Decide what to buy: the Reevoo.com blog

Updated 23rd july 2009

At first glance, TV model names are generally pretty complicated, unmemorable and unpronounceable combinations of letters and numbers. To the uninitiated this doesn’t help when you’re trying to find your way around the large television market.

However, closer inspection does often reveal some logic behind the names manufacturers give to their latest gift to the world. Today I’m going to walk through Samsung’s naming conventions.

The first two letters refer to the type of screen - LE for LCD as in this example, UE for LED, or PS for plasma.

The second part of Samsung names is fairly obvious - the two digit number indicates the screen size in inches.

The next letter tells you what ye\r the model was re;eased: B models were released in 2009, A models in 2008.

The first number that comes after this represents the product series.  Here is an outline of the difference between each series:

The next numbers tell you when the model was released.  To use a made-up example, the 600 would be released a few months before the 650, but the 651 mightonly be released a week after the 650.  There can be slight differences in the appearances of models with different numbers in these positions - look at the product features section (on the left hand side of the product page) to check.  These differences tend to be superficial and not affect the performance of the TV.

Sometimes you’ll see a letter at the end of the model number.  This may just refer to the retailer who is selling the TV, but sometimes it can indicate a very small difference in the appearance of the TV, for example, whether the stand is oval or rectangular.

Robert from Cardiff recently got in touch with me to ask the following question:

Can you recommend a 32ins general allrounder? I need good picture quality and a screen that does not give a juddery football. I can spend up to £550.

Great question!

If you wanted to spend right up to your budget, £550 will get you a very nice 32″ TV. For example, this Panasonic TX32LZD80, rated 9.1 out of 10 on Reevoo.

However, you can get a very solid 32″ TV for considerably less, like this Samsung LE32A436T, also rated 9.1/10.

It does get a lower rating for image quality, but ought to be fine for watching sport.

What do you think is the best 32″ TV? Is it worth spending £550 or can you get a good telly for less?

If you’ve got any questions you want answered about anything to do with Home Entertainment, leave a comment below.

We had credit crunch busting laptops last week and this week we bring you TVs. If you’ve needed to replace an old one or if you just want to treat the family at Christmas, we’ve checked out over 550 televisions to find you the best ones for under £400. In fact, most of them are even under £350!

Top 10 TVs under £400

1.       Goodmans LD3265D - 32″ - £330

2.       Goodmans LD1945WD - 19″ -  £170

3.       Sony Bravia KDL20S3030 - 20″ - £280

4.       Samsung LE32A436T - 32″ -  £358

5.       Sony Bravia KDL20S3000 - 20″ - £285

6.       Sony Bravia KDL26S3000 - 26″ - £375

7.       Sharp Aquos LC20AD5E - 20″ - £300

8.       Philips 19PFL5602D - 19″ -  £279

9.       Sony Bravia KDL20S3070 - 20″ -  £295

10.   Philips 19PFL5522D/05 - 19″ -  £257

If you’re looking for a bigger TV, I think that 32″ LCD Samsung LE32A436T is great value for money. With three HDMI ports and two scart interfaces, you won’t be short of places to plug in all your home entertainment bits and pieces.

One reviewer wrote:

“Great TV for the price point. I was quite surprised at the quality of both picture and sound. Definitely worth a go if you’re watching the pennies. Terrific value for money.”

And if you’re into gaming:

“sleek design, dust magnet though! Quality of picture when playing games on my xbox 360 is fantastic.”

It’s also praised for its image and sound quality so a pretty good all-rounder.

If you really want to save money though, the £170 19″ LCD Goodmans LD1945WD is a bargain. With great scores for design and image quality, if you don’t mind buying a little smaller, you can really save the pounds here.

Whichever TV you go for, just be sure you read the reviews first. You may be able to save money on the price but if the TV isn’t right for you, it’ll be money wasted.

Now all you need is a TV stand : )

It’s time for another installment in our What to buy series. We looked at What to buy Dads last week and this week it’s the turn of another tricky customer…the teenage boy.

