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Image credit: GE The "smart home" movement is gaining steam, but currently many of the voice-operated devices require commitments to specific ecosystems, be those Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant or Apple's HomeKit (with Siri). General Electric, though, is looking to make all of this a little less complicated with its C by GE line. Today, the company announced new Wi-Fi-enabled ceiling lights and wall switches that will work with whichever of the above systems you prefer, reports The Verge. As a bonus, that means GE's devices will still work fine even after one of the three clearly emerges as the leader of our voice-controlled future. You're even free to switch voice services at any time if you'd like, thanks to a speaker and a microphone that's built into each device. Unlike many smart devices that need to be tethered to a device such as a Amazon Echo, the GE devices function as their own hubs and can even control other devices. The ceiling light is meant to be the main illumination source for a room, and you can do anything with it, from changing the brightness or warmth of the lighting to listening to music. For that matter, you can also listen to music through GE's light switch, which features all the same functions as the ceiling light but also comes with sensors for motion, humidity and temperature. Lighting the pathBoth products are in development – HomeKit support isn't fully implemented yet – so it's likely that we won't see them on actual shelves for a few months. On the voice-controlled bright side, though, we'll get to see the two devices in action at CES 2018 next week. GE didn't provide any information on pricing, but it's likely that will be revealed at the show as well. Judging from the previous C by GE Sol lamp, which retails for $150 (around £110, AU$192), they're not gonna be cheap. Looking for the best connected home possible? These devices have you covered.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/ulDnabWmF4E

Smart lock maker Otto has ceased operating, leaving a workshop full of luxury locks that may never ship. The announcement will be disappointing for those who has pre-ordered one of the locks, but for the rest of us it highlights one of the primary dangers of the smart home; the more we rely on digital companies for the running of our home, the more vulnerable we are when those companies fail. The startup, first founded in 2013, was planning on bringing the lock to market in the first couple of months of 2018 after having been acquired by an unnamed company that was going to handle the shipping of the product. Unfortunately for Otto, the acquisition fell through on December 11, the day that this deal was supposed to be finalized. The full details of what happened were laid out by Otto CEO Sam Jadallah in a lengthy blog post on Medium, but the long and the short of it is that Otto entered a round of financing, and were approached by a company that offered acquisition rather than funding, Otto agreed, and then the acquisition fell through. Knocking on the door of innovationJadallah hasn’t disclosed exactly why the deal fell through, just that he received a phone call on the day of the deal to say that it wouldn’t be moving forward. The nature of the deal was apparently such that it meant Otto couldn’t solicit other funding or offers, and so is now left unable to ship its locks, possibly ever. Overall, we're far happier that the smart lock company has shut down before, rather than after, shipping its product. This way at least the amount of customers caught in the crossfire can be minimised to those that pre-ordered the product. But that doesn't stop this unfortunate event from highlighting a problem in the rapidly growing smart home market; if there are essential elements of how your house runs that are dependant on a company and that company ceases operating, it puts you as a consumer in a real bind. While $699 (about £500, AU$900) may seem like a staggering amount of money for a lock, Otto was clearly angling itself to become the Apple of the smart lock market; offering a luxury product for a luxury price. It even used a Bloomberg quote referencing how Apple-like the design is: “It looks uncannily like something Apple might have dreamed up.” To be fair, the eponymous lock admittedly wouldn’t look out of place in an Apple store, and there’s a good reason for that; many of the original hires at Otto were ex-Apple employees. As can be seen in the video above, the lock offered a couple of different methods for opening a door, the first identified a user by their phone - allowing a simple push of a button to unlock the mechanism, and the second took advantage of a rotating dial that allowed for a digital combination to be entered. It may seem like a relatively small amount of return for a significant investment, but when Jadallah spoke to TechCrunch, he insisted that the problem wasn’t the price point, or the product: “This isn’t the story of an ambitious product that didn’t have a market. I was convinced that we had priced it the right way for the product, and we knew that the technology that we had innovated was something that we could use in different ways at other price point.” Moving forwardsFor the time being it looks like there is no way forward for Otto, with Jadallah apologising to all of those that had already pre-ordered the smart lock, saying: “Otto will not ship next month and it may never ship. We will evaluate our options in the coming weeks and see what is open to us.” Even if Otto does end up shipping, the bell cannot be un-rung, and we're sure that customers will feel uncertain relying on a company that has recently failed so publicly. What's interesting is the question that this raises for smart home security on the whole. We're already adding a potential vulnerability by including a digital layer to our homes that makes them hackable, but by creating a reliance on companies in order to do things as simple as unlocking your door and turning on your lights we are leaving ourselves vulnerable to the possibility of having a house that depends on the success of our chosen provider in order to keep functioning at even a basic level. On the software side, the use of open-source security protocols such as Signal means that a codebase can be maintained by a community of coders long after any single company has folded, but this approach is yet to be embraced by hardware manufacturers. But with people expecting smart locks to last decades rather than years, a long term solution to the problem Otto's failure has revealed needs to be found. Want to know about some smart locks that work with iOS? Check out: Apple HomeKit devices: great smart home appliances that work with iOShttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/Ux2DhDGEbaE

Another hole has been found in macOS, with the flaw being revealed by a security researcher (or ‘hobbyist hacker’, as his Twitter profile notes) as the New Year rolled around – hardly the start to 2018 Apple would have wanted. The researcher who goes by the name of Siguza said that the zero-day flaw seems to have been present in Apple’s desktop operating system since as far back as 2002. It allows any user to gain full control of a Mac computer, but not remotely – an attacker will need physical access to the machine in question. In that case, they can use this local privilege escalation bug to get root permissions and execute arbitrary code, as Wccftech.com reports. Furthermore, the exploit isn’t very sophisticated or stealthy, and will log the user out. Siguza observed: “Needs to be running on the host already (nothing remote), achieves full system compromise by itself, but logs you out in the process. “Can wait for logout though and is fast enough to run on shutdown/reboot until [macOS] 10.13.1. On 10.13.2 it takes a fair bit longer (maybe half a minute) after logging out, so if your OS logs you out unexpectedly… maybe pull the plug?” Embarrassing episodeNote that this vulnerability apparently affects all versions of macOS, and while it may not be particularly sophisticated, it’s still worrying. Particularly coming after the much-publicized login bug in High Sierra which emerged last November, although that was an entirely more embarrassing affair given how basic the security flaw was (you could log onto any Mac simply by using ‘root’ as the username, with nothing in the password field). Clearly, though, this is the last thing Apple needed to kick-off 2018 with. Even if it is a rather clunky exploit which requires physical access to the PC in question, it still allows for a full system compromise – and most worryingly it’s a bug which has apparently been present in Apple’s desktop OS for a decade and a half, or thereabouts. Apple is working on a patch right now, according to the report, so we should hopefully see that come through the pipeline pretty sharpish. A couple of Apple’s MacBooks make our list of best laptopshttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/gNm67s1yMWk

