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Find the best price for anything! The mega shopbot tool automatically scans all the big shopping comparisons at once, ensuring that you can quickly find the very cheapest price. Simply tell it what you're looking for and it'll do the legwork.

CD Album Chart 21/12/08

Here are this week's top releases, according to the BBC Radio 1 chart show. Some of the releases from Bang CD below are international versions, so I've included the cheapest UK edition too.

1. Take That - The Circus - £8.89 at Sendit
2. Leona Lewis - The Spirit (deluxe inc. DVD) - £8.89 at Sendit
3. Kings of Leon - Only By The Night - £4.99 at BangCD, £8.49 at PowerPlay
4. The Killers - Day & Age - £6.99 at BangCD, £8.88 at Amazon
5. Girls Aloud - Out Of Control - £8.71 at ASDA
6. Priests - The Priests - £8.93 at BangCD, £8.93 at Tesco Jersey
7. Stereophonics - Best Of - £6.99 at BangCD, £7.99 at HMV
8. Il Divo - The Promise - £6.99 at Play
9. Beyonce - I Am... Sasha Fierce - £5.98 at Amazon
10. Duffy - Rockferry - £6.97 at Amazon

DVD Chart 21/12/08

Here are this week's DVD bestsellers. Where multiple versions are available, I've chosen the cheapest. All are UK Region 2 releases.

1. Mamma Mia - The Movie - £7 instore at ASDA, £12.99 at BangCD
2. The Dark Knight - £9.99 in-store at Morrisons, £11.98 at Amazon
3. Lee Evans - Big - Live at the O2 - £13.38 at Amazon
4. Hancock - £10.49 at CD Wow!
5. Wall-E - £12.97 at Tesco Jersey
6. Angus, Thongs & Perfect Snogging - £9.98 at Amazon
7. Peter Kay's Special Kay - £11.89 at Sendit
8. Clarkson - Thriller - £12.89 at Sendit
9. Michael McIntyre: Live & Laughing - £11.89 at Sendit
10. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - £12.89 at Sendit

Bestselling Books 15/12/08

In reducing its free delivery cut-off to £5 a couple of months ago, Amazon's cemented its place as the online bookseller to beat, as evidenced by its ubiquity below. However, do watch out for in-store supermarket special offers too; they can be better.

1. JK Rowling - The Tales of Beedle the Bard - £4.99 delivered at Waterstones, £3.49 on £5+ orders at Amazon
2. Dawn French - Dear Fatty - £7.97 at Amazon
3. Barack Obama - Dreams From My Father - £5 at Amazon
4. Richard Porter - The Big Book of Top Gear - £4.99 on orders over £5 at Amazon
5. Jamie Oliver - Jamie's Ministry of Food - £9.75 at Amazon
6. Stephenie Meyer - Twilight Saga- £2.95 at Amazon (orders over £5)
7. John Lloyd - QI: Advanced Banter - £6.99 at Amazon
8. Top Gear 2009 Annual - £3.49 at Amazon (orders over £5)
9. Aravind Adiga - The White Tiger - £6.49 at Amazon
10. J Barratt, N Fielding - The Mighty Book Of Boosh - £8 at Amazon

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• High School Musical 3 Dance mat - £23 in store. This stand-alone dance mat plugs into the TV and promises to teach kids dance routines from Disney's super-saccharine High School Musical 3 film. There are three difficulty levels and four songs to choose from. Cheapest in store at Toys 'R' Us - requires four AA batteries. See it on the Toys 'R' Us website.
  
