BRIAN BINELEY, a senior Conservative MP and Chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary Enterprise Group, has launched a Commission to review the future of small shops in Britain's high streets with a view to helping regenerate town centres across the country.

Alphason Designs has broken previous turnover records for the past three months. Its June turnover was 77% up on the corresponding period last year. Over the quarter the increase was 55%.

THE recent IFA trade show in Berlin saw 15% more exhibitors compared to last year's show, as well as a ten per cent increase in the number of trade visitors and the general public.

DOMESTIC & General has just launched Infinity Plan, a new service plan giving electrical retailers the opportunity to offer their customers full service cover for a low monthly payment.

Half of all UK households have now converted all their TVs to digital, according to research by Ofcom and Digital UK. The switchover tracker found 87% of respondents were aware of switchover, and 66% understood how to prepare, although only 16% of adults nationally know when their region will switch.

Bryan Lovewell has been appointed chief executive of retra. He joins retra from the EEIBA where he worked as appeals director for almost a decade.

THE recent death of Dame Anita Roddick, whom Rory Stear, chairman of Freeplay Energy Group, (she was one of the founders of the Group) described as 'a human dynamo', made us realise that this supercharged entrepreneur has reached the age of 64 – but was still described by press commentators as 'a woman in her prime'.

THE world's first zero emissions Antarctic station, Princess Elisabeth, which will run almost entirely on sustainable energy, thanks to eight wind turbines, solar panels and state-of-the-art insulation, has been unveiled in Belgium.

PURE Digital has just launched the first two DAB radios which not only feature the latest DAB technology but are designed to minimise their environmental impact. The Chronos iDock, combining DAB radio and iPod docking system, is suited to the bedroom, living room or kitchen.

Launching Accolade – its new built-in collection, Stoves clearly intends to set itself apart from the competition and mark its entrance into first-class territory. The collection offers a full suite of stateof- the art products designed to reflect the demand for coordinated styling in the kitchen.

Apple has carried out a complete overhaul of its iPod range, including the introduction of the iPod touch, which uses a similar touch screen interface to the iPhone and includes Wi-Fi wireless networking.

Toshiba has introduced two third generation HD DVD players. Styled to match the manufacturer's REGZA TVs, the HDEP30 and the HD-EP35 support 1080p and also display images at 24fps, the speed at which movies for the cinema are filmed, helping to reduce motion judder.

Sony has increased its Blu-ray offerings with the introduction of two new players. According to the maker, the BDP-S300 is aimed at mass market consumers, while the BDP-S500 is geared towards high end users. Both decks can output images in 1080p, at 24fps, and will also upscale standard-def DVDs to 1080p.

Electrolux has introduced a selection of warming drawers to its new built-in kitchen range. As well as warming plates, the drawers can also be used to keep pre-cooked food warm safely, making them ideal for those that like to entertain at home.

Pure has expanded its best-selling DAB clock radio family with the launch of the Chronos II at the recent CIH trade show. Following on from the popular Chronos, the new model features an improved display and automatic light sensor along with Intellitext and TextSCAN, along with a USB port for easy upgrading.

LG has unveiled its second generation dual format highdefinition disc player – the Super Blu. Unlike its predecessor, the Super Multi Blue, the new deck offers full support for all of the extra interactive content on both Blu-ray discs and HD DVDs.

Not only is the HG10 from Canon one of the world's smallest AVCHD Hard Disk Drive (HDD) camcorders, it's also, the first Canon camcorder to benefit from a HDD. The device boasts a 40GB HDD, which can hold up to 15hrs of HD footage. Capable of recording in a 1080i HD resolution, the camcorder also features over an hour of continuous recording on a single charge.

This year's exhibition saw 1,212 exhibitors from 32 countries making the trip to Berlin, a 15% increase on last year. And like last year's show, the biggest news stories centred around High Definition TV (HDTV) and in particular, the hi-def disc players, the first wave of which were introduced at last year's show.

Philips is taking its popular Ambilight TV technology into the future with the Aurea. The 42in 1080p panel sports an active frame which uses LED lighting to match the colours on screen, for an immersive viewing experience. The Aurea also features Philips' Perfect Pixel HD processor, along with three HDMI ports.

Following LG's Super Multi Blue player, launched earlier this year, Samsung has launched its own player which can play both Bluray and HD DVD discs. The Samsung BD-UP5000 Duo Player is able to support all of the interactive technologies associated with the two competing formats.

The BD70E from Hitachi is the world's first Blu-ray camcorder. The device incorporates full HD 1920x1080 recording, along with the world's highest resolution 5.3 megapixel CMOS sensor and HDMI connectivity.

On 20 August, BERR (the Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform department) set out the Government's preliminary views on the potential benefits of developing 'dynamic demand technologies'.

Over 30% of refrigeration products in 2006 were sold to those aged 65 and over, according to GfK. This group also accounted for 24% of all major appliances purchases, more than any other single age band.

ROBIN Millwood, CIH chairman, and an independent retailer himself, told IER that there is no place like the annual CIH show for learning what's new and the best in the industry, business networking and, of course, making the deals. “The third CIH Show at the NEC is bigger, better and bolder than the previous two events. Both manufacturers and the CIH staff have outdone themselves to make it the best electrical show possible.

Consumers have long enjoyed the benefits of wireless technology – infra-red remote control units have been around for years. But now, a new generation of wireless systems has arrived, offering even greater freedom and flexibility when it comes to listening to music or watching video around the home. In the computer world, technologies such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi have transformed the way people use PCs and associated devices, and the same thing is happening in the consumer electronics world.

It's a sad fact that service and repair, even in these days of eco-awareness and save-the-earth fanaticism, is declining. Still there is much worth in neighbourhood repair shops, especially those attached to retailers.