It’s been a great year for Firefox. After falling behind its rivals in terms of speed and market share, Mozilla launched itself back into the game in 2017 with Firefox Quantum – the browser’s biggest update since its first release in 2004. “We fell behind for five years, so it feels good to come out swinging,” Mark Mayo, vice president of Firefox, told TechRadar just before the launch of Quantum in November. We're just going to go straight at them!" Quantum is a huge step up for Firefox, with speeds that challenge Chrome and a new interface designed to make browsing a smooth, more pleasant experience, but it was just one part of Mozilla's 2017 success story. Focus on privacyAlong with speed, privacy was one of Mozilla’s biggest focal points for 2017. We spoke to Mayo at Mozilla’s Glass Room exhibition in London - a pop-up art exhibition exploring the way our personal data is harvested, used and sold when we use online services – often without us fully realizing. Exhibits including an eight-hour video of a man reading the full Kindle terms and conditions, printed books of leaked LinkedIn logins that visitors could check for their own details, and a vast web of pins and string showing the hundreds of connections between Google and other online service providers. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/q26xDuCTxCPMvBSms93eAU.jpg The Glass Room pop-up art installation pulled no punches, highlighting the way other web companies collect, use and share your personal data The show pulled no punches, and followed the release of the privacy-focused Firefox Focus for Android. The mobile browser, which was released for iOS in 2016, automatically deletes users’ browsing history at the end of each session. It also disables ads that track browsing activity, which has a knock-on effect of speeding up page load times. "The focus is on simplicity, so you don’t have to go into private mode in your usual browser – you’re there straight away," Barbara Bermes, senior product manager of Firefox Mobile Browsers, told us after the launch. There’s no desktop version of Focus in the works yet, but Chromebook users can download it from the Google Play Store like any other app. Firefox on phonesMobile will continue to be a particular focus for Firefox in 2018, as the team aim to bring some of the improvements from Quantum to the small screen. There’s already been a halo effect, with installs of the mobile browser picking up pace since November. It’s a challenge Mayo is looking forward to. “There’s more need for big leaps in performance on mobile than on desktop,” he told us just before Christmas, when we caught up to discuss 2017’s highlights, and what we can expect to see in the new year. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dKCaA5ekfkDVMhDXghpZZc.jpg Firefox Focus came to Android in 2017, letting you browse on mobile without leaving a trace “The big [achievement] I’m super happy about is that we were able to release a new Firefox,” he said. “That’s been especially great for the team after a pretty intense 18 months.” He sees Quantum’s speed as great news for all internet users, forcing Microsoft and Google to focus on delivering quicker, smoother performance as well. “Other browsers should get faster as well,” he told us. “It’s just going to be great for all users because everyone is going to compete on speed again, which hasn’t happened for a while. Chrome will get faster, Edge will get faster.” Mozilla is far from done, though. The Quantum project as a whole is only halfway done, so we’re expecting plenty more developments in the new year – on all platforms. That’s good for everyone; as Mayo says: “When the web gets better, everyone wins”. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/c1YpqC9m2ZQ

If you're still on the hunt for some amazing Boxing Day deals, then Currys PC World could help you bag a serious bargain, as it's cut the prices of a huge range of products across its website. These deals went live at 8pm on December 29 and run until January 2 2018 as part of its 100 hours 100 deals event. If you work it out correctly, you can make some really quite decent savings, so we've collected the best deals below. TV dealsXbox One X dealsComputing dealsAudio dealsHome and kitchen dealsCamera dealsThese are just some of the best deals going live, so check out the Currys PC World website for even more savings. Remember, these deals expire on January 2, 2018, so don't leave it too late if you're looking to grab a bargain. Don't forget to check out our list of the best Boxing Day deals that are still live!http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/li1CEdCd_zU

If you were thinking the world needs more smart speakers in it, you're in luck: LG just announced the LG ThinQ Speaker, basically a Google Home made by LG instead of Google. However, this might best Google's own speaker in terms of audio quality. LG says it's going to offer a "premium-sounding" experience that works with high-quality lossless files and has Meridian Audio technology built in, the fruits of a new partnership between LG and hi-fi stalwarts Meridian. Think better sound than the Google Home, though maybe not at the level of the Google Home Max. We'll have to wait to hear for ourselves just how good the audio is, because the ThinQ Speaker is being launched at a CES event in January, when we'll also get details on pricing and availability. LG has worked with Google on the device, so the Google Assistant integration should be seamless. More to comeLG has also announced a number of other audio products for 2018 ahead of CES next month, including the SK10Y soundbar, offering up 5.1.2 channels of premium 550W audio, and support for Dolby Atmos and the Chromecast standard so you can fling stuff to it from your phone. We're also going to be seeing some new Bluetooth speakers from LG with the PK prefix in the very near future. Again there's some high-fidelity Meridian Audio technology on board and judging by the use of the words "rugged" and "convenient" we'd say these are going to be designed to go anywhere with you. On top of that, LG has some "all-in-one party machines" in the pipeline, complete with karaoke options and light schemes to really get the crowd jumping. Further details on all of this kit will be revealed at CES, and we'll be in Las Vegas as the event gets underway to bring you all the news. The smart home seriously needs to wise up if it wants to go mainstream in 2018http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/myj-CvT7K0Y

