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Latest News [2007] archive from July 2007
| Sky set to buy Amstrad
Satellite broadcaster Sky is to buy set-top box maker Amstrad for around £125 million. | |
| Free juicer with Lec fridge
Consumers will receive a free Morphy Richards juicer worth £89.99 when they purchase a Lec fridge freezer combi. | |
| Pace reports positive end of year results
Set-top box maker Pace Micro Technology has posted positive end of year results that saw the company return to profit. 31 July 2007 | |
| BT Digital Music Awards
This year’s BT Digital Music Awards will be held on the 2nd October at the Camden Roadhouse. | |
| Kesa reports better than expected Q2
Comet owner Kesa Electricals has reported better than expected second quarter sales figures due in part to a boost in white goods sales. 27 July 2007 | |
| BT pulls Virgin Mobile's TV service
Virgin Mobile's mobile TV service has been pulled by BT less than 12 months after its launch. The move throws doubt on the future of mobile TV. 27 July 2007 | |
| Sony profits up, despite Playstation probs
Sony has doubled its profits for the April to June period. | |
| Complaint on BBC iPlayer availability
The BBC Trust is to meet the open source trade body after it threatened to take a complaint over the broadcaster’s iPlayer to the European Commission unless it makes it available on all operating system. | |
| Homebuy back in business
Homebuy, the electrical retailer that went into administration in September last year, is back in business. | |
| Tivoli joins best of the bunch
For the second time this summer, Tivoli radios have been displayed in prize-winning gardens at London Shows. | |
| Commodore returns as high-tech brand
Commodore, the computing pioneer of the 1970s and 1980s, is returning to the UK market – this time as a high-technology brown goods brand. | |
| BRC fears rates levy
Fears that the Government is still considering giving local authorities the power to levy "supplementary business rates", have alarmed retail chiefs. | |
| Dimplex product recall
Dimplex is recalling a limited production run of its Series K Mark II inset fires because of a potential overheating problem. | |
| Beyond The Box secures Currys training scheme
Specialist training company, Beyond The Box, has secured a new project with Currys. | |
| A high risk time for retailing
The full impact of heavy discounting and promotions to clear the growing mountains of unsold summer stock will hit the UK retail trade in the third quarter, according to a panel of retail analysts. | |
| TomTom to buy map supplier Tele Atlas
TomTom, the world's biggest maker of car navigation devices, plans to buy its main map supplier, Tele Atlas, for 1.8 billion euros ($2.5 billion) to improve the maps used by millions of drivers, according to a report from Reuters. | |
| Sanyo sells fridge plant to Haier
Sanyo has sold a major stake in its refrigerator factory in Thailand’s Prachin Buri province to the Haier Group. | |
| Online sales to triple, claims Verdict
Online sales in the UK are predicted to nearly triple within the next five years. | |
| Carphone Warehouse offers Dell laptop deal
Carphone Warehouse is offering a Dell laptop as part of a broadband deal. | |
| Whirlpool sales increase
Whirlpool announced today that second-quarter 2007 net sales increased 3 percent to $4.9 billion. | |
| Regulation is running amok
Officials are failing to check properly the impact of new regulations, according to a damning new report from the National Audit Office. | |
| BRC boss to retire
British Retail Consortium (BRC) director general, Kevin Hawkins, has announced he is to retire at the end of this year. | |
| Digital photo frames - the 'must have' product of 2007
Digital photo frames look set to be the ‘hot buy’ of 2007, according to research revealed today by GfK. | |
| DSG may open franchised stores
The parent company of Currys and PC World has refused to rule out opening franchised stores in the UK. | |
| Samsung launches world's first Quatro fridge
Samsung has unveiled what it claims is the world's first fridge to features four climate zones with adjustable temperatures. | |
| Consultation on rates is a 'sham', says BRC
A sham is how retail leaders described a Government consultation on business rates for empty premises. | |
| Ofcom warns against hasty radio switch-off
Media regulator Ofcom claims that listeners would lose out if the UK's FM and AM radio bands were abandoned "too quickly" in favour of digital-only stations. | |
| Blu-ray group hits back at HD-DVD claims
Recent claims made by the European HD DVD Promotion Group that Toshiba HD DVD players currently account for 74 per cent of European next-generation optical disc players are "misleading" because they exclude PS3 and PC drive sales, the organisation's opposite, the Blu-ray Disc Association European Promotions Committee, has alleged. | |
| iPhone could alter mobile video market
According to research conducted by new media research firm Interpret, the iPhone has the potential to be a catalyst for growth in mobile video usage, among both iPhone owners and owners of regular mobile phones. | |
| UK June inflation slows to 2.4 per cent
The UK's rate of inflation slowed in June as clothing and electronic goods costs declined, official figures show. | |
| Indesit's over the Moon
Indesit Moon’s one-off recent weekend event in London’s Covent Garden gave passers-by the chance to win a Moon washing machine every hour. | |
| BT Vision offers Premier League games at grass roots prices
BT Vision is to offer hundreds of Premier League matches for just £4 a month. | |
| Exclusive online interview with iLuv
Up and coming Korean accessory brand, iLuv, which makes products for both the iPod and Samsung MP3 players, is determined to make a big noise in the UK market. | |
| BRC slams plastic bag tax
London councils are planning a 10p tax on plastic carrier bags to curb the amount sent to landfill sites. | |
| HD DVD group claims to be outselling Blu-ray in Europe
HD DVD video players have outsold rival standard Blu-ray players by a three-to-one margin in Europe's main markets so far this year, according to a lobby group. | |
| Astra expands with new satellite
