Hulu part-owners Disney, News Corp. reportedly discuss buying each other out

The new owner of Hulu could turn out to be... one of the existing owners. After an aborted sale attempt in 2011, new rumors suggest current part owners Disney and News Corp are talking over the possibility of one buying the other's stake out. The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg both tag people with knowledge of the situation as their sources, indicating a disagreement over the video streaming website's business model -- it announced $695 million in revenue last year -- as a reason for the talks.

Reportedly News Corp. prefers a subscription based model, while Disney sees an advertising-focused approach as best. Both of them own about a third of the site, while Comcast / NBC Universal owns most of the remaining third but can't vote, and according to the rumors would remain as a minority investor if a buyout took place. Also playing into this is CEO Jason Kilar's announcement he will leave the company by the end of Q1, so hopefully any decision on its future are made by the time a new leader is in place.

Source: Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal

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By: Unknown On 10:49 PM

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How companies keep us buying new stuff, and how to recycle the rest

When was the last time a broken DVD player lead to a trip to the repair shop? If you can even find a repair shop near you, the odds are good the cost to fix your DVD player will be more than the price of a new one. The reality is we don't fix electronics anymore, we replace them.

Post-Xmas is when most old gear gets tossed, feeding what experts call a growing throw-away electronics culture. While tech company's benefit from shorter products lifecycles by encouraging the sale of replacement gear, the byproduct can be harmful to household budgets and the planet.

Barbara Kyle, national coordinator for the Electronics TakeBack Coalition in San Francisco, says the drive for smaller thinner products with increasingly harder to replace components, is partly to blame. But also, companies making delicate electronics with short warranty periods are pushing people to trash their digital gear, not fix it.

“It’s almost always cheaper to buy a new printer than to fix the old one, if you can even find a place to make the repairs,” Kyle says. The end result is electronics - that contain toxic substances, including lead, nickel, cadmium, mercury, brominated ?ame retardants - ending up in landfills around the world. The environmental group called E-Stewards estimates only 11 to 14 percent of e-waste is sent to recyclers — the rest ends up in landfills or is burned resulting in soil, water, and air pollution.

To find a list of places to recycle your old tech gear near you, find free recycle-by-mail programs, or how to easily sell your used gear online, skip to the end of this article.

Hard to fix gadget trend

“We are seeing more (electronics) parts being glued into place, like the touchscreens on many smartphones, or the batteries on ultra-thin notebooks," says Kyle. For example, Apple was criticized by some earlier this year for gluing its lithium polymer battery cells directly to the aluminum unibody shell of the Retina MacBook Pro in order to reduce its size. Teardown site iFixit blasted Apple saying the design made repairs nearly impossible and battery replacements would cost 54 percent more than other MacBooks. While some recyclers said the glued-in battery made it harder to recycle, other recyclers disagreed.

iFixitThe lithium polymer battery cells glued to unibody shell of the Retina MacBook Pro cost 54 percent more to replace than other MacBook Pro models.

When it comes to tablet and smartphone owners, according to Best Buy Geek Squad agent Derek Meister, these gadget owners are more likely to buy new gear rather than mess with a repair. “Our most common requested repair for tablets and smartphones is cracked screens and battery replacements," he says. But when it comes to actually fixing gear, if the warranty or service plan has expired, consumers just upgrade, says Meister.

Kyle calls this type of product manufacturing, that make product repairs costly “designing for the dump.”

The cost to repair the original Kindle Fire's screen is $110, at the repair service site IFixYouri.com, compared to the $160 price tag of a new Kindle Fire from Amazon. IFixYouri charges $280 to repair an Samsung Glalaxy Tab 10.1's glass and LCD screen, and the same model costs $350 new at Best Buy.

Gear to garbage in record time

storyofstuff.org

Experts like Kyle say inexpensive gadgets are increasingly showing up in discount, grocery, and drug stores at prices people can’t resist. “It’s a printer for $22 or a $30 camcorder, how can I pass that up?” Kyle says when electronics are priced to be impulse buys too often gadgets don't meet consumer expectations, or break, and end up in the trash. (See related: What's cheaper: Replacement ink, or a new printer?)

Instead of mindless buying and chucking, people should have greater reverence for stuff, believes Annie Leonard, founder of The Story of Stuff Project, a consumer awareness campaign promoting sensible gadget consumption. In Leonard's 2010 Story of Electronics video, she points to a possible solution where manufacturers shoulder the responsibility for recycling their gear in an environmentally responsible way.

