The 3DTV concept really took off at the Consumer Electronics Show  (CES) in Las Vegas at the start of the year.

Since then, there has been no end of publicity in the press, on TV news programmes and most importantly on the internet.

As I previously reported, the indefatigable George Mead at LG popped up everywhere promoting 3D and I must admit he is very good at explaining the different systems.

LG also seemed to steal a march on the competition by placing large-screen 3D TV screens in a variety of locations where football fans gather.

I have lost count of the number of photographs that appeared in the press showing a room full of cheering fans, all of whom were not only bedecked in their team’s colours, but also wearing 3D glasses.

Thanks to all the publicity, there is now a great deal of public interest in 3DTV and I like the way Sony in the USA has chosen to give the first retail 3D demonstrations in its Sony Style shops.

There are 44 Sony Style shops in the USA and they are very similar in appearance and format to the Sony Centres we have here in the UK.

I do wonder what Wal-Mart thought of this decision? No doubt it would have preferred to be the first to demonstrate 3DTV, but I think Sony has made a very wise decision. 3D sets will look their best when they are demonstrated in a homely atmosphere with appropriate lighting and sound – an ambience not normally associated with the shelves of a supermarket.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Sony followed the US lead and Sony Centres were chosen to be the first retailers to demonstrate 3DTV in this country?

Apple is another firm that has been getting lots of publicity lately. The new iPad has created plenty of interest, but I do not think that this item will be a big success over here.

Many other firms have tried to sell similar tablet-style devices in the past and none became popular items.

The Apple iPhone has been very successful and there are now thousands of apps (applications) that can be downloaded to enhance its features. Some apps added internet radio, satnav, worldwide TV stations etc, and these are excellent add-ons.

However, I was cursing a customer who came into the shop last week and asked a lot of questions about a big LCD panel.

Our salesman, Spikey, gave a very full rundown on the product and demonstrated the excellence of the display, but we were unprepared for what happened next. The customer produced an iPhone and used it to scan the barcode on the television.

He then showed us a list of the best online prices for the same product and invited us to beat the lowest price.

I am used to people coming in carrying printouts from the internet, but this beats all previous attempts to beat us down on price.

As we have the facility to print our own barcodes, Spikey suggested relabelling everything so that any of our stock that is scanned by an iPhone brings up random online prices culled from the naughty products sold in Ann Summers shops.

While many dealers have had a good start to the year, I am also hearing from some independents who, like Comet, suffered a significant drop in sales in December.

Most blame it on the extremely bad weather, but some report that their January turnover was also lower than expected. Let us hope for an improvement soon.

Graham Knight