Samsung Electronics announced Sunday that it has been named the best manufacturer for portable media and home audio-visual products by U.K.-based “Which?” Magazine.

Samsung outstripped other finalists ― Panasonic Corp. and Sony Corp. ― in the “Best Home Audio-Visual Brand” category.

“Samsung has a strong presence across many of our product areas we cover,” the judges said. “Its innovation and attention to detail has seen the company achieve more ‘Best Buys’ this year than ever before. As a quality brand, it also offers good value for money.”

In the “Best Portable Media Brand” category, Samsung Electronics “showed that it maximizes consumer choices by producing quality products to suit every pocket,” the magazine noted.

Compared with products made by Apple Inc. and Sony Corp. ― the others making the shortlist ― Samsung’s tablet PCs and netbooks proved themselves “strong rivals” in the U.K. market, it added.

Song Sung-won, chief of Samsung’s U.K. unit, said Thursday at a ceremony in London that “the awards have greater significance as they were created by our customers.”

Among other winners, Hyundai Motor Co. won the “Best Car Manufacturer” title.

The South Korean automaker “has improved enormously in recent years,” the judges said, and they have been “extremely impressed with the quality of its cars, especially given their very reasonable prices.”

Published by the U.K.’s largest consumer body, “Which?” has been selecting winners for 15 categories ranging from cars and electronics to restaurants and financial services since 2007. Its rewards are based on research and feedback from its 650,000 members.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)