If you need inspiration, just take a look at these:

For the music lover - Everyone loves music. Get them an MP3 player and they can take music with them wherever they go. The top rated MP3 player on Reevoo at the moment is the 8GB iPod Touch. It’s currently around £100. If you were looking to spend a little less than that, the second highest rated player is the £70 Sony NWZA816 4GB. And for a complete bargain buy, grab some CDs. Prices start from as little at £2.

For the gamer - Why not go for a games console like the PlayStation 3 (£289)? If they already have a console, they might like a gaming chair (£100). It’s comfortable for extended gaming sessions and you can feel the action through it. It can also be used to listen to music and watch films. There are also lots of console accessories, like this PS3 charging station for £15. For smaller gifts, you could go for a video game (prices start at £2).

For Mr Sociable - A mobile phone so that they can keep in contact with all their mates. For a phone packed full of features, how about the Nokia N95 or N96? Or for a more classy option, how about the Samsung Tocco or the new iPhone? (All phone prices vary according to contract)

For the sporty ones - Some tickets to a football or rugby match will make a great gift. For something more original, why not try this Garmin Forerunner 405 (£169) GPS-enabled sport watch, which tracks your training and sends the data to your computer or for trips to the coast this fishing starter kit (£32)?

For gadgety types - A Wind-Up Torch with Mobile Phone Charger (£7) or some travel speakers for your iPod (£9).

And for the boy that has everything? - Give them this Sonic Bomb Alarm Clock (£24) - guaranteed to wake the laziest of teenagers.

All done. Pretty painless, just as shopping should be.

If you’re purchasing online, follow our top tips for online shopping this Christmas.

Maxine recently got in touch with Reevoo to tell us about her new TV. We thought she might have some interesting advice to share with people in a similar position, so we subjected her to a few questions!

Maxine is a PA from Birmingham.

Thanks for taking the time to help AV Review readers Maxine! What TV have you bought?

Maxine: I’ve researched and researched on the net and in stores and looked at TV upon TV for approximately 8 months, but kept coming back to the Samsung LE37A656A – the LG Scarlet did not compare looks wise – looked tacky and ineffective.

Wow, that’s a long time to be looking for a new TV! Did you know anything about TVs before you started?

Max: I had no idea whatsoever about TVs. Back in the day I never had unlimited access to the World Wide Web or even a car to go from one store to another. When you’re on public transport you want to get on and off as quickly as possible so rarely ventured too far from home. With your own four wheels however, you can go as far as the petrol in the tank can take you and the WWW’s access is unlimited.

I learned about TVs by speaking to people, visiting a lot of stores looking at loads and loads of TVs, but it wasn’t until I really got the internet research bug that I began to really understand what was important for me, what ticked the boxes that made me decide - yeah - this is it the Samsung Rose/Black Series 6 LEA37A656.

What were your reasons for getting a new TV? Did your requirements change as you learnt more about televisions?

Max: I decided on a new TV for 2 reasons. One, I’ve done a massive make-over on my whole house, the lounge in particular had not had a facelift in ages. Two, once I had a colour scheme (black, silver/grey, white with splashes of red) I also found that the TV I had for a while not only did not fit in with the rest of my décor but also needed updating. It was very bulky and took up unnecessary floor space. Besides, the colour tube was on its last legs frittering between green and blue screens whenever it felt like it to the point I got used to it.

My initial requirement was just a flat screen - what do I know? I had an idea on size but wasn’t sure - I had the space but didn’t want overbearing so researched that element too. And I definitely had no clue whether I wanted LCD or Plasma - in fact I’m not ashamed to say I didn’t know the difference. It definitely changed by the time I made that final decision to buy. The specifications were compared against similar models, price was at the forefront as there had to be value for money and the look - very very important. These all became the top key factors on my wish list.

It sounds like you’re very happy with your final choice - do you have any tips for other people who are thinking about getting a new TV?

Max: It’s imperative that we take time out and research research research. Make a list of what is important to you to convince you to buy that item and tick as many boxes on your wish list as is possible - not all will be ticked because we can’t get everything we want, but we can indeed get close to it.

