For over a hundred years now the Giles family have built a bit of reputation of being able to predict the next big thing in terms of electrical appliances.
Gerald Giles set up the business in Norwich in 1948 thinking that fluorescent lighting would bring light to thousands of homes and businesses in the gloomy post war years. He wasn’t wrong.
Then in the 50s with the arrival of a decent TV signal from Tacolneston, Gerald set up a TV rental, service and repair centre. As the number of people renting TVs in Norwich grew, so did the business. This continued until a few years later when we branched out into kitchen appliances and specifically the dishwasher, which Gerald predicted would become a household essential. He wasn’t wrong there either.
So we have a bit of a record of predicting the next “big thing”. But today that’s becoming harder and harder. Simply because of the sheer number of technical advances we experience virtually every day.
One indicator of things to come is the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
This January CES2013 was held in Las Vegas with all the major manufacturers present to show case their latest innovations and prototypes.
So what was the stand out technology at CES2013 that we think could become big. Or at least have a big influence.
Samsung are one of the smartest manufacturers around. Even Apple are starting to feel a little threatened by them. So they are good company to have a look at.
At CES2013 Samsung unveiled a phone that instead of using a glass screen uses a screen made of incredibly thin plastic. So what? Here’s what. It means that the phone is BENDABLE. You can literally fold it in half. And being bendy means it’s virtually unbreakable. This is only a prototype at the moment but could have a massive impact on phones, tablets, laptops and TV’s. Imagine sitting on the train and taking your tablet out of you back pocket and unfolding it onto the table like a newspaper!
The other bit of stand out tech that will definitely “happen” soon (by soon we’re talking late 2013) is again screen related. Both LG and Samsung unveiled TVs with CURVED iMAX style screens!
The Samsung TV was a 55 inch OLED ultra HD model. OLED is “organic” LED. See our earlier blog about the differences between LED, LCD and Plasma.
Samsung say that the curved TV screen improves contrast and colours. They also say that the curved screen means that you get a wider viewing angle. So you don’t have to sit slap bang in front of it to get a great picture.
Finally from Samsung – a fridge. But not just any old fridge. This is their huge T9000 model which has four doors and different cooling zones to keep food fresher longer.
But the really amazing thing about this fridge is that it is “smart”. Smart in that it includes a 10” LCD screen built in and packed with apps to help you stay organised in the kitchen and waste less food. We all waste a lot of food so this is really clever stuff.
The fridge can suggest recipes based on what’s inside it and tell you when you need to eat something before it goes off. The LCD also features the Evernote app which means you can create a shopping list on it, transfer it over to your phone and take it with you to the supermarket.
While you’re at the supermarket, if your partner wants to add or change something on the list they can do it at home and you’ll be notified while you’re pushing the trolley round Tesco’s. Not totally sure how well that would go down with the shopper. It might be a incredibly smart way of annoying them while they are trying to get the chores down.
So that’s three innovations that Samsung showed us at CES2013 as they continue to develop their reputation as one of the most forward thinking companies in the World.
Now you’re asking “what about CES2014”. Well you’ll just have to keep following our blogs.
Steam ovens are becoming more and more popular, once the reserve of the restaurant or just used commercially – here at Gerald Giles we are seeing more and more people buying them for their home. We stock Miele’s freestanding steam oven, their built in steam oven and their combi steam/conventional oven. We also have a Bosch built in version and a Neff combi.
Miele, Bosch and Neff are all great brands, all of their appliances including their steam ovens are brilliant.
But what is so different about a steam oven? Well the obvious thing is that while your conventional oven will use hot air to cook food, a steam oven has a water reservoir that when boiled fills the cooking chamber with a cloud of steam. It’s the steam that cooks the food.
So what are the advantages of steam ovens?
Firstly – they are healthier. More of the nutrients are retained when steam cooking meaning you get more goodness from the food. That’s particularly true when steaming vegetables.
Next, the food also retains more of its flavour and texture. And it’s nice and moist because of the steam.
Like a micro wave you can’t brown a chicken in a steam oven but you can pop the bird into a conventional oven after its cooked to do that. Or get a combi like the Neff one.
Like a micro wave you can reheat and defrost food in a steam oven.
At a recent Miele steam oven demo, the chef cooked a salmon main and poached pear desert – at the same time, in the same oven! She did this to prove that the fish taste and smell didn’t taint the lovely pear pudding. It didn’t.
She also cooked the cake pictured at the start of this post. So you can basically bake cakes in a steam oven. Which we thought was pretty amazing.
