The HTC Smart is yet another attempt to bring an affordable, low-cost touchscreen smartphone to the market.

Given the anticipated low price point, the HTC Smart won’t dazzle anyone with its specifications, which include a 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen, 3-megapixel camera (no flash or focus functionality) and Bluetooth stereo (but unfortunately no Wi-Fi connectivity). Also included is a 3.5mm headphone jack and a mini USB port.

Interestingly, the Smart runs off a different operating system to its predecessors - Qualcomm Brew. However it does use the HTC Sense user interface, which will offer a touch of familiarity to anyone who has already used an HTC handset running that UI.

The HTC Smart mobile phone is expected to be available in Australia before the end of March. Local recommended retail pricing will be available closer to the release.

Buy a cheap HTC phone on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes

Not every piece of jewellery you buy has to cost a small fortune - sometimes you need something to spice up a particular outfit and don’t want to spend more than $20 on it.

That’s where Diva jewellery steps in - you’ll rarely pay more than $30 for anything, and better still, if you shop during one of the famous Diva sales you’ll pick some pieces up for as little as $2 and $5.

I just stumbled across these Diva Swirl earrings and they’re really pretty - in fact they remind me of the Samantha Wills Gracie earrings, but at $14.99 they’re literally a fraction of the price (that fraction being 3/10ths).

Plus, I only just realised you can shop online at the Diva website. Handy!

By Caroline Warnes

**NOTE: Unless you leave your 25 words or less answer below, your entry is not valid.**

We are giving you the chance to win a Chimera nail polish set valued at $450 in this week’s free Lasoo competition.

Chimera produces quality nail products that appeal to women of all ages and all income levels. With 130 colours to choose from, you’re sure to find a shade for any occasion - you can read our review here.

This prize pack consists of 30 bottles of nail polish - one base coat, one top coat and 28 colours of the winner’s choice.

To enter to win this fabulous Chimera nail polish pack, valued at $450, you’ll first need to join the Chimera Members Club by registering an account here and subscribe to the newsletter, then return to this page and tell us in 25 words or less using the form below what is your favourite nail polish colour from the range and why. The best answer will win.

The competition closes on February 4.

Plus, an added bonus: all Lasoo members can get 25% off all purchases at the Chimera website by entering code the code LASOO at the checkout before February 28, 2010. (Offer excludes purchases of the complete collection of Chimera nail polish - 130 bottles for $650.)

Competition terms and conditions

Zodee is having another one of its giant lingere and swimwear sales and it’s another good one, with some pieces reduced by up to 90%.

There are over 1000 pieces up for grabs in the sale and the good news is it isn’t just for women - you’ll also find undies and swimwear for men and kids.

I have pretty bad taste in swimwear so I can’t tell if this one is actually nice or not, but I quite like the Bond-Eye bikini top pictured here. It’s reduced by 50% to $32.48.

A lot of the heavily reduced stuff is so cheap because it’s only available in limited sizes, so you may have to spend some time browsing to find a bargain in your size. Otherwise you can shop by size for bras.

By Caroline Warnes

The Motorola Backflip is the manufacturer’s latest Google Android mobile phone announcement, and it’s due to begin releasing around the world very shortly.

What really sets the Motorola Backflip apart from the Google Android phones that have come before it is design. No Android phone to date has managed to come close to the iPhone design-wise, but the Backflip makes a valiant effort. It looks to be smaller and sleeker than other Android phones, using a clamshell design with a QWERTY keyboard located on the back of the phone. Sitting on the front of the phone is a 3.1-inch capacitive touchscreen with 320×480 resolution.

When the phone is open, you can access the phone’s trackpad (called Backtrack), which sits on the back of the display. This can be used to use the phone when it’s open, while the touchscreen operates it when it’s closed.

The Motorola Backflip will come with the Android 1.5 OS, although this can be upgraded to the latest 2.1 system. Other specifications include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, a 5-megapixel camera, 3.5mm headphone jack, HTML browser and 2GB of on-board memory, expandable to 32GB.

No Australian release date has been confirmed for the Motorola Backflip as yet. Local pricing will be available closer to its release.

Buy a cheap Motorola phone on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes

EDIT April 12, 2010: For the latest Target homewares sale catalogue, visit the main Lasoo site.

If, like me, you love a good homewares sale, then you’ll be most interested in this week’s Target catalogue.

Yes, the big T is slashing 20-40% off manchester and a big range of homewares this week so it’s a good time to head into a Target store and stock up after the festive season.