" Making companies deal with their e-waste is called Extended Producer Responsibility or Product Takeback . If all these old gadgets were their problem, it would be cheaper for them to just design longer lasting, less toxic, and more recyclable products in the first place. They could even make them modular, so that when one part broke, they could just send us a new piece, instead of taking back the whole broken mess. "

There is no federal legislation pending to establish a federal e-waste take back program by consumer electronics companies, however 25 states have passed legislation mandating statewide e-waste recycling, according to the Electronics TakeBack Coalition.

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By: Dilusha On 7:40 PM

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Buying Guide: 6 best Smart TV platforms in the world today

Whether you're after BBC iPlayer, streaming movies, some on-demand 3D action or something else, smart TV in the UK is quickly maturing.

A range of apps are available on connected TV services offered by all the big manufacturers, bringing social networking to your living room screen alongside television series streaming, music, gaming and more.

But which is the best smart TV platform?

Here we separate the connected kings of television from those playing catch-up, and present them in descending order of greatness, to try to help you when choosing a new TV.

LG gets the nod largely because of its oh-so-simple design that puts seemingly disparate sources of video onto one home screen.

Our favourite part of LG's smarty-pants user interface hasn't got anything to do with apps, but rather with networking. SmartShare software displays any video, photo or MP3 file stored on a networked PC, Mac or NAS drive, USB flash drive or HDD, on the home screen - and as a thumbnail image.

It's beautifully simple, and file support is huge, though for those wanting an even more comprehensive treatment, LG also offers the Plex app.

Beloved of rampant downloaders and networkers it might be, but SmartShare is made complete by a thoroughly decent selection of apps - and that includes a useful 3D World.

The Premium page hosts BBC iPlayer, Lovefilm, Netflix, Acetrax and YouTube, with lesser-known apps comprising Absolute Radio, Red Bull TV, ITN, Autocar, YouTube, Blinkbox, CineTrailer, Cartoon Network, HiT, Picasa, iConcerts, AccuWeather and Box Office 365.

The SmartWorld app store, however, contains little of note aside from Skype, which requires adding LG's AN-VC400 smart TV camera/mic. It's not got the most extensive choice of apps, but LG's Smart TV platform succeeds on ease of use - and spectacularly so.

Sheer volume of apps wins the day here, though Samsung's Smart Hub has a polished look to it, too. It's strong on movie streaming services, counting new service KnowHow and niche film finder Curzon On Demand alongside PictureBox, Lovefilm and Netflix.

For once, BBC iPlayer isn't the sole source of catch-up TV, with the slick ITV Player app onboard, too. Common apps such as YouTube, Viewster, Dailymotion, Absolute Radio, TuneIn radio, Vimeo, HuffPostLive and FluxPlayer join in, but it's Smart Hub's exclusive apps that appeal most.

It's constantly evolving, but as it stands, Smart Hub's unique apps include Spotify, ITV Player, Curzon, Digital Theatre (live recordings of stage plays), Yabazam 3D, S[edition] (contemporary art) and myriad fitness apps and simple games.

Why doesn't Smart Hub grab top spot? It can't be customised enough, that's why, leaving all viewers forced to use an interface built with Samsung's own apps - Family Story, Fitness and Kids - at the centre. Some of those apps might be great for families, but must we all suffer them?

Meanwhile, some flagship TVs - such as the Samsung UE55ES8000 - go further, delivering voice control, gesture control, and even chucking in a second remote control with a touch-sensitive pad on it.

Sony has two types of smart TV - its own Bravia TVs with SEN and its add-on NSZ-GS7 Google TV box. The latter could well be included on a Bravia TV soon, but for now we'll concentrate on SEN.

SEN works unlike all other smart TV platforms, principally by combining it with Sony's own Music On Demand, Video On Demand and PlayMemories cloud storage services.

Still, the common apps - and more - are all present. The BBC trio of iPlayer, News and Sport are available, as is Demand 5 - a catch-up app from Five that's here exclusively.

These sit alongside YouTube, Lovefilm, Netflix, Sky News, Sony Entertainment Television Network (old TV episodes), Eurosport, Sony 3D, Skype, Facebook and Twitter (though the latter social media sites are separate).

In terms of presentation, SEN is now much improved on 2011, with a live TV thumbnail and an altogether clearer, more confident design that's easy to navigate.