A few other advantages – cleaning is easy, they cooking times are shorter and compared to a conventional oven, steam ovens are very energy efficient.
We think that the free standing version is a great addition to any kitchen and if you’re planning a new kitchen then you should think about including a steam oven in your plans.
You’ll end up using it more than you think and certainly more than the George Foreman grill or the sandwich toaster that are tucked away in a cupboard, unused and feeling sorry for themselves.
Happy cooking!
This is a very frequently asked question here at Gerald Giles. So we’re going to attempt to answer it in a clear jargon free way – none too easy in an industry littered with acronyms, abbreviations and just general geek speak.
Here goes. First up – LED, LCD and Plasma TVs are all what is known as HDTVs – or High Definition TVs. This simply means that the picture quality is supposed to be good.
So we’re trying to work out which of these HDTVs is the best.
These are some of things you’ll need to be considering when you’re thinking about buying a TV –
The difference between LED, LCD and Plasma
This is basically about how the screen is lit up. With plasma TVs the phosphors light up themselves. So they don’t need a separate light source.
LED and LCD TVs do not light up themselves so they need a separate light source to produce the image.
This is a bit complicated so read carefully. Both LED and LCD TVs have LCD screens. The difference is in how they are lit. LCD TVs use cold cathode florescent lights (CCFL) like the florescent tubes you have on the office ceiling. Whereas your LED TV use light emitting diodes (LED) to illuminate the screen.
So the difference between LED and LCD TVs is not the screen but how they are lit. One (the LCD) uses CCFLs and the other, uses LED.
To judge the quality of the picture we normally look for really black blacks and white whites which gives the widest gamut of colours.
And the LED wins on this score. The plasma generally outperforms the LCD but as you’d expect LED is the most expensive and LCD the cheapest.#
Verdict – LED wins here
Sound quality
Because these flatscreen TVs are getting so thin, there is simply no room for decent speakers – so oddly whilst picture quality has been improving, sound quality has taken a 
bit of a dip. Generally the slimmer the TV – the poorer the sound. LEDs tend to be uber slim – so the sound is not the best. If slim is important then you should think about the Bose SOLO digital TV sound system which is an immense bit of kit you simply stand the TV on the top of, plug it into the back and the sound is amazing. If the Bose doesn’t take your fancy, check out our soundbar range, where you will be able to find a variety of soundbar options for any TV.
Verdict – fat wins.
Energy efficiency
This is easy. According to our friends at Which? a 42″ LED is going to use (on average) 64 watts costing (on average) £17 a year. The LCD will use 107 watts and cost you £28 a year and the plasma is going to munch through 195 watts and cost £49 a year.
Verdict – LED win again.
So in summary the LED is the most expensive type of HDTV but it is also the best. Coupled with a Bose SOLO – you’ll have a brilliant cinematic experience.
This week we had the chance get our hands on the new Sony W9 TV at the UK Sony Centre headquarters. And we’ve got the photos to prove it. Firstly, there remains a little confusion over whether this will be called the Sony W9 or W90 – we’ll have to wait and see. No then, this is a really impressive LED TV which will be available with 40, 46 and 55 inch screen around May 2013. The imaging on the screen is amazing and uses Sony’s latest technology – Triluminous Display which Sony say gives “the widest spectrum of colours ever” and it’s difficult to disagree with that claim.Triluminous is a filter that ensures true to life colours, with no bleed and coupled with X-Reality Pro processing the Sony W9 delivers amazing image detail. Some of the best we’ve ever seen. The design is great too. Sony have added a quartz edge aluminum bevel which has a blue tint when the light catches it. They’ve also made the frame thinner as is the current trend, made the stand round and reworked the Smart on screen menus making them really user friendly. But the real wow factor and we do mean WOW here is the way that the W9 uses Near Field Communication (NCF) to enable effortless sharing of video and pictures from your phone to the screen. NCF is the technology employed to the “wallet in your phone” that means you can pay for stuff just by waving you phone at a chip and pin device. Well substitute that chip and pin for the W9’s remote and whatever is on the screen of your phone comes up on the TV meaning you can wirelessly browse through pictures and stream video straight onto the TV or use the apps and play games. We yold you it was WOW didn’t we. The new Sony W9 LED Smart TV truly is smart and with it’s great picture quality, gorgeously simple menu system and effortless sharing of video, games and apps makes it a real contender for best in breed. We can’t wait until it’s released later this year!
