At 23-inches, this is the next-to-entry-level choice among Sony’s contribution to the portable, digital LCD television marketplace. The KDL-23B4050 of Sony’s BRAVIA line is geared towards style and portability. This device is slim and compact enough to take with you, plus it give you three extra inches of visual gratification over it’s 20-inch sibling.

Displaying an image with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels in three variable aspect ratios — 4:3, 14:9, and 16:9 — this model may be small but its also flexible. Behind the screen, you’ll benefit from the BRAVIA image engine’s picture enhancing features.

The KDL-23B4050 may not have a window shattering kind of audio package, but it is slightly upgraded from the 20-inch iteration. The built in pair of 5-watt speakers will deliver modest 10-watts of quality sound. SRS Viva, Dolby Pro-Logic, BDE Sound, and an Auto Volume Adjustment feature are also benefits included with this model. Finally, a headphone jack offers up the option of privacy.

The connectivity options for this model are actually fairly robust. You’ll enjoy an S-video in port, a standard AV input connection, an RF in, two SCART ports, one HDMI port, a component video connection, and a 15-pin PC AV connection. To top it all off, the KDL-23B4050 sports a PCMCIA slot for expandability!

A life expectancy is not given for this model specifically, however the website of a competing manufacturer denotes that modern standards put the lifespan of most models in both the plasma and LCD categories at around 60,000 hours. That comes to just about 360 weeks of continuous use, but that kind of wear is unlikely. If you watch television for four hours per day, seven days a week, a modern digital television set like the KDL-23B4050 should last for roughly 40 years according to my calculations! There will most definitely be new broadcast and display technologies available for mass consumption before these things stop working, barring some kind of defect and assuming that Panasonic’s estimates are correct.

If you’re looking for a small, portable, digital LCD television with a sharp image and don’t require great sound, then the Sony KDL-23B4050 is the option that you can take with you wherever you go.