Sharp Aquos Net--inset mode

Sharp gets into the interactive TV act with a feature it calls Aquos Net, found on 2009 models like the company's LC-LE700UN series. The service is similar to Yahoo widgets found on Samsung and other brands' TVs, and in fact, offers similar types of content. Once you connect an Ethernet cable to the back of the TV, you'll have access to the following widgets:

• MSNBC: News headlines
• Nasdaq: Financial news and quote search (has non-NASDAQ quotes too)
• Access Hollywood: Entertainment news headlines
• MSNBC Sports: Sports headlines
• Rallypoint: Fantasy baseball tracking, NFL scores
• Weatherbug: Local weather personalized to city/zip code
• Navteq Traffic: Area traffic with overhead map, personalized to city/zip code
• Picasa: Online photo gallery, sign-in enables viewing of personal photo albums
• Screen Dreams: Full-screen high-resolution art (Space, Monet, Fractals, Asian Art, Beaches, etc)
• Astrology.com: Personalized horoscopes
• GoComics: Comic strips (Cathy, Doonesbury, Garfield, Ziggy, etc)
• Funspot games: Suduko, Blackjack, Rock Swap, Memory
• Separate widgets to display a clock, a calendar and the date

Pressing the Net button on the remote first calls up an inset view, where the widgets are confined to a small bar on the lower right of the screen (pictured).