A look at LG's exciting and innovative new products

To keep ahead in the white goods market companies must constantly strive to be at the forefront of new and innovative products and technologies. LG are doing just that, with the launch of two exciting new products aimed to improve the experience of the consumer and help save energy.

The Door-In-Door Refrigerator 

LG have announced their first door-in-door refrigerator which is set to be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which is currently being held in Las Vegas.

The refrigerator has two door-in-door compartments making it easier to access items kept it the door shelves, like food and drink items which are more frequently consumed such as milk, cheese, eggs, juice etc... Also, as the entire fridge is not being opened LG claim that cold air loss will be reduced by up to 47% which will help save on energy costs and keep food fresher for longer.

The outside of the fridge is fingerprint and smudge resistant and the fridge also features tempered glass over the curved glass. The fridge provides 34 cubic feet of storage space, so plenty of room for all the essentials and a boat load of beer.

It also features LG's smart diagnosis technology, which is designed to help LG's call centre staff remotely identify any problems that arise with the appliance. Also, relating back to previous posts regarding the IoT, consumers will be able to monitor and record signals from their refrigerator directly from their smartphone.

The LG Twin Wash System 

The LG twin wash system is main washing machine mounted on top of a smaller washer which sits in a pedestal beneath.

The machine can wash two loads simultaneously, for example whites can be washed at the same time as colours, or silk at the same time as towels on a hot wash.

When not in use, the smaller washer can be stored away and simply acts as a pedestal for the main washer. The smaller washer can also be combined with any of LG's front loading washers. 

President and CEO of the LG home appliances, Seong-jin Jo said: “One might be tempted to call the LG TWIN Wash System disruptive, as it’s a completely new concept in appliances. However, the addition of a mini washer underneath the main washer translates to greater flexibility, convenience and efficiency,”

The system should help reduce energy costs and save on water and power as it will reduce the amount of washes needed and the smaller washer is ideal for odd items or smaller loads that usually would have went on a full wash. 

Of course, as with the door-in-door refrigerator, the washing machine is Wi-Fi and NFC enabled and is fitted with LG's SmartThinQ technology. This enables users to programme cycles directly from their smartphone, including full control over temperature and length of cycles, and when they would like them to start. 

So, are LG on the verge of revolutionising the refrigerator and washing machine markets with their new products or are these appliances simply a novelty that may quickly wear off. Let us know your opinion in the comments below. 

Thank you for reading!

January Sale, 15% Off All Products!

15% off all products on www.sparepartsonline.co.uk when you enter voucher code SPOJAN15. 

Simply enter the voucher code into the voucher code box on the ‘My Basket’ page and click ‘Apply’, a deduction of 15% will be taken from the price of the item/items in your basket.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Christmas Tree decoration made easy....

As we make our way into December and Christmas grows ever closer, those of you who have not yet, will be planning on decorating your house for the festive period, including the joyous (and sometimes rage inducing) task of erecting and decorating the Christmas Tree.

Here we will try to provide you with some tips to help make your decorations look great and make the tasks of putting them up that bit easier (hopefully avoiding the annual family argument over whose fault it is the tree looks like it was decorated by Stevie Wonder)

Location

First and foremost, whilst putting up your tree, you need to consider the location. You may choose to put it in the corner of a room, this is ideal for those who don't have much time (or just can't be bothered) as it limits the area of the tree you need to decorate. Other things to take into consideration whilst choosing the location of your tree include:

1. Keeping the tree out of direct heat, i.e. next to fires or radiators, as it could not only damage the tree but may also be a fire hazard. 
2. Making sure you don't put the tree where it may be in the way of something important, such as the TV or next to doors or dining tables.
3. Make sure you erect your tree somewhere near a mains socket. The last thing you want is Grandma tripping over the wire/extension lead for the lights on Christmas day and pulling down the whole tree completely ruining Christmas for all involved!

Lights

That leads us nicely on to our next set of tips, the lights! Arguably one of the most important decorations on the tree, not only do they provide a nice warm atmosphere to the room but they also draw attention to the tree and light it up to its full potential. Now, no matter how neatly you stored them away after last Christmas you can guarantee they will have managed to tie themselves in knots throughout the year. So before you embark upon the perilous quest of untangling your lights, plug them in to make sure that all the bulbs work. At least then if they don't you have an excuse not to untangle them. 