In terms of sheer at-a-glance simplicity, Panasonic's Viera Connect is hard to beat; press a shortcut on the remote to wake the smart stuff, and another to fire up BBC iPlayer. Now that's what we like, though there's arguably not enough going on elsewhere for true greatness to be achieved.

A highlight is Rovi TV, a web-powered EPG that's a huge advance on the dreadful EPG native to all Panasonic TVs.

But of wider appeal will be Skype, Netflix, Acetrax, YouTube, Picasa, Daily Motion, Vimeo, Viera 3D World, FetchTV, BBC News, BBC Sport, euronews, CNBC Real-Time, MLB.tv, the subs-based Eurosport Player, TuneIn Radio, SHOUTcast radio, Aupeo & iConcerts.

Squillions of games and more are available on the extensive Marketplace, which sells games downloads as well as 3D glasses and other TV accessories.

Arranged in a 3 x 3 grid with a large window for a live source (TV, Blu-ray, whatever), the need to navigate up and down through different pages is a pain, but Viera Connect is very simple to customise so frequently used apps can all appear on the front page.

The best looking, best behaving and most ambitious smart TV platform around, Viera Connect nevertheless feels like a separate service and isn't integrated into the TV quite as completely as it should be.

Toshiba Places is an attempt to put essential apps and 'social TV' in front of families, offering all members their own log-in if they want it.

That idea doesn't really make sense unless everyone watches TV alone; is a daughter really going to log in to her Twitter account on a TV with her brother sitting nearby? We doubt it, but there's more to Toshiba Places than personalised app arrangement.

The filing system - Video Place, Music Place and so on - is nicely thought through, but also serves to highlight the fact that there's not much in each folder. The only apps in TV Place are BBC iPlayer and a MediaGuide app, while Music Place is similarly bare, with just iConcerts and Aupeo! Radio inside.

We're not sure why it's home to a Skype app, but the Video Place folder is busiest - inside is Blinkbox, Acetrax, Cinetrailer.tv, Dailymotion, Viewster, YouTube and Womi. Social Place adds Flickr, Facebook and Twitter, though only clutter comes from News Place (Livesport, Euronews, France 24 and MeteoNews).

An overly fussy user interface and long winded navigation in and out of Toshiba Places leaves it languishing near the bottom, but for those merely wanting occasional access to BBC iPlayer, it ticks that particular box as well as any - and Toshiba TVs are famously affordable.

It's got a thumbnail that displays - with sound - either live TV or a live video source, a Tweet button and a fresh design that puts all apps along the bottom of the screen. In fact, Philips has created a roomy smart TV interface that borders on classy.

That, however, it where the good stuff ends. Sure, BBC iPlayer is included, and so is Acetrax (if you look for it), but beyond those two and YouTube there's little to get excited about.

Twitter and Facebook (combined in a Social TV app) besides, there's Picasa, iConcerts, and a link to an App Gallery that includes stuff such as CNBC Real Time, Napster, Absolute Radio, Aupeo, Viewster, Funspot, Euronews, ebay, MeteoConsult, Foreca weather, the saucy trio of Hustler, Private and Brazzers, and... Tom Tom HD Traffic. Say what?! Blinkbox, a streaming movies app, is promised to also arrive soon.

Basic and in need of some content, Philips' smart TV effort is nevertheless straightforward to use and decidedly uncluttered - though there is an uncomfortable reason for that.

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By: Dilusha On 4:18 PM

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Buying Guide: Best Windows Phone - which should you buy?

Page 1 of 3Best Windows Phone - which should you buy?Find the Windows Phone that's right for you

When it comes to Windows Phone there's a new player in the starting line up in the form of Windows Phone 8 – Microsoft's latest attempt to make a significant dent in the mobile market.

While Android and iOS lead the way when it comes to mobile operating systems, you can draw many similarities between the two which may leave you feeling like you want some new. A fresh start, a new perspective.

That's exactly what Windows Phone, both versions 7 and 8, offers with a completely new way of providing you with your smartphone fill.

What's better than a top Windows Phone 7 handset? A Windows Phone 8 one, and we've got no qualms about telling you this is the best Windows Phone out there.

Simplicity is the key here, the Lumia 920 does the basics well, from contact integration and calling, to web browsing and messaging – oh and it's 4G enabled

The 8MP camera on the back of the Lumia 920 is one of the best we've used and for anyone looking to get a top end cameraphone you need to seriously consider this Nokia.

