Sony UK has announced it is to give customers a three-year guarantee on all BRAVIA LCD TVs above 26 inches from 1 April, trebling the standard one-year guarantee usually offered to customers.

The move will delight late adopters of HD sets, offering peace of mind usually only available at a high cost, but you have to ask yourself is Sony starting to pull out all the stops in an effort to revive flagging sales during these tough economic times?

Samsung has launched it’s new iPhone killer, the Omnia HD and the handset’s official specs reveal it to be the first phone capable of recording video in high definition. The South Korean company’s smartphone captures images at 24 fps at a resolution of 720p, and with a 3.7 inch AMOLED screen the Omnia HD will also be perfect for viewing your footage.

 

Despite a rather forgettable 2008, Andy Bass, Managing Director of Toshiba UK has announced that the manufacturer is now second only to Samsung in the PC monitor and TV marketplace in the UK - taking Sony’s number-two slot. “In the last month, our figures show that we are now bigger than Sony in the UK, and we hope to keep this going.” Bass said.

 

LG has released details of its new range of LCD TVs with integrated Freesat receivers. The 1080p displays will come in sizes of 32, 37, 42, and 47 inches and feature 3 HDMI and 2 Scart connections, VGA and composite in as well as Ethernet and USB ports. It’s as yet unclear if the range matches up to the Digital Television Group’s recent specifications to receive the future Freeview HD DVB-T2 transmissions.

Sony has announced plans to unleash two new  Blu-ray players on the US in May. The BDP-S360 and BDP-S560 will have all the usual features associated with the modern profile 2.0 BD player, but the S560 will be the first standalone player to gain Wi-fi connectivity. Old hat for PS3 owners maybe, and not quite the jump to wireless HD streaming we’ve been waiting for, but a step forward for the standalone hardware nonetheless. BDP-S360 will retail for $300 and the BDP-S560 for $350. More news on a European release when we have it.