With a new satellite (Astra 1L) ready to start commercial operations at 19.2deg east, operator SES Astra is now free to move its current Astra 2C satellite to 28.2deg east to give the UK and Ireland a further 10 transponders. | |
| PM’s 3 million homes pledge will boost custom install
Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s pledge to launch the biggest housing programme since the 1970s will provide a tremendous boost to the custom install market, according to Adrian Ickeringill, modular sales manager at Armour Home Electronics. | |
| Banks delay faster payments service
The launch of the UK banking industry’s faster payments service launch is to be delayed until next year, according to an announcement by APACS. | |
| Philips teams up with top film director
Renowned for his use of colour and light to create a seductive atmosphere, the jury president of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, film director Wong Kar Wai, has been specially commissioned to create a short movie for Philips’ next generation Ambilight TV, which will be premiered at IFA in Berlin on August 31. | |
| Sky dealers answer back
Dealers have hit back at Sky's move to dump up to 800 "inactive" Approved Sky Agents (ASAs). | |
| Sky increases user numbers
Satellite broadcaster BSkyB says it has added 90,000 net new customers in the three months to the end of June, up by 17% on the same time a year ago. | |
| ITV challenges Ofcom on spectrum for HD
ITV has hit back at regulator Ofcom over suggestions that the digital terrestrial TV platform could carry at least four high-definition channels without the need for additional spectrum. | |
| A rise too far, warns BRC
The latest rise in interest rates to 5.75 per cent could be a rise too far, warned the British Retail Consortium. | |
| Weather and clearances distort retail sales
UK retail sales rose 3.0% on a like-for-like basis, compared with June 2006, when sales were up 2.3%, according to the BRC and KPMG retail sales monitor for June 2007. | |
| Channel 4 consortium to launch DAB stations
A consortium led by Channel 4 has won the right to operate 10 new digital radio stations. | |
| Micromark sponsors National Home Security Week
As the sponsor of National Home Security Week, Micromark, has announced this year’s dates – 25-31 August. | |
| Shoppers to spend 50 per cent more on CE by 2011
Shoppers will be spending 50 per cent more on digital entertainment by 2011. | |
| Tefal invents ‘green kettle’
Tefal has invented a product, which, it claims, could make the old style kettle redundant. | |
| IRC is disappointed by new Business Council
The Independent Retailers Confederation (IRC) has expressed its disappointment that the Government, in announcing the appointed names to the newly created Business Council for Britain, has failed to allocate any seats from the small business sector on this Council. | |
| Switchover chief says late converters risk blank screens
One hundred days before the UK’s first digital television switchover, new research reveals that all households in the lead area of Whitehaven, Cumbria, are intending to convert to digital TV. | |
| Ofcom to consult on Sky Freeview plans
Regulator Ofcom is to conduct a public consultation on Sky's plans to replace its free channels on Freeview with pay-TV services. | |
| Europe to be #2 for HDTV
Europe is expected to jump ahead of the Asia-Pacific region to become the second-largest high-definition TV market in the world after the Americas. | |
| Sky dumps 800 dealers
Sky is to dump up to 800 of its "inactive" Approved Sky Agents (ASAs). | |
| Tech giants to headline CES
Top executives from Microsoft, Panasonic and Intel will deliver keynote addresses at the 2008 International CES, which takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 7-10, next year. | |
| Sharp LCD TVs awarded 40th EU Eco-label
Sharp claims to be the world’s only LCD TV producer to be awarded the European Union (EU) Commission Eco-labels. | |
| Ofcom denies Freeview needs more spectrum
Ofcom boss Ed Richards is still refusing to accept the case for additional spectrum to be devoted to high-definition services on Freeview. | |
| Loophole may squeeze top recycling schemes
Britain's implementation of the electrical waste WEEE Directive could be derailed by speculators. | |
| Retailers missing out on sat-nav
The majority of electrical retailers do not sell sat-nav technology, despite the fact that it’s one of the key consumer electronics sectors, according to an online survey conducted by www.ertweekly.com | |
| Flooding forces Morphy and Roberts to move
Severe flooding in the north has forced Morphy Richards and Roberts Radio to move to temporary premises. | |
| Energy Saving Trust calls for labeling on CE gadgets
The Energy Saving Trust (EST) is calling for electrical gadgets to carry labels warning how much they will cost to run. | |
| Intertek acquires ASTA BEAB
Intertek, a global leader in testing, inspection and certification, has acquired ASTA BEAB Certification Services. | |
| Multi-million pound ad spend for Electrolux Global Design
Five million pounds is being spent on the Electrolux brand in a national TV and press advertising campaign to promote the new Global Design Range in both the kitchen and the laundry room. | |
| £2.7 billion cost of washing machines
Britons have incurred more than £2.7 billion worth of damage over the last year due to accidentally putting items in their washing machines. | |
| Consumers choose LCD over plasma, claims Sharp
Demand for flat-panel televisions larger than 37 inches is set to swing overwhelmingly in favour of LCD rather than plasma TVs, according to a senior executive at Sharp. | |
| Retailers fund recycling scheme
Retailers are funding a £10 million scheme, which began on July 1, to boost recycling and reduce the amount of waste electrical products going to landfill. | |
| Pure appoints Irish distributor
Pure Digital has appointed consumer electronics specialist Midia Distribution as distributor of its DAB digital radio products throughout the Republic of Ireland. | |
| Samsung opens dedicated training centre
Samsung UK has opened a brand new, state-of-the-art training centre in Brentford. Middlesex. | |
| Virgin to go private
Virgin Media, the Uk cable television company, is set to be taken private for more than £5.5bn. | |
