While most HDTVs don't really need a set-top box any more, Google is working on something that might have you considering a purchase. Say hello to Google TV.

Think your lipstick isn't saying enough about you? Too Faced Cosmetics' new Mood Swing Emotionally Activated Lip Gloss will have your lips saying things you may want to be careful revealing.

Microsoft has been the whipping boy of disgruntled computer users seemingly forever. Apple hardly hard to struggle to beat Windows in terms of user satisfaction, and they certainly seem to have done so. Windows Mobile in particular suffers from comparisons to Apple's excellent iPhone. Bluntly, it's useful but terrible. When Google's open-source Android came along, free for any manufacturer to use and modify, it seemed like there was just no place left for Windows in the world of modern smartphones. But it looks like that's about to change with Windows Phone 7 Series.

While it's never had Apple's coolness cachet and seldom makes any ripples in gadget circles, if you've ever needed a reliable, basic computer, HP's always been there thanklessly pumping out their nameless grey boxes for you. When Apple announced the iPad a few months back, it was to a less than ectastic reception. The general opinion was that it was neither fish nor fowl; not a proper tablet PC thanks to lack of multitasking or full OS X operating system, not a proper web-browser thanks to a lack of Flash support, and not a proper e-book reader thanks to its LCD screen. Add to that the frankly gobsmacking price for a full-featured model, and the typically-Apple lack of standard ports and user-replaceable parts, and quite a few people started looking at what other manufacturers had up their sleeves in terms of tablets. In retrospect, we probably should have given HP's Slate a bit more coverage.

When the Sony released the PlayStation 3 in 2006, it seemed like they were trying to sell a Rolls Royce compared to the Microsoft Xbox 360's perfectly decent (if noisy and crash-prone) hotrod and the Nintendo Wii's cheap 'n' cheerful family econobox. There was kvetching about how expensive it was, the then-pointlessness of the Blu-ray drive, the lack of online competition compared to XBox Live, and the lack of software compared to Microsoft's already established device. Sony's tireless defenders claimed that you were investing in a more capable, reliable powerhouse console that would last longer and do more than the Xbox at some point.

Now it's a few years on, and it's likely that you have at least an HD-Ready TV or receiver with an HDMI port (you can still use the PS3 in standard definition if you have an old television), that the movie or game you want is available on luscious Blu-ray for your PS3, and the PlayStation's price (and waistline) have shrunk. The DualShock 3 controllers have rumble again (as well as inheriting the sadly under-utilised SIXAXIS motion sensing) and Sony's (free!) PSN service has a large community of gamers to challenge you. The Sony defenders were vindicated: the PlayStation 3 is a good investment. And now there's a big new feature coming up.

3D TV is almost here! Although you won't find much to watch on a 3D television set yet, there are already competing screen technologies out there. What type of 3D TV should you be saving for? We'll give you a brief rundown of what's coming.

Just when you thought your home theatre was up to date, a new connector has appeared. HDMI 1.4 (or HDMI Version 1.4) is a very substantial upgrade over existing HDMI cables, but do you need to worry about it?

You've probably heard the word "Android" a lot lately, usually in relation to mobile phones and perhaps even to netbooks.

So, what is Android exactly?

"Stereoscopic" refers to 3D films, images and television in the same way that "stereophonic" refers to sound. 3D televisionss work by showing each of your eyes a different image. The current method of choice for 3D TVs uses active shutter goggles that blink black and clear in time with the TV, which alternates images for the left and right eyes. Not everyone likes the idea of wearing goggles to watch TV, and if you don't have a pair on you'll see both images at once.

"Smartbook"? After the Acer Aspire One D250's hit-or-miss approach to putting the fashionable Android phone operating system in a netbook, it was only a matter of time before someone one-upped them. Instead of the standard Intel Atom processor found in netbooks, the upcoming HP Compaq AirLife 100 is powered by a Qualcom Snapdragon processor, a chip more usually found in a smartphone. This puts the tiny laptop in a space between smartphones and netbooks, hence: smartbook.

With all the hype about Android phones and their ability to compete with the iPhone, Nokia's been conspicuously absent from affairs. With the Nokia N900 running the brand new Linux-based Maemo operating system, they have both exceeded and confounded expectations. Nokia has gone so far as to call it a "mobile computer" rather than a phone.