The best way to put the light on is to start from the top and wind them down the tree, placing some on the edge of the branches and some further in towards the trunk, this way you can maximise the area of the tree that is lit up.

Decorations

There are no rules when it comes to decorating the tree, it can be as minimal or as over the top as you like. This gives you the opportunity to be creative and get into the festive spirit. However, we do have a few tips to maximise the experience of decorating the tree and ensure it looks as satisfying as possible. 

1. Hang larger decorations about a quarter to half way down the branch, this way they have less chance of dropping off. 
2. Use a mixture of large and small baubles and decorations and space them out evenly around the tree. Try to avoid clustering. 
3. Be creative! Let the kids make their own decorations, personalise your existing decorations, this will make the whole thing a bit more special and exclusive.

The Final Touches

Now that your tree us in the perfect location, all lit up and beautifully decorated, it is time to make the finishing touches. This could include hanging a bit if tinsel or stashing some treats amidst the branches such as candy canes or chocolate, decorating the base of the tree with a skirt or some other form of base decorating apparel and, not forgetting, the pièce de résistance of tree decorating, the star/angel that sits on the top. Of course, if you do not posses a star/angel, you could always get creative and stick half naked action man up there wearing wings and a santa hat (no need to be bound by tradition). 

Something of an Innovation!

My final tip is, if you want save yourself all this hassle next year, you can alway wrap your fully decorated tree from head to toe in cling film and put it in the loft whole. The next year all you have to do is choose your location for you tree, cut the cling film off, et voilà! Fully decorated tree!

Thanks for reading!

Development of IoT drives research into fifth generation (5G) mobile and wireless communication technology

As discussed previously in this blog, IoT (Internet of Things) is a network of physical objects accessed through the internet. These objects will have technology such as microchips embedded in them which will enable them to react to the external environment or internal states. Objects can therefore sense and communicate via the internet.

Benefits of IoT

The development of IoT is set to completely transform day-to-day life, making tasks such as shopping, traveling and working a whole lot easier. IoT will have the ability to alert you of traffic jams and help you to avoid them, inform you when you are running low on groceries and even order more for you, and give you the ability to control home and kitchen appliances remotely from smart devices.

IoT and 5G

It is believed that by 2020, 5G mobile networks will offer speeds of up to 10Gbps, with low latency and response times, making them key to the development of the Internet of Things. 5G will be essential to the development of IoT as it will not just be computers and phones that will be connected to a wireless network, but household appliances such as fridges, ovens, thermostats etc... Our automobiles, our bicycles, and even our clothing. Not only will our own personal possessions be connected via IoT but the entire infrastructure of the country will be connected, for example, the roads we drive on and the pipes that carry our water. In five years time it is estimated that there will be 25 times more devices on our wireless spectrums in the UK and current 4G services just do not have the capacity to support such growth.

Potential risks

Despite the potential benefits IoT has to offer, fears of security have also arisen through its development, as it will gather vast amounts of data that could give a comprehensive insight into deeply personal aspects of our
lives. This has the potential to create a worrying threat to our privacy, even in the safety of our own homes.

Just how fast will 5G be?

The potential benefits for 5G are massive. As a consumer you will be able to download a 1080p HD movie to your mobile in about one second. Also, thanks to the versatility of 5G, and its ability to scale, any kind of dropped connection should be a thing of the past. Due to the sheer speed of 5G it has the potential to eliminate the need for DVD, Blu-Ray and Video Game disks. Once networks can download a 50GB video game within minutes physical disks will quickly become obsolete.

Will 5G be expensive?

No, in fact it should be a lot cheaper than a 4G plan today. A 5G data plan could give you an allowance of up to 50GBs per month and yet cost half the price of your current 4G plan. The reason for this is due to the fact that the cost of delivering 1MB of data falls by around half each year. In 2008 the average cost of 1MB was 43p. Today it’s about 2p. By the time 5G is available it is predicted 1MB could cost around 0.001p.