TiVo Series 4 DVR
Photo: TiVo

The newest Series 4 digital video recorders (DVRs) from TiVo boast new designs, a beefed up yet simpler interface, and updated features, especially their seamless integration of traditional TV programming with Internet-based content, including streaming movie services.

The big challenge, of course, is whether this will be enough to lure cable-company subscribers away from the convenience of monthly cable-box DVR rentals and billing, which require no upfront cost.

The two new Series 4 models are TiVo Premiere priced at $300, and a step-up model, the THX-certified $500 TiVo Premiere XL, which sports a larger hard drive. The Premiere’s 320GB hard drive can hold 45 hours of HD shows, the company says, while the XL’s 1TB (terabyte) hard drive can store up to 150 hours of HD programming. Both will be available in April, though pre-orders are now being accepted. In addition to purchasing the boxes, you’ll need to subscribe to the TiVo service—which ranges in cost from $13 a month to a $400 lifetime subscription— and a cable subscription if you won’t be using an antenna.

Perhaps the greatest appeal of Series 4 models will be the easy way TiVo manages to combine traditional TV programming with web-based content, so that search on a popular movie, for example, could offer you the choice of finding out when it's playing on cable, seeing a director’s commentary on YouTube, or instantly streaming the movie from Amazon Video on Demand, Blockbuster On Demand or Netflix, which are all supported by the DVR. The new interface also allows new types of search categories, such as Academy Award-winning movies or Emmy-winning TV shows.

Another compelling feature is the ability to transfer recorded shows to a portable device, such as a notebook PC using the free TiVo Desktop download, then to an iPhone or iPod using the optional ($25) Desktop Plus software for a PC. (Mac users need to get similar software from Roxio.)

In addition to streaming movies, TiVo Premiere also offers additional widget-based content provided by FrameChannel, a content aggregator that provides access to news, sports updates, Twitter, Facebook and Picasa photos. Tivo is also adding Pandora Internet radio to its new, and older, receivers. Other new features include an onscreen meter that shows the available disc space left for recording, plus the ability to continue watching a show in a window while accessing the menu system.

Key Series 4 specs:

Premiere

• $300
• Support for HD digital cable, Verizion FiOS and over-the-air antenna
• HDMI, component video, composite video, optical audio and analog outputs supporting 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p resolutions
• CableCARD slot, Ethernet connections, and USB 2.0 ports
• E-SATA support for external storage
• The ability to add a TiVo wireless (n/g) network adapter ($60)
  320 GB hard drive

Premiere XL

Has all the above, plus:

• $500
• 1TB hard drive
• Backlit, programmable remote
• THX certification and THX Optimizer a video calibration tool for fine-tuning picture-quality settings. A pair of THX Optimizer blue glasses, for adjusting color and tint, are also included.

On paper, we think these new TiVo boxes represent a clear step forward from earlier models, though we haven't tested one yet. What do you think? Are these new features enough to make you consider either upgrading an older TiVo box, or switching from a current cable-company box? Or does having to pay an upfront fee for a box, plus an additional subscription, make this a less appealing option? Let us know.

—James K. Willcox

LG Arena
Photo: LG

As the pace of new-phone arrivals continues to rise, here are two notable smart phones that will be in our labs very soon. Prices are with a two-year contract.

LG Arena ($200), AT&T

Though it just became available, we first saw this smart phone last
March at CTIA 2009. We were impressed then with its 3D S-Class User
Interface, which sensibly organizes its four home screens into four
categories—multimedia, contacts, widgets, and a main screen—that
place all of the Arena's many application within easy reach. Though the
3.0-in. touch-screen display is on the small side, the Arena supports
AT&T's ultra-fast 7.2 HSPA network, which is currently available
only in a handful of urban markets. The Arena 5.0 MP auto-focus camera
provides a variety of messaging options and access to social networking
sites such as Facebook and Twitter. It supports FLO TV, a $10-per-month
live TV service. Networks include ABC, CBS, NBC, Comedy Central, Disney,
ESPN, Fox, Fuel TV, MTV, and Nickelodeon.