We all have a preferred make or a make we have been using with satisfaction over the years ie. Samsung, Panasonic, LG whatever. Mine’s Samsung. Select your preferred 1st and 2nd choices and produce a ‘wish list’, listing what YOU think (no one else, just you - you’re the one paying for it and have to live with it - furthermore too many people putting in their ten pennies worth can be confusing and you’d end up getting something not fit for your purpose nor suits your personality) are the important factors that you want to ensure are met before you decide to make that purchase - again not all need to be ticked but if you put them in order of importance they’ll be little or no doubts about the purchase.

If, however, both your 1st and 2nd choices meet all or most of your requirements but you still can’t decide on a make and model, get on to one of the comparison websites and compare each against another popular or top make - Samsung Rose/Black 6 Series compared with the LG Scarlet for example. You should be able to make a firm decision from there. Before you press that button though pop back into a store and have a final look at the exact make and model TV you’ve decided on - seeing it in the flesh so to speak and having it demonstrated in front of your eyes is advisable and more convincing. This should then remove or confirm any doubts that may have crept into your mind. Once satisfied don’t ponder any further - click that button and go for it - you’ve done your homework so now follow through to the exciting stage of waiting for it to be delivered and enjoying your purchase.

Thanks, that’s very helpful. Any final thoughts?

Max: Trust me it can get very boring and tedious at times trawling websites, popping in and out of one store after the other, but your hard work will pay off in the end. Making purchases via a website is also easy just make sure the site is secure and reputable. Phone them up if not sure and read the reviews left by other customers both positives and negatives - take the good with the bad but weigh them all up to fit your needs and you’ll find the balance. Happy researching and enjoy your new purchase.

Thanks Maxine, hope you enjoy the new TV!

If you would like to be interviewed for AV Review, drop me a line at tv@reevoo.com, or leave a message in the comments.

We?ve been looking into design here at Reevoo. Good product design is becoming more and more important and clever and innovative designs are what consumers look for to save time and make their lives a little easier.

So we looked into which brands were coming up with the best designs. When a shopper buys something from one of Reevoo?s 55 retail partners, they are sent an email asking them to rate it. One of the categories they rate is the design of the product.

Looking at 22,000 products, with over 15 reviews, we took these design scores and ranked all of the products in terms of their score for design ? the product with the highest score at the top.

What we found was pretty impressive for one brand in particular. In the top 100 products for design, a whopping 51 of them are from Samsung! It?s a real result for the brand that has put a strong focus on design in recent years.

LG in second place and Sony and Apple in joint third made up the top 3.

If you?re a regular reader of Decide What to Buy, I?m sure you can guess at which product Numatic had in the top 100? Hetty! She?s had a stonking 2008, already topping the best vacuum cleaner list back in June and in March.

But we wanted to look deeper into the data so we split the products up into categories. We looked at Home Entertainment, Mobile Phones, White Goods, Computing and Home and DIY in more detail to see which brand?s products performed the best for design in each category.

And here are the results:

Home Entertainment:
1. Toshiba 46XF355D (television)
2. Samsung LE37A656 (television)
3. Toshiba 40XF355D (television)
4. Samsung LE37A436T (television)
5. Samsung YP-K3JAB 4GB (MP3 player)
6. Samsung YP-P2JCB 8GB (MP3 player)
7. LG 32LG5010 (television)
8. Sony Bravia KDL32W4000U (television)
9. Pioneer Kuro PDP5080XD (television)
10. Samsung PS50Q97HD (television)

Mobile Phones:
1. Samsung F480 Tocco
2. Apple iPhone 8/16GB
3. Nokia 8600
4. Motorola PEBL U6
5. Samsung P520 Armani
6. Motorola W375
7. Sony Ericsson W890i
8. Sony Ericsson T650i
9. Motorola ROKR U9
10. Nokia 7500

White Goods:
1. Bosch KTR18P20GB (fridge)
2. Miele GT 316 ES (freezer)
3. AEG-Electrolux Santo 75348KG (fridge-freezer)
4. Baumatic BF207SLM (fridge-freezer)
5. Kenwood GT/AL17 (microwave)
6. Samsung RSA1DHMH (fridge-freezer)
7. Daewoo ERF336MB (fridge-freezer)
8. Samsung RSH1DTMH (fridge-freezer)
9. Miele KFN 8762 SDed (fridge-freezer)
10. Samsung RSH1DBBP (fridge-freezer)

