Sony’s flogging off some old stock, with its 26-inch smart TV from 2012 going for a cut-price £199 direct from the Japanese company’s outlet store website. That’s a saving of £230 on the RRP and around £150 on the price elsewhere.
It’s a very decent little telly — when we reviewed it just over a year ago, our main gripe was the price, and that’s handily fixed itself.
The 26EX553 has an edge-lit LED screen that our reviewer Niall reckoned gave a cracking performance, with deep black levels, good contrast and even backlighting. It’s not Full HD, with a 1,366×768-pixel resolution, but when the screen is this small you’ll never notice the difference. It’s still able to play Freeview HD channels.
If you’ve been looking around for a cheap smart TV, this is a great option — it has BBC iPlayer, Lovefilm and Netflix, along with some limited video file playback over your Wi-Fi network. If you want to rent the latest movies, Sony’s Entertainment Network service is built-in too.
Small annoyances include only two HDMI ports and pretty meagre sound from its 8W speakers. But if you’re putting this on a chest of drawers in your bedroom, or huddling round it at your desk at university you’re unlikely to mind either of those things.
The telly comes with Sony’s standard one-year guarantee, and there’s free delivery.
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