  
• Bakugan Spinmaster Starter Pack - £12 delivered. Based on the popular (really?) kids' anime show 'Bakuga Spinmaster Battle Brawlers', this is a strategy game involving magnetic marbles which open up to release action figures when they land on special Bakugan cards. Sounds a mite confusing, so it may be for confirmed fans only. From Play
  
  
• Star Wars Clone Trooper voice-changing mask/helmet - £25 delivered. Would-be Clone Troopers can live the dream with this voice-changing mask, which plays soundbites from the Clone Wars film as well as making its wearer sound (and look) that much more imposing. Like any other Star Wars merchandise, the chances are it'll be just as popular a gift for grown-ups... Cheapest at Play
  
  
• Zapf Musical Potty Baby Born from £17 - This year's lifelike doll of choice, the Baby Born with Magic Potty looks to be a bit of a handful, mostly because of its frequent need to use its magic potty. Aside from that, it manages to cry 'real tears', eat special food and drink from its bottle. Nappies sold separately (no, really!). It's £16.95 at John Lewis.
  
  
• FurReal 'Biscuit' animatronic Golden retriever puppy- £112 delivered. Biscuit's a robotic, life-size golden retriever which can respond to touch and follow six voice commands. According to the blurb, it'll 'respond to kids just how a puppy would in real life'. This remains to be seen, but as far as guilt-free pet presents go, you won't do much better. Cheapest at Argos
  
  
• In The Night Garden talking Makka Pakka with mini Upsy Daisy and Iggle Piggle £16.99 in store If you're buying for young fans (i.e. around age 2) of CBBC's In The Night Garden, you're unlikely to go far wrong with one of MB's talking plush toys. This exclusive pack from Mothercare includes a 12" talking Makka Pakka and 6" plush toys of the other characters. Ahhhhhh.
  
  
• Elmo Live! (singing and dancing) £51.95. Following last year's much-hyped, not-so-much-bought 'Tickle Me' Elmo, comes a new version of the popular Sesame St. toy, this time with full singing and dancing capabilities. He can wave his arms, cross his legs, sit and stand and play games, and manages to do all of it while looking extremely cute. Cheapest at Amazon.
  
  

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If you've seen a better offer, please post in the Cheap Games Consoles discussion and we'll add it here.

Nintendo Wii: The most family-oriented of the consoles, Nintendo's Wii appeals mainly to casual gamers rather than the hardcore, who are far more likely to opt for an Xbox or PS3.

In terms of computing & graphics power the Wii lags well behind the other two, but this isn't an issue since its appeal is in its innovative controllers and instant playability rather than fancy visuals.

The Wii's popularity has meant since it was launched almost 2 years ago, its retail price hasn't dropped at all. Nonetheless, there are some decent bundle deals around in time for Christmas. Wii sports is included in the box..

• Wii basic package (inc Wii Sports) £167 delivered at Shopto.net
  
  
• Wii w/ Wii sports, Playground, Sims 2, Need for Speed & accessory pack pound;215 at Argos (special offer 5, others available)
• Wii plus Wii fit & balance board £235 at Shopto.net (1 per customer)

Wii Fit & balance board:

Nintendo's Wii Fit game and special balance board has been in intermittent supply ever since its launch, and if you want one on its own for £69.99 (rrp) in time for Christmas, it's best to get hunting as soon as possible. Availability is constantly jumping around, so keep one eye on the Wii Fit availability thread, and act fast when stock appears.

Microsoft Xbox 360: The 360 has seen more aggressive price drops than its competitors, meaning it's now cheaper to get a mid-level 360 with games than it is a much lesser-spec Nintendo Wii.

Very much the hardcore gamer's console, the Xbox 360 offers the most games (it was released earliest of the three) as well as top-quality graphics.

While it's the cheapest of the three to buy outright, there are some added costs if you plan to play games online (see below). The best value deals are on the Arcade and Pro versions.

Xbox 360 Arcade (Comes with 256MB memory card and one controller)

• £99 in-store at Zavvi (limited availability - phone ahead)
• £128 delivered with FIFA '09 or Mirror's Edge at Game
• £148 delivered with PGR4, Sega Superstars Tennis, Kung Fu Panda, Lego Indiana Jones & extra controller at Amazon (use codes on offer page).
  

