Televisions were the most popular electronics items over the Thanksgiving weekend in the US, with consumers attracted by cheap prices rather than compelling features.
Vizio, currently the number one LCD HDTV brand in the US, says it sold 280,000 sets last week, up 40 per cent on the previous year’s figures.Retailers cut prices by around 22 per cent for the week – the most promoted TVs were 32-inch LCDs, cut to an average $369 from $490, according to the iSuppli research firm.
The third category in our seasonal look at the year’s essential gadgets is internet-enabled TVs, which do carry a premium, although there are plenty of set-top devices that add the internet to your TV without the need for an integrated set (see a selection of our reviews below this post).
Samsung has led the way in internet-enabled televisions – Yahoo’s widgets began appearing in its line-up this year.
LG’s Netcast-enabled TVs also offer Yahoo widgets as well as streaming of Netflix movies and a YouTube app. Panasonic’s G10 and V10 plasma series offer Viera Cast – a web menu that includes Amazon Video on Demand.
Vizio’s Via series TVs also feature the Yahoo widgets engine, while Sharp’s Aquos Net offers its own proprietary widgets.
Sony is still plugging its separate $200 Bravia Internet Video Link module that streams content from various partners. However, it began adding ethernet connections to its TVs in the Spring. There are now 12 models with built-in internet access (the W5100, Z5100, XBR9 and XBR10 series models). Netflix streaming was added in October and there are currently more than 25 internet video channels including Amazon on demand, YouTube and Slacker Internet Radio.
Sony’s PlayStation 3 console also provides web access, its own movie service and Netflix streaming, the latter two services are also provided by the Xbox 360. A number of network-enabled Blu-ray players also offer web content and Netflix streaming.
Other set-top boxes to consider are AppleTV, the Vudu box, Roku’s device, the SlingCatcher, Verismo’s VuNow, Blockbuster’s MediaPoint, Sezmi , ZillionTV and networked devices from Seagate, Western Digital and Netgear.
(This post was updated to include information on Sony’s integrated TVs)