Image credit: Amazon Amazon's voice-controlled Echo devices were quite the popular gifts this Christmas, judging from the way the Alexa app shot up to the top of the list of the most popular free apps on the iOS App Store on Christmas Day. It's slipped a bit since then, but only a bit. As of right now, it commands second place, sitting just behind YouTube. It's a remarkable achievement in that it confirms Amazon's statement yesterday that the Echo Dot was the bestselling Amazon device over the holiday season. In fact, according to Amazon's statement, the Echo Dot was "the best-selling product from any manufacturer in any category across all of Amazon." The jump is thanks almost entirely to new users, as the App Store ranks free apps according to downloads. In other words, if you already have an Echo device, there's not much of a chance you were going to be downloading a new one unless you recently reset your phone. In this case, the downloads were likely almost entirely from people who were trying out their new Echo devices shortly after unwrapping them. Connect the DotsAs TechCrunch notes, this is a step up from last year, when the Alexa app only managed to reach fourth place. The site also points out that the app reached high points in markets outside the US, revealing just how popular Echo devices were for holiday gifts. Not only did the Alexa app reach second place in the UK, but it also reached fifth place on the charts for both Germany and Austria. Prior to the holiday season, the app was much farther down the scale, hovering around the 60s and 90s in rankings. Is the Echo Dot too small? Go big with the Echo Plus.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/a6DWd02heaA

Boxing Day is over. You're either back at work, or dreading the thought of having to return. But that doesn't mean you've missed your chance for a bargain - as you've seen on our main Best Boxing Day Deals page we've spent days scouring the retailers for the best deals around. That page is still chock-full of live deals, but we've decided to help those in a rush. This simple top 12 list is the cream of the crop in our eyes, the deals that we've had to either stop ourselves buying (for fear of having no food in January) or have caved and treated ourselves with. More deals still availableThere are many more deals still to be had out there. Actually most of the ones we found yesterday are still going strong. That's fantastic news if you didn't have time to get online yesterday. So why not take that much deserved rest and take a look at our full roundup all the best Boxing Day sales and deals. Top retailer quick linksAmazon saleJohn Lewis saleCurrys saleArgos saleTesco Direct saleGame saleZavvi saleAO.com - saleMobiles.co.uk - saleCarphone Warehouse - saleNext - salehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/9OkbgPIJf0U

In many ways, it's been a rather good year for the smart home. While thermostats, lighting and security products remain the most popular smart items, 2017 was the year that voice control took off. Thanks to the growing popularity of the Amazon Echo range (which got a slew of new products, including the touchscreen-enabled Echo Show) and, to a degree, Google Home, smart assistants were the thing to have. And, with their popularity, the smart home was given a massive boost. Finally, there was a natural way to control all of the smart home products, from thermostats to smart lighting, without having to resort to a swathe of different apps, or having to constantly pull your phone out of your pocket. It's not just about controlling other devices, either, as smart assistants have proved themselves to be central to many homes, from getting calendar appointments to answering simple questions. Being able to do all of this without reaching for a smartphone has made computing a lot more accessible and personable. Smart assistants have proved to be so popular that many traditional speaker companies have jumped on the bandwagon, integrating Alexa or Google Home with their own products. First to launch was the excellent Sonos One, a full-on multi-room music player that has Alexa built in. Sony followed up with its slightly less good Google Assistant-powered LF-S50G, with Panasonic joining in with the SC-GA10. It's fair to say that you can now get a smart speaker in pretty much any form that you want. Importantly, the attention that smart assistants have brought to the smart home has meant an increased range of smart devices. This year, Ikea joined the fray with its rather good Tradfri smart lights. Ikea now plans to move into audio, collaborating with Sonos. Other companies decided to upgrade the smart capabilities of their products, too. Most robot vacuum cleaners, for example, can be started with a voice command; all of Dyson's connected fans, such as the Pure Hot + Cool Link, have an Alexa skill, so that you can control them without having to get up. Truly, it's starting to feel a bit like the world that Star Trek always promised us. But, we're not there yet, and as far as we've moved, the smart home still has several issues, and many products still feel a little too techy, while talking to a voice assistant can feel unnatural and stilted. These aren't insurmountable issues, but here's what needs to improve in 2018 for the smart home to be truly embraced. Smart speakers that understand where they areIf you want Alexa, or any other voice assistant, to turn on a light, you have to specify by name the exact device that you want to control. Yet, as many homes have more than one smart speaker, each one should understand which room it's in. So, when you say, "Alexa, turn on the light", the room in the light that you're currently in should just turn on. Sure, this takes some organisation at the back end, sorting things into rooms and, potentially, setting a primary light, but it would ultimately make the smart home easier to use. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Dg63orwQHz3D3x6KG2wqSC.jpg No more hubsBuy practically any bit of smart home kit and then one thing that you can rely on is getting a shiny new hub to match. Enough is enough. The Echo Plus promised to change things with its integrated Zigbee hub, connecting to Hue light bulbs without requiring the Hue Bridge; the first time this has been possible. Yet, the finished product isn't quite there. For example, from the Alexa app, you can't even set a bulb's colour, only its brightness level. You can use voice control to pick a colour, but this is far less granular than the Hue app gives. A secondary problem is that the Echo Plus can recognise other Zigbee devices, such as switches and motion sensors, but it can't do anything with them. As such, you still need other hubs to get the complete control. A better future would be where smart home devices use well-defined protocols, such as Zigbee and Z-Wave, and can all be fully controlled via a single integrated app. SmartThings has gone a long way towards doing this, but it's still limited by device support and a control system that's a little tricky to configure at best. Apple's HomeKit has improved, and the company has relaxed its standards to encourage more people to use the system. But, relatively few products support Apple Home and control is limited to iOS devices only, cutting out all Android users. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zvhVB2nbv7yjFmp6bgSNpB.jpg This image gives an unrealistic view of how messy most smart home hubs end up being More control optionsDevice control is one of the biggest issues with a smart home. Take smart light bulbs for example. Once installed, you can use Alexa or an app to control them, but if you resort to using the old-fashioned switch to turn the lights off, your bulb loses power and, therefore, its smart capabilities. That's a real shame, as sometimes it's just easier to use a switch than it is to use your voice or an app. Philips Hue and the Ikea Tradfri at least have a range of wireless controls, but the problem with these are two-fold. First, you end up with two switches: your original one, and the new smart one. Secondly, the smart switches are all plastic and don't look great. Proper, integrated smart light switches, which replace your existing switch and wirelessly operate your bulbs would change the dynamic and give you more flexible and, hopefully, smarter-looking control options. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Hh9yVadwMu6wUwSU57ntnB.jpg Smarter automationAutomation needs to dramatically improve, too. Amazon has taken some steps towards this with its Routines, where you can use a defined command to control multiple smart home devices: in my house, saying "Alexa, goodbye" will set the Evohome Heating to Away mode, turns off all of the connected lights and stops the Sonos speakers. So far, so good, but the system can't control every type of device; for example, you can't put Nest into Eco mode, nor can you set a temperature on it. Yet, this kind of simple automation could improve the way we use our homes. Of course, there are services such as IFTTT, where you can set up your own type of automation, say turning on a light when your security camera picks up motion. Yet, you can't time an IFTTT recipe to run at a set time, say running our rule only after dusk. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3qUCKcCT6ezuPc9mAQUauB.jpg Better geolocationYour home should be able to do more things based on whether you're at home or not, yet all too often there are problems. Take Nest, for example, which has pretty good geolocation, which it can use to turn off your heating and turn on your cameras when you go out. Yet, if you set a schedule for your cameras, you get conflicts and nothing quite works as you expect. I, personally, want my cameras on when I'm out, but I want them on at night when I'm in bed. At the moment, I can't do that. Other devices simply don't have geolocation or only support one phone for detection, which is useless in a busy household. Using the Life360 service with IFTTT can add some of the features that you need, but you're limited by each device's channel as to what you can do; Nest, for example, doesn't let you set it to Eco mode using IFTTT. Ideally, Android and iOS would provide a base level Home/Away mode for tracking families, that smart home apps can tap into to provide smarter automation. No more fudgesThe more expert smart home users will probably be reading this, thinking that there's a fix or a tweak out there for these issues, maybe using a Raspberry Pi. That's all fine for enthusiasts, but we're talking mainstream here. So, no more workarounds, third-party fixes and fudges; the smart home industry needs to work together to improve compatibility, automation and location services. What is the future?If I had to take a punt on where the future of smart home control lies, I'd have to point to Amazon. The recent Alexa app update added some basic touch controls for smart devices: toggling lights and, with some thermostats, heating modes. Amazon now has two challenges. First, it needs to improve control for all types of device, for example letting you control light colour and setting a thermostat's temperature; in effect, providing the same controls you get with voice in touch. Secondly, it needs to boost organisation, letting you sort devices into rooms, rather than listing everything alphabetically. If it gets that right, Amazon will offer similar levels of control to Apple HomeKit, only with a wider selection of products and available on a wider range of devices. That would be a lot more like it. The best smart home devices for 2017http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/6frxijdPBRk