I managed to shatter several more wine glasses over Christmas so I’ll need to replenish my supply pretty soon. Luckily boxed glassware and dinnersets are 25% off this week.

Lots of other bargains too - home appliances, clothes, back-to-school stuff and more.

By Caroline Warnes

If you’ve always dreamed of owning a Fabergé egg, but can barely afford to buy a carton of eggs from the supermarket some days, let alone one of these priceless antiques, then I have a happy medium for you.

These Fabulush egg locket pendants are a far more affordable option, but they still manage to be absolutely gorgeous.

Each pendant is made of sterling silver and decorated with enamel, semi-precious jewels and seed pearls. Plus, they open up so you can store all manner of things inside (all manner of small things, that is).

My favourite from the range is actually the cheapest - love the Pearler pendant in blue, which sells for $199.

Fabulush egg locket pendants are availble online from the Locket Shop.

By Caroline Warnes

And the winners are:

B. Martins, 2204; J. Budden, 4114; K. Raft, 3002; C. Arnold, 2046; M. Brain, 3028; S. Robinson, 6064; M. Jones, 4035; J. Jones, 3028; C. Munro, 3152.

A Personal Video Recorder (also known as a PVR) is a device that lets you record, pause, rewind and fast-forward live television. PVRs have come a long way in the last few years and are now fairly commonplace in Australian living rooms.

How PVRs work

Basically, a PVR is a set-top box with an internal hard drive to store content. It has a built-in tuner to receive the television signal - though ideally it should have two tuners. This is so you can be watching one channel while recording another or even record two channels at the same time while you’re watching something pre-recorded on the hard drive.

And the good news is that unlike the old days of the humble VCR, you don’t have to mess around with buttons and times in order to record something. Thanks to something called the Electronic Program Guide (EPG), you can use the included remote to scroll through a program guide for all available channels. When you see something you want to record, you simply press a button on the remote and the rest is done automatically.

Some PVRs have a DVD drive built-in, so you can transfer content that you want to keep to DVD. With a bit of technical knowhow you can also transfer content to other external sources, such as a computer.

HD PVRs

If you’re going to invest in this technology, then you should be looking at buying a high-definition or HD PVR. This means you will be able to watch and record HD content in all its intended glory. Unfortunately however if you have a PVR with a built-in DVD drive and want to transfer any HD content to DVD, the full resolution will be lost.

PVR hard drives

When it comes to the size of your PVR hard drive, you should go as big as your budget allows. This is especially true if you are going to be recording a lot of high-definition content, since HD content tends to chew up storage space. Some PVRs will allow you to connect extra drives for more storage.

Extra features

The more expensive PVRs usually throw in some extra features to justify their higher price tags. Although these are nice to have, they aren’t necessary for the basic functionality of recording and pausing live television. Extra features usually include networking functionality so you can view content from your computer and the Internet on the TV connected to the PVR.

Foxtel iQ

Foxtel iQ is, in fact, a form of PVR, combining recording functionality and a satellite receiver for the Foxtel signal. It incorporates some extra features specific to Foxtel, however there is no (official) way of transferring content stored on the internal memory to an external source.

Best PVRs

Topfield PVRs, such as the model pictured here, are undoubtedly the market leaders.

Buy a cheap PVR on sale

By Caroline Warnes

The Sony Bloggie MHS-PM5K is a unique little portable camcorder that will appeal to anyone who likes to post a lot of videos online to sites such as YouTube.

Thanks to the CMOS sensor, this nifty little pocket camcorder can record in Full HD (1920×1080p) resolution as well as capture 5-megapixel still images.

From there, it’s a simple matter of connecting the Bloggie to any computer to load the footage up to your favourites sites. The included software allows you to automatically select what you want uploaded from the device then pushes it to the sites of your choice, such as YouTube and social media channels such as Facebook.

What makes the Sony Bloggie MHS-PM5K particularly handy for on-the-go recording and publishing is the inclusion of the “flip” rotating lens. Flipping the lens automatically turns the Bloggie on and you’re ready to shoot with the press of a button. The lens rotates through 270 degrees so you can film from a wide range of angles. You can even swivel it to film yourself. Sony has also included a 360 lens attachment in the box so you can shoot panaromic videos when needed.

Also included in the box is a 4GB Memory Stick to record to, however if you require more storage there is an optional 32GB stick.

The Sony Bloggie MHS-PM5K camcorder will be released in Australia mid-February with a recommended retail price of $299. It will be available in pink, blue, violet and white.

Buy a cheap Sony camcorder on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes