Vegas baby yeah... my roundup of the Consumer Electronics Show 2015

The one wheel in action - like riding a bike...

Fans of the Back to the Future films will be very pleased to hear that we are a step closer to emulating Marty’s hover boarding antics. The “One Wheel” had show goers entranced with its hidden hub motor and self-balancing deck making moving around at up to 12mph almost child’s play. Though we are unlikely to see commuters wobbling around on these any time soon due to the legal restrictions in the UK they may appeal to skate board enthusiasts or anyone with a fond memory of Marty, Biff and friends.

wearable electronic devices are set to be big in 2015

4K UHD the resolution revolution has begun

Other technical feats on show included a raft of wearable technology. These products are likely to be huge this year and will include smart watches, bracelets and glasses. Notably Sony’s SmartEyeglass Attach will rival Google’s Glass product and will clip to your normal glasses and feature a small integrated screen to keep you up to date with happenings on your smart phone. Siemens were demonstrating their latest smart hearing aid designs that promise to adapt automatically to different situations and interact with IOs and Android devices.

Finally I was pleased to read about the birth of a new partnership called the UHD Alliance that sees TV industry big hitters like Sony, Samsung and Panasonic join forces with studios like Disney and Warner Bros and content providers like Netflix. Together they aim to standardise the content, delivery and terminology of 4K Ultra High Definition. This is great news for consumers as it will not only make the whole format easier to understand but should streamline the roll out of superbly detailed 4K content to feed the latest raft of LED televisions. 

Electric Trends for 2015

Bigger, brighter and better, all possible if you would like a new TV in 2015. The trend is towards larger sets of over 50” with the added benefit that it will be sharper, with up to 4K resolution and brighter with new technology like OLED giving incredibly vibrant results.                                                                                                         Add to your cinema screen some wireless speakers that will spare you the need to take up carpets to run unsightly cables around your room and you can have a cinema in your lounge with less hassle and cost than you might think.

Elsewhere in the home you will find the “internet of everything” is gathering momentum with fridge freezers, ovens, light bulbs and even kettles now part of your home network setup. This might sound like a waste of time and money but just imagine your fridge notifying you at work when your teenage son takes the last of the milk, or imagine you are on your way home early and want to have your heating come on to warm the house ahead of your arrival. You can control your lighting from your smart phone and your music from your tablet, all of this is possible when the internet of everything enables devices to talk to each other easily via the gift of the internet.

And finally it is interesting to note that although the amount of technology in the modern kettle is probably greater than the original lunar lander the design trend is still towards retro products. If you don’t believe me then check out the SMEG 50’s style range of kettles, toasters and mixers, demand has exceeded supply since they were launched two months ago and we still can’t get enough of them to supply customer orders.

York Business Awards

I am very pleased to be able to say that Herbert Todd & Son have managed to make it to the finalist stage of the prestigious York Business Awards. This is the first time we have been nominated and though filling out application forms is not one of my favourite pursuits it allowed me to reflect on all that we have accomplished over the last year and highlighted that if you are not driving forward in the current economic climate you are in grave danger of not just standing still but falling well behind.

Changes we make are all for the single purpose of making the customer experience better because ultimately without new and returning customers there would be no Herbert Todd’s! So what have we been up to?

The internet now plays a huge role in most of our lives, whether it be the kids digging away on Minecraft (don’t ask!) or hours lost to Twitbook we are all part of the revolution of the world wide web. Internet shopping has made it easier than ever before to research, browse and buy from the comfort of our own homes but in the electrical industry the majority of sales are still made face to face. We have made sure our website is easy to use and full of facts and figures to assist customers researching our products but ultimately we know you want to touch and feel these products before you can make a proper decision. With this in mind we have also gone to great lengths to improve all our showrooms with specialist display areas for things like 4K Ultra High Definition television, induction cooking, built in appliances and range cookers.

A continual calendar of staff training ensures you can always get the best advice across all brands, something which really sets us apart from other electrical retailers. Finally, investment in delivery technicians and vehicles ensures that our free delivery and installation pledge on most products guarantees the best possible customer experience.

Now we’re just keeping our fingers crossed for awards tonight!