brushes, and 6-7 paper textures. Designers, start your engines.
Photoshop Elements 10 Course
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1000mAh External Backup Battery
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Griffin PowerJolt SE for iPod & iPhone
Stay wired to your power with a car power cord from a trusted name in iPhone accessorizing. This Griffin cord is only .99 and features a stretchy cord and all the recharging your device can take.
Incipio iPhone 4/4S Stowaway Credit Card Hard Shell Case
Sometimes when you want to go out, you want to travel light. With this case, you can tuck a few credit cards and a little cash inside the back compartment and be jetting. The price is light too: .99 with free shipping.
Retro CellPhone Handset
These are fun for you older readers who still remember rotary dialing. Get funky with this handset just right for making calls the old fashioned way. with free shipping. Call me?
SUPERPIG Speaker Docking System
Sorry, but if you’re saving and picking up a Superpig for , then it’s a deal you’ll kick yourself for missing out on.
Stylus with Anti-dust Plug
We’re not entirely sure how well this little stylus nub will feel held in your grip, but they’ve cleverly solved the problem of how to store it. And at .29, maybe this turns out to be your best little purchase ever.
Capacitive Touchscreen Stylus 3-Pack
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