The 4.5-inch display is also a good'un, crisp and clear it makes watching movies, surfing the web or Facebook stalking an enjoyable experience, thanks to the PureMotion HD technology on offer.

And you can even use it with gloves on... what more could you want? You're right: holograms. But they don't exist yet.

If you're pockets aren't so deep, or your hands are a little smaller you may want to take a look at the Lumia 820, which still provides you with the full Windows Phone 8 experience, albeit on a slightly smaller screen.

It still has the fancy tricks of Lumia 920, including wireless charging, 4G, NFC connectivity, but it also brings changeable covers so your phone can reflect your mood – exciting times.

Microsoft decided to shun Nokia when it came to championing Windows Phone 8, instead choose the HTC 8X to be the signature device for its new operating system.

While the 8X is by far the best looking of the Windows Phone 8 bunch it unfortunately doesn't have the prowess under the hood to match the powerhouse which is the Lumia 920.

You do get Beats Audio technology and a couple of amplifiers to enhance your tunes through the internal speaker as well as the headphone jack, plus the slender frame fits comfortably in the hand.

It's by no means a bad phone, it's just not the best Windows Phone 8 handset out there.

Page 1 of 3Best Windows Phone - which should you buy?

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By: Dilusha On 3:52 PM

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Buying Guide: Best gaming PC for £1,000: 9 reviewed and rated

There was a time when you could save a fortune by putting together the components yourself. Nowadays though, you wont be saving as much as you think. That's especially true if you start shopping around for the best prices; picking your components from a variety of online retailers is soon going to add a lot of shipping costs onto the final bill.

So putting your faith in a system integrator (SI) to build you a full-on gaming rig is no longer simply the route of the lazy PC gamer, and it will save you a lot of sleepless nights and frustrated days debugging a DIY build.

You still have a full range of customisation options, from CPU to GPU right through to chassis and other extra goodies like TV tuners.

We got nine of the top system integrators in the country to build us a gaming PC with a budget of £1,000 all-in. That includes the base unit itself, with Windows pre-installed so that you can pull it straight out of the box, plug in and play.

We've left peripherals out of our tests, so none of these machines come with monitors, or mouse and keyboard sets. We figured most people would already have their preferred devices from previous machines. We also really wanted to see what the different SIs deemed the most important parts to spend their £1,000 budget on.

Did they go for a flashy chassis? Did they spend as much as possible on the GPU hoping to hit the highest frame rates? Did they opt for an expensive SSD? In fact, what the SIs left out was sometimes as important as what they included. So, which SI nailed it, and which thought what every gamer really wanted was a Blu-Ray drive?

There are few things in geek life as satisfying as unwrapping a brand new component from its box. Opening a whole brand new PC then, with all those lovely new components sitting happily inside, eager to please you with silky-smooth frame rates and lightning-fast storage, is a total techgasm.

But why would you spend the money getting someone else to put your machine together when you've got all the know-how to create one yourself? Well, times have changed.

It used to be as much about saving money as it was about customising your own personal PC build, with maybe a little self-satisfaction at being able to say you did the whole job yourself, but the various system integrators out in the wild can offer you some compelling arguments as to why they should be the ones to make your rig for you.

Lets start by looking at the main argument that has always been brought to bear in the system integrator vs home build battle: price.

There used to be a serious premium added onto the bill of parts to cover the labour and bug-fixing that was a necessary part of any PC build. These days though, PC building is more or less like putting together an expensive and rather technical Lego set - and as any parent out there knows, modern Lego sets can get really technical. Okay, I guess it's pretty transparent that I'm talking about my own Star Wars Lego collection here.

Still, the fact remains that PC components are no longer the finicky parts they once were. There are no jumper switches any more, and you can generally boot fresh into a Windows install without going into the BIOS at all. Things just work now, and if they don't, most of the time it's a simple case of re-seating parts (we're looking at you, Mr GPU and Lady RAM) until they do. Otherwise it's just a relatively quick RMA away.

So system integrators can no longer claim exorbitant prices just for the pleasure of building your rig, and the sheer amount of competition out there in this space also means they can't afford to price themselves out of the market. And who wins in this competitive market? We do!

The price argument then is one we can pretty much discount (teehee). You will still be able to search around and find slightly cheaper components, which will total up to a little less than the price of a full build, but generally the savings will be negligible - especially up against the possibility of terrible frustration in trying to figure out why your build has gone wrong.