The Boxing Day sales have started early and there are already plenty of opportunities to bag a great deal. We've seen retailers putting fresh deals live for the last few days and have continued to highlight the best ones. We'll be updating this page throughout Christmas and Boxing Day to make sure you don't miss out. This might be for something you've been waiting for a stunning price on for months, or maybe something you'd been keeping your fingers crossed you'd be getting for Christmas. And hey, just because you didn't find the right price on Black Friday, doesn't mean you won't have better luck this time. As for the 'January sales', we're seeing fewer ace deals in those each year nowadays as retailers focus on November and December for their best deals. So, if you see a bargain that looks right for you, it might be time to treat yourself while you still have a chance. When do the Boxing Day sales start?Not a silly question at all. We actually see loads of retailers push the button (probably with gravy on their fingers) at some point on Christmas Day (update: look like we called that one as the sales are live now!). We'll be watching all of the usual suspects like a hawk throughout the Christmas break and will bring you the deals when they go live, even if they go live sooner than expected. We're expecting retailers to really get going with the deals by early evening on Christmas Day. So you might want to delay that post-dinner snooze until you've taken a peek. We've rounded up the early bargains below our extensive list of retailers. Boxing Day sales retailer quick linksAmazon saleJohn Lewis saleCurrys saleArgos saleTesco Direct saleGame saleZavvi saleAO.com - saleMobiles.co.uk - saleCarphone Warehouse - saleNext - saleWho's having a Boxing Day sale?If last year was anything to go by, all the big stores will be getting stuck in. With so many keen shoppers going online over the Christmas period in recent years, it's just too good a chance for them to finish 2017 off with some extra money in the bank. Let's take a look at the big hitters below and at what to expect. TV and video dealsGaming dealsLaptop and Macbook dealsComputing dealsHeadphone and audio dealsSmartphone dealsiPad and tablet dealsGadgets and other dealsWhat Boxing Day deals were there last year?If you want an idea of what potential discounts might be waiting just around the corner we can always take a look at some of the more popular offers we saw last Boxing Day. So let's hop into the Deals Time Machine and see... iPhone 7 | Vodafone | 5GB data | Unlimited calls/texts | £34 per month (+half price for 6 months) This was the strongest iPhone 7 deal out there for Boxing Day last year. The upfront fee was just £65 and it was only £17 per month for the first 6 months, then £34 for the remaining 18. Expect similar prices, if not lower, on the new iPhone 8. The total cost over 24 months was £779 was at Mobiles.co.uk. If you'd like to take a look at the latest prices, and there are some great ones today, we've rounded up the latest iPhone 8 deals and iPhone X deals. You can certainly make an even bigger saving by taking a look at the older iPhone 7 deals too, as the phone is very similar to the iPhone 8 if we're honest. Samsung Galaxy S7 | Vodafone | 3GB data | Unlimited calls/texts | £28 per month (+half price for 6 months) The upfront cost was only £15 and then just £14 per month for the first six months of your deal before the price reverted to the usual £28 for the rest of the contract. That was the best Samsung Galaxy S7 deal out there and even matched last year's best Black Friday deal on the phone. This previous deal was only £603 over 24 months at Mobiles.co.uk. This year, we're expecting some super cheap offers on newer models. Actually, prices are pretty good right now. Take a look at our up-to-date guides for the best Samsung Galaxy S8 deals and Note 8 deals. 4K TV: This 43-inch LG 4K TV with 4K and HDR Pro screen was originally £599 and it went down to £399 at Amazon.You could also get the 55-inch version for just £550 too. 4K prices have really come down across the board this year, so you'll be able to go bigger and better for less than this! Coffee machine: The De'Longhi Dedica coffee machine with 15 bar espresso pump went down from £199 to just £147.99 at Amazon. Smartwatch: You could get the Huawei W1 stainless steel smartwatch at a discounted £199 at Amazon. If you're itching for an offer today, check out our selection of the best smartwatch deals. Surface Pro 4: The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 tablet/laptop replacement with the keyboard attachment, 128GB storage and 4GB RAM was down to £699 at Argos. There's a new version out now. Be sure to take a look at the latest Surface Pro deals. Acer Aspire ES: This 15.6-inch Windows 10 laptop with 1TB HDD and 4GB RAM - was one of Argos' headline deals and it's down to £199.99. Lenovo Yoga 510: The super versatile Yoga with Core i3 CPU, 128GB SSD, Windows 10 and 4GB RAM was a big hit too for just £349 at Currys. Sonos: These speakers are one of the fastest-growing brands in home audio and you could save at least £20 on all Sonos gear at Amazon.co.uk. Mobile phones: Save £10 on the upfront cost of any phone with the voucher code 10OFF at Mobiles.co.uk. Amazingly, this deal is still going and can be used right now on any mobile phone with the one exception of the iPhone X. Apple iPad: At Currys you could save £20 on the marked price of any iPad when you using the old IPAD20 discount code at the checkout! GoPro: The GoPro Hero+, which can record 1080p video at up to 60fps and stay waterproof down to 131 feet was going for a mere for £99.97 at Currys. Looking for a discount now though? We've listed all the latest GoPro deals in our guide. PS4: Game was running a whole range of PS4 bundles starting at £199.99. Xbox One S: You could Get the new Xbox One S with a copy of Minecraft and a £15 Now TV voucher - all for £219.99 at Game. We'd expect to see similar bundles for arguably under £200 this year. Samsung tab: The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7-inch Android tablet was only £89 at Currys. TV and DVD combi: This cheap JVC 32-inch TV with a built-in DVD player for the spare room was a hot deal at just £199.99 at Currys. Soundbar: TV owners looking for an audio boost saved an extra £20 on this Samsung soundbar with subwoofer for £89 at ao.com. Washing machine: Currys had the Beko WM74165W washing machine reduced from £299 to just £169. Chromebook: This 11.6-inch Acer Chromebook laptop which was reduced at Amazon to just £149.99. Gaming keyboard: Laptops Direct shaved 28% from the cost of Razer's DeathStalker Chroma keyboard, which you could buy for just £64.97. Canon Powershot G5X: You could have saved £100 on the Canon Powershot G5X Premium Compact Camera at Argos, where it was down from £599.99 to £499.99. Canon Powershot G9X: Also at Argos, a saving of £50 on the retro-styled Canon Powershot G9X Premium Compact Camera in Silver – it was reduced from £399.99 to £349.99. Sony Cybershot W830: Lots of people bought the compact Sony Cybershot W830 20MP 8x Zoom digital camera in silver, pink, purple or black for just £69.99 at Argos, down from £89.99. Nikon D3400 DSLR camera: There was a saving of £100 on the Nikon D3400 with 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens at Currys, where it was just £369. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/x3GAqrbCDmA