Computing:
1. Apple MacBook MB403
2. SONY Vaio VGN CR31Z
3. HP DV9646EM RECON
4. ACER M1100
5. Dell Inspiron 1525
6. HP DV9702EA
7. Compaq Presario V6642EM
8. HP V6630EM
9. HP DV9705
10. Toshiba Equium P200-1ED

Home & DIY:
1. Numatic Hetty (vacuum cleaner)
2. Neff B1442NO (oven)
3. Neff B1442S0 (oven)
4. Neff U1322N1GB (oven)
5. Electrolux Insight EKT6045X (oven)
6. Bosch HBN1315 (oven)
7. Prestige 47433 (steam cooker)
8. Bosch HBN131251 (oven)
9. Aeg B41014 (oven)
10. Neff B1422 (oven)

We’ve been looking at what people like and what they don’t when it comes to their mobiles. We asked 31,000 people to rate their phone’s features and it turns out there’s not much hope for big, ugly phones.

15% of people love the way their phone looks above any other feature. One of the sexiest phones seems to be the LG KU990 Viewty – 31% of purchasers rated its look above all its other offerings. And fat phones are a no-go - 14% boasted about how their phone’s compact size was a winner.

The third most popular feature was the camera. A whopping 43% of Sony Ericsson K850i owners cited its 5 megapixel camera as their favourite feature.

But not all phones got off so lightly. With all these fancy frills and features, that age-old problem of battery life seems to be getting worse. It was the most disliked aspect of phones with clunky navigation and awkward keypads coming in second place. One of the worst offenders was the feature-packed Nokia N95. 35% of people rated battery life as its worst characteristic. And it seems looks aren’t everything for the LG KU990 Viewty. It may have come top in the sexy stakes but 25% of respondents said its worse feature was its navigation and keypad.

Check out the graphs below for all the stats on what people liked best and worst about their phones:

And here’s a look at what people thought were the best and worst bits of the top phones:

Lots of interesting things to think about when it comes to buying a mobile phone. Limit the risk of getting a dud by reading what other people say in mobile phone reviews first.

I’ve been looking at the prices you can expect to pay if you buy a TV from the top brands. This will help if you’re shopping for a TV by brand - how much can you expect to pay for a Sony these days?

This data comes from thousands of purchases from Reevoo’s retail partners in 2008.

There’s no suprises at the top and bottom of the table - you can expect to get a Matsui TV for just over £200, while the average price forked out for a Pioneer set is over £1000!

Here’s the full list:

Matsui - £209
Goodmans - £250
Hitachi - £282
Philips - £522
LG - £547
Samsung - £578
Sony - £627
Toshiba - £639
Panasonic - £717
Sharp - £841
Pioneer - £1,258

This list tells us a lot about the screen sizes where manufacturers are selling the most products. For example, Matsui make televisons from 14-42″, with prices ranging from £60-550, but on average people are paying around £200, so I’d be cautious if I was looking at a £500 Matsui - not many people are buying them.

While that’s helpful, it’s also really valuable to look how the average cost for each brand varies within a particular screen size. Here’s how things pan out in 32″ TVs:

Toshiba - £414
Hitachi - £418
Philips - £445
Sharp - £455
LG - £456
Samsung - £458
Sony - £538
Panasonic - £600

Overall the average price paid for a 32″ TV was £465. Within a screen size, you’d expect to pay more for extra features, like 3 or 4 HDMI ports rather than just 2; higher picture or sound quality; or perhaps just to get a shiny logo on the front.

Of the top manufacturers, it’s interesting to see that only Sony and Panasonic sets are selling for above the average price. Although both manufacters produce models available for around £400, they stand out as the premium brands at this screen size.

On the budget end, few manufactuers are selling 32″ for much less than £400, but Hitachi and Toshiba’s low end models are very popular, making them the value-for-money pick of the 32 inchers.

