That old thing leaning against the wall? It’s just my amazing TV

Behold the first-ever content series between Digital Trends and The Manual. The Bromance has begun. Since there are a plethora of brands out there melding style and technology, we thought we would take this opportunity to profile one item per week for the month of October, breaking them down and offering each of our unique takes on their tech and style components. For the whole series, click here; for the coolest TV we’ve seen in a long time, read on…

Digital Trends:

Let’s get this out of the way right up front: We KNOW that leaning a TV against the wall is probably not the best viewing angle from which to binge-watch House Of Cards. If we wanted to call attention to the single greatest TV we’ve seen lately, the Designline probably wouldn’t be it. But this isn’t just about performance – although it has your premium LED-standard 1080p resolution, four HDMI and 3 USB inputs, as well as a suite of Smart TV apps and sharing functions. It also has some not-so-standard features, like Philips Ambilight technology, which refracts ambient light onto the surface behind the TV and makes the damn thing look like it’s about to lift off and leave the atmosphere.

No, our obsession with the Designline has less to do with performance and more to do with the cajones Philips displays in reworking the expected TV form factor in such an unexpected way. Like a lot of design-forward products we often lust after, we’d actually be a little nervous to bring this TV home – not because we don’t know where we’d put it (we do, after all, have plenty of walls), but because we’re afraid we couldn’t pull it off. Honestly, James Bond might not be able to pull this TV off. Well, Daniel Craig James Bond could, but Pierce Brosnan? Not a chance.

The Manual:

Yeah, about James Bond. Mister Bond also had good taste and didn’t live in a man cave. So while we would usually flip the shame switch on you for having a television that just leans against the wall (like all of those NBA framed posters from college), this Philips Designline is taking us to the next level of entertainment. Loosing the bezel is awesome in our book and the fact that it has SimplyShare so that we can send photos and videos from our iPads and iPhones directly to the TV is sweet. And rest assured, this slick Rick does come with a bracket mount to fix it to the wall. We can only image our kids or dog tearing under it only to have this freestanding stunner come crashing forward onto our martini bar. You know, if we were Mr. Bond.