Manufacturers LG and Philips have joined forces to create a universal platform for apps on TVs, and the companies say the system has the support of Japanese manufacturers. The newly created Smart TV Alliance is designed to create a single platform making it easier for customers to share apps across multiple TVs and encourage more …

Now playing: Watch this: The excellent Samsung E6500 series 1:37 It’s 2012, and while many thought plasma TV technology would have died out by now, it’s still going strong. Meanwhile, burn-in, the No. 1 perceived problem with the technology, is all gone, right? Well, not exactly. What is burn-in? While it’s possible to test for many aspects of a TV’s …

Samsung has announced a partnership with cloud gaming service Gaikai to provide console-free streaming to flagship 2012 LED TVs. Samsung Cloud Gaming will soon accept beta signups for users with ES7100, ES7500, and ES8000 LED TVs, but has yet to announce if other TVs will be supported. The service offers free trials and full versions of games such as “Mass …

Though plasma is still a firm favorite with reviewers and videophiles, it’s overwhelmingly LCD televisions that most people actually buy. And if you want to know what the best LCD TV released in 2012 will be, then we may already have an answer for you: the Sony HX850. Until the arrival of the excellent HX850, Sony looked to be in …

LG plans to preview its 55-inch OLED TV tomorrow at an event in Monaco, as part of the Grand Prix auto race. Our colleagues at CNET Asia will be attending the event, so look forward to some hands-on action with the new flat-screen shortly. Local pricing has still not been announced, and there is plenty of speculation on when the …

Sony is taking on Spotify by releasing its first Music Unlimited app for iPhone this week. The Music Unlimited app will launch by the end of the week after debuting more than 12 months ago on Sony devices. At CES 2012, Sony initially announced the app would be released in summer. The Music Unlimited app is only iPhone and iPod …

Spotify launched its streaming service in Australia and New Zealand today, bringing the total number of countries served to 15. “Australians are massive music fans and we’ve created a service that we know they’ll love”, said co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek in a press release. As in the US, customers in the Southern Hemisphere will be able to choose between …

Samsung has announced that its ES9500 OLED TV will launch in South Korea in the second half of 2012 at a price equivalent to $9,000 U.S. The TV, formally known as the Samsung Super OLED, will retail for 10 million won ($8,760 U.S.) and is expected to compete with LG’s own OLED panel, the EM9600. The LG is also due …

In the United States, hundreds of new TVs are released every year, and our job is to pick out the diamonds from among the dirt clods. In the past six months, two TVs have really stood out to me not only as diamonds, but iconic in the same way that the Pioneer Kuro was all of those years ago. While …

Now playing: Watch this: Spotify iPad app: hands on 2:54 Spotify has released its first official iPad app today, with what a Spotify exec describes as “the most beautiful screen we’ve made for a Spotify app.” Spotify has previously released apps for PC, Mac, and Android with a tablet-compatible Android version to be expected “in the coming weeks,” according to …