This year it will be 65 years since Gerald Giles opened an electrical store on Rose Lane here in Norwich in 1948. In 2007 we moved to new, bigger and better premises on Ber Street. But Gerald Giles electrical is still a family run business with Paul Giles at the helm – Gerald’s son.
But since the 1940s – technology has changed dramatically and the pace of change is getting even faster.
This year we aim to try a demystify the often baffling world of modern technology, we will help you understand the difference between LCD, LED and Plasma TVs not to mention OLED, 4K Ultra HD & HD. We’ll help you make sense of Blu Ray, home cinema, smart TV, DAB radios and Wireless Music Systems.
Back in 1948 the only DAB Gerald would’ve come across would have been a brown flatfish often thrown back into the sea in favour of Cod or Haddock. Incidently, according to celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall – the Dab (fish variety) is making a bit of comeback.
But what was technology like in the 1940’s.
Well this was the dawn of the TV. Monochrome sets starting becoming available in 1951 after much wrangling over what standards would be adopted.
The first electronic digital computer made an appearance in 1942 when the team of John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry built the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) over five years at Iowa state university.
We also saw the development of the microwave oven – very much by accident though. Dr Percy Spencer who was working on a radar research project noticed that whenever he turned the machine on – his chocolate melted. He then tried popcorn and an egg before developing a metal box to contain and concentrate the microwave energy causing the temperature of food to rise rapidly. And low, Spencer had revolutionised cooking for ever!
The 1940s also saw the invention of the Slinky, Silly Putty, Tupperware, Velcro and the Frisbee.
What will 2013 bring us? Well the Consumer Electronic Show (CES2013) held in Las Vegas earlier this month is usually a good indicator. In our next blog we’ll be taking a look at some of the gadgets revealed including bendable phones, curved TVs and steam boxes.
Miele and Gerald Giles have been working together for nearly 50 Years with Gerald Giles being one of the first retailers to sell Miele products in the UK. This partnership has grown from strength to strength, culminating in the launch of East Anglia’s sole Miele Centre; one of only a handful in the UK.
Miele is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of domestic appliances with a reputation for quality that is unrivalled. Miele invest heavily in research and development and use the best technology to produce innovative and durable appliances of the highest quality.
Gerald Giles pride themselves on excellent customer service and the friendly and knowledgeable staff can offer specialist advice across the entire range of Miele home appliances. There are over 65 Miele appliances on display in the dedicated Miele Experience Centre. Many of them are installed and fully working, so you can get a real feel for how your new Miele appliances will look and perform in your home.
Live demonstrations of nearly every appliance type are available, from ovens to warming drawers, washing machines to the fabulous range of coffee machines and everything in-between. You will experience how beautifully quiet Miele Laundry and Dishwashing appliances are in operation, whilst all of the built-in cooking appliances have the control panels live so customers can see how easy they are to use.
To compliment this fantastic new showroom, Gerald Giles are now able offer a comprehensive installation and repair service, meaning that customers are supported from selection and purchase to running and maintenance.
Whatever your domestic appliance requirements, Gerald Giles look forward to welcoming you to their new showroom to enjoy a taste of the Miele experience.
Love watching TV? Well, it’s about to get dramatically better. The Bose® Solo TV sound system reveals much more of the depth and detail you’re meant to hear in your favourite programs. The kind of sound most flat panel TV’s simply cannot reproduce from their internal speakers.
And with just one speaker and one connection, it couldn’t be easier.
The Bose Solo system sits unobtrusively beneath most TVs up to 81 cm and many up to 106 cm. It’s an ideal choice for your main room or for use in a second room, such as the bedroom. Make one connection to the TV, plug the speaker into the wall and embrace a whole new experience in minutes. One listen, and you’ll realise there’s more sound in your TV shows than you ever imagined.
All the sound you hear is made possible by advanced Bose speaker array technology. It reproduces a wide range of sound evenly throughout the room from a compact enclosure. And with proprietary digital signal processing, that sound is adjusted and optimised at any volume level. So when you’re watching your show, there’s no need to tweak the volume when a quiet moment suddenly becomes explosive.
Hear what you’ve been missing
They’re your favourite shows: dramas, sitcoms, reality TV. And every one of these programs has a world of sound within. So take your “can’t-miss-it” TV to the next level with the Bose® Solo system, and enjoy the crisp, clear dialogue and subtle sound effects you’ve probably never noticed before. It will completely transform your everyday TV experience.