The holidays are an expensive time, so we’re bringing you a special treat: a full, free Windows program to download every day until Christmas. We're nearly there! Take a peek behind door 23 on our free downloads advent calendar to reveal VideoCompressor 2017 – a neat way to compress unwieldy video files so you can save and share them more easily. Download VideoCompressor 2017You don't need to understand video encoding to use Video Compressor 2017 – just drag and drop your file, use the slider to adjust the level of compression and click 'Compress'. Video Compressor 2017 can handle all the most common video formats, and will save the newly compressed file in the same format as the original. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dvVRvKgmBUjtfsxnn2At5D.jpg Nothing could be easier thanks to VideoCompressor 2017's intuitive interface. Download it free today and you'll see what we mean! Download provided by AbelssoftCheck out the best free video editing softwarehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/iyU8DSXKqOA

Amazon is really eager to get inside your house. Only months after rolling out its new Amazon Key delivery service involving automatic locks and security cameras, Amazon has acquired the startup Blink, which specializes in much the same products. The main difference is that Blink's products work wirelessly, while Amazon's existing options usually need to be plugged in. That shift could be big, especially since Amazon's existing system is limited by the need to have outlets posted near the doors, which isn't always ideal. Blink's system, though, works with batteries you could pick up at a local corner store. In fact, the acquisition comes only a few days after Blink announced its new video doorbell, which requires only two AA batteries that should last for a couple of years under normal conditions. Blink devices even tend to cost less than those from rivals like Ring, as the new battery-powered doorbell only costs $100 while offering many of the same options. Amazon confirmed the acquisition in an email to TechRadar. "As one of [blink's] distributors, we already know customers love their home security cameras and monitoring systems," an Amazon spokesperson said. "We’re excited to welcome their team and invent together on behalf of customers." Looking to the futureBlink, for its part, said in a statement on its site that nothing is changing about the company's day-to-day operations, although it's likely that state of affairs won't last much longer. "If you own one of our systems, nothing changes for now," the statement read. "We’ll continue to operate under the Amazon umbrella selling and supporting the same great products you know and love. It’s Day 1 for us at Amazon, and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can deliver to our customers together." CES 2018 will feature next-gen home tech galorehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/BH3UrghdBhY

As a special offer for the holiday season, WonderShare is giving TechRadar readers an exclusive 50% discount on PDFelement 6 – a full PDF editing suite that makes working with PDFs as easy as text documents. Save 50% on PDFelement 6Many PDF editors are costly and complicated, but not PDFelement. It's designed much like a word processor, so you can dive straight in and begin editing documents without having to spend time mastering a new interface. There's support for commenting, revisions, password protection, Bates numbering and much more, but it's all made so simple and accessible, you'll have no problems using the software to its full potential. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zUsghCR9JMUAjjUDmNdV3Z.jpg You can also convert PDFs into other formats, including Word and ebook documents, and vice versa. It's all wonderfully easy to use, and is yours half price in this special deal. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/QC-CqcATA_s