Xbox 360 Pro (Adds a 60GB hard drive, headset, component and network cables)

• £159.98 delivered at Amazon
• £167 delivered with Kung Fu Panda, LEGO Indy, Lost & extra wireless controller at Game

Xbox 360 Elite (Black case, ups hard drive capacity to 120GB, adds HDMI cable)

• £209.99 delivered at Amazon
• £219.99 delivered with a selected game at Amazon, with Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts at Play
• £225.10 delivered with PGR4, Sega Superstars Tennis and Gears of War at Game

Get a cheap storage upgrade:

Microsoft is offering owners of Xboxes without hard drives various cheap upgrade offers, including a 20GB hard drive plus 3-months Xbox Live membership for £20.

However, which offer you get depends on which model Xbox you have; go to its special site and type in your serial number to see what you can get.

Sony PS3: The PS3 is easily the most expensive of the consoles, yet following the demise of the HD-DVD format it's also the only one that doubles as a bonafide high-def media player, with its much-vaunted Blu-Ray drive.

Even in the light of Microsoft's recent deep price cuts, Sony unfortunately has no official plans to drop the price of the 80GB PS3 before Christmas, though of course that doesn't mean it won't happen.

Aside from varying hard drive capacity, all the models below are the same. The 40GB PS3 has now been discontinued to make way for the 160GB edition.

• 80GB PS3 £259.99 delivered at Shopto.net
• 80GB PS3 £276 delivered with Little Big Planet & Motorstorm 2 at Empire Direct
• 80GB PS3 £293 delivered with Resistance 2, Far Cry 2, 300 Blu-Ray & Blu-Ray remote at Game
• 80GB PS3 £287 delivered with Motorstorm 2, Little Big Planet and Resistance 2 at Argos (special offer 3).
  
  
• 160GB PS3 £341 delivered (includes download codes for four games, see below) at Dixons
  

160GB PS3 details.

The recently-released 160GB PS3 includes free download codes for 4 games: GT5: Prologue, Ratchet & Clank, The Last Guy & Stardust HQ. If you want these games it's an okay deal, but it's also worth noting that the PS3 can be easily and cheaply upgraded anyway, as it takes a standard laptop hard drive.

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• Play.com Micro 8GB MP3 player. £24.99 delivered.
  
  Play's tiny player boasts a baclit LED display for navigating to tracks, and a massive 8GB storage space. It's a drag and drop player, so you can just plug it in to your computer by USB, and add & remove files as if it were a memory stick. It supports both MP3 and WMA compressed files, and it's USB 2.0, so transfers are quite speedy.
  
  The sound quality's unlikely to dazzle you, but it's not too bad either, and with a rechargeable battery good for up to 10hrs playback (expect 6-8), and numerous playback options, it's really terrific value for money.
  
  Storage: 8GB (up to 2000 songs at 128kbps)
  Battery life: 10 hrs
  
  
• Creative Zen Mp3/4 players, £48.92 - £88.07 delivered
  
  The latest incarnation of Creative's Zen player has received plaudits all round for its high quality sound and picture, and intuitive menu system. Its 4GB onboard memory can be expanded via an SD card slot (see the Cheap Memory Cards note for a bargain one), and its built-in FM radio's a boon too.
  
  The 4GB version's £48.92 at Amazon, followed by the 8GB version for £63.60, and the 16GB for £89.99. The only difference between the players is the size of storage space they offer.
  
  Storage: 4GB (up to 1000 4-min songs at 128kbps), 16GB (up to 4000 songs)
  Battery life: 25 hours audio, 5 hours video
  
  
• Sony NWZ-S639FB 16GB Drag & Drop MP3/4 Player - £86.11 delivered
  
  This slim Sony walkman boasts an ultra-bright 2" screen for videos and crisp sound quality. It seems Sony has learned from its mistakes; previous players relied on irksome software for uploading songs and videos, whereas this one is drag and drop, making it effortless to keep updated.
  