The Bose® Solo system comes with the right cable to connect your system to your TV and a simple, four-button remote for volume, mute and power.
BOSCH CLAIM“BEST HOME APPLIANCE BRAND” AT 2012 WHICH? AWARDS
Bosch, a leader in the UK home appliances industry has claimed the coveted Which? award for “Best Home Appliance Brand” for the second year in a row and the third award in this category in four years. Up against other major UK brands, Bosch has once again taken the top spot to cement their now, independently verified commitment to quality, usability and innovation.
Bosch have won a total of 51 Best Buy awards from Which? across the range of appliances from food processors and vacuum cleaners to ovens, dishwashers, washing machines and refrigeration products in which three Bosch fridge freezers hold review scores higher than 80% Bosch products frequently appear in Which? reviews where they consistently score highly for performance and reliability.
Simon Jones, Sales Director, Bosch Home Appliances UK said, “It’s a great honour to be acknowledged by Which? For Bosch this reinforces quality, trust and innovation to our customers. It’s an important accolade to have and it means so much to be recognised as the best brand in home appliances.
The Internet Player that lets any TV become a Google TV
Sony Europe today announced the availability and pricing of the NSZ-GS7, Internet Player with Google TV, originally introduced in January at CES. Powered by the Google TV platform, the Internet Player will be available to buy in store from July, priced at £200/€200. Pre-orders begin in July online at http://www.sony-europe.com/.
In 2010, Sony pioneered the internet-TV convergence as one of the first manufacturers to launch products powered by Google TV. With the new Internet Player with Google TV, Sony will also be the first manufacturer to launch Google TV products outside of the United States, initially starting with the United Kingdom in July, followed later by Canada, Australia, France, Germany and Netherlands, Brazil and Mexico. The NSZ-GP9 Blu-ray Disc player with Google TV will be available in October initially in the United States, followed by Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Netherlands.
In addition to the NSZ-GS7 Internet Player, Sony’s newest Internet Blu-ray Disc™ player with Google TV, the NSZ-GP9, will be available in October priced at £280/€300.
“Expanding the reach and interoperability of the powerful Android platform with Sony’s smartphones, tablets and renowned Audio & Video products, we are proud to continue our relationship with Google through the introduction of the new Google TV Internet Player,” said Gildas Pelliet, European Head of Marketing. “Entertainment content is available through so many channels and sites, and Google TV helps consumers easily find what they want to watch, listen or play with the freedom of the internet and using the familiar Chrome browser”
TV and Internet, together as one
Sony and Google have come together to offer the freedom of the web on the big screen. You can search for anything you can imagine with fast speed Google Chrome browsing. Enjoy easy access to your favourite websites, YouTube and more at the touch of a button. Your home entertainment will never be the same.
Total control at a touch
The dual-sided remote has a touch pad for cursor control on one side and on the other a full keyboard for searching, emails and social media updates. You can also use the voice search to find whatever you’re after with the Blu-ray Disc™ Player with Google TV. It’s a universal remote that controls your entire entertainment system and it has a motion sensor for playing games. You can even turn your smartphone or tablet into a remote with the free Media Remote app.
Fun at your fingertips with Google Play
With the addition of Google Play, viewers have access a wide variety of apps such as YouTube or Twitter™, plus new apps optimized for TV added all the time.
The Bose® clickpad remote
Controlling a home entertainment system has never been this graceful—or simple. Introducing a revolutionary new remote with fewer buttons and an easy-to-use click pad. The buttons are for those things you do most, like adjusting volume or changing channels.
Everything else is as easy as touch, glide, click.
Just touch the pad with your thumb, glide around and click to make a selection. Anything you can control appears right on your high definition screen, displayed alongside whatever you’re watching. You’ll never have to look away from the screen or fumble around for a button.
And accessing your entertainment couldn’t be easier. Push one button and your options appear onscreen, ready to enjoy.
The innovative built-in sound technologies mean there are no speakers to painstakingly wire and position. Your sources—Blu-ray player, cable box, gaming system—all connect to one console, which can be hidden away. No clutter, no confusion.
Plus, you’ll control it all, from your digital video recorder to your iPod, with a single remote. It’s all part of our Unify® intelligent integration system, designed to make home cinema easier today, and when adding sources in the future.
The VideoWave® system merges sound and picture like never before, delivering cinematic performance from invisible speakers built into a high definition display. But it also delivers more. This single, integrated system eliminates a roomful of speakers, wires and complexity. And notable advances in simplicity make it our easiest system ever.