If you're shopping around you'll be ordering from different retailers and the extra shipping costs on top can start adding up. It also means that if something does go wrong you've actually got someone else to blame if you go down the SI route.

But what of customisation? We're not talking here of the custom case crowd with their Leela-from-Futurama inspired designs (look it up - it's truly disturbing). Those guys ain't ever going to a system integrator, except for a job.

What we're really talking about is being able to choose the exact components you want to go into your final machine. Again, we have to come back to the sheer number of competing system integrators out there - chances are you'll be able to find the exact specification you're after already on offer, pre-built and ready to go. If not, most SIs will offer a wide range of customisation options as you go through the process of ordering your machine.

If you're not the most technically-minded of buyers, this also takes any of the worry about picking components out of the equation. You don't have to be concerned about which components work with which others if you're pulling them from a system integrator's pre-picked drop down menu.

The one thing that the SIs can't hope to replicate though is the sense of achievement born of putting together your own PC from scratch. The first time it breezes through a stress test, or the first time you boot your favourite game, or even just the very first time you get a successful POST screen will give any of us happy geeks a thrill.

There's also the masochist in me, who relishes the prospect of finding a solution to any bugs he comes across. But if the thought of bug-fixing a machine you've spent mucho moolah putting together leaves you in a cold sweat, the SI will take much of that worry out of the equation too.

Most builders will include a burn-in period where they test the stability of the components, and any overclocking that has been undertaken on any of the parts. This will usually catch any errors before the rig even gets to your desk.

You don't have to drop a grand to pick up a decent machine from an SI, though. The first full PC I ever bought after joining PCF, all those years ago, was a £500 CyberPower machine. By tweaking the spec I was able to put together a machine that matched my modest means and was targeted at what I use my PC for the most: gaming.

Shop around and you can uncover some bargains - especially if you start looking at last generation parts. A lot of the system integrators are still offering Nvidia Fermi cards at decent prices.

So how do you choose a system integrator to go to? Well, we've set nine of the top system integrators in the UK a challenge to put together the best £1,000 gaming PC they can. Each of them has built something a little different and where they have spent the money, and how they have assembled their rigs, should give you a good idea which SI should get your cash.

Whether it's lightning-fast boot times, eye-popping gaming frame rates or the peace of mind of a long-lived warranty, one of these rigs could be for you.

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By: Dilusha On 8:49 PM

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Poll: Are you buying an Ouya or a Wii Mini?

Poll: Are you buying an Ouya or a Wii Mini? data = {blogUrl: "www.engadget.com",v: 220};when = {jquery: lab.scriptBs("jquery"),plugins: lab.scriptBs("plugins"),eng: lab.scriptBs("eng")}; var s265prop9 = ('20389767' !== '') ? 'bsd:20389767' : ''; var modalMNo = '93319229'; when.eng("eng.omni.init", {pfxID:"weg",pageName:document.title,server:"",channel:"us.engadget",pageType:"",linkInternalFilters:"javascript:,engadget.com,joystiq.com,massively.com,tuaw.com,switched.com,techcrunch.com",prop1:"Engadget",prop2:"",prop9:s265prop9,prop12:document.location,prop17:"",prop18:"",prop19:"",prop20:"",mmxgo: true,disablepipath:true,mmxtitle:"us.engadget" + " : "}); adSendTerms('1')adSetMOAT('1');adSetAdURL('/_uac/adpagem.html');lab._script("http://o.aolcdn.com/os/ads/adhesion/js/adhads-min.js").wait(function(){var floatingAd = new AdhesiveAd("10000653",{hideOnSwipe:true});}); EngadgetMenuReviewsEventsPodcasts Engadget ShowBuyers GuidesFeaturesVideosGalleriesTopicsHD Mobile Alt Announcements Cameras Cellphones Desktops Displays Gaming GPS Handhelds Home Entertainment Household Internet Laptops Meta Misc Networking Peripherals Podcasts Robots Portable Audio/Video Science Software Storage Tablets Transportation Wearables Wireless Acer Amazon AMD Apple ASUS AT&T Canon Dell Facebook Google HP HTC Intel Lenovo LG Microsoft Nikon Nintendo Nokia NVIDIA RIM Samsung Sony Sprint T-Mobile Verizon About UsSubscribeLike Engadget@engadgettip uswhen.eng("eng.nav.init")when.eng("eng.tips.init") onBreak({980: function () {htmlAdWH("93312530", "215", "35",'AJAX','ajaxsponsor');}});Poll: Are you buying an Ouya or a Wii Mini? HDByBen GilbertpostedNov 27th, 2012 at 6:39 PM 0