Nokia 5230 Nuron ($70), T-Mobile

This budget smart phone, available "in the coming weeks," supports T-Mobile's 3G network and is the first phone with access to Ovi Store, Nokia's fledgling answer to Apple's iTunes and App Store (it currently has about 6,000 applications). The Nuron comes with a 3.2-in. touch screen and is preloaded with Ovi Maps. Like Google Maps Navigation, this app is free and has no ongoing charges for turn-by-turn GPS-assisted directions. Two outstanding Ovi Map features: the service works internationally, as well as offline (in case you want to retrace your steps without engaging the system). Though it won't come preinstalled with Symbian's new s3 interface, unveiled at last month's World Mobile Congress trade show in Barcelona, it does run on the prerequisite operating system for such an upgrade: Symbian's S60 5th.

—Mike Gikas

On Tuesday, Apple filed a lawsuit against Taiwan-based phonemaker HTC for violating some 20 patents.  While such a suit might seem above the interest of everyday consumers, the results could have a lasting impact on the smart phones currently on the market. In intiating what some believe to be a protracted patent war, Apple could be looking to stymie the growth of its most direct competition: Android-based touchscreen phones. 

(HTC, as you'll recall, is the maker of Google's Nexus One smart phone, which runs on the Google's Android operating system. HTC phones earn spots at or near the top of our smart phone Ratings, propelled by high marks for navigation and multimedia.)

Such lawsuits have killed competition before. Over at the NYT Bits blog, Nick Bilton writes:

In 2004, TiVo sued the satellite TV distributor EchoStar, accusing the company of infringing on its patent on DVR technology. After some drawn-out litigation, TiVo ended up winning the case, and a Texas judge ordered EchoStar to disable the DVR functions on most of its set-top boxes. An appeals court is reviewing the matter.

“We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a statement, "We’ve decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

But a number of commentators—such as those at MSNBC, Computerworld, and Slate—fear that, despite Jobs's statement, Apple's actions will reduce competition and stifle innovation, either by scaring other companies into avoiding any kind of technology remotely similar to Apple's, or by a court order a la EchoStar.

So what impact will the suit have on consumers?  In the short term
as the suit plays out, probably nothing noticeable, though the ultimate result could be dramatic. Time—and the U.S. legal system—will tell.

—Nick K. Mandle

Apple iPad
Photo: Apple

Apple just announced today that its new iPad tablet will be available in Apple stores on Saturday, April 3. That date is 66 days after the January 27 announcement, at which Apple said the product would be available in 60 days.

One caveat: Only the Wi-Fi version of the iPad will be available on April 3. The pricier Wi-Fi + 3G version, which allows wireless access via AT&T’s network (at additional monthly cost), won’t be available until late April, the company said.

Consumers can pre-order both versions of the iPad from Apple’s online store starting March 12.

We will have publish our iniital hands-on take on the iPad as soon as it becomes available. Check this blog, and follow me on Twitter @JeffreyFox,, on April 3.

—Jeff Fox

Today's electronics deals, courtesy of the Consumerist:

• MacMall: Save up to $210 off: Apple Macs from $940 Shipped
• Dell Financial Services: Save an Extra 25% off Refurbished Notebook and Desktop PCs
• Vann’s: Panasonic Lumix FS25 12.1MP Camera $175 Shipped
• Dell Home: Dell Studio 15 Core i3 Laptop $649
• Lenovo: Lenovo IdeaPad U450p 14-inch Laptop $539 + free shipping
• Amazon : Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth Earpiece - Pink for $39.99 w/ Free Shipping
• Newegg : TrendNet Wireless-G Gaming Adapter for $39.99 w/ Coupon EMCYPYR39 w/ Free Shipping

• Newegg : Western Digital 1TB External Hard Drive for $89.99 w/ Coupon EMCYPYR32 w/ Free Shipping
• Amazon : Transformers First Season (25th Anniversary Edition) for $13.49 + $2.98 Shipping

Related: Computer Ratings and buying tips; DVD & Blu-ray player Ratings and buying tips; Bluetooth headset Ratings and buying tips.

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in
exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely
informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or
products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or
the Web sites that sell them—though some of the sites may be included,
and recommended, in our Ratings of retailers for computers and other major electronics (both available to subscribers). Price shouldn't be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies for restocking fees and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for many of the products on sale above, check out our free Buying Guides.