Deep effects and low notes
Our award-winning waveguide technology is built directly into the video display, delivering resounding low notes and dramatic sound effects. Unmistakable impact, with no extra speaker or subwoofer needed.
Wide, spacious soundstage
Experience acoustic detail and spaciousness well beyond the screen—in places where there are no speakers. Our proprietary Phaseguide® and array technologies make it all happen.
Consistent sound throughout your room
Our ADAPTiQ® audio calibration system ensures the best sound possible for your room; it recognises room size, shape, even furniture, and automatically adjusts the sound.
Panasonic is taking TV to the next level with the new SMART VIERA TV line-up, which offers smart design, smart performance and smart content – such as BBC iPlayer, Facebook, Twitter & YouTube. Available in Plasma, LED & LCD; Panasonic VIERA cutting edge technologies bring you more choice when it comes to finding the TV that fits your lifestyle.
SMART VIERA – The Smart TV Choice
Sony Launches New Network Media Player and Blu-ray Disc™ Player powered by Google TV with Phased Launch Starting in North America and Europe
Sony Corporation (“Sony”) announced the launch of Network Media Player “NSZ-GS7” and Blu-ray Disc Player “NSZ-GP9” powered by Google TV, starting with North America and Europe.
Users can connect these devices to their TV via HDMI to seamlessly watch TV broadcast*1, enjoy apps, and browse the Internet. The new remote control is equipped with a touch pad, full keyboard with back light, microphone for voice search*2 and game compliant 3 axis motion sensor which realizes easy and intuitive operation.
In 2010, Sony introduced the world’s*3 first HDTV and Blu-ray Disc Player powered by Google TV. The new Network Media Player and Blu-ray Disc Player are scheduled to launch from early summer 2012, starting with North America and Europe and plan to expand into other countries and regions.
“We were the industry’s first to launch ‘Google TV’ platform products in 2010. By leveraging our Sony Internet TV know-how, we will offer new products with enhanced user experiences to more customers,” added Masashi Imamura, senior vice president, corporate executive, and president of Home Entertainment Business Group, Sony Corporation. “Furthermore, we will create new value in home entertainment by strengthening the compatibility with BRAVIA TV as well as mobile devices.”
“We’re excited about our strong partnership with Sony on Google TV. Consumers have reacted very positively to the Google TV software update of last October, and we are looking forward to bringing new devices of different form factors to consumers in multiple countries in 2012.” – attributed to Mario Queiroz, VP Product Management, Google TV.
With “Google TV” users can seamlessly watch TV broadcast*1, enjoy apps, and browse the Internet. The fast search engine aggregates search results from TV programming and internet content such as YouTube™ and collectively displays the results for easy viewing. In addition websites or apps can simultaneously be displayed on the same screen along with TV broadcast. Moreover, customers can enjoy over thousands of apps for games, music, sports, news and more on Android™ Market including about 150 apps designed and optimized for TV with the latest version.
Intuitive operation with newly-developed remote The new remote is equipped with a touch pad for easy operation on one side, and full keyboard with backlight on the other side for high visibility. In addition, it has a microphone for voice search*2, and game compliant 3 axis motion sensor for easy and intuitive operation. Furthermore, it can operate the connected TV, set top box or amplifier as a universal remote control*4.
Sony’s mobile apps enhance cross-device connectivity Mobile apps on mobile Android™ devices starting with Sony Tablet and “Xperia™” as well as others including “iPad” and “iPhone” allow for enhanced cross-device connectivity. “Media Remote” enables customers to “throw” the website on their mobile device to their TV, or send the website displayed on their TV to their mobile device. In addition, “TrackID” *5 quickly searches and identifies music related information heard on TV broadcasts, streaming video and packaged media.
Enhanced cross-device connectivity with LCD BRAVIA TV By clicking the “Google TV” icon on the home menu of the compatible 2012 BRAVIA*6, users can seamlessly display Android™ Market or apps. In addition, basic operation of the Network Media Player and Blu-ray Disc Player powered by Google TV are possible with the BRAVIA remote control.
*1: Must be connected to a set top box for cable TV or satellite broadcasting *2: Only for Blu-ray Disc Player type *3: As of October 12, 2010 *4: Compatible models will differ by countries or regions *5 : This application is also pre-installed on “NSZ-GS7” and “NSZ-GP9” allowing customers to search on their connected TV. *6: Compliant models differ by country or regions. For details please confirm the local announcement.