When the Android-powered, crowd-funded Ouya console arrives next year with a near-$100 starting price, it'll be the cheapest new game console at launch in ... well, ever. Of course, the big entrenched players aren't just taking this lying down -- Microsoft's got a $99 version of its Xbox 360, albeit with a subscription-based subsidy, and Nintendo today introduced the Wii Mini, a $99 Wii console with a fewer abilities than its slightly larger forebear (exclusive to Canada for now, but we doubt it'll stay that way). Neither of these initiatives is a direct response to Ouya, mind you, but the three choices will assuredly find themselves paired against the others in the minds of consumers.

As such, we can't help but wonder where you'll end up. Does Nintendo's revamped, smaller Wii get you all worked up, or is it Ouya's promise of open-source freedom that's doing it for you? Perhaps you've got a custom gaming rig that makes all other options look like Playskool by comparison? Let us know in the poll below!

Update: That whole "voting" part of the poll below seems to not be playing nice with our new look. Alas, we're working on a fix right this minute, and will let you know as soon as you're clear to vote. Terribly sorry about that!

Update 2: And we're clear! Cast votes to your heart's content!

Are you buying an Ouya or a Nintendo Wii Mini?

I'm buying an Ouya, regardless of the unpronounceable name!I'm buying a Wii Mini, regardless of the lacking WiFi! Letsa go!I'm buying both, as I have an insatiable need to own every new piece of gaming technology.I'm not buying either. Dreamcast for life!Who are these "Angry Birds" I keep hearing about?

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Nintendo Wii console Buy from $154

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Key specs Reviews • 290 Prices Game format Optical disc, Downloadable Online features Multiplayer, Voice chat, Store, Browser Drive capacity 512 MB Controller type Wired, Wireless Motion controls Accelerometer, Camera / optical Video outputs Component, RCA / composite, S-Video Weight 2.65 lb Released 2006-11-19 see all specs ? 7.1average user rating Game library 6.7 Graphics 5.5 Controller(s) 7.7 Design and form factor 8.2 Other features (media, online, etc.) 5.7 Noise 8.4

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Buying Guide: 10 best 32-inch TVs in the world today

Our constantly updated list of all the best 32-inch TVs in the world

Still going strong as we plunge headfirst into Christmas silly-season 2012, the 32-inch LCD TV is one of the most popular consumer electronics products in the UK.

It's always been the most popular TV size by far, mainly because many British living rooms can't physically take a TV much bigger than 32-inches in size. It's also a decent option for a 'big' bedroom or secondary TV.

Within the 32-inch division there's plenty of choice, too. A basic HD-ready TV can be found for well under £300 if you search hard, though it's just as easy to spend over £1,500.

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But there is one certainty at this size - your new TV will be an LCD TV.

If you're lucky it could have LED backlighting, but it won't be a plasma; LG used to make plasmas at this size, but there's not one on sale these days.

A typical £500 purchase will sport a Full HD screen, have at least three HDMI inputs, and some kind of 100Hz scanning, though the latter feature varies so much in effectiveness that you've simply got to see it in action in the shop before you shell out any extra cash.

Full HD, media streaming and even built-in Freesat HD or Freeview HD - it's all possible on these small TVs.

So what's the best 32-inch LCD TV for you? Read on to find out...

Carries a built-in DVD player despite its exceptionally low price.

£340: Despite being the cheapest 32-inch TV in our hot 10, the 32DL933 has a pleasant surprise tucked away down its side: a built-in DVD player. This means the 32DL933B isn't as slender as most of Toshiba's other TVs, but it's still reasonably easy on the eye. It also surprisingly offers multimedia playback via either DVD discs or USB devices - though there's no PC or Internet connectivity. Nor is there a Freeview HD tuner, sadly.

However, aside from a bit of motion blur and a slight general lack of fine detail it performs comfortably well enough for such an exceptionally cheap combi TV.

Read: Toshiba 32DL933B review | Compare the best prices

A minimal-frills but effective budget option

£349: Despite being widely available for less than £350, the L32X5B boasts a Freeview HD tuner and is capable of playing back of a good selection of video, photo and music files via both USB device or SD card.

it also boasts an IPS Alpha panel that can be watched from a wider angle than most LCD TVs without losing contrast, and its pictures are overall much more watchable than those of most similarly cheap 32in TVs.