WonderShare has a special offer for TechRadar readers this Christmas. Until January 15, you can download KeepVid Android VIP completely free, and save up to 40% on KeepVid desktop software. KeepVid Android is a powerful video downloading app that lets you save videos to your phone or tablet in resolutions up to 2K. It can download whole video playlists, and even convert videos to MP3 format with a single tap. Get KeepVid Android VIP freeWondershare is also offering an exclusive discount on KeepVid software for desktop, with savings of up to 40% on annual and lifetime licenses. KeepVid Pro (was $19.95 for a one-year license, now $11.98) lets you download videos from YouTube and 10,000 other sites in almost any format, including MP4, WebM, MP3, and options optimized for iOS and Android devices. It can download videos in batches, and includes a Turbo mode for improved speeds. KeepVid Video Converter (was $29.95 for a one-year license, now $17.98) converts videos to over 1,000 audio and video file formats, with full HD support. It also supports 3D and VR videos, and offers batch conversion to save time and effort. KeepVid Music (was $29.95 for a one-year license, now $17.98) lets you expand your music collection by downloading music directly from videos, from over 10,000 sites. It also makes transferring music between devices effortless, helps organize your music library with automatic tagging, and offers convenient converting, burning and sharing tools. Save up to 40% on KeepVid desktop softwareNote that you should only download videos when you have the copyright owner's permission to do so. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/m6fnbmjKSr0

The holidays are an expensive time, so we’re bringing you a special treat: a full, free Windows program to download every day until Christmas. Lurking behind the 22nd door on our free downloads advent calendar you'll find ToolbarTerminator – a supremely handy program for cleaning up browser toolbars and other unwanted junk from your PC. Download ToolbarTerminatorToolbarTerminator scans for toolbars in Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox and Chrome. You can choose to ignore any you installed deliberately, or remove them all with a single click. It's a wonderfully easy way to eliminate annoying add-one that can be a pain to remove individually. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/huchJytnrjwPYVef2taXDk.jpg ToolbarTerminator also includes a startup program manager that lets you prevent programs from running when your PC powers up. You can also set it to scan for toolbars automatically when you start your PC, and reset your homepage after it's finished cleaning up. This is a very handy touch because many toolbars also hijack your homepage. Grab ToolbarTerminator today and give your browsers a good cleaning. Download provided by AbelssoftGet your whole PC in shape with the best free optimization softwarehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/2KL85aQRwnM

IObit has launched a new version of its one-click antivirus and optimization software, Advanced SystemCare, with ransomware protection and facial recognition tools now built in. Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 11 features a 150% larger antivirus database, plus a new ransomware engine that detects and remove threats before they can encrypt your files. The engine uses behavioural analysis to identify ransomware before it's formally added to the list of known threats. There's also enhanced browser protection to block ads and prevent unwanted changes to your homepage, and FaceID recognition to capture the face of anyone who tries to access your PC without authorization. Faster optimizationAdvanced SystemCare's one-click optimization tools have also received a boost. IObit has slashed scan times in half, cleaning up junk files and removing privacy threats faster than ever. To cap it all off, the redesigned Performance Monitor displays your PC's resource usage, temperature and fan speed in real time, and lets you quickly end any processes that are slowing down your system. IObit Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 11 is available for Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7, Windows XP and Vista for US$35.99/£26.83/AU$46.87. Keep your drivers up to date automatically with IObit Driver Booster 5 PRO – free for TechRadar readershttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/wLHrnFGfMFw

The holidays are an expensive time, so we’re bringing you a special treat: a full, free Windows program to download every day until Christmas. Take a peek behind door 21 on our free downloads advent calendar to discover MusicExtractor 2017 – an incredibly handy little tool for extracting the audio from video files. Download MusicExtractor 2017There are no unnecessary bells and whistles – just select a video, let MusicExtractor analyze it, and click 'Extract'. That's it! MusicExtractor supports all the most common video formats, and saves the extracted audio as a high quality MP3, OGG or AAC file. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gz7nbavGdetKbPoHFYvBWh.jpg MusicExtractor 2017 is amazingly easy to use. It's far faster than online tools, and it's a premium program so there are no ads or popups to get in the way. Download it free and we think you'll agree. Download provided by AbelssoftWant to download a video from YouTube? We've got the free software for youhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/_3NBUjvVxeU

If you log into your PC using facial recognition on Windows 10 (otherwise known as Windows Hello), then be aware that older versions of Microsoft’s OS can be easily fooled with a simple printed photo of the user. Even those running the latest Fall Creators Update could potentially be victims here. German security firm Syss discovered this exploit, which circumvents Windows Hello security on Windows 10 PCs running versions which are older than the Fall Creators Update. But, crucially, it can affect even fully up-to-date Windows 10 machines running builds of the Fall Creators Update known as 1703 or 1709, if facial recognition was set up in a previous version. In other words, to avoid the exploit, you’ll need to set up Windows Hello again even on PCs using the latest version of Microsoft’s desktop OS. According to a few proof of concept videos released by the security researchers (see the first clip below), Windows Hello can be spoofed with a relatively low resolution laser-printed photo of the user taken with a near IR (infrared) camera, although the image must be slightly modified. The spoof is out thereAs The Register reports, Syss claims that even if Windows Hello has its enhanced anti-spoofing mode enabled, a somewhat differently modified photo can still be used to successfully log onto the target machine. Even in this case, the researchers say that the “additional effort for an attacker is negligible.” All this sounds like a very worrying hole in Microsoft’s facial recognition login procedure, for sure, assuming the security firm is on the money here. We’ve contacted Microsoft for comment on the matter, and we’ll be sure to update this story if we receive a response. It would seem, though, that if you use facial recognition for logging in to your Windows 10 PC, then it might be a prudent idea to set it up once again. Or, if you’re running an older version of Windows 10, you’ll first want to update to the new Fall Creators Update, and then set up Windows Hello again. Some of the best laptops out there run Windows 10http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/YV8m54yGV_Y

Folder Marker Home solves one of Windows' biggest problems by letting you customize folder colors and icons so you tell the difference between them at a glance. To get your free license, download and install Folder Marker Home, then register for free on the web page that opens in your web browser. You'll then receive a license key by email – copy and paste this into the Folder Marker Home registration window. Folder Marker Home integrates directly with Windows, so changing a folder icon or color is as simple as right-clicking and choosing a new option. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QcLhawp83DcqWuJWg7qPfD.jpg To change a folder icon or color, just right-click it and select a new option That's not all; you can also add new icons to Folder Marker Home, and apply the custom color or icon to all the sub-folders within a given folder. You can even make your customized folders distributable so they keep their new colors and icons, even if they're copied to a different PC. This exclusive offer runs from December 20-22 inclusively, so download Folder Marker Home now and get your PC organized. For more free software, check out our downloads advent calendarhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/nJRcC4JmtO8

