Review Roundup: This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar

Tuesday, 24 January 2012

Review Roundup: This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar

This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar

This week we've reviewed a new budget tablet from Viewsonic, the latest-gen BlackBerry Bold as well as a plethora of other tech.

We also got hands on with a whole bunch of TVs over at CES in Las Vegas, in addition to checking out the UK debut of Netflix.

Let's get on with checking out all this week's reviews from TechRadar.

ViewSonic ViewPad 10e review

One of the best-looking budget Android tablets on the market, the ViewSonic ViewPad 10e has traded a sleek, ultra-thin form more reminiscent of its higher-end competitors for basic function. Having compromised on a number of key components, primarily the uncertified Android operating system, smooth user interaction is never quite on the cards. While to achieve such a low price point we know some corners must be cut, such poor craftsmanship to the point where the screen is easily coming free from the frame is inexcusable, no matter how much money it saves.

That said, for just £199 the ViewSonic ViewPad 10e is a well positioned entry-level tablet for those looking for the latest plaything and little else.

BlackBerry Bold 9790 review

It's hard to be massively excited about the BlackBerry Bold 9790. The Bold 9900 was a mobile phone to be excited about, since it was the obvious successor to the Bold 9700 and 9780 handsets, which seemed like they'd been around forever. But if you were to take the BlackBerry Bold 9900 out of the equation and judge the BlackBerry Bold 9790 on its own merits, you could quite confidently say it's a cracking little phone.

We're not massively excited by it but, geek-speak aside, just the specs alone make it worthy of a £350/$450 SIM-free price tag. If we were torn between the BlackBerry Bold 9790 and the Bold 9900, we'd pick this, albeit at the risk of grumbling about a smaller screen.

Hannspree SE40LMNB review

Can an app-less telly eschewing any semblance of home networking and smart TV cut it? Selling for less than £350, the SE40LMNB's is a bare bones experience indeed, though for owners of Sky, Virgin or Freeview HD set-top boxes and PVRs, it could be the stripped-down HDTV bargain you've been looking for.

The user interface in general is attractive and well designed, and there's no doubting that the SE40LMNB is easy to use. We particularly liked the speed of setup, the nicely designed EPG's thumbnail of the live TV channel, and the ability to customise the names of each input. Pictures lack sparkle, for sure, but contrast is decent and Blu-ray in particular is excellent. Besides, this is a 40-inch TV for less than £350.

LG 55EM960V review

This 55-inch OLED TV is jaw dropping. It's just 4mm thick and has the most amazing picture we've ever seen on a TV. We're excited, and so should you be. If you start saving now, you might be able to afford one by the time it goes on sale.

Samsung Series 8 S27A850D review

This is a seriously excellent computer monitor. While it's not quite at the very sharp end of technical innovation, it still packs some dazzling features and an excellent display.

Samsung series 8 s27a850d review