There are inevitably compromises, such as a 1366x768 native resolution rather than a full HD one, a little motion blurring and some rather 'hollow'-looking dark scenes. But L32X50 is still by any stretch of the imagination a bargain.

Read:Panasonic TX-L32X5B review | Compare the best prices

Solid features and good pictures for peanuts

£350: The ultra-cheap 32RL953 looks much more expensive than it is, thanks to its skinny rear and barely-there bezel. It supports multimedia playback via USB and PC, and it even lets you go online - albeit not via Wi-Fi - with Toshiba's Places system. 'Places' lacks content versus most rival online systems, but getting any online features is a bonus for £350.

What really helps the 32RL953 make this list, though, is its picture quality. For while it's far from perfect (standard definition looks mushy and you can see backlight inconsistency in dark scenes), with its startlingly good contrast, impressive full HD sharpness, bold colours and crisp motion handling, it still leaves most similarly cheap TVs for dead. Check out our review of the 40-inch version here...

Read:Toshiba 40RL953 review

Few features, but exceptional pictures for its price

£399: The UE32EH5000 is unusual by budget 32-inch TV standards in that it sacrifices features to focus on delivering better picture quality. So while you do get a Freeview HD tuner and multimedia playback from USB sticks, you only get two HDMIs; you don't get 3D; you don't get Smart TV online features; and you don't get network streaming from DLNA PCs.

Nor do you get one of Samsung's famed skinny designs. In fact, the UE32EH5000 is one of the fattest TVs we've seen.

Its picture quality really is excellent for a sub-£400 TV, though, delivering better contrast, colour, sharpness and motion handling than you've any right to expect for so little money.

Samsung UE32EH5000 review - coming soon!

A solid mid-ranger with step-up 2D pictures but no 3D

£420: The L32E5 slots between the L32X5 and L32ET5, offering mid-level motion processing, multimedia playback from two USBs (versus the one and three of the L32X5 and L32ET5 respectively), and access to Panasonic's Viera Connect online service. It also supports streaming from DLNA PCs unlike the cheaper L32X5, though it doesn't carry Wi-Fi.

Picture quality is good. Colours are bold, and HD sources look sharp and detailed. Motion is a big improvement over the L32X5 too, and the set's rich colours and high brightness create at least the impression of a strong contrast performance.

There's some backlight inconsistency during dark scenes, but overall the L32E5 comfortably outperforms its price point.

Read:Panasonic TX-L32E5 review | Compare the best prices

Attractive design meets punchy pictures and smart TV functionality at a tempting price

£500: Despite being very affordable for what it offers, the 32LM620T delivers LG's customary picture strengths, namely extremely dynamic colours, a well-balanced contrast performance that lets you see unusually high amounts of shadow detail in dark areas, and exemplary sharpness with HD. If you're into 3D, meanwhile, you'll also lap up its passive 3D playback, which is clean, natural and involving.

The 32LM620T's pictures show a little noise and motion blurring at times, but these are relatively minor problems.

In fact, once you've added to the 32LM620T's strong pictures some excellent online and USB/network multimedia capabilities, you've got one of LG's finest TV moments to date. Check out our review of the 55-inch model...

Read: LG 55LM620T review

Great value for a TV with online functions and active 3D playback

£520: In feature terms Samsung's UE32ES6300 exceeds the cheaper UE32EH5000 elsewhere on this list by offering active 3D playback (with two pairs of free glasses); streaming from networked PCs; and access to Samsung's content-rich and beautifully presented Smart TV online service.

The set also still offers multimedia playback from USB devices, but ditches the UE32EH5000's chunky design in favour of something much more svelte.

Pictures are mostly excellent in both 2D and 3D mode, thanks to exceptional backlight uniformity, rich but also subtle colour rendering, gorgeous HD detailing, minimal 3D crosstalk, and some of the best motion handling seen on a 32in TV.

The only significant problem with the UE32ES6300, in fact, is a rather limited viewing angle. Check out our review of the 46-inch version here...

Read: Samsung UE46ES6300 review

Panasonic turns to passive 3D with impressive results

£550: The L32ET5 gets off to a great start by sporting an unusual and attractive smoky grey colour and glass-like finish. It's also richly featured, including among its attractions passive 3D playback, a Freeview HD tuner, multimedia playback from USB or a networked PC, and access to Panasonic's Viera Connect online platform, with its solid selection of video, game and infotainment apps.