The holidays are an expensive time, so we’re bringing you a special treat: a full, free Windows program to download every day until Christmas. Look behind door 20 on our free downloads advent calendar to find YouTube Song Downloader – a fast, fuss-free way to download videos and music from YouTube and Vevo. Download YouTube Song DownloaderJust enter the name of the artist to find all the available songs. You can then download just the music, the video, or both at once. YouTube Song Downloader will automatically download them at the highest quality available. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mk8N3QHCbjJnKN8t8DrWRW.jpg YouTube Song Downloader even includes a media player, so you can watch videos without leaving the program. It looks slick and stylish, and because it's a premium program there are no ads or watermarks to worry about. Get it free and start enjoying it today! Download provided by AbelssoftCheck out the best free YouTube video convertersNote that you should only download videos when you have the copyright owner's permission to do so. YouTube's terms of service explicitly prohibit unauthorized downloading. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/6PZ-1dDoeKY

Keeping your device drivers updated is essential to keep your PC running smoothly, but identifying outdated drivers and downloading new ones when they're released be a real hassle. Driver Booster 5 PRO makes the process effortless, scanning your Windows PC for outdated, faulty and missing drivers, then downloading and updating them automatically. As a special gift, developer IObit is giving TechRadar readers an exclusive six-month license for Driver Booster 5 PRO. To claim yours, download and install IObit Driver Booster 5 Free, then click the key icon at the bottom right and enter the code 93ED8-3E4D1-CE419-DFEB5. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/AW639WaptiBXVe7Wzb9RhU.jpg Driver Booster 5 PRO is ideal for gamers, prioritizing components for components like graphics cards Driver Booster 5 PRO supports over an enormous database of over a million device drivers, including old and rare ones, and is packed with thoughtful features including download acceleration, automatic installing and updating of drivers while your system is idle, and the ability to prioritize game components so you always get the best in-game performance. Driver Booster 5 PRO only installs drivers that have passed Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) testing, and uses a secure encrypted connection while downloading drivers from its servers. The software also creates a restore point just in case, and can back up device drivers for extra peace of mind. Get it free and start enjoying smoother system performance today. For more free software, check out our downloads advent calendarhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/gwrn3v-4Pmk

Google has tried something of a cheeky ‘workaround’, if you like, for getting its Chrome browser onto the Windows Store – it put an installer for the app on the store, rather than the app itself, although Microsoft has now removed it. If you’ve not been following the saga of Chrome and the Windows Store, this needs a bit of explanation. Essentially, Microsoft has prevented Google from offering its browser on the store for a number of reasons, most of which revolve around security. Windows Store policies insist apps shouldn’t jeopardize the user’s security, and tied in with that is the specification that any browsers must use “the appropriate HTML and JavaScript engines provided by the Windows Platform”. Chrome falls foul of this, with Microsoft basically insisting that the browser must not use its own engines to get on the store – so really, it wouldn’t be Chrome any more. So Google’s bright idea was to publish a simple installer for Chrome on the store, which allowed for the download and installation of the browser. This made it past Microsoft’s security sniffer dogs – at least for a short while, until the software giant realized what Google had done. Whereupon, as The Verge reports, the app was yanked down and a Microsoft spokesperson commented: “We have removed the Google Chrome Installer App from Microsoft Store, as it violates our Microsoft Store policies.” Fighting the fakesWhy does Google care that much about getting an app on the Windows Store anyway? Apparently, part of the reason is combating the raft of fake Chrome lookalike apps trying to take advantage of folks who are looking to install the browser from the store, as obviously these are potentially muddying Google’s reputation – and they’re arguably a security risk in themselves. Also, Microsoft’s new spin on its desktop operating system, Windows 10 S, only allows apps to be installed from the Windows Store, to keep a tighter rein on software security. So the Store is the only way to reach users on that particular OS. For now, then, the Chrome controversy rumbles on, and it seems unlikely that Google’s browser will ever make the cut for the store. Microsoft seemingly won’t budge an inch on store policy, and Google isn’t going to gut the browser completely in order to get in, because what it would end up with wouldn’t really be Chrome anyway. Two Chromebooks make it onto our best laptops listhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/c_u52haaUKM