Which brand do you think offers the best value-for-money? Who do you think is just charging for their logo? Share your thoughts with other shoppers.

There are 15 days to go before the Beijing Olympic games and this year will be the first time we can watch them in HD in the UK. Pretty exciting stuff. For those of you who don’t know, HD is high-definition and it’s all about more pixels and much clearer pictures for our TV sets.  It makes watching sports events, wildlife programmes - well, anything really - way better.

We’ve looked at all the full HD TV reviews over on Reevoo to find the best ones. TVs are rated on their design, sound quality, image quality and value for money. People are then asked if they would recommend the TV set.

Here’s the top five:

1.    Sony Bravia KDL40X2000 - £999
2.    Panasonic TX-32LZD80 - £724
3.    Samsung LE37A656A - £679
4.    Panasonic TH42PZ80 - £724
5.    Panasonic TH42PZ85B - £864

And here’s how we got there:

So top of the list was the Sony Bravia KDL40X2000 but interestingly, it lost out to the Panasonic TH42PZ80 for image quality and the Samsung LE37A656A for design.

If you’re looking for a top all-rounder, the Sony is obviously the one to go for but it’s also the most expensive. The Panasonic TH42PZ80 leads the pack for image quality, which should be one of the top considerations when buying an HD TV. It’s also over £200 cheaper and it’s been recommended by 96% of the people who bought it. This would be my choice.

If you’re not convinced about HD, there are lots of other TVs around. You can check out all of the TV reviews over on Reevoo.

Are you in the process of re-doing your lounge? Have you just moved into your first place? For whatever reason, if you’re looking to kit out your living room but you’re a bit short of cash, you’ve come to the right place. This is the first in a series of posts about kitting out your rooms on a budget. As you might have guessed, we’re starting off with the lounge.

Everyone says the centre of a home is the kitchen but quite frankly we all spend far more time in front of the TV than the oven – unless you are a) a chef, b) a mum or c) you’ve just stepped out of the 19th century and you don’t have a TV.

So first up is the television - probably one of the most important items in your house. We’ve gone for a 32 incher as that’s the nation’s most popular size and fits in to most living rooms.

The Hitachi L32H01 is HD ready, has an LCD screen and comes in at £395. Quite reasonable and equipped with two scart sockets and two HDMI connections so you won’t be short of places to plug your consoles, DVD players and digital set top boxes into. This TV gets 9.2/10 on Reevoo. Janet, a reviewer from Derby says “It is good looking, easy to set up and use. The sound quality is excellent and it’s an expensive product at a very good price”.

Now you’ve got a TV, you’ll be needing a DVD player. We’ve gone for the Samsung DVD-R155 which is a very reasonable £104, especially as it’s a DVD recorder as well. You can also play all of your own-burned DVDs so those holiday videos can be ‘enjoyed’ over and over and over… The most popular comment left about this machine was that it was easy to use. 

If you’re worried about where to put your TV and DVD recorder, we’ve taken care of that as well.  This classy looking Alphason AP2-3/80 is £90 and scores 8.8/10. Reviewers loved the design and the fact that it was easy to build. It’s also black so it’ll match the TV and DVD player we picked out earlier.

Every lounge needs a HiFi system. The Philips MCB204 is very reasonable at £47. It has a DAB digital radio, MP3 playback and USB ports so that you can play all of your downloaded music too. Pretty good for under £50! And if you’re worried that the cheap stuff is never the best, this little machine has some cracking reviews. Check them out for yourself. 

You may already have one but if not, we’ve also picked out a cordless phone set. The Philips SE2453S/05 is £59. Included in that price are three handsets. You can store up to 100 phone numbers and you can wonder 300m from the base unit.

So there you have it. A lounge kitted out for under £700 (695 to be exact). If you already had a phone, you’re looking at £636 for some pretty decent kit.

We were thinking about adding a Nintendo Wii in there but you’d be adding £200 to your credit card and you are supposed to be on a budget after all…If you’d prefer to spend the money on a Wii and forego food for a month, you can check out Wii reviews here.