  It offers ample storage for 3,850 songs (at 128kbps), but unlike the Zen players above you can't expand on this using memory cards. There's also support for files downloaded from BBC iPlayer, and a clever feature which organises your collection into different moods. Cheapest at Amazon
  
  Storage: 16GB (up to 3,850 4-min songs at 128kbps)
  Battery life: 20 hours audio, 5 hours video
  
  
• Apple iPod Nano 8GB - £97.29 delivered
  
  No Mp3 round-up would be complete without mention of Apple's latest iPod. The Nano's now in its 4th incarnation, and its popularity shows no signs of waning, as reflected in the fact it's the most expensive in the list yet offers less storage for cash than others. Still, this is hardly likely to put off buyers who want the look as much as the features.
  
  As ever with iPods, you need to use the iTunes software to manage music files, meaning you can only have it synced to one library of music at a time. It's the only one of the players here that'll accept DRM-encrypted music from the iTunes store. Cheapest at Dixons.
  
  Storage: 8GB (up to 2,000 4-min songs at 128kbps)
  Battery life: 25 hours audio, 5 hours video
  

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• The Cheapest:
  Navigo V2 Sat Nav. £55 delivered.
  
  The Navigo boxes from ebuyer have received glowing reviews across the board for their ease of use and number of features for the cash. They've been so popular in fact that the original spawned a new version. While the features and spec remain basically the same, ebuyer promises this one's more sturdy and hard-wearing than its predecessor.
  
  The unit includes full 7-digit postcode search, good battery life, and the ability to play MP3/4 files from SD cards through the supplied headphones.
  
  
• Cheapest with EU mapping:
  Garmin Nuvi 250 Sat Nav, £78.27 delivered.
  
  Another well-rated unit, this compact Garmin's cheapest at Amazon. Feature-wise, it's got full European maps, full postcode search, SD card slot and a long-life (up to five hours stated - expect four tops) rechargeable battery.
  
  The little box has received excellent feedback for its usability, and it should be easy to keep up to date via the Garmin website. A 30-day subscription to speed camera data is also included; after that you'll have to pay.
  
  
• Cheapest TomTom:
  TomTom ONE V4 UK, £89.99 (UK), £109.99 (Europe) delivered.
  
  The 4th generation TomTom ONE is now available for pretty much the same price as last years 3rd-gen unit. As with any TomTom, you can update to the latest maps for free, and this new model comes with unique mapshare technology, and an integrated, fold-flat windsreen suction system.
  
  The UK version is £89.99 at ebuyer, while the Europe version is now cheapest at Amazon, for £111.
  

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• Fujifilm A850, 8.1 Megapixel, 3x optical zoom, £49 for collection.
  
  This Fuji camera's dropped in price from over £100 in the last few months, and is now cheapest at Jessops. With 8.1 megapixels and a clear, good-quality 2.5" LCD viewfinding screen, you should be able to get some decent snaps on it. There's 24MB of memory built-in, but this can (and must) be extended via SD cards.
  
  The camera can also make (far lower quality) videos at 30 frames-per-second, and record mono sound. On the downside, it relies on AA batteries for power, and since it'll go through them pretty quickly, you should factor this into the cost.
  
  Megapixel rating: 8.1
  Optical Zoom: 3x
  LCD viewfinder screen: 2.5"
  Storage type: SD/SDHC upto 4GB (not supplied, see the Cheap Memory Cards note).
  Battery: Standard AA
  
  
• Samsung D860, 8.1 MP, 3x optical zoom, £49.99 delivered.
  
  The D860's a high-quality point-and-shoot camera, with an emphasis on making life easy for the photographer. With easy-to-navigate menus, a full inbuilt help/advice guide, and face-detection technology, you shouldn't have much trouble getting the shots you want out of it.
  
  The only downside is its reliance on regular/rechargeable AA batteries, which it's likely to consume rather hungrily. It's cheapest at Play.
  
