Sharp is adding a handful of new models to its Aquos LCD TV lineup for the back half of 2009. Among the highlights: Larger E77-series sets in 60- and 65-inch screen sizes, plus a new LE700 series, Sharp’s first line with LED backlights. The LED models arrive later this month, while the larger E77-series sets will hit in September. 

LE700-series sets will be offered in 32-, 40-, 46- and 52-inch screen sizes. All are 120Hz models. The 46- and 52-inch models additionally include a special dejudder feature that can help smooth images from film-based content. And all except the 32-inch model include Sharp’s Aquos Net Internet service for access to online content from several providers, including NBC Universal, Navtek (traffic info), and NASDAQ. However, even these newer models don’t support full-motion video, so there is still no access to services such as Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, or even YouTube, as these types of services require different processors and browsers than those included in Sharp’s TVs to date. However, owners can use Aquos Net to receive customer support, and through a feature called Aquos Advantage Live they can allow an advisor to remotely connect to their TV to help them adjust the settings for optimal picture quality.

All the LE700 models arrive this month. Here are the model numbers and suggested prices:

• LC-52LE700UN, $2,800

• LC-46LE700UN, $2,200

• LC-40LE700UN, $1,700

• LC-32LE700UN, $1,100

The newest E77-series sets will be 60- and 65-inch models, priced at $3,500 and $4,500, respectively. The 60-inch set is a new LCD screen size for the industry, and will compete with 58- and 60-inch plasmas. The new models include Sharp’s 120Hz frame-rate conversion technology (called Fine Motion Enhanced), and have the ambient light sensor feature that automatically adjusts the set’s brightness to room lighting conditions. Both sets, which arrive in September, have black bezels with champagne-gold accents at the bottom of the frame.—James K. Willcox

The netbook market continues to get a boost from a variety of sources, not least of which was Google’s announcement that it will launch an operating system on netbooks in the second half of 2010. Google Chrome OS, says Google, will be a speedy and lightweight operating system, with little user interface, that will get people on the Web “in a few seconds.”

Meanwhile, Sony released its first family of netbooks, further swelling the number of brands. The W series’ pricing starts at $500, a premium price for a netbook, but typical of Sony’s laptop pricing. The 10.1-inch netbook uses an Atom 280 processor, and has 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive. To see how Sony laptops fare compared to others, see our laptop Ratings (available to subscribers).

Is $500 out of your budget range? How about a 99-cent netbook? Sprint and Best Buy have announced that they’ll offer the Compaq Mini 110c-1040DX netbook to consumers, normally sold at Best Buy for $389, for that little. Of course, there’s a catch: You must sign up for a 2-year Sprint mobile broadband contract, the latest in a line of contract netbook offers. In our most recent Ratings of cell-phone providers (subscribers only), Sprint was among the lowest ranked in cell-phone service and among the worst for customer service.

While paying less than a dollar for a computer may seem like a good deal, it’s important to remember that with such a deal you may save upfront, but as with any bundled deal from a wireless carrier, the major cost is in the contract, not the device.

Two-year plans start at $59.99 a month, but you’re restricted to 5GB of use on the Sprint 3G network—and only 300MB while roaming. Five GB is practical compared to other services, but 300MB won't allow you to do much more than view a YouTube video and download some e-mails. And what you’re getting for nearly nothing isn’t a full-fledged laptop, but a netbook, with all the limitations that implies. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for both a netbook and mobile broadband service, this isn’t a bad deal.

Other carriers and retailers, including AT&T, Verizon, and Radioshack, offer bundled netbooks. So shop around, and be sure to check our Ratings for both service carriers and netbooks before deciding which is right for you.

Have you bought a bundled netbook recently? We’d love to hear about your experiences, good or bad. —Will Dilella and Donna Tapellini

Scrutiny of cell phone exclusivity deals, in which hot new phones are available from only one carrier, is intensifying in Washington. Within the past day, the chairman of one Senate subcommittee has weighed in with a list of recommended steps to address such deals, and the Wall Street Journal reports the Department of Justice has opened an investigation into them.

Senator Herb Kohl, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, sent a joint letter to the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice. Calling exclusivity arrangements “a serious barrier to competition,” he urged the FCC to open its own investigation into them and the Justice Department to take “all necessary action to keep the market open to competition.”

The FCC has already announced they’ll open a proceeding to investigate handset exclusivity—another recent development—with the exact question they’ll be investigating expected to be announced within the next few weeks, after which comment will likely be received from interested parties representing consumers, carriers, and manufacturers, among others.

Today’s Wall Street Journal report indicates a parallel, broader investigation at the Department of Justice into whether cell phone carriers are abusing their market power to the detriment of consumers and competitors. Areas of investigation, according to the report, could include exclusivity deals and limitations on the types of competing services that can be offered on carriers’ networks—such as curbs on voice-over-internet calling from smart phones using third-party applications.

Advocates at Consumers Union, the parent company for Consumer Reports, welcome the growing attention in Washington to these issues. Singling out Senator Kohl’s letter, in particular, CU says "exclusive deals with manufacturers and the blocking of applications are common practices among national providers.  There doesn't seem to be any market constraint on this behavior.  We applaud Senator Kohl for taking a strong stand, because consumers need some relief."

In addition, a  bipartisan group of senators, all members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation last month asked the FCC to examine exclusivity agreements and act accordingly if the agency finds “they unfairly restrict consumer choice or adversely impact competition in the commercial wireless marketplace." —Paul Reynolds

The new HTC myTouch will be available on T-Mobile this August. [Photo provided by HTC]

This is turning into a hot summer for smart phones. On the heels of the iPhone 3G S and Palm Pre comes the HTC myTouch, the second generation of so-called “Google phone,” along with the Samsung Jack and the first true smart phone from Nokia.

The $200 HTC myTouch, available in August from T-Mobile with a 2-year-contract, is the second phone to use Google's recently updated Android operating system, which adds support for a virtual keyboard and video recording. Incidentally, the myTouch drops the physical QWERTY keyboard of the recommended T-Mobile G1 it succeeds, though the virtual keyboard on its 3.2-inch touch-screen display automatically expands from portrait to landscape when you tilt the phone.

Other features include a 3.2-megapixel camera, a pre-installed 4GB microSD memory card, and Wi-Fi. I’ll be trying out the phone at a press preview tomorrow, and will blog on my impressions on these and other attributes.

Also hot this summer it the Samsung Jack, $100 from AT&T, which replaces Blackjack II. We like the Blackjack family (which includes the $180 Epix, which scores well in our Ratings) for their combination scroll wheel and jog dial, which provides quick, easy access to the phone's applications and home-screen icons. The Jack retains that advantage and adds Wi-Fi access. It also upgrades the 1.9 megapixel camera of the Blackjack II to 3.2 megapixels, and adds a 2X zoom.

Also anticipated is Nokia's E71x, the company’s first smart phone—at least from a U.S. carrier. Finally, there's a Nokia with a keyboard. Priced at $100 with a two-year contract and rebates from AT&T, the phone is one of the thinnest smart phones on the market: measuring just 10mm. The E71X has voice-guided GPS navigation application as well as Wi-Fi and corporate e-mail, the latter via Microsoft’s Exchange server. It has a 3.1-megapixel camera. Both the Jack and E71x are now in our labs, and we'll post them—along with some other new smart phones and cell phones—later this month to our Ratings (available to subscribers). —Mike Gikas