In many ways the L32ET5's pictures are good too. Its passive 3D pictures are clean, bright and untiring, while its 2D pictures are punchy, sharp and colour-rich.

Dark scenes reveal a lack of contrast, but this is only a big problem for serious film fans.

Read: Panasonic TX-L32ET5 review | Compare the best prices

Impressive mid-range performer with expansive multimedia features

£590: Although not as outstanding as Sony's brilliant HX853 models, the step-down 32HX753 is still a fine 32in option.

For starters it's very well featured, with a Freeview HD tuner, Sony's excellent new video-rich SEN online service, streaming from DLNA PCs and Macs, and even active 3D playback (though you don't get any free glasses).

Its pictures, meanwhile, look sharp and richly coloured, and handle motion well. The set also does excellently with 3D, largely ducking the dreaded crosstalk problem.

The only catch is that pictures aren't very bright after they've been calibrated to produce a good black colour. But provided you're not looking for a TV for a kitchen or conservatory, it should do you just fine.

Read:Sony KDL-32HX753 review | Compare the best prices

Great picture quality means this premium TV can be considered 'reassuringly expensive'

£750: The 32PFL6007T is expensive, but rewards your extra outlay handsomely. For starters it looks gorgeous with its exceptionally slender bezel and Philips' unique Ambilight system casting soothing and involving pools of light from the TV's edges.

It's also stuffed with features, including passive 3D playback, two-player full screen gaming, multimedia playback via USB, and connection to both networked PCs and Philips' Smart TV service via LAN or built-in Wi-Fi.

Best of all, its Pixel Precise HD processing and inherent panel quality help it produce the best all-round pictures of any TV on this list - so long as you're careful with its complicated picture settings, at any rate.

Philips 32PFL6007T review: Coming soon!

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By: Dilusha On 3:47 PM

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Buying Guide: Best cheap tablets 2012: top budget options

The iPad 4 still rules the roost as the best 10-inch (technically 9.7-inch) tablet in the world, but with prices starting at £399 and rising all the way to £659, it's clearly priced in a bracket way above many people's budget.

Apple's sky-high prices mean those wanting a more affordable tablet experience will have to look elsewhere, although the iPad Mini has recently entered the fray at a lower price point.

Google's Android operating system now adorns a multitude of tablets, from those priced at the same lofty heights of Apple's offerings, to those that can be picked up for £100 at your local supermarket – although we'd advise against purchasing most of these, and instead check out the superior options below.

If you can't quite hack the lower offerings, and you've managed to scrape together enough money to indulge in a pricier tablet experience, then take a gander at the following:

For those of you who are still with us, well done. To reward you for your loyalty, here are some top tablets for under £300.

Price: from £269
OS: iOS 6
Review score: 4.5/5

Apple's former CEO Steve Jobs famously slammed small tablets a few years back, leading many to believe the Cupertino-based firm would never dabble in the budget end of the market, but here we are.

In terms of consistency in the tablet market Apple cannot be matched, as it now lays claim to the first two places in our top 10, with the iPad mini the jewel in an already glistening crown.

The slight downsides to the iPad mini are that it misses out on a Retina display and it pushes the upper end of the budget price bracket, but you can justify that price with its slick operation and premium build quality, letting you know you have a top piece of kit in your hand - as we said in our review "the iPad mini is the best iPad Apple has ever created."

Price: from £159
OS: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Review score: 4.5/5

With a quad-core processor, beefy 12-core GPU, 7-inch HD IPS display and being the first device to run Android Jelly Bean, the Google Nexus 7 is quite simply the best budget tablet out there.

The 16GB version is available for just £159, while the 32GB model will only set you back £199. It's quite possibly the bargain of the century.

There are a few shortcomings – such as no microSD card slot, meaning you're stuck with 32GB at most, and no rear camera – although these can be easily overlooked at this startlingly attractive price.

Price: from £159
OS: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
Review score: 4.5/5

What's better than a modern tablet with a quad core processor? One that costs just £159. That's right: the power of the Kindle brand has mated with an HD screen and won't charge you the earth to own it.

Coming in at 16GB and 32GB flavours, the Kindle Fire HD is sure to be a big hit, bringing the simplicity of the e-book range to the tablet arena, with dedicated space to access your movies, games, apps and music too.

It's a little simplistic for some, but for others it's the perfect mix of curated content and easy to use interface - and despite the price, it's got a decent build quality too.

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By: Dilusha On 5:56 PM

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