  Megapixel rating: 8.1
  Optical Zoom: 3x
  LCD viewfinder screen: 2.5"
  Storage type: SD/SDHC (see Cheap Memory Cards note)
  Battery: Standard AA
  
  
• Samsung S850, 8.1 MP, 5x optical zoom, £74.99 delivered.
  
  If you want a bit more zoom, this second Samsung's half-price at Play, and packs in a lot of features for the cash. As well as a high-quality 'true colour filtered' image sensor, 'advanced shake reduction', and AVI movie clip capabilities, there's also a clever 'wise shot' mode which takes two pictures simultaneously, one with flash and one without, so you can choose the best one yourself.
  
  More experienced shutterbugs will be satisfied with its potential for manual adjustment, too.
  
  Effective Megapixels: 8.1
  Optical Zoom: 5x
  LCD viewfinder screen: 2.5"
  Storage type: Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo
  Battery: Rechargeable, Lithium Ion
  
  
• Kodak M1073 Red, 10.2 Megapixels, 3x optical zoom, £78.30 delivered.
  
  This smart-looking Kodak, reduced from just shy of £200 at Boots, offers the highest image density in this list, with 10.2 megapixels. It's also got a slightly bigger 2.7" inch viewing screen, 19 scene modes, special HD picture capture, and multi-zone auto-focus. Even so, it's by no means the most fully-featured camera here, opting for ease of use over technical wizardry.
  
  As with all the others, the 32MB inbuilt memory will need to be supplemented via SD cards. Reviews are mixed at the original £200 asking price, but there's no doubt at £80 it's a bit of a bargain.
  
  Effective Megapixels: 10.2
  Optical Zoom: 3x
  LCD viewfinder screen: 2.7"
  Storage type: SD/SDHC
  Battery: Rechargeable, Lithium Ion
  
  
• Sony Cyber-shot W130, 8.1 MP, 4x optical zoom, £98.45 delivered.
  
  At the top end of the price range, this good-looking Sony is actually slightly lower-spec than the Samsung S850 above, but comes with glowing feedback for its fast shutter and plethora of onboard photo editing functions, meaning you can tweak shots even before you get to a computer.
  
  Other interesting features include 'smile shutter mode', which uses face recognition to automatically (and rather eerily) take pictures when subjects smile. It's available for £98.45 at Amazon.
  
  Effective Megapixels: 8.1
  Optical Zoom: 4x
  LCD viewfinder screen: 2.5"
  Storage type: Memory Stick Pro Duo
  Battery: Rechargeable, Lithium Ion

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• Techwood DV925B Twin Scart, £12 in-store
  
  The punchily-titled 'DV925B' is currently cheapest at Morrisons, though do phone ahead if you want one because it isn't at every store. The box itself is basic, with one SCART socket, a 7 day Electronic Programme Guide & Remote Control. If there's none at Morrisons, it can be had for £1 more from Argos, for collection (though stock is now limited at both).
  
  
• Top Deal: Clarity Digital Set Top Box, £14.95 for collection.
  
  Another basic box, this one boasts decent picture quality as well as the a 7 day EPG, remote control and small form factor. It's available half-price at Argos, for £14.95 if you reserve and collect. Buy online and get it delivered and the deal's not so good, since Argos wants £5.95 for postage. The feedback's excellent for this box, hence I've made it top pick.
  
  
• For high-def tellies: Hitachi HDB73HDMI £19.49 for collection.
  
  Another box from Argos, this is the cheapest I've seen with a digital HDMI output for better picture quality on HD-Ready TVs (which don't have freeview built in already). While you still won't get a proper 'high-def' image (that's impossible on regular freeview at the moment), it'll look a far less foggy than it does through SCART. Aside from this, the box is much the same as the others, with a 7-day EPG & remote control, and automatic setup.
  
  
• Various freeview boxes from £4.99 in-store - Very Limited Stock.
  