The following piece was contributed by Srinivasan CR, Senior Vice President, Global Product Management & Data Centre Services at Tata Communications. The holiday season is in full swing but as you wind down for your holidays it’s important to consider the security impacts of your activity during this period. Today, there are a number of avenues that cybercriminals can take advantage of – from the rise of connected devices in your home to fraudulent activities across retail and banking channels. So, what are some of the red flags you should look out for, and the steps you can take to avoid falling foul of security breaches this time of the year? Securing the Holiday-of-ThingsConnected toys such as mini robots and smart teddies are high on kids’ wish lists this year. Unlike with smartphones and PCs that have been designed with security built-in, with toys, security is often an afterthought. The most alarming scenario is that a hacker could potentially communicate with a child through an unsecured Wi-Fi or Bluetooth-enabled toy. This could quickly escalate into something even more sinister. As the home becomes increasingly connected, we will see more and more “things” become “devices”. Unfortunately, because things like doorbells, toys and kettles don’t hold any financially lucrative or sensitive data or information that a hacker would want to get hold of, the security standards on these devices can be lax to say the least. The problem with that is that they are still an entry point to other devices connected to your home network which do contain information that needs to be kept secure. If you think about your home as a collection of things which connect via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cellular networks, then everything in your home is a potential vulnerability through which a hacker could gain access to your network. Even if your Wi-Fi connection is password-protected, if a hacker can access a toy that is connected to it, they could then infiltrate data on your devices such as smartphones, laptops and TVs. Once they have access to those devices, they could steal sensitive files, or hold your applications and data hostage, demanding a ransom from you. Thus, the security standards of the connected toy is an issue of genuine severity for you and your family. For peace of mind, consumers should only buy consumer technology products from trusted retailers and manufacturers and ensure that they come with robust security built-in. Staying safe when shopping onlineThe festive period leads to an upsurge of online activity, with consumers rushing to finish their holiday shopping and taking advantage of the January sales. However, this also leads to a surge in online criminal activity. According to a recent survey by Barclays, 52 per cent of consumers said that the lure of a bargain can get in the way of checking website security credentials. With the average fraud victim losing out on an estimated £893 on average, consumers lose an estimated £1.3bn to fraud during the holiday period. You can get ahead of retail fraudsters at Christmas by taking the time to ensure the websites they’re accessing are genuine sellers. Generally, genuine websites will have additional signs that mark them as secure, such as a “https://” address. Another quick way to check if a website is secure or not is by looking out for the lock sign, which is a standard feature among web browsers that denote a website that has been marked as secure. Fraudsters often replicate reputable sites and retailers to trick consumers, so it’s always worth double checking the address. Before clicking ‘confirm’ at the checkout, you should always ensure that the payment system on offer is reputable. If in doubt, contact your bank. Security at workIndustry experts have observed that computer and phishing scams spike during the holidays. At work especially, there is seemingly a perception from employees that their work devices are fortified, impregnable machines that are completely immune to influence from the outside world. So, employees often operate under the assumption that if they click a link to a seemingly harmless and enticing holiday promotion when they have no idea who has sent it and what it will trigger on their work machine, there will be no consequences. The reality, however, is that a malicious link from an unknown sender could infect your email application with a virus that would automatically send the file to every address in your contact list. You may have a sleepless night with people from all over the world phoning your mobile asking what the suspicious email you have sent them is and whether they should open the file or not. While this is a very tangible impact for you as a consumer, such an attack means your device is being used to infect other devices, and eventually bring the entire network to a standstill, allowing cyber-attackers to gain access to sensitive, valuable and incriminating data and extort a ransom from your company. The key holiday takeaway for consumers is taking a more proactive view on cybersecurity this time of the year. Exercising additional vigilance this holiday season means that you won’t get caught out by cybercriminals. In today’s increasingly connected world it is more critical than ever to extend an increased awareness of cybersecurity issues in every aspect of our lives. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/J4HKuXQqfts

The holidays are an expensive time, so we’re bringing you a special treat: a full, free Windows program to download every day until Christmas. Take a look behind door number 18 on our free downloads advent calendar to find Incomedia WebAnimator GO – an amazing tool that makes it easy for complete beginners to make stunning HTML5 animations ready to use online. Download Incomedia WebAnimator GO, click the 'Register' link on the bottom left and enter your name, email address and the license key WEBANIMATORGO-TECHRADAR-DEC17. You will receive an email with a verification link; click this to activate the full version of the software. With WebAnimator GO, you can make HTML5 animations in just three steps: choose one of the stylish templates, add images and text, and export it. You can add the resulting animation to your own website, or share it on social media. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/w4RKKHz3mnsGxd44Fw4k8d.jpg The resulting smooth animations will look amazing in any modern web browser, whether it's on a desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone. Follow the instructions above to get Incomedia WebAnimator GO free and get started today! Download provided by IncomediaWant to make a custom video? See our guide to the best free editing softwarehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/DYxQVs0pp2M

Looking for a high quality vacuum cleaner to give as a gift this Christmas? Then you're in the right place to bag yourself a great Dyson deal. Dyson has built itself up to be a leader in the vacuum cleaner market. Its innovative designs have set benchmark after benchmark and its popularity as a manufacture has extended way beyond vacuum cleaners - check out our latest Dyson Supersonic hair dryer deals too. With innovative design and top quality comes premium pricing, but that's where we come in. On this page we're listing all of the cheapest deals and offers on Dyson vacuums including uprights, cylinders and cordless models. We'll update the page regularly to include official Dyson sales, discount codes, retailer offers and hoover sale highlights. Whether its vacuuming, cooling, heating or drying, every member of the family can benefit from a Dyson product in the household. So, here they are, the best Dyson offers and deals for Christmas 2017. Dyson special offers in AustraliaBefore we head into a thorough round-up of the best Dyson deals around the internet, we've gone ahead and handpicked some the best Dyson deals currently being offered by some of Australia's biggest retailers. Check out the list below. Dyson V6 Fluffy Handstick Vacuum – $649 (RRP $799) – JB Hi-FiDyson V6 Animal Vacuum – $449 (RRP $549) – Harvey NormanDyson Pure Hot Cool Link – $685 (RRP $799) – Think of Ushttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5557db8af772c9fcf48ad5e6a2def374.jpg Dyson Small Ball offers and dealsLooking for something lightweight but not bothered about going cordless yet? The Dyson Small Ball is the lightest of the regular upright vacuum cleaners in Dyson's range at 5.5Kg and has a collapsible handle allowing you to store it in smaller spaces than most uprights. The Small Ball is also available in an 'Animal' variant that comes with a turbine tool for getting stubborn pet hair off the furniture. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hbGef9DNFBKwfLquWgQkvC.jpg Dyson Supersonic offers and dealsDrying your hair doesn't have to be a chore with the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer, a device that takes the act of drying your hair into the future. The quietest, most luxurious and most technologically-advanced hair dryer we've ever seen or used, the Dyson Supersonic is an incredible gift idea this Christmas. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/0e0abac53860455398892d3c0788f096.jpg Dyson Cinetic Big Ball DC75 offers and dealsSo you're after the beast huh? The 120AW suction power rating should pick up anything you and the kids can throw on the carpet. Hell, those carpet tacks better look out! With a 2.18 litre storage bin you'll be hoovering for ages before needing to empty it out and the 15m reach should let you get around most of the house without having to swap plugs. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9859ab8580545e816bffaf4d64a7e4c0.jpg Dyson V8 Animal offers and dealsThe V8 is Dyson's flagship cordless rechargeable vacuum cleaner. The super lightweight design means you can easily reach high areas and the detachable section transforms it into a handheld, for super simple stair cleaning. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/d44fa8da721834b1b112e2c9aace0b89.jpg Dyson V8 Absolute offers and dealsThis is the ultimate version of Dyson's newest cordless rechargeable vacuum cleaner. The super lightweight design means you can easily reach high areas and the detachable section transforms it into a handheld, for super simple stair cleaning. The Absolute model comes with a soft roller head in addition to the regular one. The soft version is particularly adept at picking up on hard surfaces. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/oou1iCtnRrA