Canon i-SENSYS LBP6230dw

A mono laser printer for sharing on a home network

Canon’s LBP6230dw costs about £35 more than the most basic black-and-white (mono) laser printers, but in this case it’s money well spent. It claims a top speed of 25 pages per minute (ppm), which isn’t bad, but we’re more impressed by the fact you can share it over a wired or wireless network connection, and that it prints automatically on both sides of a sheet of paper (duplex printing).

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

An average phablet with a curved screen

The forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S6 has received an awful lot of attention for its curved screen. Amid all the hype, it’s easy to forget that it’s not the first Samsung phone with this eye-catching feature. The Galaxy Note Edge has a screen that curves away on its right-hand edge (see image), although the S6 Edge will have two curved edges.

The Note Edge’s curve is much more pronounced however, measuring almost a full centimetre. From time to time, users who are right-handed will find themselves accidentally triggering onscreen controls with their thumb. Left-handed users can turn the phone upside down and flip the interface via a software setting, but doing so means they’ll have to use a headset to make and take calls because the mic and earpiece will no longer be in the right positions.

Asus X555LA-XX290H

Finally, a budget Windows laptop actually worth buying

We rarely recommend very cheap Windows 8.1 laptops because they usually represent a false economy. Many previous bargain-basement models we’ve tested have been hamstrung by poor-quality construction, plodding performance, badly lit screens and unwieldy keyboards. Asus has bucked the trend with the X555LA - a no-frills laptop that costs just over £300 and puts other budget laptops from higher-profile rivals to shame.

Motorola Moto E 4G

A quality Android 4G phone for just £100

Motorola makes some great Android devices, but the original Moto E smartphone wasn’t one of them. It may have been cheap, but it was undermined by its poor responsiveness and performance. There was little point in choosing it over the slightly more expensive Moto G. That’s no longer the case with the new Moto E.

The most significant new feature (and the clue’s in the name) is the addition of 4G, making this the cheapest 4G Android phone we’ve tested. When we were connected to Vodafone’s 4G network in central London, the battery lasted a staggering 45 hours 50 minutes when used for web browsing, calls, taking photos and GPS. When playing videos continuously, battery life was equally impressive at 13 hours 18 minutes.

Talk of an exciting future for the Apple TV

Apple squares up to the cable networks

NEW SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE RUMORED FOR 2015

The Apple TV digital media player has always had a slightly curious place in the Cupertino giant's hardware range. There has been such a device since 2007, and it is presently in its third generation - albeit, a generation that has not seen a significant update for three years. The microconsole has also long been likened to a "hobby" by Apple executives, and yet, bigger plans seem to be afoot - including a subscription service and possible 4K content.

There has been talk of Apple TV taking on a bigger role within the company for many years now, but there had been few stirrings in terms of actual announcements until, at the firm's most recent March 9 keynote, a price drop from $99 to $69 was confirmed. As insignificant a move as it may seem in the grand scheme of things, it has simply been the trigger for further speculation about the future of this forgotten child of the Apple family of products.

Despite the Apple TV never being a strong seller, the firm has continued to support it, and indeed, the last few years have seen evidence that it will soon be going up in the world, considerable improvements having been made to its hardware and content. Buy an Apple TV now, and you can already use it to watch more than 40 different channels, including HBO GO and Netflix.