  This note wouldn't be complete without a mention of stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap hi-fi retailer Richer Sounds' freeview clearance deals. Various end-of-line boxes, starting at just £4.99, are listed on the Richer Sounds Website.
  
  These haven't been included higher up since availability is very limited, but it's well worth checking your local branch for a bargain, just scroll to the bottom of the freeview boxes page to find the cheapies.

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• ASDA Smartprice DVD Player. £14.60 in-store.
  
  This moderately unsightly black box from ASDA will nonetheless do the job. It's a thoroughly basic region 2-only box, and comes with a simple remote control and one SCART output. It will play audio and video-cds too though.
  
  You should be able to find stock at most large ASDA stores, but phone ahead to make sure so you don't waste fuel.
  
  
• Tesco Value DPA08 DVD Player with Divx support. £15 in-store.
  
  This super-basic, unbranded silver DVD player from Tesco's ideal as a second player. It's locked to region 2, so will only play local DVDs, but it also supports Divx/Xvid (like the video equivalent of an mp3 music file - see this wiki) encoded discs. Aside from that it'll also play CDs and even let you view JPEG images stored on them.
  
  While it's available from Tesco Direct, it's not worth buying this way unless you're spending over £50, since otherwise there's a hefty £5.95 delivery charge. It should be in stock at all larger Tesco 'Extra' stores, though as always, it's advisable to phone ahead before going to get one.
  
  
• ONN DVD Player with Divx support. £20 in-store.
  
  You can't hope to find a £20 player with more features than this one. While it's not a name brand, it is a multiregion DVD player with support for Divx amongst a whole range of other formats. It even has a USB slot, which you can plug a memory stick into, meaning you needn't even burn computer files onto DVD to play them.
  
  The box comes with a remote control and one SCART socket output. It's available in-store at ASDA, but stock can be limited, so phone ahead first if you want one.
  

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• Intempo TRS-01S portable DAB - £24.45 delivered.
  
  This mono DAB radio, available in a range of colours from Amazon has an FM tuner and 20 channel preset capacity (10 DAB/10 FM). It's unlikely to deafen or particularly awe you with its small mono speaker though, and thus has limited appeal to die-hard music fans.
  
  
• Freeplay Devo portable DAB - £34.99 in-store.
  
  This smart-looking Freeplay model differs from the others in that as well as being powered by the mains, you can wind it up for power. A minute's winding'll get you 5 mins of DAB radio, or a full hour of FM: ideal if you'll take the radio out with you.
  
  The Devo only packs five presets, but this shouldn't be an issue given how easy it is to find stations on DAB anyway. It's available cheapest at Robert Dyas, but it's currently out of stock online, so phone around local branches if you want one. Store Locator.
  
  
• Pure One portable DAB - £39.99 delivered.
  
  This radio from market-leader Pure has come top in countless tests, boasting strong reception, great sound quality and terrific usability. It's available in a choice of rather shocking pink, or a less offensive black. Other colours cost around £10 more.
  
  Like the Intempo model, the Pure also packs in an FM tuner, and it'll run for a long time on batteries if you want to take it out.
  
  
• Philips AE5000 portable DAB - £47 delivered.
  
  If you want a bit more style (and a bit less pink), another £7 gets you this Philips radio, which offers quick DAB tuning with presets, decent sound quality, an FM tuner, and a headphone jack for late-night listening. Again, it's cheapest at Amazon.

• Ease of use.
  
  All of the stations appear in text on the (usually quite large) screen and all sets will auto-scan for stations. This makes it ideal for elderly people (Martin bought one for his Gran) or the technologically challenged; you no longer need to remember any numbers, just scroll.

• More potential choice.
  
  Whilst it's quite close-run in some areas, DAB offers a wider choice of stations for many people in the UK, especially outside of the M25.

• Access to DAB only/regional stations.
  
  Some of the BBCs best radio stations exist only on DAB, BBC 6 Music for example.

• Access to more info.
  
  DAB has the capacity to send more info to sets, which is displayed on the radio's screen. Thus, you can get the headlines, or find out what's playing at a glance (depending on the station).

• Sound quality.
  
  If you have good reception FM can offer higher quality sound than DAB as most UK DAB stations broadcast a low (128kbps) bitrate MP2 signal. FM transmitters (or 'exciters') broadcast 'transparently', meaning that if you were to get perfect reception (which is nigh on impossible), you'd hear exactly what was coming from the studio (after other processing etc).
  
  Yet if the station you listen to is usually on Medium Wave (e.g. BBC Radio 5) the reception should be much improved.

• FM's healthy.
  
  Unlike analogue TV, FM radio signals aren't on their way out just yet; in fact, FM broadcasts aren't even up for review until 2012, and it'll be a fair few years after that before they'll be stopped. Some sets support both FM and DAB to give you the best of both.

• New DAB?
  
  There's a new DAB+ format in the pipeline, which isn't backwards compatible with the current one, meaning it may become obsolete.
  
  Devout optimists claim it'll come out in three years time, but judging by DAB's slow ascendancy and take-up, it'll probably take a whole lot longer.
  
  

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• Acer Aspire One, £179.99 delivered
  
  Budget manufacturer Acer's entry into the netbook marketplace is by far the cheapest offering with an ultra energy efficient Intel Atom processor. For the cash, you also get 512MB RAM, an 8GB solid state hard drive, and an 8.9" crystalbrite screen. It runs on Linux (Linpus) to keep speed up, and external storage can be had via a built-in 5-in-1 card reader.
  
  While the spec's comparable, if lesser than that of the £60-more Asus 901 below, there are a couple of drawbacks. Firstly, the battery is only 3 cell, so you shouldn't expect much more than 2 hours of use at a time - a blow to its portatbility. Secondly, it's reportedly very difficult to upgrade the RAM, so those that want to upgrade it should look for some info first to see if it's worthwhile. Cheapest at Play.
  
  Processor: Intel Atom 270, 1.6Ghz.
  RAM: 512MB
  Hard Drive: 8GB SSD
  Display: 8.9" (Resolution 1024 x 600)
  Included operating system: Linux Linpus
  Battery: 3 cell, stated 3hrs
  Warranty: 1 year return to base.
  
  
• HP Compaq mini-note, £191 delivered
  
  It's showing its age a bit now, but HPs foray into the netbook market is still worth a look. Its VIA processor's neither as nippy nor as power-savvy as the Intel Atoms below, but 1GB of RAM (upgradeable to 2GB) goes some way to making up for the shortfall.
  
  Storage comes in the shape of a proper 120GB hard disk drive. This means you needn't worry too much about conserving space, but on the downside it makes the unit heavier and slightly slower than those with solid state flash drives. It also features an 8.9" screen, 92% size keyboard, and SUSE Linux pre-installed. It's available cheapest at ebuyer.
  
  Processor: VIA M ULV 1.2Ghz
  RAM: 1GB (2GB Max)
  Hard Drive: 120GB HDD
  Added storage: SD/SDHC slot with support for upto 4GB
  Display: Widescreen 8.9" TFT (Resolution WXGA 1280x800)
  Included operating system: Linux SUSE
  Battery: Li-ion, estimated 2 hrs per charge
  Warranty: 1 year
  
  
• ASUS Eee-901 12GB, £260 delivered
  
  Asus's 901 has scored highly in reviews by both techie websites and proud owner MSE Richard. It packs the same basic set-up as the as the Advent below, with an Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, and Windows XP (home edition) pre-installed. This version also includes 12GB of solid state storage space, an 8.9" screen, and inbuilt Bluetooth.
  
  A 6-cell battery means that it also has the longest battery life of all those included here, at a stated 8 hours (though expect around 6), and it clocks in at under a kilo, so it should be easy to get around. It's cheapest at ebuyer.
  
  Processor: Intel Atom 270, 1.6Ghz.
  RAM: 1GB (2GB Max)
  Hard Drive: 12GB SSD
  Display: 8.9" (Resolution 1024 x 600)
  Included operating system: Windows XP home sp3
  Battery: 6 cell, stated 8hrs
  Warranty: 2 years (6 months on battery)
  
  
• Advent 4211c, £274 in-store or delivered
  
  This re-badged version of the more expensive MSI Wind also sports the same Intel Atom processor as above, but also an impressive 120GB hard drive (not solid state), a large 10.1" display which offers a much better resolution, and 1GB RAM as standard.
  
  The operating system included is Windows XP, and the Advent also includes a webcam and 4-in-1 card reader. On the downside, the standard 2.5" laptop hard disk and bigger screen mean it's the heaviest in this list, and the SD card reader doesn't support the higher capacity (anything over 2GB) SDHC cards. It's cheapest at PC World.
  
  Processor: Intel Atom 270, 1.6Ghz.
  RAM: 1GB (2GB Max)
  Hard Drive: 120GB SATA
  Display:10.1" (Resolution 1024 x 600)
  Included operating system: Windows XP home SP3
  Battery: 3 cell, stated 3hrs
  Warranty: 1 year return to base.
  

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Supermarket Champagnes

• Comte de Brismand Champagne £9.99 in-store at Lidl
• Andre Carpentier Brut Champagne £11.98 in-strore at Tesco (special offer valid until 09/12/2008)
• Waitrose Blanc de Noires £11.99 in-store.
• Tesco Finest Premier Cru Champagne Brut £12.98 in-store (special offer valid until 09/12/2008)
• ASDA Champagne Brut Non Vintage £12.96 in-store
  
• De Vallois Champagne Brut £14 in-store at Tesco (half-price until 09/12/2008)

'Grande Marque' Champagne - Non Vintage

The top Champagne houses or 'grande marques' command as much prestige as top designer fashion labels, no surprise since when it comes to Champagne many are just as keen (if not keener) to be seen with the right brand of bottle as they are to drink from it.

A new 40% off Wine & Champagne voucher at Wine Rack, Thresher & The Local off licences broadens the range available on the cheap until 31 Dec.

• Duval-Leroy Fleur De Champagne Premier Cru. £12.99 in-store at Waitrose (half price until 3 Dec)
• Nicolas Feuilatte NV Champagne. £13.99 if you buy two at Majestic
• Piper-Heidsieck. £16.84 at Co-op
• Lanson Black label. £17.98 at Thresher/Wine Rack with 40% off voucher. £19.99 at Oddbins
• Heidsieck & Co Monopole Gold Top Brut. £17.98 in-store at Tesco (until 09/12/2008), £16.99 if you buy two at Majestic
• Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Non-Vintage. £23.99 at Oddbins
• Bollinger Special Cuvee. £26.99 at Thresher/Wine Rack with 40% off voucher
• Taittinger Brut Reserve Champagne. £21.99 at Oddbins

The tasty alternative: sparkling wines

Opt for sparkling wines, and since you're not paying such a premium for the name of the producer's region, you can often get far better quality for your money. Here are some of the most oft-recommended bottles from around the world; don't hesitate to nominate your own favourites in the Bubbly discussion.

• Waitrose La Rosca Cava Brut (Spain) £4.99 in-store, £3.49 each if you buy two until 6 jan 2009
• Sainsbury's 'Taste the Difference' Vintage Cava (Spain) £4.99 (half-price until 06/01/2009)
• M&S Prosecco Extra Dry (Italy) £7.99 in-store
• Tesco Finest Bisol Prosecco (Italy) £8.99 in-store
• Montana Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir (New Zealand) £8.99 or £6.74 if you buy two at Majestic

Discuss/Suggest Champagne Deals

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